It's going to be a great day. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for a new day where you promise us that your mercies for us are new, no matter the trial or the trouble of yesterday. You woke us up today. You called us to a purpose and you've given us the opportunity to shine your light for others to see. So help us to do that. Thank you for the freedoms that we enjoy for those that have served and are serving to protect that freedom as we're less than a week removed from marking 25 years since the 9-11 attacks on our country. We just continue to ask for your protection, for your guidance, for our country's leaders. Thank you for where we live. God, this beautiful Martin County, her beauty, her history, her people. God, I pray for every person here today, whether we're here in a capacity of a citizen, an employee, a volunteer, an official. Each of us carry the responsibility today to steward the resources and the relationships that you've given us. And so we'd be foolish to try and do that in our own strength. We'll confess that we need you. We need your wisdom. We need your leading. We need your grace. And so as we receive your grace today, God, would you give us just the awareness that we need to pass that grace on to others, to speak encouraging words, even maybe where we might disagree. So let our words be full of life that speak to the dignity of every person that we encounter, because we're all made to be image bearers of you. Help us to recognize that in each other. God, let your peace rest on this meeting today. Give our leaders, give these commissioners ears to listen, hearts to understand, and God minds to make decisions that will serve the people of our community well. And I pray all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. And now the Pledge of Allegiance. Good morning. Good morning. 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. Thank you. We have three presets today. The first is at 9.05. We will take public comment. At 5.05, we'll have our first budget public hearing. At 5.05, we'll also have public comment. There is an additional item of consent 10, which is adopt a proclamation declaring Bible reading week in Martin County, Florida. And there's a request to withdraw the Florida Inland Navigation District, small-scale, derelict vessel removal grant, grant reimbursement check presentation for fiscal year 2026. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? I'll move approval of the agenda. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. We'll take proclamations first. The first proclamation is a proclamation declaring Hunger Action Month. Good morning, commissioners. Hunger and poverty remain issues of grave concern in the United States, the state of Florida, and on the Treasure Coast, with 250,000 children, adults, seniors, and veterans experiencing food insecurity on a weekly basis. Martin County is committed to taking steps to raise awareness about the need to combat hunger in every part of our county and to providing additional resources that our residents need. To that end, the board is recognizing September as Hunger Action Month in Martin County. And here to accept, we have Director of Business Development at Treasure Coast Food Bank, Irela Guevara. Thank you. On behalf of Treasure Coast Food Bank, thank you for recognizing September as Hunger Action Month. This year's theme, Assembly Required, reminds us that ending hunger takes all of us working together. Every individual, business, organization, and community partner has a role to play in helping ensure our neighbors have access to the food they need. We are grateful to the commissioners, the city, county of Martin, and thank you for the community as well for standing with us in the fight against hunger. Thank you. Our next proclamation is a proclamation declaring Florida Redevelopment Week in Martin County, Florida. Community redevelopment agencies and redevelopment programs play a vital role in revitalizing neighborhoods and downtowns, addressing areas of blight, strengthening local economies, and improving the quality of life for residents and businesses throughout the state of Florida. Florida Redevelopment Week, September 14th through the 18th, serves as an important opportunity to recognize redevelopment achievements, highlight transformational projects, engage residents and stakeholders, and celebrate the economic, social, and community benefits of revitalization. And we have a short video to watch prior to acceptance. Directly in the heart of the Palm City Community Redevelopment Area, the patio at Palm City Place brings to life a long-held vision first outlined in Martin County's CRA plan adopted back in April 2002. This $1.75 million public space was designed to be more than a park. It's a multifunctional destination featuring a nature-side walking trail, picnic areas, a shaded pavilion that transforms into a bandstand, and classic games like ping pong, cornhole, and checkers. Nestled within Palm City's own 20-acre Central Park, this half-acre site now stands as a vibrant anchor for the community and a catalyst for future investment. At its heart, a stormwater treatment area has been reimagined as a serene centerpiece. A freshwater fishing pier, a glowing lighted fountain, and thoughtfully integrated design features strike a balance between beauty and purpose. The shape of the STA even suggests half a heart. One side drawn from nature, the other completed by the community it serves. While the idea has roots in the original CRA plan, active planning began in 2020, transforming an overgrown, overlooked parcel into a public space shaped by collaboration and years of community input. The spark? A conversation on the back steps of a dilapidated home that once stood here, since relocated as a thoughtful act of preservation. It was there that CRA staff, a former Neighborhood Advisory Committee member, Ken Natoli, imagined something new. Ken pulled out a pen and sketched a simple concept, a green, welcoming space where neighbors could gather, unwind, and build community. That stretch became the blueprint for what now stands. Through community workshops, local business engagement, and the leadership of the Neighborhood Advisory Committee, that early concept evolved, guided every step of the way by the voice of Palm City residents. If you remember, this was a big, deep bowl, like a dry retention area. And there's so much engineering that is below your feet that is so expensive and takes so long to do that you will never see. But as the speakers have said before, this beautiful water body behind here is not just sitting here as a pretty place to visit. It is cleansing all of the stormwater and the runoff that runs from all of by sunset and all of these streets in this western portion of Palm city. It enters in on the west side and it percolates through here and is cleansed as it then crosses over and immediately goes into the river. So this beautiful water body is busy working on our behalf. Construction wrapped in just 13 months, led by Giangrande Engineering's design expertise and the skilled craftsmanship of DePompeo Construction. Key funding came from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Land and Water Conservation Fund, Commissioner Ed Campy, and the Martin County CRA. The patio at Palm City Place is more than a park. It's a shining example of what community driven redevelopment can achieve. A space that weaves together thoughtful design, environmental stewardship, economic development, and public life. A place to gather, to grow, and to celebrate what makes Palm City home. And here to accept the proclamation, we have Community Development Director Susan Kores. Good morning, Commissioners. Good morning. Martin County, along with the rest of Florida this week, is celebrating Redevelopment Week to highlight the role redevelopment plays in strengthening our communities and improving quality of life. Throughout the week, the Martin County CRA will be sharing a series of short videos and educational content highlighting redevelopment efforts across our six CRA areas and focusing on four key areas of redevelopment. Streetscapes and downtown revitalization, water quality, stormwater, and drainage, neighborhood enhancements and transformations, and infrastructure and community investment. The campaign will showcase real projects happening throughout our county, as well as educating residents about what a CRA does and how redevelopment funding is reinvested throughout our community. Residents can follow the Martin County CRA Facebook page and County Communications throughout the week to see the videos and learn more about projects underway in their communities. You can also vote on the county website, right on the front page, for Palm City Place and Patio, which was again nominated as one of the best places in Florida. So we love to have your votes. It's a community voting kind of a thing. So get on your digital machines and vote. Redevelopment is so much more than buildings and beautification. It is about creating opportunity, supporting local businesses, improving infrastructure, and creating places where people want to live, work, and gather. I'd like to acknowledge my amazing staff for their commitment and the excellent work they do, as well as the dedication of our Neighborhood Advisory Committee volunteers, and the CRA board. We have today with us our chair, Mike Redling. And sincere thanks to the Board of County Commissioners for recognizing Redevelopment Week and for continued support of all the CRA's projects. Thank you very much. Now we'll hear from the public. The first request to speak form I have is from John Dial, followed by James Andrews. While Mr. Dial is coming up, we still have an election season. Since we are in election season, politicking is prohibited, which is defined as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for public office, either partisan or nonpartisan. This includes the use of words, dates, signs, props, and or wearing apparel that convey a message of support for a person or group of persons. Thank you. Good morning, Commissioners. John Dial, Rocky Point, Martin County. I'd first like to thank you all for the time of letting me come up here and get three minutes of chatting in, and I'd like to thank Commissioner Hurd for the drainage system on Horseshoe Point Road. Works perfect. Great. And, you know, having the experience that I've gotten to have in the last 90 days in Martin County was an eye-opening experience. Made me appreciate everything a lot more. But I also got to see under the tent and see how things work, right? And once you've kind of seen it, you can't un-see it. It's kind of like seeing grandma in her underwear. Just can't un-see it once you've seen it, right? Okay. But, well, you know, got it all analogy somewhere. But the following three items I want you to kind of consider when you're moving forward in your agendas in the next couple of days because, you know, out on the trail I've talked to a lot of people and there's a lot of concern and these are heavy decisions that each one of you are going to have to make. And I support you all in what you do because, I mean, after 90 days of going at it, it's a thankless job. But one, it has to be done, and I'm glad you're all doing it. When you have to vote on the moratorium for whether you want to call them hyper-AI centers or whatever you want to call them, I think you need to really, really, really do your research on this because the general public all over the country is not very positive on this. They're all concerned about the environmental and the impacts on the agricultural land as well as the power, as well as the water, and this is a heavy one that, you know, you guys need to consider. Second, I think you need to prepare for the ad valerum, however you want to say it, homestead exemption being raised, and we need to really look at our budgets as if that will happen. And you have to ask yourself the question and ask all the department heads, do you have any vacancies in those spots? And if you do, do you need to fill those or can you do without them? The entire country right now is paying over 30% more for fuel and groceries, and we have to be cognizant of that, you know, in our government back to us, the taxpayers, because we're paying more and getting less right now. The third thing is the Brightline train station. It keeps raring its head up in the social media, and I know we didn't get the funding for it, but all I'm asking is please consider don't have it downtown, Stewart. Put it someplace else and make them pay their fair share for it at the very least. I think we all wouldn't mind having a train station here. I just don't want it to cost the taxpayers a lot of money and give up a land deal that, you know, if they go out of business, we don't get it right back. But I really don't have much to say other than that, and I appreciate your time, and I support you right on time. Yeah, you stuck the landing. James Andrews is next, followed by Dr. Roy Spicer. Good morning. Good morning, Commissioners. My name is James Andrews, and I live in the wonderful, wonderful Eaglewood community down in Hobe Sound. And I'm here – this will be very brief. I'm just here to speak to the rezoning request by the Hobe Sound Business Park, LLC. I don't have to speak to anything else because I actually emailed all of this information to you. I hope you had a chance to read it. So I'm not going to start a litany of any of this stuff right now. What I do have is I have a request from all of you that when you are really delving into all of these issues and when you get to this issue, if – before you actually vote, if you could just close your eyes and just think for a second before you vote on this issue that you're sitting in our shoes down there in Hobe Sound with this possible – God knows whether it's going to be good for our community or not, but that you make the right decisions, and then you open your eyes, and since you've walked in our shoes, you kind of know what we're going through on this issue. So that's my request, and thank you very much. MS. Thank you. Dr. Roy Spicer is next, followed by Rick Carlins. MR. Good morning, Commissioners. Good morning. MR. Martin County is already planning for substantial growth in public water demand in a region where freshwater resources are limited. Before approving a major new industrial user, such as a hyperscale data center, you should carefully consider whether a long-term water supply can support the additional demand. According to SFWMD projection under a 1-in-10-year drought scenario, Martin County public water demand is projected to increase by approximately 3.25 million gallons per day between 2025 and 2035, an increase of about 11 percent in only 10 years. By 2050, projected public supply demand is approximately 7.13 million gallons higher than in 2025, representing an increase of roughly 25 percent. These projections are important because SFWMD has described the Upper East Coast planning area as having a growing population and limited freshwater resources. As a result, regional water planning increasingly emphasizes conservation and development of alternative water supplies to meet future demands. The exact water consumption of a hyperscale data center cannot be predicted without knowing the size, cooling technology, and operating conditions. Federal research has shown that water consumption can vary dramatically depending on how a facility is designed and cooled. For example, if a hyperscale data center required 1 million gallons of water per day, that single facility would represent an amount equal to approximately 31 percent of Martin County's entire projected increase in public water demand between 2025 and 2035. This is a significant new demand to add to a water system already preparing for population growth and future drought conditions. Before Martin County commits its limited long-term water resources to hyperscale data centers, the county should require convincing evidence that a full-scale data set to build out can be supported during drought conditions without adversely affecting existing residents, planned residential growth, aquifer sustainability, and future utility capacity. Water availability should be demonstrated before land use approval and not after development has been authorized. The question is not whether water comes out of our forces today. The question is whether the decisions you make today preserve a dependable and sustainable water supply for the families who will live in Martin County decades from now. Water is a finite public resource. Residential, agricultural, and essential community needs should take precedence over a discretionary industrial use capable of creating a very large, continuous demand on a water resource. Until it can be demonstrated that hyperscale data centers will not jeopardize our long-term water supply, aquifers, or utility capacity, the prudent cost is to adopt a moratorium on data center development while the issue is fully evaluated. Thank you for your attention. Thank you. Mr. Carlins is next, followed by Maureen. Steve? Good morning. Good morning, Commissioners. I wanted to speak this morning as a Florida citizen with my concerns for the AI data centers and also the surveillance issues that are taking place in the nation right now and in each particular county. What I wanted to do was to, you know, the environmental concerns have been mentioned, and also along with that there's like a low-frequency hum that's just felt and vibrated throughout. There are many environmental issues that are to be concerned here, not just in the power consumption as well, but most importantly is the moral aspect of it. Right now, the federal government, they are trying to centralize power with regards to the AI. They're trying to put a stop on open AI so that everybody doesn't have access to it. And what I want to, you know, just what I want to try to center around is the fact that the bureaucracies right now and a lot of the agencies, the unelected agencies, are the ones that are wanting to do that. And these are the same people that declared January 6th was an insurrection. These are the same people that declared that the 2020 election was free and fair. These are, you know, the same people that gave us what I consider to be a bioweapon, which was the so-called vaccine. Now, this is what I believe is most dangerous. We've lost our moral compass as a nation. You know, our founding fathers came with an ideal, you know, and they put together a constitution for us, and all we had to do was maintain it. I'm a Christian. Our constitution does not conflict in any way with my biblical values, with my biblical worldview. These bureaucracies and these people, again, the kind of judgments that it is that they have is child sacrifice is okay and they call it abortion. It's okay to mutilate children in grade schools. It's not okay to try to counsel them in a moral, you know, foundational upbringing, you know, if they say that you can't come in and try to teach them the morals that it is that made this country great. We need to, we need to, we really need to bring that back. So, but the surveillance is a way that these bureaucracies and so forth could make sure that we are no threat to their power structure. And their power structure is obvious is what I just tried to highlight. You know, I do hope that I was able to, you know, focus on an issue that's most important to me. We cannot and will not be able to maintain if we don't get back to our principles. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Maureen, Steve is next, followed by Ann Vander Steele. Hi, it's Steele. My last name is Steele, not Steve. It's probably my bad writing. Commissioners, for most of my life, Americans were optimists about technology. We believed innovation would make life easier, create opportunity, and leave our children better off than we were. But something has changed. Increasingly, the benefits of technology are concentrated at the top, while ordinary Americans are being asked to absorb the costs. And now, Martin County is being asked to absorb these costs for artificial intelligence. Our land, our water, our electricity, our environment, our wildlife, our quality of life. For what? Because this isn't merely an environmental issue. This is an economic issue. AI is already capable of replacing work performed by lawyers, paralegals, teachers, journalists, programmers, designers, and customer service workers. Increasingly, even portions of medicine can be automated. Now, multiply that across America. What happens if millions of Americans lose their jobs that support their families? Who pays the mortgage? Who pays the property taxes? Who supports local businesses? Who funds county government when the tax base begins collapsing? And what happens to a family that owns a home but suddenly has no income to pay the mortgage or taxes? They can lose the home. That's how economic displacement becomes property displacement. And whether anyone intends that outcome or not, the result is the same. Wealth and property move upward while ordinary Americans become increasingly dependent on institutions simply to survive. And that should concern every person in this room because independence requires economic independence. So consider the bargain we're being offered. Give us your land. Give us your water. Give us your electricity. Accept the industrialization of your community. And we'll build the machines that may eventually replace your job. That is not progress. That is a transfer of power. And we've made this mistake before. We were told technology would connect to humanity. Instead, we've watched families sit around dinner tables staring at screens and children increasingly outsource basic thinking to devices. Now we're doing it again with AI, except the stakes are exponentially higher. AI is not evil. It can accomplish extraordinary things. But technology without guardrails, accountability, or serious consideration of its human consequences is in progress. It is an experiment. And we are the subjects. You are not simply voting on a development project. You are deciding what kind of Martin County our children and grandchildren will inherit. And what kind of economy America will have left. When powerful interests arrive promising economic development, somebody needs to ask, development for whom? Who profits? Who pays? And who lives with the consequences? Martin County does not have to volunteer to become someone else's experiment. Not our land. Not our water. Not our community. Not without answers. And not without guardrails. And not without the consent of the people who actually live here. We live here. Thank you. Thank you. And Vander Steele is next, followed by Kim Call. Good morning. Good morning, Commissioners. Thank you so much. Florida is definitely being pressured right now. We have big federal conversations going on to really launch this hyperscale AI data center sort of mindset, make us number one in the world. We're being told we're in a massive race against China. The numbers don't stand up to that, frankly. When you look at Loudoun County, Virginia, they have more data centers there than the entire country of China. And last, what, three weeks ago when we were here, I heard a wonderful conversation. It was so good amongst all of you all that I streamed it again this morning. The 13 minutes of conversation you had after the public comment was very thoughtful in the sense that you all agreed that you wanted to make a motion to have a discussion and maybe an agenda item on the moratorium of hyperscale data centers. And that left everybody, I think, that showed up last time really encouraged. So we'd love to see that and find out when we can expect to see that on the agenda because I think that's incredibly important. Some of the comments that were made here as well by others, including I have a copy of the report by Dr. Spicer on the Martin County water supply. And that's something that I highly encourage every one of you all to look at because it is critical infrastructure for us to live and to support our livestock and our agriculture. And when there's topics of conversations in terms of repurposing brownfields like the FPNL coal-fired plant out in western Martin County, again, you have to consider tonal noise. How does that impact agriculture and livestock out there? Some other folks have talked about that as well. And I think studies need to be done before we do anything. So moratorium at this point is critical so that we can really evaluate it. I'm pushing for a full ban for a lot of the reasons that you just heard Ms. Maureen Steele speak about. We are seeing our intellectual property being outsourced. And when you look at what these hyperscale data centers are doing and you haven't seen a needs case scenario coming out of Washington, D.C. And they're pushing now, and they've just now passed on September 11th, the DOT republished its America's Great Corridors of Commerce initiative, which will give Washington the ability to build plug-and-play utility quarters specifically designed to attract data centers along highways and railroads. And we have property up here on the border of Martin County. Of course, we've got that brownfield site out there. But this is for, you know, we have federal permitting being expedited to provide all the utility access for these hyperscale data centers to be developed. And, again, SB 484 trumps 180. We had that conversation last week. Thank you very much, attorney. We can stand on those shoes and we can stand in those shoes and we can say, no, according to our zoning and to what we want to do, this isn't going to be appropriate for Martin County. So I encourage you all to consider those options. And right now we have 41 counties that either have moratoriums or bans or because of their own zoning and codes can't allow it. So I'm for a pro, a ban of these hyperscalers, and I would hope that you would consider that. And I look forward to seeing it on the agenda. Thank you so much. Thank you. Kim Call is next, followed by Angela Harrison. Good morning, Commissioners. Good morning. Good morning. I'm speaking specifically about the application or the applicant for B114-003. It has to do with the property rezoning request. And my name is Kim Call. I live in this community for 30 years. I raised my family here, and over the years we've had horses, farm animals. Our children have participated in the 4 H's, the FFAs. This community is not just where I own my property, it's my home. I own two homes on Flora Avenue, a rental, and my homestead. And I'm here today to respectfully ask you to deny the applicant. I am not somebody who is opposed to growth or development. I understand that property owners have rights, and I understand that Martin County has to plan for the future. But I also believe that growth needs to be compatible with the community that already exists. The surrounding properties of this track are homes, farmland, and light industrial uses. The A1 and M1 zoning on this 100-acre track is compatible with the community that is already here. Changing this entire 108-acre to general industrial could fundamentally change that relationship. For me, there's also a double-sided financial concern. I own and operate the residential rental property that shares a direct property line with the 108-acre track. And my homestead house is right next door to this home. If intense industrial uses are placed immediately next to this home, it will drive down the rental demand, increase tenant turnover, and force me to lower rents just to keep the property occupied. Since it lacks a homestead cap, any developer-driven speculation on my land value could cause my property taxes to spike up to 10% a year. I am faced with lower income and higher taxes on a property that has been a peaceful part of the neighborhood for years. I believe the better decision is to leave the zoning as it is, A1 and M1, which are more compatible with the homes, farms, and existing light industrial uses surrounding this property. But if this commission decides to approve the general industrial rezoning, then I ask that you protect the adjoining homeowners with strong, legally binding conditions, not promises or voluntary commitments. While the standard code calls for a 75-foot landscape buffer, a simple line of hedges and a chain-link fence will not stop the noise, the vibration, and the fumes of heavy machinery from invading my rental, yard, and my home. At a minimum, I ask for an expanded setback, increase the buffer zone from 75-foot to 140-foot, a concrete wall or berm with mature landscaping that provides real visual screening. Thank you. You still have 15 seconds. Thank you. Thank you. Angela Harrison is next, followed by Victoria Blake. Good morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Angela Harrison, Tent City Helpers. I just want to take a moment to, I really don't have anything prepared. I just want to take a moment to thank Mr. Stokas for the meeting that we had the other day with him. He mentioned that him and, I believe, his assistant, I'm not sure who it was, but they'll be going to visit the Dignity Bus, I believe, on the 22nd, if I'm not mistaken, or he was trying to arrange it for the 22nd. I'm going with them. I'd say, oh, you're the man. I did want to mention that. I'd mention if he could ask you to go. Guys, I'm just so thankful. I'm, like, beyond thankful. I really appreciate you guys listening to us and taking our, um, pleas into consideration. Um, we definitely learned a lot speaking with him. Um, there's a lot of, I guess, regulations and things that could happen if the county built a shelter. Um, so we were told that if a lot more of our, um, you know, if we would partner more with each other than non dominate, non, um, nonprofits would come together more, we could possibly, you know, get a better shelter or some type of shelter situation. If people would donate land, if someone would donate, you know, a home, a building, and the nonprofit could take over that, that it's, it's better for us, I guess, for the county and whatnot. We just learned a lot. Um, there's a lot of red tape that we need to learn about and move around, but I just want to thank you guys for taking everything that we've ever said into consideration. We're just excited for you guys to go see the Dignity Bus and I'll be excited to see what the next meeting, you know, what we see, what the outcome is. And you guys have an amazing week. Thank you all the time for your time and have a blessed week. Thank you. Thank you. Victoria Blake is next, followed by Patrick McDonald. Good morning. Oh, Commissioner Campbell, you just made my day. That was easy. Thank you. Ah, thank you. Good morning, everybody. And thank you so much, again, like Angie said, for listening to us over and over again. Angie and I represent Tent City Helpers. We go out every Monday and provide sleeping bags, tents, deodorant, food, hot meals every Monday. We go to six different stops. So, I got to tell you again, yesterday, it was hot. I mean, Roshanda at the council that gets people, we were dripping sweat into our eyes and it burns. And then we were like, ugh. And I lost two pounds. Victory. Okay. All right. So, along those lines, we go to six stops. And we just had such a magical day yesterday. There were so many just beautiful events. I'll start with a sad one kind of, but Chris got hunted down by the police. They didn't give him time to take his tent and his supplies. So, we, again, gave him everything. Tent, sleeping bag, bug spray, deodorant, Bible, toilet paper, et cetera. He was so thankful with tears running down his cheeks. We also partnered with a mobile hair barber, Kerry. He came and gave so many a free haircut and shave. He is, his company is called Exquisite Cut Mobile Barber. And, again, the pride of a new haircut and shave. Come on, ladies. New haircut. I mean, they just felt so better with a shave and, you know, a haircut. And so many announced that they recently got jobs. And the hope and dignity that were in their eyes, yes, there were tears again. So, hopefully, when they get a job, they can get housed. But not here in Martin County, right? Because we have no shelter. We work with Rashonda at Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council. And she does house our homeless in Fort Pierce. And, by the way, Fort Pierce just recently approved building a shelter. So, way to go Fort Pierce, right? Amen. We let, again, like Angie said, we met last week with George Stokas. And he is going to go see the dignity bus. And, again, thank you, Commissioner Campi, for going. But just I want to note this, that the dignity bus is a band-aid, okay? It sleeps 20 people, has showers, toilets, air conditioning. Again, what an idea. But I have a couple of thoughts here. Like the Kane Center, it's way out west on Salerno, out in the middle of nowhere. It's not near our neighborhood. And they have a huge parking lot. Could we potentially park the dignity bus there? Or if the unhoused have vehicles, can they safely park there? Can we talk to the Kane Center is my ask? And let them at least park there safely and not be hunted down by the police and dogs. For the sake of the day, I'm going to mention, I know you all don't like me when I mention this, but we drive by Martin County Fairgrounds every Monday. And it just burns my tail. It just sits there empty. And all of our own house could stay in one place safely and legally. Lahai has a huge field right next to them. It's privately owned. But let's make them an offer. Can we give them a financial incentive, monthly rent, to let everybody sleep there, go over and get a shower, and get breakfast the next morning? What a great idea, huh? So I'm begging again for action to treat these people with dignity. We are all God's children. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you. Thank you. Patrick McDonough is next, followed by Babette Carboneau. Good morning. Thank you for this opportunity to speak before you on the topic of the rezoning application in the Hobson Bridge Road area of a 108-acre parcel requesting to change it to a G-1 general industrial zoning status. I spoke last September 3rd to your local planning agency on this same topic, and I'm here today to speak to that as well. I'm a resident of Hobsound, a little piece of heaven as we refer to it, and specifically the Eaglewood community, which we refer to as the Garden of Eden. I'm also here not only as an individual but as the representative of Eaglewood as its president of the RHLA Association. I thank you all for receiving and responding to the many emails that our residents have sent to you, and I thank you, Mr. Coffs, specifically for meeting with me to discuss the topic. I found it very enlightening. I learned a lot, and I have appreciation for what you guys do and the information that you have. Basically, I'm here today, again, to request that you accept the recommendation of the planning agency, and I also would like to just point out the key reasons why. These have been included in your email. Some of them you heard from the resident of the Flora Park area, Flora Avenue area. Some of them are very similar. However, here are our main reasons. We feel that there is an undemonstrated need for the change of this classification. The M1 classification surely meets light industrial development. We are not against development. We do not feel that the need has been demonstrated, and we're concerned about the permanence of a GI classification, which we believe is too broad and too open-ended, which could adversely affect the area, specifically with truck traffic, trip generation of trucks, enforcement of truck routing. The county has already identified Bridge Road as a difficult, dangerous, speed-prone, safety-prone roadway. We are concerned about the drainage, the wetlands, the impervious areas, and also the Kitchen Creek eastern flowway that is under development right along the north side of Bridge Road. We, as Eaglewood residents, are very responsible managing our wetlands, managing our ponds, and our environment in general. So we ask that you please consider denying or at least putting a continuance to their request at this time. Thank you. Thank you. Abette Carboneau is next, followed by Alexander Cook. Good morning, Commissioners. Good morning. This is my maiden voyage. As said at the beginning of this board meeting in the invocation, we are the stewards of our resources. Pull the mic down a little bit. Pull the mic down. Perfect. As said at the beginning of this board meeting in the invocation, we are the stewards of our resources in Martin County. This zoning change is requested in an area of homes and light industry, which is perfect. We hope that you will vote against the zone change as recommended by the Martin County Planning Agency, an agency that is very aware of the area that they are requesting a change in. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Alexander Cook is next, followed by David Bromley. This thing. We don't make it tall enough for you. I'll come down here. How's that? Good morning, Commissioners. I am Alexander Cook. I'm the former mayor of Juneau Beach, and you're a Republican alternative for Congress. I'm not here to politic today. I am here for two major reasons. First of all, I strongly believe in land conservation, and I hope you take this zoning change later today very seriously. Once you lose ag land, it is gone forever. And 10, 20 years from now, we may need that land. Not to mention diesel prices have shot up quite a bit lately, and we're going to want to farm more locally so we don't pay for transportation costs. So please, please protect this land. We don't need another warehouse over there. Secondly, that moves me into the data center situation. I've heard prospects of data centers for some of these spots. Another item, 10 years from now, we won't need these data centers. We're already at excess capacity. We don't need more capacity. Technology gets smaller with time and age. When I was a kid, I had a 40-meg hard drive. If you know how small that is, that's nothing. It was about this big. Today, I have five terabytes. It's about that big. Technology shrinks. We will not need all these facilities. We will come a time when we will be looking at that, and we will have wasted land for big warehouses, for all these data centers that we don't need, and AI is slowing down. Please be careful with this. Thank you. Thank you. David Bromley is next, followed by Derek Powell. Hello. I'm David Bromley. My wife and I own a piece of property on Powerline Ave or road, depending on which designation you read it on or which map. It's a little place called DT Ranch, and that property has been under us for over 30 years. I'm speaking on behalf of us and all the other families that live in the area that border this land. My land has the unfortunate to be bordered on three sides. Okay, on the north side, on the east side, and there's a right-of-way to the south side of my property. So I'm very concerned with the level of development that goes on there. I understand that development goes on. Okay? But we have to limit where and how it goes on. When we bought the land, it was mentioned at the building and zoning meeting that we should have known what we were buying. We did know what we were buying. We are not asking to change the designation of the land. Okay? The petitioner is asking to change. We're asking it stays the same because that's what we knew we were buying and was bordering our land. I spent ten years grading my land and I maintain all the drainage ditches around my land and even on the county property so that our land drains down to Kitchen Creek. You put impermeable land out there, it's going to drain, it's going to flood us out, and it's going to destroy Kitchen Creek, which everybody has been working so hard to save. Because the creek flows into the Loxahatchee River. So what I'm asking is that you consider the families that live around the property over the profit of one person who's coming in and wanting to change that designation. Thank you very much for listening to me. Thank you. Derek Powell is next, followed by Yamila Roland Escalora. Good morning, Commissioners. Can you guys hear me okay? Yes, sir. All right. First and foremost, happy birthday to my wife, Sarah. It's her birthday today. Happy birthday, Sarah. All right. And just like Mr. Brumley stated, you know, I'm feeling the recourse and action of, you know, development around my home. So what I have to say today is, good morning, Commissioners. I'm here again regarding the Pepperwood development and the impact it's had on my home and life. After months of meetings, emails, site visits, and conversations, I'm at the point where I'm no longer asking for more discussion. I'm asking for results. When the county required me to move my fence, a fence that was permitted, installed, and inspected properly, I was given a deadline. I applied at my expense and the county followed up multiple times to make sure it was done. Yet when it comes to the developer, I'm still waiting for the same accountability. The flooded sidewalk and grading continues to create drainage problems. And I'm still waiting on a clear answer on when a hedge of privacy along my driveway will be installed. So today I asked three questions. When will a sidewalk and drainage be corrected? When will the hedge be installed? And who is responsible to make sure it gets done? I've been patient, I've been respectful, and I've tried to work through the proper channels. But please don't mistake my kindness for weakness or my patience for acceptance. I'm not asking the county for special treatment. I'm asking you to hold the developer to the same standard you held me to. I don't feel waiting on the contractor is a legitimate or a fair answer. Give them a deadline, hold some accountable, and let's get this resolved. Thank you. Yamila 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 hand it to the bailiff. Thank you. Buenos dias, commissioners. Again, you already know who I am. Yamila Royan Escalona, Executive Director of Yaya Por Vida, and happy Hispanic Heritage Month. Last Friday, our coalition met with Human Services Staff Michelle Miller, Mr. Stokas, and their colleagues. We first want to thank Ms. Miller for presenting on LHAP and SHIP last month, and for finally sending the Florida Opioid Abatement Funds Community Assessment to go along with what we were speaking about last month here. The report does confirm, though, what we already know. 68.5% of respondents said that funds must be provided for recovery housing. 69.9% said wraparound services, yet today there is no shelter line item in this budget. Commissioner Vargas, specifically, when you said nonprofits should find the funding, our organization was at $0 after losing support in February the exact day you made that comment with our coalition sitting in these chairs. We are working harder than ever under empty coffers. We do not ask to do what you can't do. We've asked you guys to come out with us. So, Eileen, Ms. Vargas. Address your comments to the board, not to individuals, please. Okay, so the board can continue to come out with us. Well, you haven't, to go out and sweat so that you can see how hard it is to get grants and how hard it is to get funding, and how hard it is to continue to do our work for unhoused individuals under empty coffers. Okay. Therefore, I'm requesting for four specific motions to be read and voted on today. Motion one, direct staff to research and report back on the requirements to establish an emergency shelter under HB 1365, including zoning, building codes, and licensing for private entities wanting to operate one. Motion two, authorize the county attorney to contact our state senator regarding amending HB 1365 to specify legal outcomes when no shelter exists, because currently participants are being jailed for sleeping outside without recourse. Motion three, order the sheriff's office to expedite our FOIA request from MCSO opioid abatement spending, citing the four to six month backlog and public safety urgency. Motion four, schedule a public workshop on housing priorities before finalizing the LHAP, mandating lived experience representation along the AHAC committee as suggested by your team during the last BOCC meeting. Fort Pierce has an emergency shelter now. Vero Beach has a shelter. The community assessment says we want housing. Your constituents said that. We're not asking for permission. We're asking for a motion to build it. Thank you. Thank you. Ryan Irvine is next. And I have two requests to speak for him. Well, one is from Mr. Irvine and the other is from Steve Addison. Would you like to speak on public or would you like to speak Mr. Addison on public hearing, a quasi judicial number two? Thank you. Good morning, commissioners. Good morning. Good morning. A lot of what I have to say, you've already heard, but this is my first time speaking before you. And so I'm nervous. And so I've worked really hard on what I'm going to say. So bear with me, if you would, please. Time's up. Thank you, sir. I'm speaking on behalf of the Hope Sound Business Park LLC rezoning application. General industrial zoning is too broad next to existing homes. My concern is not whether this property will eventually be developed, but my concern is we are allowing it what we are allowing it to become. General industrial zoning permits are much broader range of use, and my home is directly behind this property. The commission needs to consider whether that level of industrial zoning is truly compatible with families who already live in the immediate area adjacent that property. The second thing is protecting neighboring homeowners from noise, light, and loss of privacy. I live directly behind this proposed development. My property backs up directly to it. My concern is what happens on the other side of my property line. Industrial activity can bring equipment noise, outdoor lighting, buildings, loud areas, and active at different times and hours of the day. Those impacts don't stop at the property line. Before approving this rezoning, I believe the county should request substantial buffers, landscape setbacks, lighting restrictions, and meaningful noise protections for existing homeowners. Don't give a blank check today and try to fix the problem later. This rezoning is important because once general industrial zoning is granted, we are no longer discussing just one proposed project. We are establishing what can potentially occur on that property in the future. I don't believe the county should grant such a broad zoning and simply tell the surrounding residents that your concerns will be addressed at a later date. Put protections and limitations in place now, potentially through the planning unit development with enforceable conditions. I'm not opposed to my neighbor developing his property. I'm asking you to remember that I was his neighbor before this rezoning application. I will still be his neighbor after the discussion. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Steve Addison is next, followed by David Levine. Good morning, Commissioner. Good morning. Good morning. I've lived in Martin County since 1969. This is my second time to come and speak before you. And I'm speaking on behalf, I mean, my wife and myself. I would like to speak about the proposed business park in Hope Sound. I've lived here since 1969 and came here as a 13-year-old boy. And just remember a few things about Martin County during that time. There was a blinker light in Hope Sound. There was a stoplight at Salerno Road. There was a stoplight at Colorado Avenue and Jensen Beach Boulevard. I think we've added a couple since then. So those were the days. And I remember whenever there was no development here hardly and saw a lot of development over the years. And I'm not an NIMBY. I'm not one of these people, so he's not in my backyard. But I do believe that there are restrictions that were put into this plan before on this property but I would oppose the general industrial request. And I would recommend that you follow the LPA's guide for limited industrial. And I would appreciate your consideration on that at this time. MS. Thank you. David Levine is next. And Mr. Levine is the last request to speak for him that I have. MR. Good morning, Commissioners. Thank you very much for listening to me. I'm here to voice support, support for the construction of a data center here in Martin County. One of the speakers was honest enough to say that she opposes the expansion of data centers. I support them. I think that they're very necessary as a general proposition. And I believe that we have the land availability here in Martin County to support it. I think we have the water resources to support it. From what I read, Martin, excuse me, data centers do not use any more water than the average golf course. So nobody opposes the construction of golf courses. But it seems that data centers have gotten a bad rap. And I definitely think we need them. And I hope that with controls and with what's necessary to assure safety that one is built here in Martin County. Thank you very much for listening to me. Thank you. Commissioners, it's time for Commissioner comments. We'll start with Commissioner Hetherington. Yeah, I just want to say what an amazing turnout on our September 11th honorance and remembrance ceremony at Layton Park and our walk over the Veterans Memorial Bridge. There must have been hundreds and hundreds of folks there. And it was so nice to see the young students. They were, and thank you to the school district for letting them come to late with an excused tardy to attend that remembrance ceremony. Again, there must have been 500 people and there was a lane closed down. And it was nice to feel that support. And the theme, I think, of everybody that spoke that morning was unity and how we all felt on September 12th after that tragic day on September 11th, how we all worked together on September 12th with a common mission. So it was a lovely event and I hope we all continue to honor, remember, and then also move forward with that spirit of unity. That's all I have. Commissioner Campy. Thank you. I'll play on to some of what Commissioner Hetherington just said, but I'll bump the number up. Time is up for me as well. Many people would like to have access to that button. 3,000 people attended, not 500. Last year they had 1,500. This year we had nearly 3,000. And I'd like to thank PAL of Martin County. What they've done is they printed a photograph of each of the victims of 9-11, all of them, and put them on cards and the folks that walked carried one. And then what a lot of us did is we went home. I had Sean Lynch and I went home and I looked him up. He was from New Jersey. He was 36 years old. He was a father. He worked at Cantor Fitzgerald's. And so what I liked when we remember, because I hear a lot of people saying, oh, we were celebrating September 11th. No, we weren't. We were not celebrating September 11th. We were remembering. PAL did a remarkable job. So did our fire rescue and our sheriff's office, the school district, as Commissioner Hetherington mentioned. What was heartwarming was how many children were there. Because I would say, obviously, 99% of those young people were not born at this point. 25 years had passed. So having been in New York City on September 11th, having watched it, having lost many friends and neighbors and colleagues to that day. Knowing 25 years later, it would have been so easy to just, as a community, just say, eh, another day. We can be very proud of what we did in Martin County. We had that event in the morning. The city of Stewart also had an event going over the Roosevelt Bridge. Then in the afternoon, in the evening, 6 o'clock, one of our local churches had music and worship in Palm City at the patio. And then our county staff and Dennis McKenna, every single year, we have an event at the Cummings Library in Palm City where we tell stories and opus from Martin County High School sing, and there's a video presentation. We did an excellent job in our county of remembering the victims. And the important thing that I continue to try to remind people is that approximately 5,000 people have died since September 11th of September 11th diseases, affiliated diseases, wicked cancers that really had no real history prior to that event. You can imagine the asbestos and the toxic materials that the heroes that happened after the event, over 5,000. So imagine more people have died since than during. So that's first. And then secondly, on a much lighter note, Saturday at Justin Wilson Park, the House of Hope, Robert and Airy had called me many months ago and said he had a friend who owned Cubana, Old Havana Cafe in Stewart, and they had an idea of breaking a world record for the largest Cuban sandwich. The previous record was 365 feet long. The new record that was set in Palm City, Florida by over 180 volunteers. And if you've ever volunteered or if you've looked for volunteers, you know how hard it is to get 180 people in one place to do one thing. But they did it and the record is now 400 feet. And then they obviously divvied up the sandwich and sold pieces of it to people that wanted to buy them to raise money for those organizations. And then the rest of it they donated to food banks and other not-for-profits that could share that gigantic sandwich with others. And then just, Madam Chair, if I might as a personal, I mean it's obviously Sarah's birthday, so happy birthday to your wife, sir. But September 15th for me personally is a special day. Today is my wife's and I, my 35th wedding anniversary. And Thursday is my parents' 65th wedding anniversary. So I'd like to thank my wife for putting up with me for 40 years and my parents for having me. Thank you very much. I also would like to add my thanks to the fire department and the sheriff for organizing the events of September 11th. It was really, really well organized. It was beastly hot. And everything went off seamlessly. And also I wanted to call our attention, there was a Star Spangled Banner performance that was the most beautiful that I've ever heard in my life. It was a sixth grade boy played the Star Spangled Banner on his electric guitar. And we were out in an open field, so he had amplifiers turned up really, really, really high, which was just perfect. And that kid just shredded that guitar. It was unbelievable. He was, you know, at some of these events we have low-level helicopter flyovers. And this kid was, he was in the finale of the Star Spangled Banner. And that guitar was so loud that he drowned out the helicopter. It was wonderful. It did. Yeah. It was wonderful. So I would love to invite that boy to a future meeting of ours so that he can play the Star Spangled Banner on his guitar. It wouldn't work in here. No. I think maybe we go outside in the parking lot. And like we do when we do a fire drill and have him, it was wonderful. It was just wonderful. That's great. We have his contact information. We can bring him. Let's do it. Let's do it. And also I want to talk about some wonderful improvements that we've made in water quality in South Florida. I'm our representative on the county coalition for the responsible management of Lake Okeechobee. And we have been in a drought situation in our wet seasons for the last two years. And you never miss an opportunity to take care of an emergency. So we've had a drought. So we've been able to address some characteristics in Lake Okeechobee over the last two summers, particularly this summer. In 2026, the South Florida Water Management District and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have removed over 1 million cubic yards of vegetation and muck from Lake Okeechobee, which is wonderful. Controlled burns are extremely important to our ecosystem. So in the last, in 2026, we also have been able to burn 31,000 acres in Lake Okeechobee. These burns and the muck removal go a long way toward improving water quality in Lake Okeechobee. And since that time also, back in 1992, Judge Moreno was the decision maker for the consent decree requiring Florida to clean up water entering the Everglades Park. And since that time, we have made steady progress so that now we are seeing they were required to build water conservation areas in order to accomplish this task. And they're successful. There are three water conservation areas. And they've seen enormous, 89% reduction in phosphorus, 83% reduction in phosphorus, 83% reduction in phosphorus over the years, resulting in 21 parts per billion, 18 parts per billion, 21 parts per billion. That's the phosphorus that's going into Everglades Park instead of 100,000 parts per billion. So that is marvelous improvements. I also, at the meeting at Lake Okeechobee two weeks ago, had lunch next to, and spoke to Nick Musia. Nick used to be an engineer for Martin County. He's now an engineer for Sea and Shoreline. And they have a pilot project that's being funded by the Department of Environmental Protection for muck removal in Lake Okeechobee. And so far, they've taken, removed about a million gallons of muck from Lake Okeechobee. And the phosphorus has gone, the muck that they've dredged out is 400,000 parts per billion of phosphorus. They've cleaned it, and it's now 40 parts per billion. So just terrific news about Lake Okeechobee's health. The water is clean. It's a vast improvement. And also, we had a ribbon cutting last week for the pump station on the C23-C44 interconnect. And that's also marvelous improvement. So now we're able to transfer water from the C23 Canal to the C44 Canal and treat that water in the C44 reservoir and STAs before it's discharged into the C44. So we're really making enormous progress on cleaning up our water in South Florida. Thank you. Mr. Capps. It's hard not to mention something about the 9-11 bridge walk that we had. It was such a memorable occasion. I've done that a few times now. I would like to encourage our residents to come out and be a part of that event each year. Even if you're not able to do the bridge walk, the ceremony itself on the field there at Jock Layton Park is very moving. When I thought about all the thunder that's already been taken by the other commissioners and what I could say about the event in addition to what they have said, I would just say that we heard some really moving speeches by our sheriff and our fire chief and by three of our fellow commissioners. I just wanted to brag on them a little bit. Chair Hurd, Commissioner Campi, and Commissioner Hetherington, I thought your remarks were outstanding, very inspiring, poignant and reflective and very memorable. I appreciate what each of you had to say. And then I want to bring our attention to another issue. You know, at Commissioner Comet you can talk about events or you can talk about issues. One has come to my mind that I have talked to staff about some. And they thought perhaps it would be best if I brought it up at Commissioner Comet and even make a motion about the matter. And it has to do with the yellow development signs on the sides of our roads in the county that let our residents know about projects that are coming online. When I got elected, one of the main things that I realized was how our residents need education about the different kinds of land use decisions that commissioners make and what the legal standards are that apply to each one of those decisions. Many folks think that commissioners have absolute power to say yes or no to any kind of development decision. And some of those decisions have higher levels of discretion. And some of them have more limited degrees of discretion. And some of the projects that are noted on those yellow signs never come to the Board of County Commissioners. Actually, a lot of them don't. And so there's a need for education on the matter. And these signs are supposed to have these key phrases on them that help educate the public about land use decisions. But I've noticed that some of them have generic descriptions and do not have those key phrases mentioned. And in talking with staff, I think we could tighten that up and get the issue corrected. The appropriate language in my mind that lets people know what kind of land use decision is involved would be things like comprehensive plan amendment, zoning change, plan unit development, major final site plan, and minor final site plan. And any time you see that word minor, I always remember none of those decisions ever come to this Board. Those are approved by Growth Management because they're small projects. But there are lots of them out there. In addition, I think we should have special signs made up for developments that are mandated or authorized by new legislation. I would suggest we have a new sign that says State Mandated Administratively Approved Live Local Project. That's Senate Bill 102. Second. Good. Thank you. But one of the things about these Live Local Projects, they're approved by the state. Basically, when the developer meets the criteria, they just come into Growth Management and say, please give me my approval. And the matter never comes to our Board. And we have two of those Live Local Projects in the works right now. One of them is called Barron Landings on Canter Highway close to Cove Road, the old Golf World site. Lots of new apartments going in there. The Board never saw the decision. And then there's a new one going in where Willoughby dies into Cove Road. And there's a generic description on that sign that just says Cove Road Project. And I think it should say State Mandated Administratively Approved Live Local Project so that our residents know what's going on there. And then another one would be, I would suggest this one. It says State Authorized Agricultural Enclave. If we end up having what is called an agricultural enclave one day, the sign ought to say that. It's a new piece of legislation that basically says that, you know, when you have an agricultural piece of land and they have development on three sides of the ag land, we're going to treat the ag land as developable property and the state is going to require that we give them an approval for the agricultural enclave if indeed we end up having one. There ought to be a sign that says that so our residents know what that means. So I would like to actually make a motion that staff bring us an updated development sign policy that requires developers to have their signs printed with appropriate language and this policy should also require that a proof of the proposed signs be sent to and approved by staff prior to the signs being printed. Because I think that's one of the problems. That policy is not clearly in place and the developers are just told go get a sign and they come back with one that doesn't have the right language on it. So I would appreciate my fellow commissioners supporting that motion. I will second. Commissioner Vargas. Yeah. I hear what you're saying about the signage and I've had people say to me, well, what's going on there? Did you approve that? Never came across my desk. However, you have to remember that folks are driving rather quickly on a lot of streets. It has to be printed in a way and the verbiage must be concise because, you know, you said a lot and that's fine, but that would be if it's written. If it's live local, that would be state mandated live local. People have a question. There's a telephone number to call Martin County. So I would definitely do that. We don't want to create any traffic accidents or backups. That's a good observation. Thank you. There's a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Please continue. So I also was out at the pump station of C-23. Governor DeSantis did come in. He spoke quite eloquently about this new system that's flowing into the C-44. It was really hot there. Thank goodness that we did have a tent, but definitely wanted to be a witness to that. The other thing is I was also at the Bridge Walk, and every year when we celebrate, there's always a moment for us to reflect on where we were, what we were doing, how we could imagine this could happen in our country. Having lived overseas in other countries and in the Middle East, I certainly understand the depth of despair, but yet not humiliated and never backing down and stand strong for our country, which is still the strongest country on planet Earth. The other thing is that I want to encourage everyone to tell everybody to please come back at 5 o'clock this afternoon. This is our first budget public hearing. Your voices matter. This is your time to say what you want for your pocketbook, for your community, for your family, and for a future that is secure financially. Please. Thank you. I want to add another thing. Governor DeSantis said at the C-23, C-44 interconnect ribbon cutting that since he's been governor for eight years, that Florida has invested $10 billion in water quality improvement projects, which is a remarkable achievement. So I wanted to show my appreciation for those worthy projects, too. Mr. Donaldson, we are ready to begin the rest of our meeting. Let's take up, shall we take up B and C-1 first, which is Library Board of Trustee appointments. Did we approve the consent? We did it. We did it. We did it. We didn't separate it. Donna Gordon, for the record. This is the first committee I'm using the new online application. It's hard to hear you. Yeah. So that's kind of fun. We're first asking you to do a motion to waive Samantha Suffich's conflict of interest under the Florida statute by a two-thirds vote based on the disclosure of the relationship in the Form A that's attached to her application. So Ms. Suffich works for Martin County Healthy Start Coalition. They have a contract with the board. So in order to vote on her, the board has to waive that conflict prior to the vote. So we need at least four commissioners to agree to waive the conflict. I'll move waiving Samantha Suffich's conflict of interest. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes four to one with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. And of the ten applicants, I've asked you to vote for three since there's two terms expiring and one vacancy. Ms. Samantha Suffich has four votes. Ms. Amanda Ziegler has four votes. Dr. Tina White has three votes. And I'm asking you to also determine the terms. I'm suggesting Dr. Tina White have one of the two terms that begins October 1st. Move approval. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Thank you. What about the other two people? When do you want the terms to begin and end? What do you suggest? One term has to begin October 1st and end September 30th of 29. And one term will begin immediately and end April of 27. Anybody have a preference? I would do Samantha for the one that ends in 2029. And then the other one? Seven. Got it. Is that satisfactory? Yeah. Okay. We don't need to vote on that, do we? Or do we? Yeah, probably. I'd make a motion to do that. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. All those in favor with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Thanks. Thank you. We will now take a public hearing. Or should we take a? I'll take the one where the folks are here from Hobesound. Okay. That's public hearing. Quadrant judicial. Public hearing quasi-judicial number two, which is a public hearing to consider adoption of an amendment to the Martin County Zoning Atlas to change the zoning district classification for Hobesound Business Park, LLC. And Mr. Sinnott will be here momentarily. We'd like to keep you on your toes. Thank you, Commissioners. This is a quasi-judicial hearing. Anyone who's going to be providing sworn testimony, please stand up, raise your right hand, and be sworn in. Do you swear or affirm the evidence you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God. Are there any ex parte disclosures? Commissioner Vargas. If I have, any of the reports have been filed. Mr. Capps. If I have any, they have been filed. I have them, and they've been filed. Commissioner Campi. If I have any, they've been filed. And Commissioner Heatherington. If any, they've been filed. Mr. Sinnott, have you provided a copy of all of your relevant materials to the clerk? Yes. I'm turning a copy of my work history and the agenda item to be filed as Exhibit 1. I also turned in public comments, which we received after the supplemental memo deadline. I see that there's a request to intervene. Is there an intervener? Okay. So this is a slightly different procedure. Please explain how this is different and what the procedure is. So staff will present their presentation. Then the applicant will have an opportunity to present their presentation. And then the intervener will have an opportunity to present their portion. Each party can ask questions of the other party. Okay. Mr. Campi. Since it is very rare that we do have an intervener, can, Ms. Elder, can you explain how that happens? What qualifies someone to be able to be an intervener? Sure. Under our code, a surrounding property owner can be an intervener if they're one of the individuals that receive notice under the zoning code. So in some circumstances, property owners within 500 feet will receive notice. In others, like this one, it's property owners that are within 1,000 feet. An intervener was one of those property owners, and they can petition the board to intervene as long as they provide their notice seven business days before the hearing. They can interview it in the LPA or at the board meeting. In this case, they did in both. Okay. Mr. Sinnott, please proceed. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Commissioners. I'm John Sinnott, Principal Planner with Growth Management. This is a request by Lucido and Associates on behalf of Hobesound Business Park for a proposed amendment to the Martin County Zoning Atlas to change the zoning district classification for an approximately 108.1 acre property from the current A1 Small Farms District and M1 Industrial District to the GI General Industrial District. The GI Zoning District is consistent with the site's future land use designation of industrial, included as a request for a certificate of public facilities exemption. The site is 108.1 acres, located just south of the intersection of Bridge Road and Powerline Avenue in Hobesound. It currently consists of pasture and undeveloped land. To the north of the site, along Bridge Road, you can see the existing Florida Quality Trust facility. Along the property's northeast boundary, you can also see a portion of the coastal waste and recycling industrial PUD. The surrounding properties to the east and west are primarily residential with small-scale agricultural uses. The areas to the south of the property are undeveloped. The future land use designation of the property is industrial. The gray areas to the west, south, and east are the rural density future land use designation. And you can see to the north and northeast, the industrial future land use designation continues. Western, 3.7 acres of the property are within the A1 Small Farms District, shown here in the orange. The eastern, 104.4 acres of the property, shown here in the light purple, are within the M1 Industrial District. Both the A1 and the M1 districts are Category C zoning districts. This application is being processed as a mandatory rezoning to a Category A district, which implements the policies for the industrial future land use designation. I would like to clarify this rezoning is mandatory only with respect to the A1 portion. Rezoning of the M1 portion is not technically mandatory. The M1 portion is included in the scope of this application as M1 is a Category C district and it is under common ownership. I would also like to point out that the applicant also owns contiguous parcels along Bridge Road currently within the GI zoning district. Those two parcels are not included in the scope of this application. There are three standard Category A zoning districts available to implement the industrial future land use policies of the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan. These are the LI Limited Industrial District, the GI General Industrial District, and the HI Heavy Industrial District. The applicant is requesting the GI General Industrial District. These are the development standards for the available Category A districts. For the requested GI district, the minimum lot area is 30,000 square feet. Minimum lot width is 125 feet. Maximum hotel density is 20 units per acre. Maximum building coverage is 50 percent. Maximum height, 40 feet. Minimum open space, 20 percent. The minimum required setbacks for the available Category A districts are shown in this table. For the requested GI district, the minimum setback for the front is 15 feet. And for the rear-end side that's 10 feet, where the real property boundary abuts certain residential zoning districts, increased setbacks do apply. These are the conditions supporting the requested GI General Industrial District. GI implements the existing future land use designation of industrial. The site's location near Southeast Bridge Road, an arterial street, is conducive to industrial use. The site's proximity to the I-95 Bridge Road interchange would also be supportive of industrial use. GI allows uses which are consistent with the uses permitted in the existing M-1 zoning. This matter was heard before the local planning agency on Thursday, September 3, 2026. The local planning agency voted 3 to 1, recommending LI, Limited Industrial, instead of the applicant's requested GI, General Industrial. Development Review staff have found the Hope Sound Business Park rezoning application to comply with all applicable regulations and the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan, as detailed in the staff report. The staff recommendation is to move that the Board receive and file the agenda item and its attachments, including the staff report as Exhibit 1, and move that the Board adopt the resolution amending the Martin County Zoning Atlas to change the zoning district designation on the subject site from A-1 Small Farms District and M-1 Industrial District to the GI General Industrial District. That concludes my presentation. Do you have a list of the permitted uses under M-1? Yes, I have a printout of that from Division 7 of Article 3. How do they generally or specifically differ from the permitted uses in G-1 and L-1? So, as far as distinctions between M-1 and L-1, a lot of the uses overlap. There are some uses, such as a storage yard. A storage yard is a permitted use. In M-1, certain types of storage yards may not be permitted in L-1. Both the M-1 and L-1 districts allow a variety of commercial and business uses. There are some distinctions in some categories. G-1 does allow extensive impact industries. Those are not specifically contemplated within the M-1. Okay. Also, is live local permissible under M-1? Yes, I believe it would be. Any other questions? Not yet. Mr. Raines. Good morning, Chair Herd, Commissioners. For the record, my name is Bob Raines. I'm a land use attorney with the Gunster Law Firm here this morning on behalf of the applicant. I'm glad to say that we have received and reviewed the staff report, and we agree with staff's recommendations in that report. And in a moment, I'm going to have Mr. Nolan come up and make a short presentation. But I would like to emphasize a couple of points and make another comment or two before Mr. Nolan comes up. Commissioner Katz, I actually appreciate the motion that you made with respect to the sign and this board's approval of that. I think that's a wonderful idea because I think this item before you today is a perfect example of some of the confusion and concerns that neighbors have. And, you know, I listened and I appreciate the neighbors that came up and spoke previously, and I'm sure we'll hear from the intervener. But it's important to understand. I think there's a lot of misconception out here that this is an agricultural piece of property. And it is not. It has a future land use designation of industrial on it. This is already an industrial piece of property pursuant to the comprehensive plan. So that ship has sailed. And it sailed in 1982 when the comp plan was brought into effect. That's when the industrial land use designation was put on this property. So I think it's important for the neighbors to understand it. And I appreciate the confusion and maybe not understanding it. And I think that's a little bit to what Commissioner Katz was pointing out. There are a lot of things here that have already been baked into the system, if you will. And so we're not talking about whether we're going to keep this in ag use or whatnot. It's an industrial piece. And the majority of the property already does have a zoning designation of industrial on it, the M1, but that is an old Category C zoning district. So what we're here for today, to be clear, is to bring this property up to date and consistent with the comprehensive plan with respect to the A2, and to bring it up into compliance with the current zoning designations and requirements that have been refined in Article 3. So I think it's important for everybody to understand that. Now, we have asked for general industrial. We believe that that's the most appropriate one, given a number of circumstances. Mr. Nolan will cover some of those. And I think Mr. Sennett did a great job in explaining why the GI is appropriate. That being said, our client, he lives in the area. He's a Hope Sound resident. And he recognizes, and they appreciate, he and his son, Cole, the neighbors. And so we are willing to accept the light industrial zoning designation to cooperate and show, you know, if that's what the neighbors feel is more appropriate and that would be a better use, then we are willing to accept the light industrial. So I will put that out there, too. So we're trying to be good neighbors. But again, this is an industrial piece of property already. So let's don't get confused and think that we're changing it from some kind of agricultural piece. And with that being said, I'm going to ask Mr. Nolan to come up and give a short presentation. I did, Commissioner, and Chair Hurd turned his resume in for the record previously. That was sent, and I believe was that sent and put as part of the packet into the record? Yes. Thank you. So with that, I'll let Mr. Nolan come up, and then I'll have a few just closing comments. And then we'll let go. Thank you. Good morning, Chair Hurd, members of the board. Brian Nolan with Lucido and Associates representing the applicant. Thank you, Mr. Senate. Have you been sworn in, sir? Yes, ma'am. Excellent. Been sworn in. And at LPA, we provided evidence of the public notice. I do have a short presentation. I would also thank staff for their diligence during the review. It's always a pleasure working with Mr. Senate. And as Mr. Raines indicated, we're here not turning a cow pasture into an industrial site. We've had future land use since the 1980s of industrial. And we're simply here requesting this morning to bring the zoning up into conformance with the current zoning standards, current Category A district. And then our effort, again, to be a good neighbor because the property owner is a local, is a resident, we are amenable to the LI district versus the GI. I don't think the owner or the applicant had any intention of doing anything outside of the LI uses anyway. So we're more than happy to go with LI if it pleases the board. As Mr. Senate indicated, the project areas, the area under application is approximately 108 acres, with approximately 104 of that zoned the Category CM1 district. And approximately 4 acres, or 3.7 acres assigned the Category CA1 district. That smaller parcel is up along. It's a triangle-shaped parcel up along the power line. As we indicated, the subject parcels are currently assigned the industrial future land use. And the balance of the ownership, of the common ownership, is zoned GI. Those are the 5-acre parcel and a 15-acre parcel that abuts Bridge Road. And the applicant also owns, under a different ownership entity, a parcel of land, approximately 20 acres in area, zoned RE2A, which is south of and immediately abutting. The subject parcels. Again, we're here just to bring these parcels up to current zoning code with current Category A district. Again, this shows, again, the A1 parcel and the M1 parcel. If we're familiar with the current future land use and the current zoning of the parcels, you can see the triangular RE2A parcel to the south of the M1 parcel. Is also under ownership. Kind of a zoom out of the surrounding future land use and the surrounding zoning. This, again, clarifying the GI zoned parcels, which is why we initially want a GI. I mean, we want to proceed under a unified zoning. That's always kind of the cleanest way to do it. But, again, having heard the neighbors' concerns at the LPA, we are amenable to proceeding under the LI. And then you can see here, too, the RE2A parcel to remain. Point being – and the reason why I bring that up is the owner isn't willing – isn't going to negatively or adversely affect his own property by what he's going to do or or what he could potentially do in the industrially zoned land. That's to say he has skin in the game, so to speak. Mr. Mackey's parcel, the intervener parcel, is shown here, outlined at relative to – he's actually abutting the RE2A zoned parcel. And that parcel is not under application. This is showing some approximate relative distances, not necessarily to the house, but, you know, from his western property line to a few points along that zoning – what we call a zoning boundary line. We also had a resident – I, for lack of a better term, call it a concerned citizen – submitted a letter through their attorney to the Growth Management Department. That parcel is outlined here in black. And I believe that gentleman spoke during public comment. Again, similar, just showing relative distances from his parcel to the zoning, to the area under application. Of note, you can see the parcel – we call it the Petway parcel – kind of has split zoning as well. So we showed different dimensions there to show relative – relatively speaking, where development could potentially occur relative to that parcel. And as you can see, we're upwards of 1,200 to 1,400 feet away with wetlands between us. And we all know in this county, wetlands are sacrosanct and they aren't going anywhere ever. So to bring it back together, we're here in front of you requesting to bring the current C – Category C zoning districts to a current Category A district. Again, the applicant, you know, is a resident of Hope Sound, owns property immediately adjacent to the area under application, both north and south. And our initial request for GI was because the applicant already owns GI parcels immediately abutting Bridge Road. But again, you know, after listening to the resident's concerns, we're fully amenable to the – to go in with LI, if that pleases the board. And also a reminder that, you know, any development that would be, you know, proposed in the future would have to be submitted to the Growth Management Department and reviewed and approved by all, you know, applicable departments to ensure compliance with the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan and the Land Development Code. With that, I'm available for any questions. Questions for Mr. Nolan? Let me just finish up, if I could. Yeah, so again, that concludes our presentation. Again, just to emphasize, you know, this is – it has a future land use designation of industrial. It's an industrial parcel. But we are now amenable to accepting the least intensive of the three zoning categories that we can put on this property. So we would appreciate your consideration and be glad to answer any questions you might have. Questions? I don't see any. Mr. Mackey, would you like to intervene? Yes. Please come forward. Yeah. All right. Hello. My name is Kevin Mackey for the record. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. And I'm not going to lie. I came here with an entire speech prepared to persuade this board to uphold the LPA's recommendation of limited industrial. But after hearing the applicant's comments today, I want to commend them for being willing to entertain LI and work toward a solution that addresses the concerns of the surrounding residents. So that's awesome. So just a little bit more just for me to state, you know, what my stance is. I'm here to respectfully ask this board to follow the LPA's recommendation and approve limited industrial rather than general industrial. You know, there's one of the biggest reasons I think that makes sense is the property's location. Again, the county zone report identifies single family homes and rural density areas to the east, south and west. And given how closely this property borders those established residences, the distinction between LI and GI becomes especially important. I know we've talked about this, so I'll kind of skip through it a little bit. But GI grants a substantially broader range of uses than LI, including extensive impact industries, biofuel facilities, and salvage yards. And that zoning stays with the property. And I think that's, you know, very pertinent from the July 1st Hope Sound Business Park site plan, identifying a large amount of acres, about 59 acres, as future development area. So, again, with that much of the property's future development still undefined, the board should consider the full range of uses that GI would allow there in the future. And let me skip through again. Like I said, I had my whole speech prepared. So, you know, a lot of those points were brought up at the LPA hearing. The LPA weighed those considerations and recommended LI, which I believe is the appropriate level of industrial zoning for this location. And I respectfully ask this board to uphold that recommendation. And that's all I have. Thank you for your time. Questions for Mr. Mackey? Nope. I don't see any. Let's proceed. Commissioner Capps. Is it? Are we coming back to the board now? Yeah. Okay. Well, let's. Would anyone from the public like to address us? I don't see any. And Mr. Irvine, I know that you filled out two request to speak forms, but you only are allowed to speak once about it. Thank you. So there are no public comments. So we will return to the board. Commissioner Capps. So this parcel of land has two portions on it that have been talked about. One is the 3.7 acre piece that borders Powerline Road. And that one is a mandatory rezoning. And I wonder if our county attorney could just refresh our memories about what mandatory means and why that term is used. So a mandatory rezoning comes into play when you have a category C zoning district that's on a future land use that's inconsistent. So we have an industrial future land use with a residential category C zoning district. So that requires a rezoning by this board because you can't develop the property otherwise. So it's mandatory because you have residential on an industrial future land use and it's a category C. So our options for the mandatory rezoning are limited industrial district, general industrial district, or heavy industrial district. And the one that is the most limited would be limited industrial district. And I think the applicant has already said that they're willing to go with limited industrial district on all of this land. So I would think that would be the most appropriate thing for the 3.7 acres. With regard to the larger piece, that's 104 acres. And when comparing M1 zoning with general industrial, GI, we see that the two are similar but not the same. The general industrial district zoning has uses that are not contemplated and are not permitted in the M1 zoning. Some of those uses are more intense and are not appropriate with the surrounding residential development. The M1 zoning district is a more compatible and appropriate zoning district. And therefore, I believe the M1 zoning should remain for this larger 104 acre portion of the property. So I'm going to make a motion that the smaller piece be allowed to be limited industrial and that the larger piece remain as M1 zoning. Commissioner Vargas. Yeah. I have a question for the attorney or attorney. Can you split the property as such with two different zonings? It's two different parcels, so technically you can rezone one and not the other under the code. Okay. So is there any residential? Well, let's see. I guess it would be the north portion. It says A1, A1. Is there any residential in that area? I'm asking growth management. I'm sorry. Because we're talking about M1, RE2A, A1, A1. Yeah. There is residential state density land use surrounding the M1. That has the A1 Category C district on it, which is actually the small farms district. Mm-hmm. So the only comment we would have is recommending that there would be three different zoning districts on one commonly owned property. You're referring to the M1 that's zoned? Correct. Requesting that? So what would you recommend? The applicant has applied, has said they're satisfied with limited industrial, and that is a Category A zoning district. Staff is always for anyone coming forth to develop their property to be a Category A zoning district, and that would definitely be our recommendation. So that would be the limited LI? Yes. Correct. For the whole parcel? Correct. Yes. Okay. I understand now. I'm sorry. Pete Palden, Deputy Growth Management Director, for the record. Thank you. Yes. Chair Hurd, if I could. Thank you very much. Commissioner Capps, I appreciate what you're trying to do, and I understand the concept and stuff, but I do agree with staff that, you know, to have three different, because we would then have three different zoning categories on a piece of property commonly owned. We'd have GI, and so you're going to have three different zoning districts, not just two, because you have the GI that's also commonly owned, and these properties can be developed together. So I think that's not a good idea and not good planning. And I think it's always good to go ahead and try to rezone the properties, as Mr. Walden indicated, to the current zoning categories. That's what we've always understood. You know, the point is, when you do have these mandatory rezonings on the one piece, and then the other piece, when it comes in, it makes sense to do it. So we would respectfully request, again, we've agreed to, and you talked about the GI concerns, and we've agreed and recognized the neighbors' concerns there. And so we've agreed to go with the limited industrial, and I think we've picked the least intensive of those. And I think it's the most consistent and makes the most sense. So we would respectfully request that, again, the property be re-zoned in its entirety to light industrial, limited industrial. Thank you. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Commissioner Vargas. Mr. Rains, it's okay, it's not the principal. I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk to you. I appreciate you saying that, because it has to be palatable to those folks that have lived out there or planned to live out there longer, or generational. So I would like to make a motion that we approve this parcel in its entirety to the LI zoning. Thank you. Commissioner Vargas. I'd like to turn our attention to page 283. It has another designation called page 6 of 22. I wonder if we could get that on the screen. 283, right? Yes, page 283, or you could say page 6. Of the agenda item, I believe. This would be the staff report. Yes, page 283. So, good morning, Commissioners. Paul Schelling, Growth Management Director, for the record. So you are referring to page 6 of 22 of the staff report, sir? Yes. Thank you. Let's look at the heading. It says, Targeted Industry, Industry's Business Uses. And if we look down, about 10 down, one of the targeted industry businesses says, Data Processing Services. Could that mean a data center? Yes, sir, it could. It could mean a data center. Yes, that is one of the permitted uses as it came about during the LPA meeting, I believe. But in essence, yes, sir, those items listed on the screen are permitted in that LI district. However, there are development standards in the Comprehensive Plan which apply to those developments as part of a future site plan. So, if we went with LI, we could have a data center, potentially. Not likely, but potentially. You could potentially have those uses that are listed under permitted, yes, sir. And if we stuck with M1, we wouldn't have a data center, right? That's probably debatable. However, it's an antiquated zoning code. It's from 1967. That's one of the reasons we're here today to rezone this property. It has older definitions and terms that are used. For example, the M1 has listed as a use, a telephone exchange. Things of that nature. Manufacturing that's no longer relevant. It does not specifically call out the term data center. It does provide for retail distribution, wholesale distribution, and other fairly intense uses with respect to the limited industrial. However, it does not specifically list data processing services. It lists telephone exchanges and other retail uses, but it's from 1967, sir. So I would ask Commissioner Vargas, in light of what you've just heard, do you want to stick with the LI? I would, because in light of what we spoke about at the last meeting and this morning, the comments, we have a moratorium right now. We have time to investigate. No, that's not in place at the moment. Right now. Did we not speak last meeting about that? We do, but we don't have a moratorium in place right now. The moratorium is coming back at a future meeting. Okay. That's fine. So we'll address it at that point. And I understand your concern. I'm very concerned about that, too, and I did see that. However, the likelihood of this happening immediately with the uproar in our community, I think, would be more remote. And I'm very cautious in saying that, and we do need to bring that matter up sooner than later about the moratorium. That was discussed last time. This is what our community wants. But if we had a moratorium that was passed after we award this zoning, it wouldn't apply. This would be grandfathered in. All right. So what's the alternative, then, for the zoning for this? It is more intense with the M1. To leave it with the existing zoning. I would just point out that there's currently not an application on this property for a data center. So that would need to go through a process of submittal, number one, and number two, the full-scale review of that project. But why award the zoning that would allow it to happen? But it's antiquated, isn't it? We have to change the zoning. Is that correct? You don't have to change it on the M1. It wouldn't be automatically grandfathered, and it depends on the language of the public hearing, I mean, of the ordinance. The ordinance is coming back on September 29th for the first public hearing. So it would depend on that language. But if there is a moratorium, that moratorium will only be in place for one year. And after a year, most likely, people will be able to develop data centers on industrial land. So while it might pause it for a year, if they don't obtain a vested right under the ordinance in a year, it's possible that it could be developed as a data center. So it could be developed now as a data center, the M1. Is that correct? No, M1 does not provide a permitted use for a data center. But it's more intense. I don't think M1 is more intense. I'm not. It's different. It's different uses, different uses that are contemplated. Chair Heard, members of the board. Can you hear me now? Yes. Chair Heard, members of the board. I appreciate, Commissioner Capps, your reluctance. I totally get it. It's a shame that we would be somehow convolutedly wrapped up into this discussion now, to be honest with you. I mean, we have no intention of doing that, and I think I would respectfully disagree with not granting this Category A zoning district because there's a remotely outside chance that a data center could potentially, theoretically, maybe at some point, a long time from now, be developed on this land. But I think leaving it a Category A district, I think, causes more harm than good. I think you're leaving the applicant with three different zoning districts and trying to develop a unified site plan with three different zoning districts. Trying to develop a site plan with a single zoning district in Martin County requires teams of people to try to process, which is great. I live here. I'm a taxpayer. I love that it's hard to develop here. But I just respectfully disagree. Thank you. Ms. Elder, could there be any restriction? I understand. I've read all of this, the uses for the different zoning. Could there be any restriction? The permitted uses are for data centers I'm referring to. So the permitted uses are provided in the land development regulations and granting a zoning or rezoning. The board can't prescribe which uses they can and cannot use. It would be whatever's in the permitted uses for LI that would be applicable to the property. So it's more beneficial to be more homogenous, to be homogenous on your zoning rather than having three different categories on one own parcel. Yes. And I would love to, again, Brian Nolan, for the record, Madam Chair. You know, we're talking about, you know, Mr. Rains is asking me, what's the difference between M1 and LI? We're trying to compare apples and oranges with the 1967 or 68 zoning code. We don't really manufacture brooms and brushes here anymore or, you know, perfume and pottery and plastic and paper products. We don't have drive-in theaters anymore. You know, so to give an apples-to-apples comparison is very hard to do, which is, again, kind of really evidence toward trying to bring it up to a Category A district. Because we come in with uses, staff is going to try to apply, you know, a subjective logic as to, you know, is this use allowed or isn't allowed? Well, it's just, it's very difficult in a lot of ways. Let me just add. And let me just add, again, Commissioner Capps, I appreciate the concerns, and everybody, I think, recognizes the story right now with data centers and the concerns that those bring. But I think, you know, to start making zoning decisions and stuff based on one particular use, when there's a lot of other uses out there that are going to be necessary and also going to be beneficial with the concern of one, you know, I appreciate it. And, again, anything that would come before this board is going to, you know, for a data center or whatever is going to have to come before the board for approvals when we get to a site plan approval. So this is, you know, this is just rezoning the property to a Category A. That's the only intention we have coming in here today, and that's all that we're looking for. And we believe what we're proposing is consistent with your comprehensive plan and your land development code, and it's been the policy to try to rezone these things to the current zoning designation for a number of good reasons that your staff recognizes. And I think that we're going to be setting a, we're going to start getting unintended consequences if we start leaving these Category C zoning districts out there like that. So, and again, we, I think, have shown that we're listening to the neighbors, and we've agreed to take the less intensive zoning district available under this future land use designation. Thank you. I'm going to pass the gavel and second Commissioner Capps' motion. Commissioner Capps. So one thought that was advanced by Attorney Raines is one that we hear quite often. It's like, go ahead and give us our zoning, and you'll get another shot at this later at a thing called the final site plan approval. But what we've learned about final site plan approvals is that they're judicial decisions, and I call it putting the cherry on the cake. The cake is already baked. The icing's already on it. And final site plan approvals are kind of about chewing around the edges on smaller issues usually, like, oh, let's have some more shrubbery around the edges of the property. Let's put in a turn lane. Maybe we'll even have a stoplight. Those are the kinds of things that are dealt with at final site plan approvals. By that time, whatever is going to be built is going to be built, and you're just putting the cherry on top. So then the other thought I have is that when we're awarding a zoning designation or a land use, we're awarding it not just for the current owner but maybe a future owner. Many landowners flip their pieces of property. They get the entitlements on them, and they put them up for sale and sell it to the next guy. Or, you know, I mean, who knows where this is really going in the future. And, you know, to approve a zoning for this property that allows a data center, I'm not into that. I think that's inappropriate for the area and for the residents who live around this parcel. And I think also, from what I understand, the M1 zoning, the larger piece, would basically enable this applicant to build what I've heard that he wants to build. So I don't think it's a big deal just to leave the zoning where it has been all of these years. And also, the final site plan may not come back to this board, as you brought up in your commissioner comments this morning. A lot of it is administrative today. Okay. Well, I just want to say for the record, Commissioner Capps, you know how I feel about data centers. So it's not something that I definitely want to expose us to, but we do need to address this at our next meeting. But you are. You're exposing it to us by keeping your motion on the table. Well, then what is the resolution right now for this board? To award the limited industrial on the 3.7-acre piece because it's mandatory rezoning, and to leave the existing M1 zoning on the larger piece, which is 104 acres. Okay. So on the smaller piece, the 3-plus acres, there could be a small data center put there. No, I don't think that piece of land is big enough. That would be a problem with size. No, no. I'm not talking about a mega. I'm talking about a smaller one. That would be a very tiny data center. Well, it could be. I mean, we have with Martin County. We have a small data center also. Well, what would be the setbacks, Pete, on that 3.7 acres? Like, if we give them limited industrial on the 3.7 acres, you can't build on the full 3.7 acres. You can only build on probably an acre or two, right? Yeah. An acre or two would be 43,000 square feet. Yeah, which is not large enough for that. But the setbacks are only 15 feet, I believe, on the sides. Correct. I'm sorry. Excuse me, Johnson, for the record. 15 feet in the front, 10 feet on the sides. Okay. So that would still have the exposure to what you're fair. So you're thinking we could build a data center on 3.7 acres? Good. And that, therefore, we should go ahead and expose the rest of the property to a gigantic data center of the 104 acres? Why don't you just limit it to the little tiny data center on Powerline Road and not put a gigantic one in on the 104 acres? Listen. Have a small data center there on the small parcel? Colleagues, colleagues. I appreciate it. And then the other thing is we could keep the M1 zoning, and that is a heavy industrial. No, no, no, it's not. M1 zoning is not heavy industrial. No, it's not. It does have a lot of uses that span that realm, though, because it tears down through the B1, HB1, and on down. So that is the issue that staff always has with Category C zoning districts is that the uses are vague, and they are antiquated. So it's how you extrapolate those in today's world. But I just heard the county attorney say that M1 does not have a data center as approved use. You're right. It is not listed as an approved use. There you go. Okay. Somehow I ended up with the gavel because our chair has seconded Commissioner Kapp's motion. Commissioner Hetherington and I have not had an opportunity to opine, which I would like. Commissioner Hetherington. I was going to say this conversation has gone completely sideways based on the agenda item in front of us. What I heard was a rezoning, and I heard the intervener ask for limited industrial, and now I'm hearing this discussion of something that the applicant hasn't asked for, and the intervener asked for limited industrial, and somehow we're talking about data centers on the entire property. So I just would like to refocus us onto the matter at hand, which is a rezoning of this property. And I feel like we're getting kind of on a slippery slope legally on speculating uses and talking about what's allowable on this property. I leaned toward listening to the applicant and the residents who were asking for L1. L.I. L.I. Okay, it's interesting how agenda items can just, you know, when I'm reviewing the agenda a week out, a couple days out, you think, okay, this is going to be a pretty easy agenda. This item is not so concerning. This particular one, I even wrote it down well before the applicant had offered it, and I was thinking general industrial to limited industrial because those were the matters that we were supposed to be thinking about. I was actually going to compliment, you know, every once in a while, there is an agenda item that works its way exactly the way, at least from my perspective, it should. We had a gentleman intervene, which we haven't had in many, many years, so I appreciate you stepping up. We had the public comment this morning, lots of these folks I'm sure have never addressed any commission anywhere, never mind the Martin County Commission. They engaged themselves, they educated themselves, they came to the meeting, they were informed, they were respectful, they were polite, they were reasonable. Most of them, if not a huge majority, said, we understand that people have property rights. We understand that something would happen on the property, and we're not looking to stop them. Some people come in here and say, we want nothing, we don't want them to do a thing, so I was thinking in my mind, this is going exactly the way it's supposed to. It's almost a textbook version of how you would want an agenda item to go. They made a compelling argument, they made a reasonable request, then we switch over to the owners and the applicants' representatives, and they said, we live here, we have properties here, we have residential property adjacent to it, so we'd want to be careful not to bite our nose to spite our face. And then the applicant and his consultants said, we agree. And then normally when you get into an LPA situation for us, I try to watch all the LPA meetings, I did not happen to see this one, but they make a recommendation, which is not binding, the staff had recommended GI, the LPA used their ability to offer up an alternative recommendation, which they did, came to us, sometimes we agree, sometimes we don't, and I thought, man, this is going to be easier than I thought it was going to be. I did appreciate the fact that normally when we hear mandatory, I thought I was going to ask Mr. Senna to explain again what mandatory meant, but look, this is a unique set of circumstances, it's a little tiny parcel that is mandatory, and the rest of it is not mandatory, the bigger piece. And then there is this weird dark cloud that's probably circulating all over America, but now it's found its way to Martin County, which is data centers. When we hear talk of data center conversation in western Martin County, we're talking about thousands of acres, parcels. One of the ones that's been jockeyed about is 5,700 acres, that's bigger than the city of Stewart. This is 100. Then I was thinking, and if there's a possibility to put up what the M1 options are versus the LI options, the other point for me is that I try as hard as I can to give additional credence to the district commissioner who is as close to the process as possible. So I was very interested, and you know, hopefully you know, we're not allowed to speak to each other outside of the meeting, public meeting. I can't walk down to Commissioner Capp's office and say, hey, what's your thinking on this agenda? And legally, we're not allowed, and most people don't realize that because it's a rare kind of option for Florida. Most of us that grew up somewhere potentially else, that's not the case. It's also not the case in Tallahassee. They can speak to each other. Elected officials at every level at the local and even board members that are volunteers can't. So I had no idea what Commissioner Capps was going to say until he said it. My concern here is that twofold. One, a lot of the applicants, including the intervener, was pleased with an LI. They were. Now all of a sudden there's a new thing on the table, and I'm not necessarily saying – because I respect all of the people that spoke. And I hear Commissioner Vargas make a compelling argument. I hear Commissioner Capps make a compelling argument. And then, of course, Commissioner Hurd decides to give me the gavel so that she could jump in because if you're holding the gavel, you can't second – you can't make motions, you can't second motions. My concern is that this could happen every single agenda item now. Someone could say that, hey, we're concerned about data centers, which is the big issue. So every time any piece of property – they say, you know, I was the person that made the motion for a conversation moratorium on data centers because I think it's an item that is banging back and forth against the guardrails. People this morning were here to talk about it. I think there's a tremendous amount of research and planning and smart zoning and LDR requirements that are in place that we can't just race around and try to grab a hold of. This is now a perfect example of that. The moratorium conversation, which is going to be at our next meeting, it couldn't have happened today because it's a lot of legal involved. And there's people very powerful and passionate on both sides of the issue. Even if you've only heard from one side, that doesn't mean that the other side is not, you know, getting prepared. So we can't just expect our legal department and our attorney to just throw something down because it won't be able to stand up in court. And that doesn't do any of us any good. I have a couple of questions. One, if the moratorium – well, let me back up one. Mr. Schilling, you said that there is no active application on this property if – one second, the full question. If we were to make a decision today that left open the sliver of the window that someone on this property could create a data center. And I agree with Commissioner Capps that these might – folks that own the property today might be the salt of the earth and might have strong roots and hope sound. But if someone sweeps in and buys it a week from now and none of us know who they are, so I can't use that as part of it, even though I appreciate what they've done. If there's no active application and next meeting, we create some kind of form of a moratorium or whatever, giving us six months, a year or longer to create new zoning requirements. Because when I listen to what's happening throughout the state of Florida, I hear other counties already have zoning and LDR restrictions in place that would not allow a data center to happen. So if we were to change our zoning and LDRs during the cooling-off pause period to discuss specifically data centers and there is no active application, would that give us the legal backstop to protect this property? MR. Paul Schilling, for the record, there's a lot to that, what you just asked me, but I'll try to take it pieces. Number one, there is an active application on this property, but it is for a light industrial building. It's approximately 75,000 square feet. But if it was going to be a data center, they'd have to have told you that, correct? Correct. Yes, sir. It is being – so I'll leave that one at that. Secondly, a future application of over 100,000 square feet on this property or any property of industrial development would require board approval, not only board but the local planning agency. My understanding of the moratorium is there are several things, and Ms. Elder could talk about it, but to pause and have an opportunity to create some more rigorous or more tailored regulations with respect to data centers, number one, I think, is probably to define them, what we're actually talking about. Are we talking about mega facilities or anything? So that's part of it, getting some definitions in order. We don't have a definition for what people are talking about in the news today. So that's one. The other one would be to discuss setbacks for that particular use on any property, landscape buffers, potentially other requirements, noise, height, ancillary structures, electrical stations, and all those things that would go into that picture. I would highly doubt that that could happen within the next month, but I think the idea is to have a collaborative effort throughout the next year to put those regulations in place. And if I said something with respect to the current application that may taint this, I apologize, but there is an application for light industrial. On its public record, if it's an applied and filed application, you're not giving us a secret. Yes, sir. While you're standing here, Mr. Raines, can we go back to the map that shows the property with the different designations? Because doesn't this applicant or owner also own actual GI property already adjacent to the north, like south of Bridge Road and north of the parcel that we're speaking of? Yes, sir. Yes. Those, that, can you, oh, that's the whole, can you bring it down a little bit further? Or that's the whole, okay, so that's cut there. Yeah, that's what I want. So that purple, you see the beige LI, there's two LIs in there, the beige ones, the property wrapped around it in fuchsia, whatever color you want to call it. Is that, does this applicant own that property as well? Yes, sir, that's my understanding. Okay, and on GI, could he put a data center there? That would be, the data center is a permitted use in that district, yes. Okay, and so he already owns that property. It's already GI right next to this property. How many acres is that? Do we have any idea? It looks pretty big if we compare it to the MI 104 acres. 19.7. 19.7. About 20 acres. But then there's the other piece, too, or it's just those, that's the whole thing? This existing industrial facility is a different property owner. Okay, go back to the one with the purple, please. This big section where it says, like where you can see the word that says resolution, is that his also, both sides of that beige? The one to the northeast? Yeah, is that his? No, that's a separate owner. That's actually the. So you don't break them down? You don't show the individual lot lines there on who owns what? Here is the lot line for that. That's somebody else's? Correct. Yes. Okay. I'm just wondering if they have GI and you're talking about building. I think, as Commissioner Heatherington said, we're really fixating, and I get it's a very important topic, but I feel like we're fixating on the concept of data centers and not to scare the residents that live nearby. But if you look at the list of what could happen on any of these properties, including M1, there's a lot of things that people would not want to live next door to beyond a data center. Commissioner Campy, if I could. But to that point, in a good, again, what I wanted to try to emphasize is, and again, I appreciate the concerns for the data centers, and I appreciate what Commissioner Kapp says. I have most respect for him and what he's trying to accomplish here, and I appreciate it. But I want to get back to the unintended consequences, because when you look at the Category C zoning districts, and staff can correct me if I'm wrong, one of the things that happens in that Category C zoning district district that you don't see happening in the category, the Article III zoning districts is, they relate back to other uses. So when you look and you say, okay, this has M1, you look at the M1 uses, don't just look at the M1 uses, because, by the way, we can do anything uses permitted in the district. Excuse me, excuse me, let me take my glasses off so I can read this correctly. Any use permitted in the B2 business wholesale business district that meets the standards prescribed in 2A through J. Then you go to that, and in B2, you can do any uses permitted in the B1 zoning district, so you get those uses. Then you can go to the HB1 zoning district, and you can do any uses permitted in the HB1 zoning district, which, by the way, I see a medical dispensary facility and stuff in there. Now, again, I'm not suggesting we're going to propose any of those uses, but to Mr. Kapp's point, okay, we may not be the owner in the future, so you're opening up all these other uses, so that's what I'm talking about, unintended consequences, and we're focusing on one particular use, which I appreciate and I understand. It is the hot stove issue, but, you know, the likelihood of that happening, and then there's these other openings that are being opened up. So I just, again, caution you to be careful what you're trying to accomplish, because there are unintended consequences, and I see that happen constantly in the 30 years I've been doing this, that we do something that we think is helping in one respect, and it ends up coming back and biting us in the other, so I would just point that out. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, we're going to have Commissioner Vargas. Okay. So I'm looking at the 22-pages staff report here, and I was just filing through it very quickly. I see the permitted uses, I see the limited industrial, I see the general industrial, and then I see heavy industrial district. Which one is the M1? That's just it. It's a category C district. It doesn't pertain to the Article III zoning code in place right now. You see, I couldn't find it here, and I thought I'd ask the experts, so I did look. Yes, Commissioner. In my 10 seconds that I have to do that, I speed read here. Paul Schilling, for the record, just if I may, Commissioner, that is the 1967 zoning code known as Category C is in a different section, and it is kind of a standalone code section. So you would not find it in the table there. Okay. So I couldn't refer back and forth to LI to GI on this 22-page staff report and say, well, it's more robust, the general industrial, and, of course, the heavy industrial. Am I correct? Certainly you can make that distinction between the LI, GI, and HI in the table, but it requires some additional reading to come back to the Category C district, and then not only that, understand those terms, and then furthermore, analyze both the B2 and the B1 zoning districts, which are also Category C. Right, okay, so GI cannot be transposed to the M1 zoning right now. I think I understand. The M1 is, in essence, a light industrial district, which also provides for many, many retail uses. Okay. Well, the limited industrial, as I can read this here, is restrictive. Correctional facilities not allowed, not permitted. Airports, general aviation not permitted. Biofuel facility not permitted. It was no seconder. Research and development laboratories and facilities, including alternative energy, is permitted. Then I see technology centers permitted. I don't see a biolong. Aviation and aerospace manufacturing permitted. This is under LI. Chemical manufacturing permitted. Data processing centers services are permitted also. Information services and data processing permitted. Transportation air permitted. Railroad transportation permitted. So you have a lot of other uses there. Likelihood of putting rail cars there? Transport people? Probably not. You know, it's a bigger topic, the data centers. I think it kind of crept in here. I hear what those that live in the area and certainly your spokesperson said for you. And that is why I made that motion for the LI. Thank you. Commissioner Capps. So, Paul, you mentioned that the MI is basically a light industrial use. Yes, sir. The M1 is... M1, I'm sorry. Yes. It provides for many, many manufacturing businesses and things of that nature. But also tears back to the B2, the retail and wholesale distribution and all those uses. And HB1 additionally. So, yes, it could be construed as being comparable to the LI, yes, sir, with respect to light industrial. So you could build like an industrial part, a light industrial part on the full parcel here with existing zoning. Certainly with the site constraints, whatever the set-asides are for the wetlands, uplands, landscape buffers, and all those, the light industrial buildings could be constructed there. Certainly what we run up against is cross-referencing and cross-applying new land development regulations with respect to development into the old Category C districts, hence the rezoning request. Okay, I had one more question. While we're learning about data centers, we're learning a lot about data centers, aren't we? Aren't we? Aren't we? There could be some side benefits here, right? Yeah. The table that I referred to earlier was called Targeted Industries Business Uses. And Ms. Elder, could you tell us what that means? So those are targeted businesses that were identified and I think put in the code in about 2016. And our comp plan emphasizes the desire to attract targeted businesses, and the code has sections in there. And you can see that targeted businesses are actually allowed in these three industrial areas, but also in many other areas that are not in commercial and possibly, you know, other areas as well. So it's something the board wants to target for economic development and growth for the economy. Well, as in prior discussions, I think we've talked about how the state of Florida has a list of targeted industry businesses. And data centers is on the list for the state of Florida. And what I wanted to put out there so that we all understand, Paul, you mentioned that if a building is over 100,000 square feet, it comes back to the board. From what I understand, if it's a targeted industry on a list of targeted industries created by the state of Florida, it doesn't come back to the board. It's administratively approved. So in the future, if a data center were to come online, it's very possible that it would be a decision that never comes to this board. Is that possible? It depends. It depends. There's, like, an exception. So anything over 100,000 square feet would come to the board unless it's on a platted industrial park, and then there's no limitation, and then that does not go to the board. So it's a very specific situation when they don't come to the board, but it would be a platted industrial park. Right. Well, most data centers would probably be over 100,000 square feet. So in those cases, the data center would be administratively approved. If they're over 100,000 square feet and they're on a platted industrial park, they would be administratively approved. If it's not a platted industrial park, it would come to the board if it's over 100,000 square feet. Okay. All right. I think I've had enough questions. Commissioner Hetherington. Yes. Again, we're here today to discuss the zoning, and the applicant made a presentation. The residents had their say, and I would like to second Commissioner Vargas' motion to take into account what the... We have a second on the motion, so I think we have to vote on that motion before we second a new motion. I knew that. I'm sorry. I'm just letting people speak. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off, Commissioner. See, I didn't. I didn't realize you had that. So which motion are we taking up? One second. I just want to be clear on my position. The applicant came in looking for GI, General Industrial, and the staff had agreed with them, and that was their recommendation to the commission. The community organized, rallied, intervened, and came forward with their goal was to stop that from happening. And their actual, they would have counted it as a win, which is what we heard in most of the public comment, and even the intervener actually had to, like, scrap his whole strategy because he was pleased with the LI. They would have left, prior to Commissioner Kapp's comments, they would have left thinking that that was a pretty successful day for them because MI and LI, and we haven't had the chance to see it, excuse me, M1 and LI, are similar. We got completely hung up on one option, which, without trying to throw gasoline on it, there's plenty of options that would cause concern in M1 or LI. Whenever you have a large piece of property that you live next to, there's a lot of variables. And then we do have some safeguards in place through our, whether it comes to the board or not, everyone should know it's not easy to get things approved through Martin County, even the staff. It's not like the staff is crazy, and if it didn't get to the commissioners, the staff is just having, like, a free-for-all in their offices. That's a tough staff, and most of us get phone calls complaining how difficult it is to work with the staff, which is what we want. So from my perspective, an LI classification, which our staff is asking, is the consistent, appropriate kind of way to move forward. The residents, up until very recently, were okay with LI. They were asking us to please adopt and embrace the LPA's recommendation, which was LI. And the intervener said LI would work. So short of having it be nothing, I personally would lean in that direction. So we have a motion by Commissioner Capps to leave it M1, seconded by Commissioner Hurd. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Opposed. Opposed. Opposed. Excuse me, opposed. Did you hear me? Opposed? Yes. Okay. That motion fails 3-2 with Commissioners Vargas, Hetherington, and Campy dissenting. There's a motion to change the zoning on the entire parcel to LI. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Well, didn't we just? Yeah. Yes. Commissioner Hetherington was the second for that. All those opposed? Opposed. Opposed. That motion passes 3-1 with Commissioners Hurd and Capps dissenting. 3-2. 3-2. 3-2. 3-2. That's what happens when you pass the gavel. We are going to take a 10-minute break, and we will return with public hearing number one. Thank you, Commissioners. Thank you. All right. We are back taking up public hearing number one, which is a public hearing on the proposed Martin County Trico settlement for Gerald A. Prevatt versus Martin County. Good morning, Commissioners. Heather Dayen, Director of HR Risk, for the record. This is a public hearing regarding the proposed settlement of Gerald Prevatt versus Martin County. The case involves an alleged personal injury resulting from a water meter box lid that dislodged when Mr. Prevatt stepped on it. A personal injury lawsuit was subsequently filed against Martin County. Martin County is self-insured through Trico, and under Trico, settlement procedures adopted by the Board, proposed settlements exceeding $5,000 must be presented at a public hearing before the settlement can be finalized. The settlement has been recommended by Trico and the county's assigned counsel as being in the best interest for the county. Trico fully funds the settlement and is within the reserves previously established for this claim. Thank you. That concludes my presentation. Questions? Commissioner Vargas. Okay. The damages he's seeking are quantity? $50,000. $50,000. And this was investigated and we've been found culpable? Commissioner Campi. Thank you. This is not an item that we will take any action on, but I represent the Board as our representative with the Trico, and I wanted to complement our... Carolyn Breda has handled it for quite a long time in Heather's department. We review every single thing. It is... By the time it even comes to me, it's been very well vetted. We never agree to just whatever it is. We really try to be as fair as possible for both the person that is bringing the case as well as our taxpayers. So when it does come to us, it has been very well vetted, and that number is as legit as it's going to be. We are very careful to make sure there's not a lot of potential fraudulent cases or people that are trying to say that they're more injured than they might be. So the process works very well. Thank you. This is a public hearing. Would anyone from the public like to address us? I don't see any. Moving back to the Board for a recommendation. No, it's just... You just hear it. Excellent. All right, we will move on to a 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 Kroc Enterprises, LLC. Mr. Elam, this is a quasi-judicial public hearing. Commissioner Vargas, any ex parte disclosures? If I have any, that report has been filed. Commissioner Capps? If I have any, they have been filed. If I have any, they've been filed. Commissioner Campy? I don't have any, and that's been filed. And Commissioner Hetherington? I don't have any, and that's been filed. Anyone who's going to be providing sworn testimony, please stand up, raise your right hand, and be sworn in. Do you swear or affirm the evidence you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So I'll help you with that. Mr. Elam, have you provided a copy of your credentials to the clerk? Yes, a copy of the agenda item and my work history have been turned in as Exhibit 1. Excellent. Please proceed. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Commissioners. For the record, Brian Elam, Principal Planner with the Growth Management Department. This is a request by HJA Design Studio on behalf of Kroc Enterprises, LLC, for a proposed amendment to the county zoning atlas to change the zoning district classification on one lot with an approximate area of 0.69 acres from M2 Industrial District to LI Limited Industrial District. The LI zoning district is consistent with the site's current future land use designation of industrial included with this application is a request for a certificate of public facilities exemption. The property is located on the south side of Southeast Monroe Street, approximately 0.13 miles southwest of Southeast Commerce Avenue at 2988 Southeast Monroe Street in Stewart. The site is currently zoned M2 Industrial District, a Category C zoning district consistent with the industrial future land use. The future land use designation of the property on the future land use map of the county's comprehensive growth management plan is industrial. And there are three standard Category A zoning districts available to implement the industrial land use policies of the comprehensive growth management plan, which is LI Limited Industrial District, GI General Industrial District, and HI Heavy Industrial District. Here are the development standards and structure setbacks for the three Category A zoning districts available to implement the comp plan industrial land use policies. The following are facts considered in evaluating the appropriate standard zoning district for this property with an existing M2 zoning. The M2 industrial district zoning is closely related with the Category A GI General Industrial District, requiring a minimum lot area of 30,000 square feet, maximum building coverage of 50 percent, and maximum building height of 40 feet, and permitted uses aligned with general manufacturing plants with intensities greater than light industrial but less intensive than heavy industrial. The subject property is Lot 4, Block 2 of the planted SPS Commercial Center subdivision, created on January 23, 1973. The subject property has a lot area of 30,000 square feet, and the lot dimensions are 300 feet long and 100 feet wide. In reviewing the development standards of the standard Category A zoning districts, one can observe the minimum lot width is 100 feet for LI Limited Industrial District and 125 feet for GI and HI districts. Due to the 100-foot lot width of the property, LI Limited Industrial District is the only Category A standard zoning district available. The Limited Industrial District permits the least intensive industrial uses. The properties to the east and to the west have already been rezoned with LI through a covenant, and the properties to the south, and you can see in the surrounding areas, many have also been rezoned to LI. The applicant is requesting a zoning change to LI Limited Industrial District for the purpose of updating the property's development standards and structure setbacks. This request is consistent with all applicable provisions of the land development regulations, comprehensive growth management plan, and is aligned with the character of the existing land uses in the adjacent and surrounding area. This application was heard before the local planning agency on September 3, 2026. The LPA voted 4 to 0 in favor of staff's recommendation of approval for rezoning. And development review staff have found the Kroc Enterprises LLC application to comply with all applicable regulations. And the comprehensive growth management plan is detailed in the staff report. Staff recommends approval of the rezoning request by Kroc Enterprises from M2 Industrial District to LI Limited Industrial District. We move that the Board receive and file the agenda item and all of its attachments, including the staff report as Exhibit 1. And move that the Board approve the request to rezone the M2 Industrial District to LI Limited industrial district for the Kroc Enterprises LLC project. That concludes my presentation. Questions for Mr. Elam? I don't see any. Mr. Houston, would you like to make a presentation? Good afternoon. Afternoon. Just changed. So I'm Mike Houston. And up until Friday, I was with HGA Design Studio. But I am now with Kim Lee Horn and Associates. Ah. And I'm here to say thank you for all the years you guys have been working with us. Today, Mr. Elam did a very good job, and it's a good staff report. This is really just a great infill piece that James Crocker, who we all know, and is moving on to another enterprise, Kroc Enterprises, among others. Thank you. Yeah. It seems to be going around. It seems to be going around. That's right. So this, as Brian said, allows the redevelopment of a pretty old industrial site into something new. And we're here to answer any questions, and we appreciate your support. Questions for Mr. Houston from Kim Lee Horn. Mr. Campy. Madam Chair, after public comment, I would just make a motion to accept staff's recommendation. Mr. Crocker's been a longtime business owner and employer and taxpayer, and I think a product of Hope Sound. So if we can assist him in his efforts to improve his business, which would improve our community, I'm all about it. Thank you. Would anyone from the public like to address us? Do you see any? So the public hearing portion is closed. Commissioner Capps. Ms. Elder, there's a sentence in the agenda item summary that says a zoning change is necessary to update the property's development standards. Is that the same thing as mandatory rezoning? I don't believe this is a mandatory rezoning. No. No. This is not a mandatory. I see staff dies. Is that you, Mr. Fox? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Sebastian Fox, Senior Assistant County Attorney. Just to point out that the applicant did submit their affidavit of notice at the LPA. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Vargas. Okay. So this is similar to the previous conversation we had a moment ago about this being brought up to date because this is the old zoning district, and this, I think, is one of the few parcels, if not the last parcel, is that correct, to be modified? Pete Walton, Deputy Growth Management Director. The surrounding parcels were developed through a covenant. They weren't actually rezoned, but they were developed under the LI Industrial District. This is not a mandatory rezoning. There's setbacks and things that require the applicant to rezone in order to be able to meet the development guidelines. And those are the same permitted uses that we spoke about 15 minutes ago, correct? I'm looking at the list. Yes. This is less intensive. They're allowed with M2 a more intensive use, but with our current zoning code, they don't have the property width for us to recommend that. Okay. So they have to take a least intensive, a less intensive zoning district. And this is .69 acres? Yes. Very small. This is a relatively old, platted industrial park. It's been there for quite a while. And many of the properties around it, as you pointed out and I did too, have already been rezoned, either through a covenant or through a process like this, through a rezoning. Is there a recommendation? I'll second the motion. Is there a motion? Yes. A motion I'll second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Thank you. And we'll take up Department 1, which is Office of Management and Budget Items, which require board approval. Good afternoon, Ms. Murley. Good afternoon. Stephanie Murley, Director of OMB, here to present eight items on our OMB items today. Our first item is permission to apply for the Spencer Educational Foundation Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Summer Internship Grant for a Risk Management Student Intern. Our Human Resources Department is requesting an application of a grant for $8,000 for a paid internship for students interested in the risk management field. There is no cash match required for this grant. Item number two is a permission to apply for the FY26 Beautification Grant Landscape Construction and Maintenance Memorandum of Agreement with FDOT for Southwest Canter Highway and I-95 Interchange Beautification Project. Our Public Works Department is requesting application of $100,000 for the Southwest Canter Highway project that will include 100% Florida-friendly landscaping plants and Florida native plants and will incorporate smart irrigation technology, such as rain gauges and solar components, that will be tied into the existing irrigation system. There is no grant match required, but the project is a total of $142,716. The additional $42,000 is allocated from the Hog Striping Storage Final Order Site Plan PUD contribution. So there is no cash from the county on this one. I just want to say I'm not going to be supporting this. We're going to be responsible for the maintenance of this project, $35,000 a year. We're going to take $42,000 allocated from the Hog Striping Storage Final Order Site Plan to the project, and I'm not going to be supporting this. Can we remove one item, Madam Chair? We may have to, yeah. I didn't want to do it yet because I may want to vote against several other items also. Sure. Can I ask a question to your point, Madam Chair? What's our alternative? We don't plant these trees. That is an alternative. Yeah. A viable alternative. It's in the FDOT right-of-way. Serious. And then we get all the responsibility for maintenance. No, thanks. And just out of curiosity, where would the Hog Striping Fund, can we put that into general or some other public works? Someplace where it's more appropriate. Someplace where it's more appropriate. Would that go back to general? Jim Gordon, public works director for the record. So the funding that we're speaking of from that site has to be spent in District 4. Okay. So anywhere in District 4. It doesn't have to be this project, but no, District 4. That's terrific. Yep. Steady. We'll find it. That's fine. Now we know the rules. All right. Keep it some cash. All right. Number three, permission to apply for the FY26 Florida Department of Environmental Protection Water Quality Improvement Grant for Martin County's Septic to Sewer Program. Our Utilities and Solid Waste Department is requesting to apply for $800,000 for two phases of the Septic to Sewer Program, which include the backbone infrastructure mains and the installation of grinder stations. The match will require $800,000, which is currently budgeted in the Utilities and Solid Waste Capital Improvement Plan. Can somebody tell me where these are proposed? We have Sam Emerson here. Undisclosed location. Yes. Absolutely. That's correct. Sam Emerson, Utilities and Solid Waste Director. Yes. That's a good question. Historically, we've applied for grants on Septic to Sewer project-specific, and that's not caused complications, but we've been able to utilize the funding more efficiently by actually not identifying a particular project or community. It will be urban service area-wide. So wherever we're doing Septic to Sewer, whether it's a vacuum system that's under construction now or coming up, for example, Port Salerno, or whether it's a grinder sewer, in this case it's particularly grinder, it will be anywhere in the urban service area that we're doing those programs and projects. So it's not project-specific. Primarily west of St. Lucie River and east of 95. This is the problem, is that it creates winners and losers. Well, someone's going to get it. Well, it opens up, in this case, this particular one is two-fold. Historically, DEP has only funded infrastructure, what goes in the public right-of-way, and in this case we've convinced them to reevaluate their program and their funding to allow not only infrastructure, but to allow for some on-site cost to give financial incentive to those who want to connect. So it's two-fold in this case. So it can apply. I think it opens up the opportunity for more people who want to connect, not just on a specific project. And so we currently have 319 grant. We've completed one. We're completing the second one. It's another, I think, a year or a year and a half on that grant. And that gives us $1,000 discount incentive for the private portion to connect. In this case, it's going to allow us up to $2,000 on the private side connection. So it's actually expanded the use of the funds beyond just infrastructure. So we thought that was a proper approach to take going forward. It allows us a lot more flexibility to allow the discount to on-site connections as well. And I've been watching projects pending awards, and it looks to me like Port Salerno, New Monrovia, has been pending an award for septic de sewer for about four months now. What's the delay with that? I think the delay was we had some in redesign. We looked at that again. We were having some issues. On the vacuum sewer programs, they're quite intrusive in the roadway. And some of these roadways we've discovered are so they don't meet current code or design. They were constructed years ago, decades ago. They don't have adequate base rock. And so once we excavate, we lose a lot of the roadway, and we put back temporary patches, asphalt, and then we've got to come in and reconstruct the entire roadway, which has gotten awfully, awfully expensive. And so we redesigned that project to get probably 80 percent of the collection lines on the vacuum system out of the pavement. That's a good idea. Thanks. Please proceed. And as Sam mentioned, number four is the permission to apply for the FY26 FDEP nonpoint source management grant for Martin County, subject to sewer program. The Utilities and Solid Waste Department is requesting $800,000 to help offset connection costs for approximately 400 properties to connect to vacuum or grinder sewer systems. And since the grant helps to reduce on-site connection costs, there's no fiscal impact to the Utilities and Solid Waste budget. Item number five is permission to accept the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD grant, for fiscal year 26-27. Our Human Services Department is requesting acceptance of $193,644 to assist in providing permanent supportive housing rental assistance for individuals with disabilities who have experienced chronic homelessness. And there is no grant match required for this grant. Item number six is a permission to accept the contract between Martin County Transit, or MCT, a Division of Senior Resource Association and Martin County Board of County Commissioners, to provide the 10% local match plus the current approved overmatch to the Transportation Disadvantaged Trip and Equipment Grant, or the T&E grant. This is approximately $29,168 match and the $369,282 match currently budgeted in the MPO's operating budget. Item number seven is a permission to accept the State of Florida's Department of Health Fiscal Year 26-27 Emergency Medical Services, or EMS Trust Fund grant. The EMS Trust Fund was established for the purposes of funding equipment and training to enhance emergency medical services at the local level. It's a formulaic grant based on fees collected in the amount of $25,220. And it helps enhance the delivery of emergency medical services through the purchases of equipment that is not budgeted within the county's budget. There's no county match required for that. And item number eight is a permission to approve a budget resolution for the State of Florida Transportation Disadvantage, or TD Planning Fiscal Year 26-27 grant for MPO. The county's in receipt of $26,975 from the State Transportation Disadvantage funds to fund the Martin MPO. And OMB is just requesting the budget resolution to appropriate those funds. And that's all I have today. Any further questions for Ms. Murley? Commissioners, I would like to separate number two from the rest of the agenda items. I'd make a motion to accept all of the items presented by Ms. Murley except for number two. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Commissioner Capps. Yes. Commissioner Hurd, I was wondering if you could explain your position one more time about number two. Yeah. It's in FDOT right-of-way, which I don't think is the best location for using the funding from the CROC or the hog striping storage final order site plan. How much is that amount? Do you know? It was the $42,000. But is that the whole thing or a portion of it? That's 100% of what we got. Yeah, it's the $42,000. Okay. So we have a development order that requires that we spend $42,000 on planting trees somewhere in District 2. Four. Four. Four. I'm sorry. Four or five. Four or one. And so I think that we can find a more appropriate location. And also this requires that we spend $35,000 a year to maintain it. And that also seems high. Well, does that mean that we're not getting the trees one day, like in another location? I thought you said, I thought your concern was that they were in FDOT right-of-way. And, Jim, I thought you said that we could plant the trees somewhere else. Yeah. Does that resolve the problem? Yeah, we could plant them in a park. We could plant them in a county right-of-way. The reasoning in this location was we get complaints when people come off 95 at that exit. There's a section that DOT maintains at a different level than the county does the rest of the right-of-way. So, at times, you'll end up with high grass in that one section. Similar to what you get in your district commissioner caps down in Hope Sound, there's a section of US-1 that's maintained by DOT at a much less frequent maintenance schedule than what the county does. So, you've got differing maintenance schedules that make it not look great. But, absolutely, we can spend this money in District 4 anywhere, and it doesn't have to be this project. It can be anywhere else, and we'll get with that. So, we're not throwing away money here. I mean, like, we're still going to get the money if we go with your plan? We already have the money. All right. We already have the money. Oh, okay. We're just going to plant the tree somewhere else. Yep. Where they're taken care of. Yep. Looks attractive. Is there a motion? Okay. We have stricken two from this packet. Yeah. So, now we need to discuss whether we're going to approve two. So, we're not going to approve two. We're going to re- Depends upon if three people want to. So, we want to decline approving item number two and move that those funds that were generated from the development order of Kroc Technologies revert to District 4. We spent someplace else in District 4. Okay. Is that a motion? Is that a motion? Yes. Okay. I second. Oh, you second. Okay. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. Now, we'll take up Department 2, which is contracts that meet threshold for board approval of $10,000,000 or greater. Ms. Brotherton. Hey. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Christy Brotherton, Chief Procurement Officer. I just have one agreement for your consideration today, which is for yard trash processing, transport, and management. And this contract has a maximum not to exceed value of $25,500,000 with a maximum not to exceed term of nine years. And staff is recommending that the board award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, which is Southeast Mowing. Move that the board authorize an initial five-year contract term beginning October 1, 2026, with four optional one-year renewal terms upon mutual consent of the parties for a maximum potential contract term of nine years. And move that the board authorize the county administrator or designee to execute all documents related to this request. And that concludes this item. Questions? This is... And we're only selecting one, right? Correct. Of these? So, the numbers are the span of the bid. We vetted them and they meet all of our requirements? Yes. A little better? Yeah. So, purchasing and legal, they do the initial review for responsiveness and responsibility, and then those bids are sent to the department. They conduct a secondary review, looking at the qualifications and that they meet the specifications. This contractor is new to us, but they were recently awarded a contract with the City of Stewart for similar, and they also have a contract with Volusia County. So, they've been doing this type of work elsewhere. Okay. Mr. Vargas. So, what are we paying per year to this contractor? It's 25 million total is what I see here, nine years. Is that correct? So, that's the not to exceed. So, that's the cap of the contract. Okay. So, it's based on the amount of tonnage, Sam, I believe? Can you help me out here as to how much we're paying them? I don't have the tonnage, excuse me, Sam Amerson, for the record. I don't have the tonnage that's with me, but that's based on, that nine-year period is based on our annual average tonnage. Right. So, if they have fewer tonnage, or less amount of tonnage, shall I say, in a given year, and then a little more in the next year, who's regulating that? We regulate that. It's based on the tonnages that they process. Like a clock or something? So, the material, the vegetation comes into the landfill, to the transfer station over the scales, it's weighed in, and it's processed, it's hauled off-site. It's not processed on-site. It's just pushed up, loaded, and hauled to another off-site for processing, for grinding, burning, making char, what have you. We get credits for recycling credits with the DEP for that, but they're paid on the outbound tonnage. So, that material comes in. It doesn't sit very long, because we have a small site. It's about 1.5 acres, and so they've got to process it daily, or it will overwhelm the site. But they're paid. So, for example, knock on wood, we didn't experience a hurricane this year to date. In past years where we've had hurricanes, we get a pretty good haircut, so to speak. We employ debris contractors. Following that hurricane, vegetation is thinned way back, and we'll see a drop in vegetation coming into our site for several years, and then it slowly creeps back up. Okay. So there are years that we will have less tonnage than we have currently and have done the last few years, but that's typically as a result of a hurricane where we would experience that reset, if you will. Okay. But in the normal course of business, what would that be in a given year? No hurricane, no tornado, nothing like that. In your experience, both of you? I just don't have that tonnage with me. I don't have the annual tonnage. Oh, he does. Okay. Come on up, Wade. I'll introduce Wade Barfield. He's your Solid Waste Manager. Good morning, Commissioners. Hello. Good afternoon. So we roughly do 90,000 tons a year, so we are going to average around 1.6, 1.8 million a year. That's what I was calculating in my mind, but I just wanted to be sure I was correct. Yes, ma'am. Okay. So that's about it? That's about it. The normal course of business? Correct. I understand about a storm. Correct. If we do get a hurricane, we could see closer to 100,000 tons for the year. So, Commissioners, you would approve in their budget, they'll have a waste processing or, you know, within their operations budget. If they were to exceed that, you would see an OMB item to amend that. If it was necessary, the other backstop is the actual contract itself, which they monitor, and if they exceed the amount in the contract, the contract either extends or requires a modification if it's allowed. So in terms of this contract, that's kind of the basic outline of what the contractor can perform over the course of this. Each annual budget also has a specific amount that the staff has estimated that has brought before you and is approved, you know, through the budget process. Beginning October 1st, they'll have a new year. If, for some reason, even though the contract allows more than that 90,000 tons in a given year, if that 90, if they only estimated 90,000 in the preparation in their budget and they actually are going to do, let's say, 110,000 cubic yards, some point at the middle two-thirds of the year, they would come before you and ask for a budget amendment. And, of course, the revenues that we're collecting on the solid waste side would still have the funds to pay for it, but all of that goes into account. So I'm just saying that this contract just doesn't simply allow staff to do what they want. They still have to follow the budgets that you approve, and ultimately the contract is limited based upon time and dollar amount. And both of those others are backstops ultimately approved. So that's a multilevel process, if you will, on how contracting and payments are performed. And if I could just add, the not-to-exceed value on these continuing services agreements, that's the contract cap which would trigger when we would need to rebid. So we either will reach the maximum term with the renewals, or if we're going through a situation where we're spending a lot more and we're getting to that not-to-exceed value much quicker than that potential nine years, that just triggers purchasing and the department to reissue a new solicitation. So it's a little bit different than the actual yearly budget, as Don was mentioning. So when you see that not-to-exceed cap, that's just for the actual contract itself. We can't go above that. You're an enterprise, aren't you? Yes, this is. Absolutely. Mr. Capps. I just wanted to learn a little bit more about the processes for yard waste. So it's picked up in people's yards by waste management, right? Correct. And then they take it over to the landfill. Correct. And run it through the weight process, you know, the scales. And they drop it off in a building there, and it gets picked up by these people and taken somewhere. Correct. So once it's brought to our transfer station, it is dumped out onto there. They've got 1.4 acres. It's just an empty lot. They stage it, load it onto their own tractor trailers, haul it off-site to their own processing facility, where they'll mulch it, burn it, windrow it, however they could use a beneficial reuse. So they're responsible for the disposal of everything, you know? Correct. And they have their places, I take it? Okay, thanks. That would have to be reported back to us, because we do get the recycling credit for that through DEP. Right. You mentioned that. Cool. Commissioner Hetherington. On to Commissioner Kapp's point, so the 1869 per ton is the haul away from after it goes to the transfer station once it's hauled away. Correct. That's what they're getting paid on the outbound tonnage that they haul out. And that also goes across the scale. Correct. Hopefully they let it dry out for some time. So we're hauling, you know, dry debris, or they don't have a water hose at this rate, soaking the debris. Thank you, Wade. Well, if I could quick make a comment. That's a good point, because the previous contract we had a number of years ago, when I came on board in 2018, the vendor was getting processed for tonnage inbound. They would actually – they had a larger area than we have today. That vendor would actually let it sit for weeks and weeks, and it would dry out. And so they're hauling out maybe 8 to 10 percent less tonnage. They're not hauling water. But they've gotten paid for a higher tonnage on the inbound. So we've corrected that with the current contract. That's good. And those old people drove around without a tarp on it. So by the time they showed up where they were, the trailer was empty. Thank you. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Thank you. We have reached the end of this agenda. We will come back at 5 o'clock or 5.05 in order to continue our agenda item with the adoption of the 2026-27 budget. Okay. You're on. Good afternoon, and welcome to our Board of County Commission meeting. It is September 15th, and we are about to embark on our fiscal year 2027 tentative budget public hearing, adoption hearing. Ms. Murley, please proceed. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Tonight, we are here for the first public hearing on Martin County's fiscal year 2027 tentative budget. This hearing is part of the state-required truth and millage, or TRIM, process and provides the Board and the public an additional opportunity to consider the proposed budget and millage rates before tentative adoption. I'll begin with a brief overview of the process that brought us to this point, followed by the proposed millage rates, the rollback rates, and the primary factors affecting the FY27 budget. This slide provides an overview of the truth and millage process, which establishes the statutory timeline for adopting the county's budget and millage rates. The process begins with the property appraiser's certification of taxable values on July 1st. Also on July 1st, the proposed FY27 budget was made available to the Board and the public for review. This was followed by the July 13th budget workshop, where the Board conducted a more detailed review of the proposed budget and millage rates through presentations from the constitutional officers and county departments. The millage rates approved by the Board at the budget workshop were then advertised through the TRIM notices mailed to property owners by the property appraiser's office. Tonight, we are at the first public hearing stage of that process, where the Board will consider the tentative millage rates in budget. Following tonight's action, the county will advertise and hold a second public hearing for final adoption. So, as I mentioned, tonight is the first of two required public hearings for the FY27 budget. The budget before you was developed to maintain current levels of service while funding the request of the constitutional officers, state agencies, and all other obligations required by the county. The process began with the 10-year capital improvement plan, discussed on April 21st, which identified current and future capital projects. On July 13th, the Board held its budget workshop and reviewed the cumulative budget, including the capital improvement plan, constitutional officer and state agency budgets, and departmental operating budgets. Departments also discussed the programs and services funded by the budget and the cost trends driving their requests. Based on the direction provided at the workshop, the proposed millage rates were established and advertised through the trim notices received by the property owners in their mailboxes. Tonight, Florida law requires the Board to formally adopt the tentative millage rates and tentative budget through separate resolutions for each taxing authority and its corresponding budget. As part of this hearing, we will also discuss the proposed millage rates in relation to the rolled back rates and the purposes for the associated increase in ad valorem revenues. So the rolled back rate is the millage rate that would generate approximately the same property tax revenue as the prior year, excluding the impact of new construction and additions. As part of tonight's public hearing, the Board has the opportunity to consider adopting the rolled back rate rather than the proposed millage rates. Because the FY27 budget was developed based on maintaining current levels of service, consideration of the rollback rate would also require the Board to collectively identify and provide direction on the programs, projects or services that would be reduced within each respective taxing authority to adjust expenditures with lower revenue level. Under Florida's trim guidelines, the countywide taxing authority has a maximum millage cap of 10 mils, with a separate 10 mil cumulative cap for the MSTUs. The FY27 tentative millage rates shown here and as tentatively set at the budget workshop are within the maximum rates permitted under Florida law. This slide shows the rollback rate and the FY27 tentative millage rate for each of the county's taxing authorities. The tentative millage rates shown here are the rates that were presented and tentatively approved as part of the July 13 budget workshop, which provided the Board with a comprehensive review of all aspects of the county budget, included funded programs and services, capital needs and the factors driving costs. With the budget currently structured to support the service levels presented during the workshop, adopting a rollback rate would require corresponding reductions within each taxing authority. The Board would need to collectively provide direction on those programs, projects or services that should be reduced or adjusted to bring the budget in line with the lower revenue level. For tonight's formal action, each proposed millage rate, its corresponding rollback rate and the percentage increase or decrease over the rollback rate will be stated individually as each resolution is considered for adoption. The increase in ad valorem revenue primarily supported maintaining current levels of service for residents while meeting the county's statutory, contractual and operational responsibilities. The largest portion funds our constitutional officers and required state and judicial agencies. Additional funding addresses increases in retirement contributions established by the state, employee health insurance, contractual services, capital infrastructure, community redevelopment agency obligations, and financial reserves. The budget also includes funding for two additional board positions that support cybersecurity and public record services. Overall, the county's millage rate did not change for countywide or for the unincorporated Martin County with a total combined millage rate change of 0%. The following is a summary highlighting the changes from FY26 to FY27. The county's taxable base increased overall by 6.38%. Approximately half of the entire budget increase was ad valorem related. The greatest drivers for the other half of the budget increase are mostly non-ad valorem, specifically increases in charges for services and fund balance related to the county's utilities enterprise for projects detailed and identified within the capital improvement plan. This budget includes two additional positions for the board of county commissioners and 6.9 positions cumulatively for the constitutional officers, with six of those for the sheriff. Finally, the total millage rate reflects no change from 9.9185. So, as part of the hearing requirement, the board must adopt the resolutions for tentative budget adoptions. The resolutions are not required to be read in full, but must state the taxing authority, the rollback rate, the percentage increase or decrease over rollback rate, and the millage to be levied for FY27. And at this time, the board must also call for public comment to comply with our public hearing requirements. Okay. Questions for Ms. Murley. And we will move right to public comment. Okay. More of a comment. Ms. Murley, on the total budget dollars, if you could go back to that slide, please. That one. Budget total. Yes. FY26, FY27 looks dramatically different. I asked Mr. Donaldson about that. Can you explain why, or Mr. Donaldson can explain why, that number is as large as it looks? Sure. As Ms. Murley pointed out, a big portion of that is on the non-advolume side is our utilities. We've got more customers. Our septic to sewer program is successful. We also have some large capital projects planned for next year, an upgrade to our water plant, and some other major improvements that are expensive. So that's in there. Also, you had some fund balance, which includes things like your sales tax for land acquisition and other areas that's a part of that, and then reserves. And then the other bulk of it really had to do with a big portion of our Avalon piece of it. Over half of it was on our constitutional officers and their proposed requirements to maintain the existing level of service. So they have some significant contractual obligations. And then finally you had scattering in the county's budget where we also had some obligations, much like everybody else. Insurance is a big driver for us this year as well as other fuel and electricity and other costs that you see throughout the department. The only increases that we requested, one was cybersecurity, which was, as we've seen, more and more threats to our computer systems that we felt was necessary. And the other is due to our state requirement for sunshine and public records, the amount of demands that we all petitioned. We see that that's just simply an obligation we have, an unfunded mandate, if you will, to provide those documents in a timely manner. To keep up, we needed that additional position, which was actually converting a contracted position to do so. So those are kind of the bulk of it. We can also go into more details, but the biggest chunk of it was really capital projects in our non-avalorum related programs. Thank you. What I was hoping for was the half a cent sales tax brings in how much money? Twenty million dollars. Twenty million. Twenty million. So, twenty million is voted by the public to bring that money in for conservation land. So, twenty million of that increase is from the half a cent sales tax. And then, when Mr. Donaldson mentions utility programs, if we're really working hard on converting people from their septic systems to their sewer systems, in Port Salerno, New Monrovia, we're doing it in Old Palm City. Those projects are multi-million dollar projects that, through the utility department, folks will sign up to be part of it. In Palm City, I think, along Map Road corridor, we're talking about like 1,200 homes will convert. Money is borrowed or put into the program to purchase them, and then people over 10, 15, 20 years will pay it back. So, twenty million for the conservation land and multi-millions for septic to sewer conversions is the big lion's share of that increase. Because when I saw that increase, I called him and I'm like, what are you talking about? How are we going to do this? And a majority of those two categories eat up a majority of that increase. Thank you. As well as those other things that he mentioned. Okay. We'll take up public comment. Mr. Donaldson, would you like to? Yes. I'll reiterate, as you're coming up, just remember that we are still in an election season and politicking is prohibited, which is defined as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for public office, either partisan or nonpartisan. This includes the use of words, dates, signs, props, and or wearing apparel that convey a message or support for a person or group of persons. You will have three minutes. The remaining 15 seconds, you'll hear a buzzer, but you'll have 15 seconds to wrap up once you hear the buzzer. Thank you. Thank you. Our first request to speak form is from Ethan Pence, followed by Linda Russell. Please come up to the podium and you'll have three minutes each to address us. Ethan Pence is not here? He's not here. Okay. He looks pretty confident. Hey, Ethan. Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the board. Hi. My name is Ethan Pence. I am nine years old and vice president of the Junior Master Gardeners of Stuart 4-H Club. I will now say the 4-H pledge. I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world. Thank you, Ethan. Thank you. Linda Russell is next, followed by Kayla Glancy. I think we should just leave it at that. Mission accomplished. My name is Linda Russell. I live in Port Salerno. I'd like to highlight some of the programs that your funding helps IFAS provide for our community. We do the demonstration garden, which provides examples of Florida-friendly plants, helping visitors learn how to create sustainable, resilient landscapes at their home. The Master Gardener demonstration garden includes Florida-friendly plants, native garden, and a butterfly and pollinator garden. The Master Gardener Help Desk provides research-based guidance to residents by diagnosing plant problems, answering garden questions, identifying insects and plants, and offering practical solutions for Florida landscapes. They also provide free soil pH testing. Our Florida-friendly landscaping program is a science-based approach to creating attractive, low-maintenance yards that conserve water, protect natural resources, and support Florida's unique environment. Master Gardeners provide free yard consultation to help make your yard more Florida-friendly. We also have the Florida Arbor Day. This event includes educational tables, lectures, and a free native tree to participants. We have the Master Gardener Shade House that provides Florida-friendly plants that are propagated by our Master Gardeners. Our monthly plant sales provide funding for school grants and college scholarships. The Sustainable Agricultural and Green Industries program focuses on supporting professionals by providing best practice classes such as mangrove for healthy shoreline, landscape fertilization, and landscape for wildlife. We offer continuing education classes for professionals. Florida Sea Grant. The Sea Grant program educates the public about our coastal resources, water quality, shoreline planting, and agriculture. It supports coastal communities by research, education, and outreach that protect Florida's marine resources. We offer college scholarships available to those with careers related to horticulture. Martin County Master Gardeners give thousands of dollars each year to seniors enrolled in Martin County High Schools. We have the school garden. We offer 250 annual grants per school to help create hands-on learning spaces where students can learn how to grow and care for plants. At Home Depot, we set up an information table in the Outdoor Garden Center at the Home Depot once a month. The Master Gardeners provide and support the information to their indoor and outdoor gardening questions. Lastly, community gardens transform unutilized space within the community through education. Ma'am, your time is up. Okay. Thank you. Kayla Glancy is next, followed by Steve Williams. Hi, my name is Kayla Glancy, and tonight I'd like to share my experience with 4-H and how important it is to me. I've been a member of Martin County 4-H for the past six years. Throughout those six years, I've learned a lot of things. I've learned how to present myself, how to take initiative, how to speak in front of people, and how to understand and work with those around me. I've gained so much through 4-H. Even just last month, I was here to share a project recognized for outstanding work. I wouldn't have had that opportunity if I hadn't had 4-H. I should say this, too. 4-H doesn't stop. You don't ever hit a limit on the things you can do or learn. That's part of what makes it so special. Personally speaking, I've spent years showing rabbits at the fair. I've gotten good at it and been able to help others get good at it, too. But it doesn't just stop there. Now I've been given the opportunity to show goats and learn a whole new set of skills. And that's true on the leadership side of things, as well. I've held executive board positions for my club, participated in leadership in the county. But again, it doesn't stop. This year, I was accepted to a state executive board position. I couldn't have done nearly half of this without 4-H. But this goes beyond me, too. I've had my chance to grow and be shaped as a person by this program. But there are still others that haven't. I have a younger cousin who's turning five next year. He'll be old enough to start 4-H if that's what he wants. I want him to be able to grow up with the program the way I did, to be supported the way I was. But if there isn't enough funding for 4-H, that won't happen. And what are the kids that are just starting, that are just finding out everything 4-H has? Do we really want to take away the full scope of those opportunities and let it crumble away just as they begin to reach out? Let's talk a little bit about humanity, too, while we're at it. 4-H has a lot to do with animals, how to care for them, how to raise them, how to show them. Through this, you learn how to think past what you want and keep going. Because the animals don't care if you're sick, if you're tired, if you've had a bad day. They still need their food. I dare say that this is a skill that has become less and less prominent with each new generation. So how can we take away a program that doesn't just teach kids what to do, but teaches them how to do it? I guess what I'm really trying to say is that it isn't just about what happens now, is it? How this will affect everyone's lives in the next year or two. It's about how we'll end up looking down the line. How many children's lives, people's lives really, could be changed? How many people that could be great, could change the world, become just another tick in the machine, because we make one small decision, change one little thing. Maybe this doesn't look big from an outside standpoint, but it means the world and beyond to us. The 4-H's stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. And I hope that I, as well as other current and future members, will continue to be able to develop each of these skill sets and make the best better. Thank you for your time. Have a nice day. Thank you. Well done. Steve Williams is next, followed by Vincent Encomio. Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Steve Williams. I prepared something. I'm just going to read it, and I've got a copy coming to you. I want to raise a budget issue involving the Martin County tax collector. Not because the tax collector is doing anything wrong, but because I believe the budgeting process could be more accurate in recognizing a significant, reoccurring source of revenue. The tentative budget includes $12.2 million for the tax collector's office. The budget explains that the funds from the commission and the tax collector is funded through commissions and fees, and that commissions earned in excess the approved budget are distributed back to the various taxing authorities. More importantly, Martin County has a very consistent history of receiving millions of dollars back. According to this budget document, the one posted on the website, the county in 2022 received $4.8 million. In 2023, $5.7 million. In 2024, $6.7 million. $7.3 million in 2025. And it's estimated that this year we're looking at $6.3 million. This is not an occasional windfall. Yet while current budget recognizes the $12.2 million expenses, I can't find any identifying correspondence where it estimates the millions of dollars that the tax collector fees historically gives back to the county. If we know from years of experience the millions of dollars are likely to come back, why aren't we estimating that revenue when we build our budget? Therefore, I ask the commission to direct the staff to determine whether anticipated tax collector excess fees should be explicitly estimated and shown as revenue in the current budget. Thank you. Thank you. Vincent Encomio is next, followed by Richard Geisinger. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Dear commissioners, my name is Kai Encomio. I'm a 13-year-old member of the Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club. This is my sixth year participating in 4-H. Last year, I was given citrus sugar bell trees through the 4-H program. Over the course of a year, I raised them from little plants to trees ready to bear fruit. In this time, I learned about how UF IFAS created sugar bell trees to be resistant against the destructive, greening, and canker citrus diseases. At the annual Agensa Beach Garden Club Expo, I've been able to sell these trees through 4-H and save the money for other personal projects as well as college. Over the past several years, I've learned how to raise chicks and fully adult chickens capable of laying eggs. I've also been able to apply that knowledge, which I've gained through 4-H, to raising quail. I currently help mentor my peers with skills that I've learned through plant sales, outreach with other clubs, regular club meetings with IFAS experts, and fundraisers. 4-H has helped so many in our community to grow. I've seen many people change through 4-H just by attending club meetings, not to mention the skills that they gained through 4-H. I've seen so many people who've never even touched a plant be able to grow into someone who knows more about Florida's own native plants than many adults. 4-H is a vital part of so many people's lives. I would like to invite you to attend one of our meetings and or plant sales to understand the impact that 4-H has on this community. Only then can you see how much impact 4-H has on the youth, the future of Florida. Please do not defund the UF-IFAS Extension Program and all the valuable education that is provided by the University of Florida in our community and support our local 4-H youth. Thank you for your time, consideration, and continued support of local 4-H programs and youth in agriculture. I hope to see you at the next fundraiser. Sincerely, kind Comeo, local Martin County 4-H member. Richard Geisinger is next, followed by Darlene Van Riper. Afternoon. Commissioners, good evening, and thank you for allowing us to do this. My name is Richard Geisinger, by the way. This budgetary process reminds me a lot of the 2006-2007 budget meetings that I attended way back then. At that time, real estate values were skyrocketing, providing additional income for the county. And instead of pulling back on expenditures, the county found additional areas to spend that newly founded income. We all know what happened in 2008-2009. Values plummeted and the county was desperate to make ends meet due to the increased spending. Today, we have somewhat of a different situation. Although the real estate values have shot up once again, providing the county with additional revenue, the total cost for many residents has forced some to sell their homes or cut back on the necessities of life. The average cost of property insurance in Florida continues to be the most expensive in the United States, as you probably know. This, coupled with the cost of living, an average American household now spends thousands of dollars more for the same goods and services compared to recent years, according to the Moody Analytics. These two expenses alone are equivalent to a sizable tax increase. These increased costs have forced some homeowners to drop the wind coverage on their homes just to be able to live within their budget. This, of course, is not risk-tolerant, and it is only possible if you have no mortgage on your house. According to the county's budgetary information, the county has increased its budget approximately 44 percent over the past five years. These increases have occurred when the population has grown only 1 percent per year, or 5 percent for the same five-year period. As stated before, this disparity between population growth and county spending is not sustainable. If this continues, the county will become a county just for the elite, those that can afford whatever increases are implemented. Let's look at a comparable county such as Indian River County. This is a county that is very similar to ours in geography, population, miles of oceanfront, and river frontage. Indian River County has a population of 174,000, which is 4 percent greater than Martin County. It has four more miles of oceanfront than Martin County and shares an inlet with Brevard. Indian River County's proposed 2027 budget is 614,800,000. Our budget is 804,629,000. That's a 30 percent difference. Possibly we should look at their operations and find out why we are paying so much more for ours. In closing, I respectfully request the county reconsider their budget proposal. Many residents have had to make tough choices in the past few years, and I hope you will be responsible and make equally tough choices. Please vote for the rollback rate. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Darlene Van Riper is next, followed by Josh Mills. I am Darlene Van Riper, the Executive Director of the Martin County Taxpayers Association. Your 75-year-old taxpayer watchdog organization. It is true that some of the county are affluent, but many are not. And we are all feeling the regressive, unrelenting consequences of inflation. Spending as though we have limitless resources is no longer an option. Instead of taking the view that you need to grasp whatever you can before the shoe drops, will not impress voters. It will simply look feckless, greedy, and disconnected. A better path would be to walk this walk with your constituents, and in fact, lead by example. The Martin County Taxpayers Association recommends that you take another look at projects such as the Beach Cafe in Jensen Beach to see where you can reduce spending. The county does not need another luxury amenity at this time. An efficiency study of the Fire Rescue Department, whose budget has grown so much, 38%, 38.6% over the last five years, would be advisable. You could get rid of the list of nonprofits that you give our tax dollars to and the CRA reinvestment plan, which is not merit-based. But taxpayers should not be tasked with determining where budget cuts are to be made. No one knows better than your staff and you, and you should welcome their recommendations for non-punitive constraints. The recent presentations made by taxpayer-paid employees and taxpayer-paid elected officials border on hysteria and are not short of threatening. Hand-wringing predictions of imminent disaster do not project mature or sincere leadership. You have done your best to preserve Martin County while making it appealing, but you have simultaneously restricted your tax base so that the homeowners bear the burden disproportionately. Your chickens have come home to roost. Now it is time for constraint. Acting now to meaningfully reduce spending will involve fewer and less severe trade-offs for the county than future delay. Adopting the roll-back rate will show the voters that you understand and take seriously their plight now and that you are not waiting to see what you may be forced to do in the future. Thank you. Thank you. Josh Mills is next, followed by Jonathan Perry. Josh, my head chair, sorry about that. Board, staff, great to see everyone. I'm here to speak on behalf of Extension. As some of you know, I spent many years occupying these halls as a staff member, utilized Extension quite a bit for trainings like the Living Shoreline for Marine Contractors, best management practices for green industries. We have water ambassador and also participated in wonderful fundraising events like the peanut butter jar donation, which is a statewide thing all extensions do to see which county can have the most donations. And it's fun things like that. They are just a tremendous asset to the community. And even outside of that, in my current role where I'm at, we have a million-dollar state-funded project for innovative technologies for harmful algae bloom reduction. I worked throughout the state, could have picked any county, but because of our project team with the local Sea Grant agent from Martin County, we are doing that project here in Martin County. And I invite all of you on November 19th, we will be presenting that project at Conkey Joe's as part of the Jensen Beach Chamber of Commerce. So if you want to learn what your local Extension Sea Grant agent is doing and what that project will be about and how that will help Martin County in their role, I hope you guys all come out. And don't envy the votes you have to make. Never did. I don't know if I will. So best of luck and please keep Extension. Thank you. Jonathan Perry is next, followed by Olivia Lockwood. Good afternoon. Timer. Madam Chair, Board of Commissioners, staff, administrators, thank you for all that you do. Good evening. I listened in on much of this morning's meeting, and I can now confidently say I don't want any of your jobs. I'm here to thank the Commissioners today for their ongoing support of our UF-IFAS Land and Grant Extension Program and all sub-programs that fall under its umbrella, including the 4-H Youth Program. I'm a South Florida native, son of a now-retired landscape professional who ran a small business for 52 years. Throughout my father's career, he relied on extension services for education, certification, and testing that were vital to his success. I've now begun my own path into horticulture as a landscape professional, with a focus on Florida-friendly and native design, and the Martin County Extension Office has been an invaluable resource for me. Through our local Extension, I have received multiple professional certifications already, some that are prerequisites for state licensing, including FDACs, which is the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and some that will enable me to expand offerings in my future business, like mangrove trimming. Through their free library series, I have learned how to compost at home, to reduce our landfills, how to plant for our native wildlife, how to protect our coastal waterways and ecosystems for future generations. They've been my one-stop hub of information for me to connect with other professionals, and I even found employment through this office where I struggled before on my own, through networking. Educating our commercial landscapers in Martin County will not only beautify our properties, but it protects our water and wildlife, saves us all money, and it creates jobs. One major part of Extension is the Master Gardener Volunteer Program. Earlier this year, the Master Gardeners were recognized for their contributions for this very commission. Thousands of hours are donated each year to our community through these wonderful volunteers, which virtually converts to hundreds of thousands of dollars in value. I've used their help desk to test my soil pH for free as a resident, and they've even helped me identify plants for my clients professionally. They really are all such lovely people to interact with. I also understand they have worked with members of this very commission on their homes. Finally, I would like to mention the 4-H program. 4-H is the largest youth development program in the United States that helps millions of young people learn leadership, STEM, agriculture, and life skills through hands-on projects. This past Saturday, if you went to the Master Gardener plant sale, which, by the way, helps to fund scholarships for 4-H, you would have seen and smelled the 4-H kids weighing in their cattle for the upcoming fair. Now, I'll be honest, I don't know too much about all that, and we certainly didn't raise cattle when I was in the Boy Scouts. Shout out. But I do know that programs like this helps give our young people a path to success in life, as well as a meaningful way to grow their interests, interact positively with their peers, and build social skills they will use as adults. Now, I know funding is not unlimited, but I'm urging you to please consider how valuable all of this is to our community with the upcoming budget, and make a meaningful effort to not cut any funding to our Extension Office or any of the programs that fall under it. Thank you all for your service to our community. God bless you all, and God bless America. Thank you. Olivia Lockwood is next, followed by Jason Bultman. Good afternoon. Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Olivia Lockwood, and I am 12 years old. I'm here tonight because I want to talk about something that is very important to me, 4-H. To me, 4-H is much more than showing animals, doing projects, or wearing a green clover. 4-H has taught me responsibility, commitment, leadership, and how to work even hard when something isn't easy. When you raise an animal for 4-H, you learn that someone is depending on you every single day. You have to feed them, care for them, clean up for them, and make sure they are healthy. You learn responsibility doesn't stop when you're tired or because it's raining. But lessons go far beyond animals. 4-H teaches kids to speak in front of people, how to work together, how to handle losing, how to be proud when we succeed, and how to shake someone's hand and congratulate them even when we want to win. It gives us a place to belong. It gives us adults who believe in us, teach us that we will carry on for the rest of our lives. And most importantly, 4-H gives young people a chance to become leaders before we're even old enough to drive, vote, or have a career. We may be kids today, but we are the features of this community. One day, the kids sitting in 4-H meetings today will be the people running businesses, serving on boards, teaching in schools, working on farms, serving our community, and maybe even sitting here in these seats as commissioners. What we learn today will help us shape the community we live in tomorrow. That is why supporting 4-H is so important. When you support 4-H, you aren't just supporting a club or an event. You are investing in kids. You are investing in families. You are investing in the future of our community. I hope that you will continue to recognize the value of 4-H and make sure that kids like me have the same opportunity to learn, grow, lead, and succeed. Because we are not just kids today. We are the leaders, workers, farmers, parents, and community members of tomorrow. When you invest in 4-H, you are investing in our future. Thank you so much for listening to me tonight, and thank you for supporting the youth in our community. Thanks, Olivia. Jason Bultman is next, followed by Lucas Jones. Good luck. Hi, everyone. Hi, commissioners. Thanks for your attention. I want to speak on behalf of the UF-IFAS extension and its value to our community. Very heartwarming to hear everyone speak on behalf, so I hope you appreciate all the programs. Huge resource for the community. Quality of life that I would hate to see reduce any funding. If anything, I would urge an increase in projects. My personal involvement has been through the Sea Grant where we're monitoring the seagrass that has been lost. So I think everybody in this room is aware how we've lost our seagrass over the recent years and a large portion of the manatee population. But a lot of the community isn't aware of that based on my own personal surveys. So I think a large part of the extension office is to educate. And it's also a huge resource in the scientific community as we're trying to improve our water quality. We have resources available that are basically networking with the rest of the scientists in the state. And that is a huge value to us if we're going to improve our water quality to maintain this UF-IFAS extension office and its value to our community and to our water quality. So thank you. Thank you. Lucas Jones is next followed by James Jones. Lucas. Dear. Dear. Committee. County. County. Committee. Commissioners. Commissioners. My name is Lucas. I am five years old. I am a junior master gardener. I also want to join the horse club. If the 4-H is gone, what will I do? My mom, my mom doesn't give me one screen time. Watch what? Screen time. That's right. Please keep the 4-H. Thank you. Thank you. James Jones is next followed by Amia Cecilia Jones. Okay. Hey, James. Dear County, Dear County Commissioners. My name is James Junior. I am 10 years old. I am here today to see how much 4-H means to me. I moved to Stuart last year. 4-H is where I met my first friends, Sam and Kai. 4-H is where I shot my first rifle and got my first chicks. It is through 4-H that I first experienced my first overnight camp. I would like to have many more first times with 4-H. I ask that when you vote, you remember me. I ask that when you vote, you consider my generation. I ask that when you vote, you remember my 4-H leaders, Mr. David and Mrs. Darling. We are 4-H and we need your vote. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Amia Cecilia Jones. Hi there. Can you pull down? Yeah. County Commissioners. I am Amia Cecilia. I am almost 8 years old. My birthday is this Saturday. Thank you. I am a junior master gardener. I am on the art committee. I like to make boot case. After my birthday, I will be old enough to join the equine club. My mom says it is possible that 4-H may go away. I would like to tell you why it should stay. Number one, we are raising money for our end of the year trip. We have raised a little over $300 so far. Number two, 4-H gives us purpose here is our pledge. I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world. Number three, our motto is to make the best better. We all know that the opposite of better is worse. What is more worse than having to hang out with my brothers? Even more because I don't have any more 4-H meetings. I can't think of anything. Please don't make this a reality. I am Amelia Cecilia. I am a part of the future generation. I am a part of 4-H. Thank you. Thank you. Gary Erler is next, followed by Susan O'Rourke. All right, Gary. Let's see if you can be as cute as that. Not a chance. Not a chance. I was hoping she took a little longer. I'd revert my three minutes to her. Tell them what you do for a living. I'm an ice cream man. Yeah. Don't start the clock yet. Now start the clock. Now we can start the clock. Good afternoon, commissioners. Evening. My name is Gary Erler. I'm a resident of Martin County, Port Salerno, District 4. Last time we were here, I think when the budget was first presented before the workshops, I had said, and I believe it was $41.8 million, an increase in revenues over last year. Rollback rates, we're sitting flat. We got an extra $41.8 million. We can take care of all the people in this room. There's no way anything can be cut. Listen to these people. That's what you got to do. Thank you. Thank you. Susan O'Rourke is next, followed by John Dial. Thank you, Chair Hurd and other commissioners. I'm Susan O'Rourke. I did want to point out I support the board and definitely support the nonprofits. I think for every dollar we spend with a nonprofit, we save quite a bit of money within our community. And it's not something that I would like to see you tamper with. However, I do have concern that we've had budget creep and that there never seems to be things that can be tightened. And I was going to, you know, I was looking at the same numbers that Mr. Geisinger was looking at, the 44% increase versus the 3.6% increase in population. We've got a 5% increase in employment over the same period of time. So, you know, it just seems to me that as we move forward, and I don't have a list of suggestions and I wouldn't do that. I trust that you guys have looked at the budget, but moving forward I have concern that we need to show a little restraint and perhaps, you know, looking at shared positions across departments. Some of the departments have, I think in the Human Services Department, we have a few shared people, but the rest we do not. So that may be somewhere we can look at things moving forward, but it's a trend we don't want to continue. And so that would be my comments. And I was looking at the 9.9185 does not include the additional district MSTUs, which brings that number up a little bit for each district. And, you know, maybe there's a bone to throw and give up the district funds. But I think it would be nice to see, as we move through the process, some deference to tightening the belt. I met today with an organization called Better Together, and one of the women who was volunteering is foregoing some very basic things that I would never think about having to turn off in between paychecks because she works as an hourly employee and every other paycheck she doesn't make enough to pay certain bills. So there are people in our community who are struggling. They are looking to see that we're considering what their needs are and moving forward through the process. If there is something that, even if it doesn't make the rollback rate, but we can show that there is some deference to what's happening to some of the people in our community, I would ask you to consider that. Thank you very much. Thank you. John Dial is next, followed by Jim Moyer. Hi there. I'd like to say I'm a definite supporter of the 4-H now after that. Good job. My name is John Dial. I live in Port Salerno and Rocky Point, District 4. I think we all know each other here. I was here this morning. I've got to kind of want to stress to all of you, please, please, please be cognizant that, you know, any more you get a loaf of bread, it's like four slices short than it was a year ago. Gasoline is 30 percent more than it was a year ago. Your groceries are 30 percent more than they were a year ago. And we have a surplus of $41 million, and I'll give you your $20 million back out of it, but we still have $20 million. We can look to try to spend judiciously or save, because I don't think we should be looking at so much expanding than we should be preserving, because we do have to think that Amendment 3 may happen. And if it does, we need to be proactive, not reactive. Every one of you have very, very difficult decisions to make coming up here. But you're all smart people, and you'll all figure it out. But I would just beg you to please be very conservative on your spending. I personally deal against 501C3s, and not all 501C3s are like 4H. It gives you a great ROI. Some of them don't. And I think you have to look at some of those that don't give you an ROI effectively for the taxpayer money on should they be perpetually funded by government money. Thank you very much. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Jim Moyers next, followed by Martin Mose, and Mr. Mose is the last request to speak form I have. So if you would like to address us, please fill out one of these request to speak forms and get it to the bailiff. Thank you. Afternoon. Good evening, Madam Chair, Commissioners. My name is Jim Moyer. I live in Rocky Point. You know, we heard a lot today from what makes Martin County different. It's our youth. It's our well-educated populace. It's the organizations and the families that have been here for a long time and care about this community. I don't have a good answer for where we're going to get money from for everything. I don't think there is an answer. I did see that there was a lot of money spent on constitutional officers that was not line itemed. And I don't know if there's any fat to cut in that. I just don't know. But I do know that we will lose big time if we lose some of these organizations like 4-H and the Extension Service. It provides an unbelievably important service to our community, not only in terms of educating our public, but also in providing those services that we need. We need our young people to be as well-educated and as well-spoken as these young people. And if we don't do that, we're really missing out. I think that Indian River County does do a pretty good job, but it also doesn't have the richness of character that Martin County has. And I think that it's really important to support those organizations that do, both in money as well as in respect. And so I hope that those aren't the cuts that we make. I hope there are other cuts that we can make. I don't know exactly where to go, but I do think that when I drive around this community, there's an awful lot of artifice that doesn't necessarily need to be there. And I think Indian River County is an example of that. Not that they don't have their streetscape issues, but we seem to do that to ourselves on a regular basis. Thank you very much for your consideration and your really difficult choices. Thank you. Martin Moss is our last request to speak for him. Good evening, commissioners and staff. Pull that mic a little closer. My name is Martin Moss. I've been a Martin County resident now for 26 years. And I'd like to talk a little bit about tax issues and what little understanding I have. And I'd like to verify some of the figures that I have. First of all, the ad valerum tax is based on assessed property value. In 2021, Martin County budget had approximately $214.9 million ad valerum tax revenue. In 2027, that revenue increased $127 million, or 59 percent. Ad valerum tax revenue funds, 66 percent of it goes to public safety, law enforcement, emergency response, and related public safety operations. Twenty-four percent goes to the county administration and operations support. Seven percent to roads, stormwater management, and environmental programs. And three percent, culture and recreation, parks, rec facilities, cultural programs, and community enrichment. Separate valerum includes the school board. The increase in homestead exemption would be for anyone who is a permanent Florida resident by December 31, 2026, even if they do not own a home. Anyone establishing permanent Florida residents after that date would have a five-year waiting period before receiving that increased exemption. Amendment 3 only increases the homestead exemption based on the assessed value of the house, of which the ad valerum tax is based on. It does not affect or change the millage rate, which can raise the tax revenue. However, that can be accomplished only by a vote in the future, if necessary, by a ballot. That's my understanding. However, excuse me, I'm sorry. Homeowners do need a break. I do not want to put the horse in front of the carriage. Thank you very much for allowing me to be here today. Thank you. How shall we proceed here? Mr. Donald. Commissioners, I just thought it would be important to point out for those that are here, because I think the comment early on in the the presenters was about how we look at consistent revenues like from the tax collector or other areas where you might be showing revenue streams coming in routinely over their budget. And we actually do count on that additional revenue as part of the expenditures for the next year. So the fact is that the tax collector collects as a fee from the taxes they collect. So they are actually using ad valerum funds to run their operation, but they also collect revenue for other services, licenses and other things. And that fluctuates up and down. But based upon the historical trend, we do budget for the anticipated amount that comes in. And so while I know the tax collector brings in the check as a ceremony of a big deal, and it is because her consistent operation and generating that revenue is important. In fact, we depend upon it. If it did not come in at that level, we would actually have to amend our budget to account for the decrease in the expected revenues. We also similarly budget for other areas and county departments, because we know that throughout the year oftentimes there are vacancies or other things that those departments don't. We do not promote the idea that they should spend every dollar that they were budgeted. So we also anticipate that they will not expend 100 percent of their budget, and we rely on not fund balance to actually fund next year's operation. So I just wanted the folks to understand that we do actually do a pretty tight budgeting scenario in Martin County. And then the last one, I think it's important because I think how you compare any Florida taxing authority to another is I think it's good, but it's also realized that the state of Florida allows a number of different ways you collect revenue. And how you divide up the services they provide. And I think Indian River County is a good example, because one area that they've used for a number of years, they've had over 30 years, a one-cent sales tax for infrastructure. So any time they need to replace air conditioning equipment on a courthouse or put in a brand-new courthouse or a jail, they're actually using sales tax to do that, and it does not come for ad valorem. Unlike us, which we have over a $12 million improvement necessary on the courthouse that we haven't funded yet, but that is a looming expenditure, right now our only source of funds is ad valorem. We do not have an infrastructure sales tax. The other example I could say for Indian River County is Martin County provides stormwater management for the entire county, unincorporated area. Indian River County and among our other counties have special taxing districts called 298 districts where you have to pay a separate tax for a drainage facility that also maintains it. So when you compare one government to another, you have to see how the state approved whether separate taxing authorities. Another example in Indian River County, they have a separate district that they elect officials for their mosquito control district. Our general fund, our general taxes pay for mosquito control. So I think it is a good example. I ask you to look at the details of actually, you know, when you actually look at an individual's tax bill, not just the county bill, but all the other things, there are different ways to slice the pie. And that is what makes it complicated to do a pure apples comparison from one entity to the next. You may have a separate fire district, all those different things. And so piecing the puzzle together to compare one entity to another isn't always as simple as just looking at their tax bill. And with that, I think we're prepared to answer any of your questions. Thank you. And also for all the people who have joined us today because you're concerned about the future of the IFAS program, the Master Gardeners, and 4-H. You are going to lose your home at the fairgrounds because the fairgrounds are moving to Indiantown, but you are safe now. So, Commissioners, we have to do a number of resolutions and pass them starting with the tax, the millage rate, the tentative millage rate. You want to be the reader? I thought I could be whatever you'd like me to be. You did it last year. Do you have the staff? What? Do you have the staff? I have it on my iPad. Yeah, I have them there. Oh, yeah, I do want to do that. Yeah. Now? Yeah. I wanted to address something coming up, two or three resolutions from now when we get to District 3 MSTU fund. Are you sure you want me to do this now? Or why don't we do it when we get there? True. That's fine. You want to just do it now? Yeah. I can go and do it now. It's okay. Okay. Whatever works for you. All right. Sounds good. Put it right here. Madam Chair, are we at the point where I'm just going to start reading these off now? Okay. I'm seeing no lights on from my colleagues. I'll begin to read. There are probably two dozen, give or take. Thirty-four. Thirty-four, excuse me. Thirty-four different resolutions. So how we do this, we read them each. I will tell you the taxing authority, the rollback rate, the percentage of increase or decrease or rollback rate, and then what the tentative millage is. So, first one, move approval to set the tentative millage rate for Board of County Commissioners countywide rollback rate of 6.2683 with percentage of increase over rollback rate 4.68 for a tentative millage rate of 6.5614. And that was a motion. And that was a motion. Mr. Capps. That is a motion? Yes. Okay. I would like to just make a couple of comments before I second the motion. I would like to remind us all that this proposed budget does not raise the millage rates. We call this a flat budget. The millage rates are going to be exactly what they were last year. And I want to thank staff and department leaders for coming in with their proposed budgets this year reasonably and conservatively. I believe they did that. The entire budget is going up by 5.4 percent. When you think of the national inflation rate, everything goes up in price. It's not that far off from inflation. So I believe that departments came in reasonably. The Board of County Commissioners, I'm just going to hit a couple of highlights. The BOCC is only adding two positions. We're in a growing community. We have more people to serve. We have only two positions more this year. I want to commend our firefighters in particular for going their contract negotiations that were up this year when we were supposed to look at a three-year contract for their pay. But they said, we're going to suspend that. So they used great restraint as well. So those are a few highlights, and I will second the motion. Commissioner Vargas. People need a breather. They need a breather. And I think I've been called the money hawk, which I'm very proud. I've only been here a year and nine months, but I saw it immediately what I felt we need to do to quantify with Martin County dollars that are given to us in good faith. Having said that, there is room to tighten the belt. Absolutely. And as a matter of fact, let's talk about the practicality. More Americans are drowning in their mortgages right now. And that has climbed to 3.2% across the country. This is very real. So that means that these folks owe more than what their property is worth. That is staggering. So they did buy at the top of the market, unfortunately. But they're just a few months maybe. Maybe a year, two years away from losing their home. And the thing is that there are other factors. Truckers are parking the rigs. Who can afford to pay $6.20 a gallon today as I speak? And what about us? Gasoline, $4.15 a gallon, maybe a little more. Groceries have increased 30%. Our U.S. debt is $40 trillion, T as in terrible. And we are paying the U.S. government $1 billion per day just to pay the interest. But remember, they can print money. We cannot. Government does not produce a service. If I ask to have my nails done, the girl does a service for me. I gladly pay. Or maybe not. But I do pay. If I go into a restaurant, I will consume a meal. If I shop, I will purchase something that I may enjoy. This is not the case here. And unfortunately, we have not, over the years, and some have been here a lot longer than Commissioner Capps and myself, we have not been very judicious with the dollars. We are at a defining moment in our lives when we will have to make a tough decision. And a leader is not here for a popularity contest and to be liked. They will go ahead and make the cuts and do what they have to. Unfortunately, unfortunately, I do not see that there is enough belt tightening here within the county. We need to quantify the dollars. And that's every department. Every department. I appreciate some departments that were shy of increasing tremendously their budgets. They may have increased a little bit or some more than not. I appreciate our constitutional officers. However, we only have so many dollars to go around. They do get the largest share of what we collect. Next year, and we will know after November, there's going to be a big turnaround if, in fact, that passes. But even if it doesn't, even if it doesn't, our governor signed House Bill 1329 on June 24th of this year. And what that means, the governor has mandated that all counties and municipalities present a 10% reduced budget. This is an exercise in hosting a workshop because we have to let the folks, the taxpayers know that we are using their money properly. Total transparency. The salaries will be put on our site that will be visible to everyone. So we're pulling back the curtain here on what has been, well, let's say, a mysterious in the past. Having said that, I see that there is room right now to take a stand, put a line in the stand. We had folks talking this morning. We have folks this evening. Unfortunately, government cannot continue to support every desire and wish. We have to look at what is mandated, what is necessary, and protect some of those departments. Other things will go by the wayside, just as a business would do. And there are some particular factors on our budget that means reduction in services and everything that falls with that. So I would like to, are we taking a vote right now, Madam Chair? We will as soon as your comments are concluded. Okay, so we will be deciding whether or not we're going to take the tentative millage or the rollback rate? Yes. There's a motion on the floor. Four. A tentative millage rate of 6.56, 6.5614. We need to be looking at the rollback rate, and I am pushing for the rollback rate. There's no reason to increase this particular amount right now. We are not in that position. We're going to fall hard. And I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm a realist also. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes four to one with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Item C. Move approval to set the tentative millage rate for District 1 MSTU. With a rollback rate of 0.0643, with a percentage in 1.0.2. For the county commissioners' budget for the Martin County commissioners' county-wide fund total, $334,395,217. Second. There's a motion and a second. $1,217. Second. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes four to one with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Item C, move approval to set the tentative millage rate for District 1 MSTU with a rollback rate of 0.0643 with a percentage of increase over the rollover negative 0.93 for a tentative millage rate of 0.0643 Yes, that was reduced. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for District 1 MSTU with a fund total of $372,909,000. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Item E, move approval to set tentative millage rate. Tentative millage rate for Taxing Authority District 2 MSTU with a rollback rate of 0.0713 with a percentage increase over rollback rate of negative 0.56 for a tentative millage rate of 0.0709. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously item F move to move approval of tentative budget for district 2 MSTU with a fund total of $215,000 Okay, there's a motion in a second all those in favor. I Opposed that motion passes unanimously Commissioner happen. I'd like to say something about district 3 MSTU At this time, I would like to make a motion to keep district 3 ad valorem collection the same as last year that would be cutting my district funds by 22,000 I think it is 22,000 two hundred and thirty three dollars Is that the one which would be the rollback rate of negative one point three one? Yes Okay, I'll read it move approval of us to set tentative millage rate for District 3 MSTU with a rollback rate of zero point zero three eight three Percentage of increase over rollback rate of negative one point three one with a tentative millage rate of zero point zero three seven eight Second so are we I'm confused. What is the motion on this if Commissioner Capps has just made it going to roll back So he's going to roll that great. It's actually a little more than rollback, right? Yes. It's beyond rollback. Okay It's the it's to make the dollars the same as last year, which would take it down below rollback. Yeah There's a motion and a second all those in favor. I Opposed that motion passes unanimously. Yes move approval of a tentative budget for District 3 MSTU with this fund total of three hundred and twenty four thousand eight hundred and eighty one dollars Second there's a motion in a second to all those in favor aye opposed that motion passes unanimously Move approval of a tentative budget for district 4 MSTU with a rollback rate of zero point zero four six three with a percentage of increase over the rollback rate of negative two point eight one for a tentative millage rate of zero point zero four five zero Second there's a motion in a second all those in favor aye opposed that motion passes unanimously Move approval to set the tentative millage rate for district five MSTU with a rollback rate of zero point zero six four eight Percentage of increase over the rollback rate negative two point zero one for a millage rate of zero point zero zero six three five Second there's a motion in the second all those in favor aye opposed to that motion passes unanimously move approval of a tentative budget for district 5 MSTU Move approval of a tentative budget for District 5, MSTU, with a fund total of $370,000. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval to set the tentative millage rate for Special District A61, Hutchinson Island, MSTU, with a rollback rate of 0.1732, with a percentage of increase over the rollback rate of plus 3.87, for a tentative millage rate of 0.1799. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. Move approval of a tentative budget. That motion passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Don't you establish this millage rate? No, Commissioner, that Hutchinson Island, MSTU, is used for contributions for the beach nourishment program as part of their contribution, so that used to have a portion of it that went to landscaping and stuff, but no longer. It's just serving the coastal. Yeah, that used to be on A1A, landscaping, lighting, you know, to present. Move approval of a tentative budget for Special District A61, Hutchinson Island, MSTU, with a fund total of $439,159. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval to set tentative millage rate for county fire rescue unincorporated MSTU, with a rollback rate of 2.5353, with a percentage of increase of a rollback rate of 4.04, for a tentative millage rate of 2.6376. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval of a tentative budget for county fire rescue unincorporated MSTU, with a fund total of $90,105,720. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval to set the tentative millage rate for parks and recreation MSTU, with a rollback rate of 0.1415, percentage of increase over rollback rate 4.17, for a tentative millage rate of 0.1474. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval of a tentative budget for parks and recreation MSTU, with a fund total of $4,598,946. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval to set the tentative millage rate for county stormwater and road maintenance MSTUs in unincorporated, with a rollback rate of 0.5494, percentage of increase over rollback 4.15, tentative millage rate 0.5722. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval of a tentative budget for the county stormwater and road maintenance MSTU, unincorporated, with a fund total of $16,614,596. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval of a tentative budget for general unincorporated, $8,296,433. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for building and permitting, with a fund total of $9,492,356. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for impact fees, $3,926,105. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for special revenue, $34,650,023. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for grants, $2,687,286. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes four to one with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval of a tentative budget for other debt service, $9,692,582. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for other non-capital projects, excuse me, other capital projects, with a fund total of $34,425,055. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes four to one with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval of a tentative budget for utilities enterprise, with a fund total of $131,819,847. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for solid waste enterprise, with a fund total of $54,164,524. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for airport enterprise, with a fund total of $4,168,189. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for golf course enterprise, with a fund total of $3,771,000. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for internal services, with a fund total of $49,130,723. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 401 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. Move approval of a tentative budget for trusts, $85,000. This is a fund total. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Move approval of a tentative budget for community redevelopment area trusts, with a fund total of $10,638,336. Second. There's a motion and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Opposed. That motion passes 401 with Commissioner Vargas dissenting. That's the end. That concludes our required resolutions. Anything to wrap up, Commissioners? I just want to express my sincere appreciation for your terrific budgeting staff. You do a terrific job. Thank you very much. Very professional. Thank you. Same here. Great job, Ms. Murley. And your staff. And my staff. Specifically. County Administrator, Don Donaldson. Do you get a lot of credit for that, too? It's the team. No, you can't take any credit. I can't take any credit. Definitely understand. And what you delegate. Absolutely. Everything. It's a team effort, sir. I think you get credit for your people. It is a team effort, you know. Everything is. But in all seriousness, next year, we know we'll have some real challenges. And we will be starting this process much earlier in terms of how we address the changes that the state has imposed on us and how we will address some property taxes. Whether it passes or not, there are structural changes that we're going to have to go through. Thank you. Thank you. And just we'll be back here in two weeks, same time, same place, same people, same presentation, at 5.05 p.m. to read these all over again. I'd like to thank the young folks that came to speak and advocate and lobby for their 4-H and for IFAS. They were articulate. They were respectful. They were prepared. Some of them stayed through that whole exciting presentation we just did. And I agree with you. You are absolutely the future of our community and our country. Ethan, you're a leader. You led off beautifully. You established a model for all. I set the tone. Yep, you did. Thank you. We are adjourned. Oh, Commissioner, I have one. Sorry. Before we leave the record, I had one. It's one there. Great. We had a discussion. I know we're bringing a moratorium back, but it is going to be on October 13th. It will not change the final hearing for our adoption hearing, which is the final meeting of October. October. So just the initial hearing is going to be October 13th. And I will not be here that date, so Matt will be running it. So abuse him all you want. But that is important. But it's important for the community to know that it will not change the implementing date should the board decide to implement a moratorium on data centers. But the first hearing will be October 13th, and the final hearing will be October 27th. Thank you. Anything else? Five on five. Five on five. Please come forward. Gary Earl or Port Salerno for the record. A couple months ago, I spoke at my NAC. I spoke to the CRA. I came to the board of county commissioners. I waited two months. I haven't seen it on the consent agenda. It went back to the CRA. I presented that, again, about the reimbursement of funds if they decide to sell the property. They came up with a plan. It's an agreement across the CRA. It was unanimous, and I haven't seen it unless it slipped through on the consent agenda. And I was just wondering if, in fact, when it would come back to the board. That was for the grant money that if they sold the company. I completely agree with you. I'd like to see it, hopefully, at our next agenda. The staff has a draft. I think they've been reviewing it, obviously, with you and the board. I don't know the exact date, but it will be coming before the board, not as a consent agenda. But it is coming back. I do appreciate that. And I know it's been a couple months, and we're getting into – It is – I don't want it to roll back again and again and again. No, it's coming forward. I assure you that it's in the process. I would have brought this up at 9.05, but 9.05 was pretty busy with a bunch of other stuff. So thank you all for your time. Have a good evening. Thank you. Anything else? We are adjourned. Thank you. Thank you. See, it is mentioned that you ever did say. Nobody knows Angela called and nobody seen her. Nobody said no ball and king. We'll be right back.