Welcome to our first board meeting of 2024. Please stand for the invocation and the pledge. Good morning. Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, as we enter into this new year with its opportunities and its challenges, we trust that you are always with us. We find peace in knowing that you are close. With you, we can be strong and courageous. Thank you for being our guide and our protector throughout this year. And I ask this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, we'll start off with comments from the general public. I've got a list here. I'll start with that. If you haven't filled one out, if you wouldn't mind, go ahead and step to the back and we'll get it up here. I just want to point out this is your opportunity to talk to us. This isn't a debate. We're not here to answer questions. We just want to hear from you. So we'll start with Stacy. This has to do with the road maintenance thrust? Thrust? Hurst. Okay. Good morning. Good morning. I'm actually here on behalf of Redbridge Square Community in Davenport. We'll need your name and address, please. 11-29 Hendon Loop, Davenport. And I'm one of the board members. I'm also here with Charlie Perez behind me. And we've been dealing with our property management company, Odin, out of Orlando. And we've been having issues with the roadway maintenance being maintained. And I've been talking with, my apologies. Dave Jarvis. Code enforcement on a regular basis. And they've been telling me, I'm sorry, Mrs. Hurst, we're not here to beautify the roads. They tell me that they are dealing with a six- to eight-week turnaround, but we're seeing more like 17- to 20 weeks for them coming through. He tells me that they deal with bush hogs, which I'm unfamiliar with. We do see tractors come through. But we have street signs and trees that have, and we have pictures to show you, but the roads are, it's a safety issue. We can't see beyond the street signs. We can't see beyond the poles. The weeds are encroaching beyond the visibility of everything that we can see. It's a safety hazard. And we don't know what else we can do other than continuously call. We've been dealing with Joel in the town as well. We have sent numerous letters, and we're getting nowhere. And our property management company wanted us to come here and speak today. Okay. Ryan, can you, yeah, so look behind you. See the guy standing up. Can you see him afterwards and get him on it, and he'll take care of it. Thank you. Okay. He's my best guy. Okay. Appreciate it. Charlie Perez. Good morning. My full name is Charles Perez, but I go by Charlie. I'm at 1013 Hendon Loop Davenport. I'm part of the HOA board at Redbird Square. I was going to speak just in case we went over our loudest three minutes, but it's the same concern. We do have an intersection there, FTC and Holly Hill Cutoff, that has a bush growing in front of it that's almost as tall as the stop sign. So as you approach that stop sign, it's hard to actually view and see that there is a stop sign there. And at that corner, there's a house, a mobile home that has a six-foot fence that won't allow you to see left as you're sitting at that stop sign, and you have to keep inching up until you can see past it to see if there's any oncoming traffic to go. So we'll talk to your best guy back there. But thank you very much for giving us the opportunity. Thank you. Next is Chris Peterson. Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Chris Peterson. I'm the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for Fortify Financial. We are a PACE provider here in Florida. I'm here to address an ongoing issue between the FPFA, the Florida PACE Funding Agency, and Polk County and its tax collector, as well as several other counties and tax collectors around the state. As you may know, back in late 2022, the FPFA completed what's called the Judicial Bond Validation. Which included a preemption clause allowing them to operate statewide. My company, Fortify, is a PACE provider under the FPFA. However, we have absolutely no power over the FPFA. They are their own inter-government organization. We had nothing to do with them getting the Judicial Bond Validation either. So we provided that validation to our outside counsel. And based on years of extensive case law, they opined that it was valid. And on the reliance of the court's validation, or the court's opinion, we went ahead and started to operate. So after we had financed these projects in your county, the tax collector advised the FPFA they would not be putting these on the tax roll for our customers. So to clarify, I do not represent FPFA. I want to make that very clear. I do represent Fortify as affected customers and contractors that are local here in Polk County. And I'm here to help solve this issue for those affected property owners and contractors. And spare them from the crossfire of an inter-governmental dispute, which is what this is. We assume that the courts and the legislature will resolve the preemption issue. And give the power back to the counties and home rule. We assume that's going to be the case. We support that. So we cannot pay these contractors for the PACE projects they have started without assurance from the tax collector that they're going to be on the tax roll. So we can't fund until we do that. And as you know, we don't pay contractors until the work's done. So a lot of these folks are being financially harmed. Okay. So, you know, tax collector wants an ILA. So our proposed solution is a curative ILA. So this would be a short-term agreement that only encompasses those affected homeowners, allowing those assessments originated during that specific period of time to be placed on the tax roll so the project can be finished and funded. And our customers can repay this obligation in the manner that they anticipated through the tax roll. So I can send around a draft copy of that curative ILA for your consideration. So we started originating assessments in good faith based on the judicial bond validation by a court ruling. However, when we were advised by the county and the tax collector that they would not be included as assessments on the tax roll, we ceased operating in your county. Again, in good faith. But there are still many property owners and business owners who are now negatively affected by this issue. So our only concern here is to make sure homeowners can resolve this mass confusion and economic harm that they're experiencing due to this intergovernmental dispute, as well as our contractors who put up their own money for materials and their service, you know, and that they need to be made whole. So just to be clear, the FPFA, they're not being harmed by this issue. They're not being harmed by this issue. So I know that many folks are very upset with them, and, you know, frankly, there's others even within this own organization that are frustrated with that. But the property owners and the contractors, they're the ones that are experiencing the harm. It seems like I'm hearing you say you've got a solution. I do, sir. At the tax. If I may, Mr. Chair, this involves litigation. This is involving the PACE litigation of Mr. Peterson. Current. Okay. Current, and if I recall correctly, Fortify is actually trying to intervene into that litigation, so I would advise at this time not to comment. And if Fortify has a want to negotiate a settlement, then, of course, they need to go through their attorneys through our office, and then we'll negotiate in good faith when that is received. All right. I do have a question I want to ask, and it's without comment. What is the number of homeowners affected? I do not have that data readily available. I'm happy to get that to you. What's the dollar value of the work that's been done? Again, I don't have that information in hand. Thank you. All right. Thanks. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Tashauna True. Good morning. Tashauna True, 301 South Clinch Lake Boulevard. Good morning, county commissioners and county manager. The reason I stand before you today is I feel we have a huge problem. It started with Jerry Reiner being fired after serving Polk County for 28 years. Now we have fired a battalion chief, Charlie True, with 18 years of service. There definitely is a problem in the Polk County Fire Administration. I strongly urge you to dig into this further and listen to all the concerned citizens of this county and let their voices be heard. This is what we are elected to do. There are so many problems going on within Polk County Fire, even with the small town volunteer stations as well. They get treated unfairly and unnoticed because, let's be honest, they want it to all be county. I can proudly say that I live in Frostproof, and Frostproof has one of the best city and fire relationships I've ever seen. Sorry. Our firefighters love to be involved and help whenever they can without getting paid. The city of Frostproof supports our firefighters to the fullest and in any way possible. Do you think your county firefighters would help do anything on their own time for free, not for the current administration? But I believe if Jerry or Charlie was doing something and they asked, they wouldn't have even hesitated. Why? Because they admire them. They were great bosses with huge hearts. These guys had exemplary records. I've heard so many stories of what these men have done to help save people. They have given up so much to do the career they chose and for it to be taken away for what? And who is it actually benefiting? What is the root to all of this? There are questions we as citizens need to know. Please take the time and talk to people other than just the administration. I'm sure they will listen. I'm sure they are too scared of the repercussions if they don't speak up. Some care for support for everyone. Listen to our citizens and make sure as an elected official we hear and act on what is right for the best for our town and county. Thank you for taking the time this morning to listen. Have a great day and God bless. Thank you. We have a short agenda today. I believe we'll go through the other items pretty quickly. And I think we're going to have an extensive conversation on this later on. You may want to stick around for that. Okay. Thank you. James. Abercrombie? Oh, okay. Pretty good at that, aren't you? James Abercrombie from 2737 Gubasone Gallery Road, Lakeland, Florida, northwest cycling. On your website, Polk County, building permits, when you need one, when you don't need one. Not very explicit, but a start. But nonetheless, it says that a permit is insurance. I'm paid $200 for insurance for a contractor to put a roof on my home. From the very day that they started, I continued to tell them it was less than a 212 pitch roof. They put a shingle roof on my house. From day one, I come to this county, I tried to get the proper Mr. Cumbie I called and never got a return. I've been through the entire zoning, not zoning, but building permit, inspections departments. The inspector originally passed it. I had to fight. I had to come see the county attorney's office, Mr. Vogel. I believe it's Vogel. He did help get the confirmation that it was less than a 212 pitch. And since then, nothing's happened. They did try to set up a meeting with me six weeks after the fact, after I fought with them. I fought with the county to get it all done. They finally, the contractor themselves finally set up a meeting with me. They hee-hawed around. The county did tell them that if they got the affidavit, which is required because it's done on a Saturday, that they'd pass the job anyway. Now, I've got confirmation of all this. I will never say anything that I can't prove, folks, in front of this board, ever. The permit is still hanging on my wall. Now, I'm going to leave this paperwork. There's tons more of it. There's a lot of public records in here that explain everything. I only brought a small portion of it because I only have three minutes. Can't have a discussion in three minutes, folks. We just can't do it. This is my permit. There's still no signature on it. But yet, to have the roof repaired, fixed, it's going to cost another $200, I assume, if it hadn't gone up, to have another permit pulled. And I'm not going to go with the same contractor. They tried to schedule a meeting with me, once again, six weeks after the fact. I'd already been through all this. I did not allow them on my property. I don't trust them. So that's the reason they haven't been back, I'm assuming, since then. But this permit is still sitting dormant. It's not in effect, obviously. It's been well over a year. But it's still not been signed. It's never been closed out, period. So I expect I'll be back in a couple of weeks, next meeting. As a matter of fact, that's my New Year's resolution. I'm going to be at every meeting this year. So I'll be back next meeting. I would like a conclusion on this. I would like all public records, anything talked about, anybody talked about it, county attorneys, anybody's talking. I want everything in writing. I don't want any more speculation. I was told by Mr. Vogel that if it's not in writing, then it gets to the courtroom, it's hearsay. I'm not going to put up a hearsay. I want records. Do me a favor. See the guy standing in the very back, Mr. Dunn. Can you speak to him about this? Well, I would prefer it from the county commissioners. That's what I'm looking for. I would like a decision from you folks. Your words, not theirs. I've already tried them. You're going to have to talk to him first. I've already tried them. They don't want to do a thing. I expect you all to do it. Anyone else? Yep, got one more. Robert Goodman. Thank you, Commissioner Braswell. I wasn't going to speak today. I just came here in support of the firefighters and the situation, but since you said you're going to talk about it later, there are some questions that I think the public needs to know. I think the public wants to know if the firefighters that went out to do emergency management, if they were notified in writing. That is important because historically they've been paid full pay instead of half. So if they were not notified in writing, that really brings a whole different level of conversation. If they were not notified in writing, why not? Did the county receive FEMA funds and would that have covered the firefighters' full pay? And there was some speculation that I read in a newspaper, I don't know if it's accurate, that firefighters that go to a conference get paid 100% for their hours. And it just doesn't seem logical that you would get paid 100% to go to a conference and 50% to go help with emergency management after Hurricane Ian. And the last question that I think needs to be answered is what was the insubordination that the battalion chief was fired for? And supposedly there's another fire battalion chief that has his head on the block over the same thing. I just would appreciate if you could get to answers on those things. To the three of you who called me back yesterday, thank you very much. I appreciated the conversation. Thank you. Mr. Chair, I'll just remind this is a discipline of an employee. It's a personnel matter outside the purview of the Board of Accounting Commissioners. The individuals that are disciplined, they have due process rights both under our handbook and our collective bargaining agreement when it deals with firefighters. So I would ask the board not to comment on a specific personnel matter at this time until it goes through the process. Thank you. All right. Anyone else? That's a request, right? Okay. I'll take that under advisement. No, right. I thought we were going to talk later. Anybody else? All right. We'll move on. No, consent agenda. I move approval. Got a motion and a second for approval. Any discussion? See none. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign? Carries. Ms. Butterfield. Good morning. Thank you. Today we have for you to approve and ratify payroll checks. Number 02534 through 02549 in the amount of $26,560.64. $26,608 direct deposits in the amount of $4,162,236.13 dated December 29 of 2023. We have wire and electronic fund transfers of $95,692,528.24 dated January 19 of 2023 through December 19 of 2023 through January 8 of 2024. Invoice checks numbered 451-451-857 totaling $31,475,255.22 dated December 19 of 2023 through January 8 of 2024 for you to approve and ratify, please. Move approval and disbursement. Motion and a second for approval. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign, motion carries. Anything else? Yes, we have the approval of your minutes of your regular board meeting that was held on December 19 of 2023, please. Motion for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second for approval. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign, motion carries. Anything else? One more quick thing, Mr. Chairman. Last year, the legislature passed House Bill 1419, and it involved a new requirement for recording documents that convey the transfer of ownership, and it was effective January 1st of this year, and the new requirement requires the name of the person or their supervisor that prepared the document, and this name has to be an individual. It can't be a business. You have to put the actual name of the preparer on there, and then the preparer's address has to also be listed. It has to be a physical address or a P.O. box. In addition, the witness's signature, as you're familiar with, there's a witness, for example, on the deed. The witness's signature has to have their name printed under their signature, and it has to also have their address, and it has to be a physical address. Again, it can't be an email address, a physical address, or a P.O. box. With those changes, if any document executed after January 1 of 2024 is missing those items required by law, my office will reject the recording of that requirement. We cannot record it. And you'll do that, to get something recorded, you have to physically come in and hand it to... You do not. You can do it through e-recording, through services, but we will reject those as well. Either way, whether it's coming in electronically or whether it's coming in over-the-counter, those items have to be in compliance before we can record it. So we will actually have to reject it if those aren't present. It is a new requirement, and the... Excuse me, just one moment. The whole purpose, we've talked about the fraud with the transfer of property and all. So this is an attempt to strengthen the requirements to help with that. I want to remind you that property alert is another great way that you can sign up with our office to be notified if there has been a transfer of property. Sorry. These documents are notarized as well, so the witnesses are signed in front of a notary and given their address. Yes. Yes. Anything else? That's it. All right. Question. Yep. Does that transfer of property owner, does it include deeds or easements, or just transfer of property? Anything that conveys the change of ownership of a property. To include an easement. If that changes anything that conveys ownership change. Not a mortgage. Not a mortgage. Anything else? Randy? Yes, sir. I have one item on the agenda for the board's consideration. That is a request to adopt a resolution, initiating the conflict resolution procedures under the Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act, and given notice of competing policy goals and plans for CRA funds to the Lake Wells Community Redevelopment Agency and the City of Lake Wells for the proposed expansion of the boundaries of the CRA. If the board recalls, we discussed this a little bit at the agenda review, but on December 15, 2023, representatives and consultants of the Lake Wells CRA presented a proposed CRA plan amendment that expands the CRA boundaries. The proposed expansion adds 2,465 acres to the CRA of that 1,943 acres of the property is undeveloped and has entitlements that include 6,100 dwelling units, 400,000 square feet, 400,000 square feet of commercial space, 125,000 feet of assisted living in public facilities. And based on my calculations, that leaves only 20% of the expansion being developed property. The proposed resolution initiates the conflict resolution procedures required by statute prior to the local government filing suit against another local government, and it notifies Lake Wells that Polk County has competing policy goals and plans for the funds. Both of these actions are needed to preserve Polk County's ability to contest the expansion if Lake Wells moves forward with the expansion as recommended for approval. And I'll stand for any questions. So moved. Second for discussion. Yep, go ahead. The effect of this is simply to put them on notice that we choose not to go forward with their request for CRA, and then the process follows. Right, to allow them, basically put them on notice and to allow us to go through the process, hopefully to negotiate if there's something we can agree upon regarding the expansion. So we'll, sorry. Well. He said it. But only. It's a long way. Well, only you need to know that this is also part of the process if we need to take further. I just wanted to. Yes, sir. Clarify the. Any other questions? I apologize. That's the attorney speak. All right. Yeah. Yeah, mumbo jumbo. Yes, sir. No more questions? All in favor. Yeah, all in favor say aye. Aye. Those like, sign, motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's all I have at this time. Mr. Beasley. Sir. Mr. Chair, members of the board, the manager's office will have five items for board consideration this morning. Items number H1, 2, 3, and 4 are all related. They're all related to significant improvements planned for upwards of 25 or so public safety facilities across the county. Item number H1 is administrative in nature. It sets the tone for the adjustments to the federal grant agreement where we will receive additional funds to do the repairs that are stipulated in items number H2, 3, and 4. Item number H1 is to request the board to accept and execute modification number 1 to the existing FEMA hazard mitigation grant agreement with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, all in connection with protective measures and wind retrofits at 25 Polk County Fire and EMS facilities across the county. Board action will include the requisite community investment program amendments, budget resolution, and transfer from general fund reserves to establish amended project budgets. In October of 2018, the board approved staff efforts to make application for a FEMA hazard mitigation grant for protective measures and wind retrofit renovations at anticipated 35 Polk County Fire and EMS stations. In September of 2021, the board approved and executed a formal grant agreement between the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Polk County for the use of federal emergency management agency hazard mitigation grant funds identified for the intended renovations in an amount not to exceed $1,666,243, all stipulated around a 75-25% split, 75 from the federal government, 25% from local funds. Proposed modification number 1 to the existing grant agreement will, 1, adjust the specific facility count from 35 locations to 25 specific sites. 2, will affirm FEMA's increased project funding from its current level of $1,249,682.25 to a new total of $4,342,725. 3, it will affirm Polk County's increased project funding contribution from $416,560.75 to $1,447,575. And 4, the revised FEMA agreement will reflect a grant award totaling $5,790,300. And number 5, it will extend the grant performance period through December of 2024. The original grant agreement will increase from its $1,666,243 to the $5,790,300 and maintain the designated 75%-25% local match requirement. Board approval today will include the requisite community investment program amendments, the budget resolution, and the transfer from general fund reserve to establish the amended project budget. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think it's a good news item that the federal government is certainly willing to add several million more to the project requirements. I would request the board to accept and approve the modification number 1 as outlined to the existing FEMA hazard mitigation grant agreement with the division of, the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The board's action will include a community investment program amendment, a resolution to amend the total project budget in the amount of $4,124,057, and to reflect a transfer from the general fund reserves in an amount of $1,031,014 in order to meet the local match requirements for all three projects. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any questions? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like signed, motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the board, items number H2, H3, and H4 are the respective construction contract awards to use those federal and local match monies. Item number H2 is to request the board approve three separate construction contracts with three different contractors, all in connection with Polk's public safety facility roof replacement program, with funding assistance provided through the FEMA hazard mitigation grant program as administered through the Florida Division of Emergency Management. This approval will reflect three contract awards addressing roof replacements at 21 fire or EMS facilities across the county and will be a total amount not to exceed $2,564,836. Polk County has completed the public solicitation process seeking qualified contractors interested in replacing existing roofs on 21 separate fire and EMS facilities across the county. To ensure timely completion of the work at all sites, the bidding packages were divided into three zones, each containing seven specific project sites. The solicitation stipulated that no successful bidder would be awarded more than one zone package. Bid number 23318 was issued and consistent with bidding and award guidelines. The low bidder for each respective zone is as follows with their submitted bid. Zone A, Robert Benz Roofing Incorporated, a bid submitted in the amount of $663,600. Zone B, a bid submitted in the amount of, a bid from RF Lusa and Sun Sheet Metal submitted in the amount of $1,072,252. And in Zone C, a bid submitted by Architectural Sheet Metal Incorporated in the amount of $706,850. A recommendation of award was issued to each of the prospective zone bidders and no protests were received. And consistent with resolution number 13066, a 5% contingency allowance amount has been included in each recommended award amount. And the contract completion time for each zone has been set at 90 days. Partial funding for these project awards is provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program as administered through the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The grant requires a 25% local match for each contract award, which is being appropriated from the county's general fund reserves. Based upon the board's approval of item H-1 just a few moments ago, the requisite budget and CIP amendments have been authorized to reflect on these specific contracts. 75% hazard mitigation grant funding in the amount of $1,923,627 and a 25% local match in the amount of $641,209. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think it's a good news item. I would request the board approve the following re-roofing construction contracts. One, for Zone A, with Robert Benz roofing incorporated in an amount not to exceed $696,780. For Zone B, with RF Lusa & Son sheet metal incorporated in the amount not to exceed $1,125,864. And for Zone C, with architectural sheet metal incorporated in an amount not to exceed $742,192. Move approval. Got a motion and a second for approval. Any questions or discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Those like sign, motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item 8-3, a continuation of the use of those federal and local funds to make another award. Item number 8-3 is to request the board approve a construction contract with FHS Industrial Contractors, LLC, and Rodman Development, Incorporated, as a joint venture for the installation of replacement overhead doors at 23 fire rescue EMS facilities across the county. This would be a one-time expense not to exceed $2,544,738.99. Polk County has again completed the public solicitation process for qualified contractors interested in installing replacement overhead doors at 23 fire and EMS stations. Bid number 23-542-452 was issued, and one qualifying bid was submitted by FHS Industrial Contractors and Rodman Development in the amount of $2,423,560.99. A recommendation of award was issued to FHS Industrial Contractors, who is partnering with the Rodman Development as a joint venture pursuant to Florida Administrative Code, and no protests were received. In accordance with Resolution 13066, 5% was added for allowance work in the amount of $121,178 and is included in the proposed contract award total. Contract time for this work has been set at 90 calendar days. Partial funding for this project is, again, provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, as admitted to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The grant requires a 25% local match, which is being appropriated from the county's general fund reserves, based upon the board's approval of Agenda Ida H-1 earlier. This morning, the requisite budget and CIP amendment has been authorized to reflect 75% hazard mitigation grant funds for this work in the amount of $1,908,554.24, with a county 25% general fund contribution of $636,184.75. So, again, Mr. Chair, I think it's a good news item, leveraging a substantial amount of federal money. I would request the board approve and authorize the chairman to sign the construction contract with FHS Industrial Contractors and Rodman Development as a joint venture arrangement in an amount not to exceed $2,544,738.99, since contingent upon the county attorney's office receipt and approval of updated bonds, joint venture agreement documentation, and other bid documents as required by the bidding arrangements. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any questions? Well, there's 23 stations, but it's, what, probably 120 doors? Each station has multiple doors, yes, sir. I think probably six per station, anyway. Thank you. Anybody else? All right. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All those like signed, motion carries. Next. Mr. Chair, item number H-4 is the last of the construction contracts associated with this initiative. This is a request the board approve a construction contract with Bigfoot Construction Incorporated for the installation of replacement window shutter systems at 25 fire rescue EMS facility stations across the county. This is a one-time expense not to exceed $680,723. Polk County has completed the public solicitation process for qualified contractors interested, in installing replacement window shutter systems at 25 fire EMS stations. Bid number 23-312 was issued, and one qualifying bid was submitted by Bigfoot Construction in the amount of $648,308. A recommendation of award was issued, and no protests were received. In accordance with resolution number 13066, 5% was added for allowance and contingency work in the amount of $32,415 and is included in the proposed contract award total. Contract time for this work has been set at 90 calendar days. Partial funding is again provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program as administered through the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The grant continues to stipulate a 25% local match, which is being appropriated from the county's general fund reserves. Based upon the board's approval of Agenda Item H-1 earlier, the requisite budget and CIP amendments have been authorized to reflect a 75% hazard mitigation grant fund in the amount of $510,542.25, and a 25% local fund match of $170,180.75. So, Mr. Chair, the third in a row, I would again request that the board approve the construction contract with Bigfoot Construction in an amount not to exceed $680,723. Mr. Chairman, a motion for the second. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any questions, discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like signed, motion carries. Last item. Mr. Chair, another good item, another leveraging of local funds to pull down substantial amounts of federal funding. Item number H-5 is to request the board to approve and accept a $1 million grant agreement from the United States Department of Transportation in connection with the Safe Streets and Roads for All initiative as established by the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The board's approval will include the requisite budget resolution to amend the current year budget. In September of 2022, the board endorsed TPO staff's efforts to compete for a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All, and its acronym is SSFOA. It's a grant fund to prepare what we call a local Polk Vision Zero plan that will develop multiple local roadway and intersection safety projects that can be considered for construction funding as part of subsequent federal grant opportunities. In January of 2023, Polk County, working through our TPO organization, was notified of a $1 million SS4A grant award that would reflect $720,000 in federal funds provided by the United States Department of Transportation, with Polk County contributing $200,000 as a local match and $80,000 for related in-kind services. Local matching funds will be provided from the Roads and Drainage Division's Transportation Millage Fund. Funding in support of the SS4A federal grant agreement is as outlined, and funds will be appropriated upon approval of the requisite budget resolutions. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, again, another good day relative to us pulling down federal funds for local initiatives. I would request the board to, consistent with the U.S. Department of Transportation's funding requirements, I would request the board to adopt a resolution to acknowledge receipt of the SS4A grant funds, to execute the federal agreement, and to adopt a budget resolution to amend the current year budget to reflect the receipt of those grant proceeds. Move adoption of the resolution. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any questions? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Those like sign. That's it, Mr. Chair. All right. So, please indulge me here. I want to have a conversation about our fire department, but I don't want to do it until after comments. So, if you guys would, we'll go down the dais here. If you have comments unrelated to the fire department, let's talk about that or tell us what you want to tell us. And then once we get done with that, I'm going to have a couple of comments, and then we'll have a discussion about our fire department. George? Two brief comments. One is the recognition of the recent passing of Brenda Taylor, first female county commissioner elected in 1976, and after her term in office, she served with the Poe County Economic Development Council and did a great job there. The other note is, the more happier note, we conducted our annual walk for health on New Year's Day. We had about 90 people participate. Probably 15 or 20 percent of them were first-time visitors to Circle B, and again, another success. That's all I have. Are they just going to be out there walking by themselves next year? I hope the successor will. This will start up by Commissioner English, so hopefully it will continue after that. All right. Rick? I don't have anything to say, and I will go ahead and say that, you know, with what's going on here with, you know, with what we're fixing to talk about, you know, my deal is that I want to dig in to make sure we got all the, you know, the information, the details. You know, we're just, I'm just now getting the surface scratched on it, you know, getting information. So, you know, I don't, I want to listen more in our talk right now, so that's where I'm at. So, that's it. Just to say Happy New Year to everyone, it's good to be back. Oh, yeah. Happy New Year. I forgot about that. Yeah. That's it. Yeah. Let me begin by saying Happy New Year, everybody. George, do you want to go back another bite at the apple there on the Happy New Year? The, well, first of all, let me thank George for mentioning, is my mic, like, amped up today or something? Is that big mouth? I don't know, but let me get further back. Huh? Yours is. It is. It has turned up loud. Volume, yeah. Anyway, thank you for mentioning Brenda Taylor, who was the first female county commissioner, so she certainly was a trailblazer and served honorably for a number of years. And, again, like George said, she worked for, actually, she worked, I think, in right-of-way acquisition for a brief period before she went over to Central Florida Development Council, but worked there for many years. She was a classy lady, and I know she'll be missed by many people. And it was interesting because when I got the call yesterday asking if I'd served with Brenda as commissioner, and I'm like, no, I came along four years later, and trying to think of somebody who had served with her that's still around that could comment, there's only one, and it's Bubba. And I called Bubba, and he said, tell him to call me. He said, I'll be happy to talk. So hopefully the reporter will make the connection with Bubba, but all those folks have gone on now. Rest in peace. That's all, Mr. Chairman. I've got other, like you, other things, some questions anyway. And like Rick, I want to, we need information. Yeah, I don't have any comments, so I'll just open this conversation up. So it's not on our agenda. It's all happened from my perspective just in the last 24 hours, and it seems like a lot have happened. But along with what Rick said, I don't have enough information to make any comments. And like Randy said, I don't think we should make any comments on this specific case because between the staff or between the county and between the union, there are procedures and processes in place to deal with these matters. But what I want to open with, and we can go back and forth after this, I do think we have a problem. I think we have a management problem in our fire department. And, Mr. Beasley, that starts with you. I've been here seven years, and I have watched problem after problem come out of our fire department. It was easy to say it was rank and file for a long time. But the fact remains, we still have problems. And management, well, we still have problems. I've been part of the military for 22 years. I saw a lot of leadership styles come and go. I saw leaders who got the troops on board, and everybody was happy to work with them, and they got things accomplished. I saw leaders come in with a carrot stick mentality. The end result was the same, but the unit was completely different. And I don't know if that's what's happening here. I was a union pilot for 20 years at Delta Airlines. I saw, and I can't remember his name, the CEO came in with a very adversarial demeanor toward our union. And that airline went into a tailspin for a while. He was fired. They brought a different CEO in, and it all turned around. And it starts at the top. So before we get too far into this conversation, what I would like to do, I've talked to Stacy about this because, quite frankly, I don't know where to begin. I believe we need a top-down audit of our management, our procedures, our policies, how we run our fire department, how we run the personnel in the fire department. There is something wrong here. And like I said, in the seven years I've been here, the fire department has been the problem child from day one. All the issues, if you take all the issues from everywhere else, combine them, they don't add up to what we have in the fire department. Again, the problem, the real problem with that is if there's a problem in code enforcement, I'm not going to say so what, but so what. You know, we can fix that. Nobody's going to die. Nobody's going to drag their feet, get into a fire. Nobody's going to get hurt. If we have a problem in planning, you know, again, so what. We'll get it resolved. With the fire department, with the fire rescue department, this needs to, they need to work together. This thing needs to work as one, and I don't think it is. So, again, I talked to Stacey about it, and there has to be an auditor group, a consultant group. I don't want a fire group dealing with this. I don't want an organization that has anything to do with fire rescue or anything. I want an independent auditor to come in and look at from your office down and find out what the problem is because there has to be a problem there. Mr. Chairman? Yep. Go ahead. You've said everything that I intended to say so I can throw this first notepad away. The problem is systemic. There's no doubt about it. And I think, as you correctly pointed out, the entire rest of the county put together, there is only just a, you know, nothing compared to the issues that seem to go on within fire. And it's been going on for a long time. And I think you're right. It's got to start at the top. It's a top-down issue if you're going to fix the problem. But we went through, not for the same reasons, but we went through this at the Water Management District years ago. And we had a major, really a major fight amongst the board. And for a while, there was only 12 members, and we had 11 to 1 votes for a few months where I was trying to get a group to come in and do workload staffing analysis to look at the structure, the organizational structure, with complete independence. Folks that we don't know that are not from here, and we actually got a group that came out of Tampa, which was not the group that I wanted because I thought there was another outfit that would do a better job at what we were trying to do. But this needs to happen. It needs to happen quickly. As you said, lives depend on the work and the effort of the Polk County firefighters, the Polk County paramedics, and the EMTs. This isn't planning. It's not code enforcement. And there is a problem here, and there may be more than one problem. And I'm not pro-union. I'm not anti-union. I am pro-right, and I am pro-knowing right from wrong. And there are some things that just don't sound right. Without getting into any specifics, Randy, I'm not going to do that. But I will say that when you're dealing with a union, and we've had a union in the county now for, what, 25 years, I don't know, something like that, a pretty good while. And also, there's some history here. But, you know, people have to be treated equally. You have to have your policies in writing. You can't make them up on the fly. You can't make them up from situation to situation. It's up to the people at the top to make sure that those policies are in place, that they're equally enforced, that they're published for all to see. And that's what we need to have a look at, and it needs to be – I don't know if I agree with you on not having any fire experience. And maybe there's people out there that aren't, you know, credentialed firefighters, retirees, that have looked at fire departments before. And so that would, you know, give them some, I think, advantage over some folks that have no knowledge at all. But maybe they don't really need knowledge. Let me suggest this. I have no idea what's out there, and I don't think you do either. I don't. I don't. And we can – I can work with Stacey. We can see what we can find prior to the next agenda review. Maybe throw some names out there, and we can discuss it then. Well, I will tell you, the help that we hired at Water Management District, they recommended some major changes to the organization, to the way we did business, to the way we staffed. But it was shocking, I will tell you, some of the stuff that they discovered and brought to our attention. And once it was brought to our attention, it wasn't difficult to make changes because some of it was just really hard for anybody to defend some of the things that were going on. And I think that you've got to have somebody on the ground that is, you know, monitoring and, you know, watching the activity. It's not something that's going to be done in a two-week period or probably even in a two-month period. It's going to take a little while to get done. And the sooner we get started on it, the quicker we can get about solving the problem. Yeah. First of all, this is my sixth year, and I was hoping that we would have issues with the Rescue Fire Department taken care of. And I was disappointed to once again read about a situation. But like Rick said, I don't have enough information. So I approve of someone coming in. I want them objective, someone that does not have anything to do with any of the departments to come in and look and see what's going on. And hopefully we can take care of this once and for all. So, you know, if it's moving for an approval on that resource, then I want to go ahead and say that I approve of that. Yeah, I just want to make this clear. You know, third or fourth year after we had the lady pass away up in North Kathleen, I believe it was, we brought in somebody, you know, an outside firm to look at what we did as a, you know, as how our organization worked, doing the right things and what we were lacking in. So what y'all are talking about is probably two different things. And I understand that. I think, first of all, you know, I'm with everybody up here. You know, the first day I walked in here, you know, we were having problems with the, that had occurred within the fire department. You know, and basically after, I mean, you can pretty well put it on your watch about every other month, something will happen. Good or, I mean, good, there's a lot of good things that happen, but there's always something that's going to happen. And I get that. But the main thing is right now, I'm going to stick to what I said. You know, most of the people here right now are wanting to know or see what basically the county is going to do on what's happening today with, you know, what's going on. And I want to find out what went on and see what did happen. And you've got to, just because this is government, it's got to be, I'm a business guy, and you run things certain ways. You have leadership, you have seniority, and people are supposed to do their job. If they do their job, everything works out good. If they don't, you've got problems. Sometimes you hire, sometimes you fire. But you've still got to have that scale of leadership to get the job done right. So I want to, you know, my personal day, I'm all for making whatever better in the county. It's pretty much common sense how things happen. And when it happens over and over and over again, you can pretty much figure out something's not happening right. It's good on one side or bad on the other side. I don't know. I do not know. So I'm not going to sit here and point fingers at anybody. I want to find out. Sometimes it's, you know, it's people, human beings, egos, whatever it is. We need to find out. And you're going to continue to have these problems, but it seems like the fire department is the one that's under the bullseye all the time. And, hey, maybe it'll change. I don't know. But it's got to change because, you know, it gets kind of out of hand every now and then. But as my point, I want to find out what happened. And I want to hear both sides. I want to talk. I know a lot of firefighters. I know a lot of y'all. We need to find out what happened, good or bad. People make mistakes. That's what happens. But we need to find out. Said enough. George. Well, I want to say publicly that I have complete confidence in the leadership and complete confidence in the manager's office. We are dealing with a very unique work environment where folks spend 24 hours a day and plenty of time to talk and compare notes. But all that said, and I'm not sure it's any different from any other firehouse across the country, but I don't see any evidence that service has been compromised at one wit. Whenever the bell rings, everything is put aside, and these professionals from top to bottom respond accordingly. And I have no repudiation of level of service by anybody. We're dealing with personnel policy manuals. We're dealing with collective bargaining agreements. So when all else fails, read the instructions. And sometimes we forget that step. Read the instructions. Let the chips fall where they may. That's why there's a grievance procedure, a grievance process, adopted standards. But there's certainly no loss of confidence on my part by the leadership of the organization or the manager's office. But a fresh look to affirm that. I'm not opposed to. But I don't see this as a repudiation of leadership. It's simply a matter of codifying where the friction points might be. But that's why an objective entity would be best, because they would be fair on both sides to see exactly what's going on instead of just coming in thinking it's one or the other. So I agree with you. All right. Chairman. Yep. Randy, are we entitled to ask questions of you or Bill regarding policies and written policies and things that we've been told, who do we get answers from without asking them in this meeting, who do we direct those questions to? Now, if we're talking about general policies and so forth, I think that's, of course, something we can provide to you. I think on the specific case at hand, I think we should allow that to go through the agreements process. The union, I'm assuming, will be involved in that. And then the board will find out. That will become public in that process. But in general, I think we should bill or Mr. Hallman, Chief Hallman, will be able to provide you those policies and so forth, if that's what you're asking. Does that make sense? I think we should stay away from the specifics. And then what I'm hearing from Commissioner Braswell, that he wants to generally look at the organization, not to this specific situation. I think the specific. No, no, that's what I'm saying. And I'll get with Stacey. We'll have something for the next agenda review. Anybody else? All right. Moving on. Thanks. Now we're going to public hearings. One second. You guys are free to go. We're going to discuss land use cases at this point. Mr. Chair, I'll go over the general procedures for public hearings. We ask that you please turn off your cell phones or other devices that may distract from the public hearings. Please adjust the microphone and state your full name and address for the record before you begin speaking on a topic. Individuals speaking during the public comment section of a matter will be strictly limited three minutes. The board, experiencing these matters, is able to discern what is legally relevant to an issue and what is not information that is irrelevant or repetitive only serves to frustrate and necessarily prolong the day's business. The commission expects civility at all times during all public hearings, speaking out of turn, shouting out from the audience disrespectful sounds or utterances while another is speaking are unacceptable and you will be asked to leave the chambers for the remainder of the day. If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the board with respect to any matter considered here today, you will need a record of the proceedings and that for such purposes you may need to ensure a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which the record includes the testimony evidence upon which the appeal is to be based, which you must gather at your own expense. Anyone in the audience who wishes to speak and present testimony today must be sworn in. All testimony given during public hearings shall be deemed to be sworn. At this time, if you're going to address the commission or speak on any case today, please stand, raise your right hand, and answer out the following questions. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony or evidence you provide to the commission today is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? All right, thank you. Mr. Chair, I'll go over the expedited hearings at this time. Expedited hearings are held pursuant to resolution number 2022, resolution number 2022-089. Expedited hearings are used when no opposition was present at the planning commission hearing. The applicant agrees to the expedited hearing, and recommendation of the Development Review Committee is for approval. Expedited procedures are the following. After staff briefly introduces the case, the hearing will be open for the public comment. If anyone speaks during public comment, the applicant will be given the opportunity to respond. After public comment, the board will consider the land use case. At any time, a full presentation from staff can be requested from a commissioner, the applicant, or members of the public. All documents attached to the agenda item are deemed part of the record of the land use case. Unless removed from the list of experts, by motion of the board, all individuals on the list of experts attached to the agenda item are deemed experts for the purpose of the land use case. And at this time, I'll turn it over to Mr. Siskel to present the expedited hearings. Thank you, Mr. Mink. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. We have two expedited public hearings on your agenda today. Item number 01 is an expedited public hearing for case LDC-PAL 2023-5 Northeast Regional Park to consider a large-scale comprehensive plan map amendment to change the future land use designation from residential low to recreation and open space on 80.26 acres and to institutional on 1.95 acres to recognize the existing regional park and fire rescue station in the North U.S. Highway 27 selected area plan. The subject site is on the east side of U.S. Highway 27 north of I-4, known as the Northeast Regional Park. The park itself was approved by conditional use of the Planning Commission in 2010, and the park and the fire station began operations in 2012. Since that time, the park has essentially built out, including moving all the way to the eastern portion of the property, now including baseball fields and a dog park. This change will memorialize those improvements and solidify the county's intent to continue to operate this site as a fire station and as a park, and that homes will not be built on this site. This was transmitted to the Department of Commerce back in November, and no comments were received. Mr. Chair, this is the adoption hearing today, and staff recommends approval. Any questions? All right. CNN, I'll open up a public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak on matter 01, CNN 01, I'll close the public hearing and bring it back to the board. Move approval. Second. Got a motion and a second for approval. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, like, signed. Motion carries. Item number 02 is an expedited public hearing for case LDCT 2023-18, livestock and fowl in residential neighborhoods, to consider a county-initiated request to modify Section 222 and clarify the county's code on non-residential farm building and structures and to allow variances to setback distances. The current code requires a 50-foot setback for any structure that is used for the sheltering or feeding of animals in any land-use district except for the agricultural, rural, residential, phosphate mining, or the green swamp core. The code currently provides a variance process for any site that is half an acre or less, but does not provide the same variance opportunity for any site greater than a half acre. So this amendment would provide a consistent process allowing variances to that setback regardless of size. This is the first reading, and following any public comment, no action is required today, sir. All right. Any questions? All right. I'll open up a public hearing on 02. Anyone wishing to speak on this matter? Seeing nobody, I'll close the public hearing. We'll move on to the next item. Good morning. Last but not least, welcome to 24. It looks like it's going to be an interesting year. Good morning. I'm Wade Allen, your administrator for real estate services. The county has received a petition from Jeremy Andrew to vacate a portion of the planted, unopened, unmaintained rights way shown on the map of town of Medulla, Medulla, excuse me, which is a correction to the map entitled Henry Hayes Map of Medulla. Polk County, Florida, Subject Rights Way Alliance, Section 13, Township 29, Range 23. The map of Henry Hayes Map of Medulla and the corrected map titled Town of Medulla, filed in 1908 and 1910, respectively, depicted various rights away throughout the plat, and the petitioner has requested a vacation to assemble and maintain a part of his property. During the review of the area, it was discovered that the vacation requested area would leave an isolated segment of platted right-of-way to the east of Block 8 and adjacent to the railroad right-of-way. So, the county is adding it to the vacation request. Vacating rights away will remove the public interest in the subject area, which will allow the petitioner and the other landowners to assemble and more fully utilize their properties. Staff contacted the adjacent property owner to the east and, excuse me, staff contacted the adjacent property owners to the north and south and received an objection from the property owner shown here to the east of the petitioner's property who lives, but their primary access is off of Watson Drive right here, which is a county-maintained road and not this right-of-way here. Based on that, the county also contacted utility providers along with the appropriate county divisions, and they have no objection to the proposed vacation, staff recommends the board adopt a resolution to vacate the platted, excuse me, the subject platted and unopened and unmaintained right-of-way as fully described in the legal description attached to the petition and the resolution, and I'll remain standing for any questions that you might have. Medulla? Yeah, Medulla. Where are you from? Let's see. Any questions? Well, if I could get this frog out of my mouth, I might be honest. I heard Medulla, Medulla, not Medulla. Medulla. Medulla. There you go. Medulla. All right, I'll open a public hearing on this matter. Anyone wishing to speak? Seeing no one will close public hearing, bring it back to the board. Approval. Second. Got a motion and a second for approval. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Posed like to sign a motion. Carries anything else? That's it, Mr. Chair. We're adjourned. Thank you very much. Have a great week.