Father, scripture reminds us that when we seek you, we will find you. So as we gather here this morning, we seek you, mindful of the calling you have placed within each of us. As we engage in meaningful discussion and as decisions are made here today that will affect the citizens and visitors of this county, fill us with your grace, and may all that is accomplished here today bring you honor. And I ask this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Good morning, commissioners, staff, and visitors. I'm Caitlin Hoverkamp, public and media relations officer for Polk County Government. Today we are recognizing two employees for their service to Polk County. I'd like to invite the employees to come to the front as their names are called, and then if the honorees will remain at the front while the commissioners return to the bias behind them, we will take a group photo at the end. Jeffrey Coburn has spent 20 years with Polk County Fire Rescue. He started his career with the department as a firefighter in 2005 before being promoted to the position of firefighter engineer and is currently a captain emergency medical technician. Jeffrey graduated from Lake Wales High School and spent and went on to attend Polk State College. He completed fire standards training at Ridge Fire Academy in Winterhaven and obtained his emergency medical technician certification from Polk State College. Throughout his time with the county, Jeffrey has obtained his fire officer one certification, and he currently serves as an active member of the Polk County Fire Rescue Marine Unit. He is a member of Greenleaf River of Life Church. He enjoys fishing and spending time with his wife, Vanessa, sons, Reston and Brantley, and his daughter, Angelina. Jeffrey looks forward to continue to develop the next generation of fire service personnel, finishing out his career with Polk County Fire Rescue, and to spend time with his family. Perry Hill has worked for Polk County's Information Technology Division for 20 years. He is currently a Tier 2 Service Desk Analyst. Perry joined the Information Technology Division in 2005 as a Network Analyst. He held the roles of Hardware Tech and Desktop Tech before moving to his current position of Service Desk Analyst. Perry has an Associate's Degree in Science, and he is a member of the Cloud Church. He is also a member of the 501st Star Wars Costuming Legion. In his spare time, Perry enjoys visiting theme parks with his wife, Michelle, son, Daniel, and daughter, Gabrielle, and thrifting with his wife for their eBay store. When he retires, he looks forward to spending more time with his family and thrifting full-time. Congratulations. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right, everyone. Let's see. We have a request from the general public, and I have once already signed up a Miss Diane Borders. Just give us one minute, Miss Borders, and let's let everybody get out of here. All right, Miss Borders, if you'd like to come forward, state your name and address, and you'll be given three minutes. Good morning. My name is Diane Borders. I reside at 2224 Evey Street in Lake Wells, and I'm here to address the road drainage problem in the Highland Park Manor residential community. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Jacobs attended one of our meetings regarding this road and drainage problem that we have out there in the Highland Park Manor residential community. And we've had this problem for a while, and they've heard some of the concerns from our community residents, and they kind of assured us that they will come back and get us some help out there. And that was last year that they attended our meetings, and we still have the problem. So my question now is just when are we going to get some help? I also want to address that we're also in need of some speed bumps and a three-way stop sign on the corner of Tangelo and Freelander Road. Because when you first come into our community, that street is Tangelo. When you come in at the community, Tangelo branches off to all the streets that's on that side. And because of all the traffic coming through there with the dump trucks, and it's just a through road going into Babson Park and into Frostproof, so they come through their speeding. So we need a three-way stop sign. Tangelo, it branches off into our community from Hunt Brothers Road. The cars are speeding through and headed to Freelander Road. So there's no stop sign there at Freelander Road and Tangelo. So we're in need of a stop sign, a three-way stop sign. That way they will stop. We have seniors out there that walks in the morning and in the afternoon. Plus we have a lot of kids out there. So we need that stop sign and speed bumps. When you come into Highland Park, there's on Tangelo Road, there's four school bus stops in the mornings and in the afternoon. And on Freelander Road, there's three school bus stops. And so there's one of our residents that was walking one morning, and he got hit by one of these trucks out there. In order for our children to go to our playgrounds and our parks out there, they have to cross Tangelo Road. So in order for our children to go to the play parks and the playground, the ball courts, they've got to cross Tangelo Road to get to that park. So we're in need of those speed bumps and at least a three-way stop so they can stop at that Tangelo Road and Freelander Road. So that's my concern this morning. Thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Borders. Ms. Borders, just right quick, I think it was in the last year when me and Jay went to your meeting. Yes. And, you know, we're looking at it, we've looked at it, and, you know, it's going to be a little bit, it's not a simple fix. Because when we move the water, it goes to somebody else and makes a big problem there, too. So we're looking at it. I know we just recently changed some designation on some roads to get some speed bumps. I don't think this is the road that we were. Freelander is. Okay, it's Freelander, okay. Yeah, Tangelo goes right into Freelander. Okay, yeah, and we got that done last board meeting to be able to do that, what you're asking. And so we're moving along. I know it's not as fast as you want, but we're getting there. But appreciate you coming. All right, thank you very much. All right, anyone else like the, oh, yeah, Ms. Richards, is that you in the back back there? Okay. Freelander. I thought she, oh, yeah, you are disguised. I thought she might have just covered everything you want to cover. So Cassandra Richards, 2357, Freelander Road, Lake Wells, I just want to echo what Ms. Border said because it is important that we get that done out there. I'm glad I'm beginning to see more than just me from Highland Park coming and speak, as I've always told them. It needs to be more than just me because it's not my problem alone. It's the community problem. So I do echo that we definitely need, like I said, the dump trucks do come through there. The children do play. Just need it done. Somebody's going to get hurt eventually because the school buses, I'd be afraid because they small children getting off the school bus and you have parents parked waiting on them to get off the school bus. Some of them have to get off and cross Freelander Road. And if you've got a car speeding down the road, I wish I had a fix that I can help you out to stop them from speeding down there. I do have a fix, but I'll go to jail if I can. Yeah, you might go to jail. I got you. Then we'll be needing bail money then. I can just throw one of those spikes out there. But I can't do that. So I just want to echo what Ms. Border said. Thank you, ma'am. Anyone else? All right. We'll bring it back to the board. I think it's going to approve consent agenda time. Move to approve consent agenda. Got a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Ms. Butterfield. Good morning. Good morning. I need for you to approve and ratify payroll checks number 03757 through 03770 in the amount of $12,932.72. We have $2,783 direct deposits in the amount of $4,153,508.20. Those are dated March 7 of 2025. We have wired and electronic funds transfers of $17,390,516.95, dated March 4 through March 17 of 2025. And lastly, we have invoice checks numbered 479035 through 479889, totaling $20,560,380.52, dated March 4 through March 17, 2025, for you to approve and ratify, please. Move for approval. Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. We also request approval of your minutes of your regular board meeting that was held on March the 4th, 2025, please. Motion for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Anything else? No. Thank you very much. Okay. Randy, you got anything? Okay. Mr. Beasley. Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board, members of the viewing audience. The manager's office will have four items for board consideration this morning. Item number H1 is to request the board to approve a local agency program or a LAP agreement between Polk County and the Florida Department of Transportation in connection with the main avenue sidewalk project. Board action today will include associated resolutions, a community investment program budget amendment, and a budget transfer to account for these unanticipated revenues in the total amount of $3,228,442. The Florida Department of Transportation has agreed to participate by way of state LAP funding and financial oversight towards construction and construction engineering and inspection services in connection with the main avenue sidewalk between Cumbie Road and Reynolds Road. The project includes five- to six-foot-wide sidewalk, ADA-compliant, as well as crosswalks along the south side of Main Avenue, limited areas of access via curb and gutter and retaining walls, and minor improvements to the existing drainage system. The overall project length is approximately nine-tenths of a mile. The project design is complete, and an award for construction is anticipated within the next several months. The LAP agreement includes $3,100,293 towards construction and $128,149 in construction, engineering, and inspection services. The Florida Department of Transportation participation may be increased or reduced based upon determination of the actual bid amounts. However, Polk County agrees to bear all expenses in excess of the total costs currently anticipated. Upon approval of the proposed agreement, inclusive of the CIP amendment and budget transfer funding in the amount of $3,228,442 will be established in the special revenue grant fund specific to the roads and drainage sidewalk community investment program project. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think in keeping with the board's commitment to student and pedestrian safety, I would request the board approve the proposed local agency program agreement between Polk County and the Florida Department of Transportation in connection with the main avenue sidewalk project to include the associated resolutions, community investment program amendment, and budget transfer in an amount not to exceed $3,228,442. I need a motion. Second. I've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number H2 is to request the board to approve the first amendment to the existing contract with Tri-County Human Services to provide staffing and support for the program titled Helping Achieve Targeted Comprehensive Health Care, i.e. the Hatch Program. This amendment will extend the program service date and increase the program funding cap to an amount not to exceed $1,020,132. In 2016, the Florida Department of Children and Families awarded Polk County a criminal justice, mental health, and substance abuse reinvestment grant. In 2018, Polk County used these state grant funds to develop and implement what we call the Helping Hands Program, or better defined as Healthcare Access, Navigation, Delivery, and Support Program, to assist newly released mentally ill inmates from the Polk County Jail intended to help in their transition from the jail environment into the community living. In March of 2022, Polk County was awarded a second reinvestment grant intended to be used for the purpose of expanding the Helping Hands Program. The state funding was ultimately used to establish what we call the Hatch Program, which stands for Helping Achieve Targeted Comprehensive Healthcare. In support of the Hatch Program, Polk County is currently contracted with Tri-County Human Services to provide the full-time services of a case manager and a housing specialist. The case manager services include connectivity with potential clients while in jail to coordinate a smooth transition into the program upon release, determining and verifying eligibility of program participants, assisting enrolled program participants with benefit applications, assessing clients for employability and providing linkage to job placement, behavioral health, and transportation services, and finally, to help develop and implement a jail discharge plan to complete the client's transition into community living. The housing specialist services include assisting clients with access to housing, obtaining hygiene, clothing, and other items as necessary for the new resident, and building relationships with local landlords who will work with individuals with poor credit or who have previous eviction history. This second reinvestment grant awarded in 2022 was recently extended to August 31st of 2025. The proposed First Amendment to the existing contract with Tri-County Human Services will extend the term of the contract to align with the state grant and increase total contract funding from its current cap of $850,992 to the proposed cap of $1,020,132, utilizing all unspent grant funding. This is a cost reimbursement contract for staff salaries and program expenses. The First Amendment will be retroactively effective beginning October 1, 2024, through August 31st of 2025. Funding for these behavioral health and mental health initiatives is available in the Special Revenue Grant Fund. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think in keeping with the board's commitment to community behavioral and mental health initiatives, I would request the board's approval of Amendment No. 1 to the existing contract with Tri-County Human Services to provide community health care services in connection with the Hatch Program to reflect program services retroactively from October 1, 2024, through August 31, 2025, and inclusive of total services expenses not to exceed $1,020,132. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? I'm opposed. Motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number H3 is to request the board approve a consultant services agreement with Inwood Consulting Engineers to provide professional engineering services in connection with the Daughtery Road Park Phase 1 development project. This action will be to approve a one-time expense not to exceed $736,759.10. Polk County purchased the 30-acre Daughtery Road property in 2007 with the specific intent to provide additional recreational facilities and to relieve the high demand for field use at the nearby Hunt Fountain Park. The property is currently being used by the Polk County Utilities Division as an effluent spray field along with an existing agreement for cattle grazing. As part of the park's master plan approved by the board in 2008, the Phase 1 development would be to the northeast area of the property. This phase will include construction of three artificial turf multipurpose fields to include concession and restroom facilities and associated infrastructure to provide fully functional athletic facilities. This professional services agreement will provide for design, permitting, survey, and construction administration services to prepare for a construction contract and oversight during the construction phase of the project. Funding for this park expansion initiative is available in the Parks and Natural Resources Community Investment Program within the General Capital Improvement Fund. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think, again, in keeping with the board's initiatives to improve and expand upon active park venues, I would request the board's approval of CSA number 2022-063-02 with the Inwood Consulting Engineering Group in connection with the Daughtery Road Park Phase 1 development project in an amount not to exceed $736,759.10. Commissioner Brown. Can we go back one slide? Is that a school between the two parks, the established park and the future park? I believe it is. Gay would know more about the specific nature of that school. So does that mean is there a sidewalk then connecting the two pieces of property? We can certainly include that in the scope of the contract. There is to the north right now, so from the school up to Hunt Fountain there is. There is not a continuous sidewalk going to the south yet. I mean, it's going to be a logical thing on Saturdays. There's going to be a ton of kids on bicycles going back and forth, so just throwing that out there. Yes, sir. Well, Dave, definitely take that into account. To that same point, we talked about it at the briefing, but if you go down by Walmart where all the new apartments and everything are built now and then they've got the new townhomes and apartments to the north, I definitely want to look at sidewalk coming from the east side of Daughtry before you get to 98 and coming down to where this park is going to be because, again, that's a logical path for those residents to come down and use the park facilities as well. Daughtry runs down the side of Walmart? It goes, yeah, it's on the north side of that Walmart from east to west, correct? Mr. Chair, based on Commissioner Scott's earlier comment, Mr. Bode is going to bring that sidewalk extension to the sidewalk advisory committee at their next meeting. So it will be considered with the other candidates, I want to. Yeah, working in parallel with this. All right, move for approval. Second. I've got a motion and a second. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chair, final item from the Manager's Office, item number H-4, is to request the board to approve a standard grant agreement between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Polk County in connection with the Circle B Bar Reserve Pond Project. This action will reflect board acceptance of a state grant funds totaling $200,000 in exchange for a Polk County matching $200,000 funding commitment. In 2000, Polk County purchased 1,267 acres off Winter Lake Road, known today as the Circle B Bar Reserve. The main purpose of this investment was to create a stormwater facility to improve water quality on Lake Hancock. In 2008, Polk's Nature Discovery Center opened to the public, which includes seven miles of hiking trails and various other outdoor recreational and educational opportunities. The overarching site goal continues to serve as a hub for information to the public about Polk's water, wildlife, and wilderness. In 2022, the Parks and Natural Resources staff began restoration of an old borough pit pond area in an area previously not open to the public. This pond has been identified as an area that could be used to enhance stormwater educational programming. To fully utilize this area, public recreational amenities and facilities were always envisioned and are now contemplated. In early 2024, staff identified a potential state grant funding opportunity in connection with this project. An application was submitted with the intent to support the planning, design, construction, additional multi-use trails, and a floating boardwalk, picnic pavilion, and educational kiosk. During the latter part of 2024, Polk was notified of an award of a Florida Recreational Development Assistance Program grant through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The standard grant agreement provides $200,000 in funding that requires a county match of $200,000. Approval of this grant will allow for the new recreational educational component to move forward on the Circle B Bar Reserve, which will indeed enhance visitor experiences. Funding for this passive recreational and educational venue, certainly as part of Circle B Bar Reserve, is available in the Special Revenue Grant Fund and the Parks and Natural Resources Five-Year Community Investment Program project budgeted within the Environmental Lands Acquisition Fund. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think in keeping with the board's commitment to expand recreational and educational venues, especially on the Circle B Bar Reserve complex, I would request the board approve standard grant agreement number P-5028 between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Polk County, all of which is in connection with the Circle B Bar Reserve Pond Project. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further questions? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Commissioner Troutman. Okay. Commissioner Braswell. Just a few things. I thought the trip to Tallahassee was worthwhile and we got a lot accomplished. I like the way that we've changed it to not so much walking in there with a binder full of a list of demands, but more like a, hey guys, you help us, we'll help you kind of attitude. I think everybody appreciates that. I think it makes it a lot more fun for everybody, or not fun, but enjoyable. And I think our representatives appreciate that we come in there with what we want from the state, we look at from a viewpoint of it will enhance something for the state as well as do something good for Polk County. I also, I said this the other day and it really was an eye-opener for me because we've heard going up there, there's no money, there's much less money, things are tight, and in my mind I'm like, why? What changed? You know, I mean, this sounds like some more rhetoric that just makes it tougher to get money out of these guys, but Ben Allbritton really kind of laid it out with it's all been COVID money up until this point, and that was, I thought, a very valid point. You know, the state got hundreds of millions of dollars of COVID money, and that's all gone, and so things are going to be tighter around here going forward, and we all have to be cognizant of that. I do want to thank Amber and her team. I think they did a great job. Like I said before, I'll say it again, I like that small place where we had lunch, but I thought it was well put together and well received in Tallahassee. So the last thing is there's an article in today's paper about Pipkin Road, and I even hate to say those words around Bill. I know he doesn't want to hear it. But one thing that I don't want it today, I don't want it until Pipkin Road is complete, but I would like to come back and look at change orders to some of these contracts. It seems to me, you know, we award these big contracts for roads, and then there's $400,000 here and $300,000 there every week or every meeting, and, you know, pretty soon that adds up to some real money. So I think going forward after these projects, we need to review, first of all, why were there so many change orders? What did they accomplish? Did we miss the boat on the initial bid? Did things come up that are legitimate or just what's going on here? So anyway, that's all I got. We'll be glad to try that, Mr. Chair. Commissioner Santiago. Just want to echo Commissioner Braswell's words about visiting Tallahassee. I like the format. I like us to continue using that kind of format. I agree that I think our legislators received it quite well. So thank you, Amber and her team, for everything that you've done. And thank you also for the gift this morning. We appreciate that very much. And that's it, Mr. Chair. Commissioner Scott. Yeah, just to touch base on Tallahassee, my first time visiting the Capitol, so that was pretty insightful to see what all goes on there and truly the challenges that those lawmakers have. But it was very enlightening to see how much weight Polk County carries when you look at the Capitol. And, you know, just because we're one of many counties in the state, we're a top of mind to a lot of those representatives and senators, so I appreciated that. And then just wanted to say thank you to the Sheriff's Department. Did the ride along yesterday in the helicopter, although it was a bit windy. I got to see a lot of the county and see some of our challenges that we are faced with and some of the decisions in the past that we have to now deal with. But I just want to appreciate all the assets that we have and the work that Grady Judd does I think is insurmountable and I'm really glad to have that. So I appreciate it. Thank you. I think everybody pretty much said what they thought about Polk County days. I thought it was really good. I'm not going to sit here and echo it. All the changes were great. The one thing that didn't get brought up, which was pretty neat, me and Bill and John, we got to sit down and talk with Secretary Perdue over the state of Florida Transportation. He gave us some pretty good insight on what they're up against along with us on what we're up against. And we all got the same problem. And he understands that our area is a very important area. And, you know, that was a pretty good meeting. And hopefully that we do have a rapport with him and we can move on and try to help things out. So it was a great trip. And I think that's all I got to say. I think, Bill, you're going to do the. Yeah. I move to approve N-1. That's a second for the several appointments to the lay boards. Okay. I got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Ben? Before Ben presents, I'll go over the general procedures, Mr. Chair. This is the public hearing section of the agenda. We ask that you please turn off your cell phones or other devices that may distract from the public hearings, adjust the microphone, and state your full name and address for the record before you begin speaking on topic. Individuals speaking during the public comment section of a matter will be strictly limited at three minutes. The board that is experiencing these matters is enabled to discern what is legally relevant to an issue and what is not. Information that is relevant 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, I'll turn and shout out from the audience if there's both sounds or understands while another is speaking or 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 today, you will need a record of proceedings and that for such purposes you may need to ensure that verbatim record of proceedings is made, which 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, you must stand, raise your right hand, and answer out loud to the following questions. Do you swear or affirm that testimony or evidence you provide to the commission today is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Thank you. Exhibited hearing procedures. Exhibited hearings are held pursuant to resolution number 2022-089. Exhibited hearings are used when no opposition was present at the Planning Commission hearing. The applicant agrees to the expedited hearing, and the recommendation of the development and review committee is for approval. Exhibited procedures are the following. After staff briefly introduces the case, the hearing will be open for public comment. If anyone speaks during public comment, the applicant will be given the opportunity to respond. At the public comment, the board will consider the land use case. At any time, a full presentation of staff can be requested from a commissioner, the applicant, or a member of the public. All documents attached to the gen item are deemed part of the record for 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 gen item are deemed experts for the purpose of the land use case. Turn it over to Mr. Ziskell to present the expedited hearing. Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Mink. For the record, Ben Ziskell, Land Development Director. There is one item on your expedited public hearing agenda today. Item number 01 is an expedited public hearing for case LDCT 2024-21, Accessory Structures Land Development Code text amendment. This ordinance will amend the land development code addressing accessory structures in really three key components. First, it will reestablish a five-foot setback for accessory structures in most land development districts. Number two, it will clarify language, as seen on the screen here, where residential properties are bisected by a road. It will clarify language that that property is allowed to build an accessory structure on the lake side of their property. And number three, it will set a limit for accessory dwelling units to 1,000 square feet. The Planning Commission had originally recommended a 50% limitation on the site. But based on feedback received by this board, two weeks ago, the ordinance has been revised for a 1,000-foot, square foot cap, which is in line with our single-family residential impact fees. So with that, staff is recommending approval. And this is an adoption hearing. I'm here for any questions. Any questions? Yes. So I apologize for bringing this to you kind of at the last minute. But given our follow-up and little discussion on this on Friday, when we talk about people that do this and then they subdivide this and, in essence, are escaping impact fees in some other areas, is there a way to capture this in the ordinance that if they do subdivide after after this has been approved as an accessory dwelling unit, that the county can retroactively go back and collect fees that should be assessed? I'd have to defer to Mr. Mink on retroactive collection. Certainly part of this ordinance is to limit the square footage because we do have cases where a second home is built. And then through the property appraiser's process, property is subdivided. And now there are two holistic single-family homes. But tying the 1,000 square feet to our impact fees at least keeps them at a reasonable size. But as far as collecting any back impact fees, Mr. Mink? Under our impact ordinance, and I'd subdivide with our approval, then there's a code violation. So we would seek that code violation at that time. Then they would come in to get it rectified through the land development process. At that time, I think we would have a change of use, which then would implement the impact fee, if I'm not mistaken. So when they came in to do the change of use, then we could collect the impact fee. Is that what Mr. Mink is? Let me ask you. So if you've got a house, you build a 900-square-foot house, then you subdivide. Did I hear you? Did you say that's a code violation? Yeah, because for subdividing, you have to come to us to plant it and so forth, right? But, I mean, if they went through the process, they could do it, right? Right, if they went through the land development process, the property is subdivided. Am I missing something, John? No, right. At that point, we would be able to cite them for the illegal subdivision, and then they would have to go through the process. And I think at that point, when they do the change of use, we should be able to collect the impact fees, if I'm not mistaken. When they subdivide it, it would trigger that process to collect the impact fees. Right, otherwise, it would be an illegal subdivision of the property, and we would take them through the code enforcement process. Well, again, I question this just from this brief discussion that we had. So, again, very last-minute discussion on this. I just got the impression that this probably has happened, and as we continue to face more and more challenges with affordable housing and such, this becomes more likely a scenario that we will face. And, again, they're finding a loophole. Kudos to them for that, but it's not fair to the other residents in the county. So, to clarify, if they have to plat the property, they certainly come to us for a platting. The issue that we have is when they don't have to plat and they do a one-time split, and then the lots no longer conform with our minimum lot size requirements. So, building an accessory structure and then selling that piece of their property off to someone else, we now have situations where there are two homes that are owned by two different individuals, and those properties don't meet our minimum lot size. We absolutely capture it when they come into plat, and we go through that process. So, what you just described, I mean, we have no comeback on that. It's just, you know, they do it, and away they go, and everything is non-conforming, but it's just the reality. It seems that way. So, we can look at it a little bit closer to see if we're having an issue with that and if there's something we need to change to capture it. And it seems like, if I recall, that part of the challenge is the communication between us and the property appraiser when this happens. For record, Benjamin Dunn, Planning and Development Director. To go back to your one question, Commissioner Troutman, we've had situations where someone did build an accessory unit that was like 3,000 square foot. It did get caught. They did try to split it. We ended up making them go through the permitting process as long as they can meet those requirements, and then we made them pay the impact fee. So, we did capture that and do that process. Again, it sounds like that this is not the ordinance that it needs to be tied to regardless of how we move forward, but I do think that that's a possibility that we need to think about what is our process and procedure when that comes so that it's clear. We'll look at the ordinance. If we need to tweak it to make sure we capture that, we will. I got one more quick question. So, I don't see a limitation of one. Could somebody do five, 900 square foot accessory dwelling units? It does limit it to one. That's not on the slide, but the text of the ordinance does limit it. Okay. All right. Thanks. Any other questions? All right. With that, are we... Oh, yeah. Got a public hearing. Excuse me. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the... It's time for a public hearing. I say, I say, I say. It's easy for you to say. Yeah, it's easy for you to say. If you'd like to come forward and speak on this, please come forward and you'll be given three minutes. State your name and address. Seeing none, we'll bring it back to the board. Move for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Now, we'll go to the non-extradited portion of the public hearings, which is the public hearing on the request to amend the impact fee ordinance. And Mr. Bodie will present that. Good morning, commissioners. For the record, John Bodie, deputy county manager. Let me say, because this is not the extraordinary circumstances, let me read that this is a public hearing to consider the adoption for the record of an ordinance amending and restating Polk County Ordinance 2024-062, the Polk County Amended and Restated Comprehensive Impact Fee Ordinance for the purpose of adopting the 2025 Warehouse Transportation Impact Fee Study and the Related Extraordinary Circumstances Study Supplement and imposing updated rates for warehouse and industrial transportation impact fees. I pretty much, based on the discussion on Friday, this is the table that I've shown you several times. These are your options. Again, just to reiterate, you're limited on the 90, 95%, 100% phase-in, and then those are your options. The top row is just the current rates, that 573, 607, and 639. That's the current phase-in schedule that's adopted today. If you don't do anything, that's where it will stay. And that coincides with all the other increases as they go for transportation as far as the phase-in schedule. And then also, the other remaining five are your options here today. And then you can see the typical increase on a 100,000-square-foot warehouse. So I've got additional slides should you need to see them as far as the comparisons of the other counties that we've gone over. Also, one thing I want to mention, we've probably said this a few times, but what you see is District A, which is the highest rate. So there is a District B and a C to these numbers. They're lower, though. So you're just seeing the highest numbers. So, like, for example, actually, I have a slide to that, I believe. Let me show you that. I just want to give you an example. Like, you went with that 171 rate with the blockage. You can see I've always been showing you the 100% number of the 832, but you can see what it is in B and C for each phase-in schedule. I just wanted to make the board aware of that, that there are different rates for Districts B and C, and they're lower, but you're always seeing the higher number. So I just want to throw that in. And that corresponds, that's the same for all the other options, too. They have a B and a C district that's lower. Where are those districts at, John? As far as the location, when you talk about districts, where are those? Yes, sir. I have a map, I believe, for that to show you right here. Pretty much that center point of where I've got the curse right there, that's pretty much Broadway and Main right here at Palace Pizza. So Lake Wales would be in C, correct? Excuse me, what was that? Lake Wales would fall in C, correct? Yes, sir. I believe when I looked at that before, some of the Lake Wales may get into the A district, but I think you're primarily, yes, most of it is in C. Okay, because I know they were asking about a lower fee schedule for them relative to the airport corridors. Right. We are offering that in this case. Yes, sir. It is already lower in that district. Now, there's not a lot of variation in those, as you can see, but it is lower. Yes, sir. Any other questions? All right. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to comment on this subject, please come forward and state your name and address, and you'll be given three minutes. Seeing none, I'll bring it back to the board. I've got some. I only wrote a page and a half. Bring it back to the board for a motion. Can I discuss something here for just a moment? So, it's a lot of time to think about this from Friday to today. And what we talked about, and Mr. Brody brought it up, you know, doing nothing is an option. I would just say that doing nothing as a board sends a message that, you know, we're going out, we spend money on a study. We're confirming through our own individual observations and also through some parts of the study that there's issues that we have to address through transportation impact fees and that we truly are under charging right now. But doing nothing really is kind of a, I think, ill will of the board. I'd also encourage the economic development departments within the county to leverage the value of the quality of life of Polk County that we afford as the biggest asset to bringing businesses and current and future employees to those businesses. To think that we can optimize the attraction of new businesses by being the low-cost provider only to me is a disservice to the county and to our residents. And that if you think about a business like Publix, which I shop at frequently, you know, they're not the lowest-cost provider of groceries. They've been very, very successful at maximizing profits, which is great. They're a for-profit company, building legacies within families that work generation after generation at their stores, but they're not the low-cost provider. Their success hasn't been able, hasn't been aided by selling, you know, a bag of potato chips for a dollar less than the next nearest grocer. So why should we do that as a county? And then in comparing, I was able to get some of the information. We talked about Plant City and all the county line district there of warehousing. So the warehouses that are there on county line that are currently developed got a deal at $269 per thousand square feet. However, in 2024, Plant City approved a 227% increase to $611 per thousand square foot on the general warehousing, but on the rest of the fees, manufacturing is $18.87, high-cube warehousing, sorting is $2,604, and high-cube parcel hub is $18.51. So I say all that when we compare ourselves to our neighbors, you know, we're obviously at a very low-cost option, which is attractive. I get it. But again, it's not the only thing that attracts businesses to Polk County. And then on Lakeland's impact fees, Lakeland being higher than what our current fees are too. So for me, going into this, from the engineering side, I know what it costs to do transportation improvements, and our current level isn't adequate for that. I know the 1.71 with the blockage factor isn't adequate either, and I would rather have something higher. But if it's a choice of doing nothing or at least getting something, I would like to propose that motion of the 1.71 with the blockage factor as us at least doing something to get us a little bit further rather than taking two steps back. Okay, we've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Sure. Everything you said is right, and we are doing the citizens of our county a disservice by low-balling this thing. Can you stick those slides up there that I tried to show you guys Friday? Okay, the conversation that this is about the other one, that this is about jobs. I mean, to me, that says it all right there. That's County Line Road in the middle. You can see there's warehouses on both sides, just like you talked about. That $2,600, I looked at that too. That's not the total impact fee on an Amazon. That's just the transportation part of it. When you add it all up, it's well over $3 a square foot. And here we are charging $0.56 a square foot right now, looking at going to $0.83. So this isn't, I don't see how anybody can justify saying this is about jobs when it's just simply not. If you get out of Plant City, that's $1,600. That's what the county's charging. I tried to figure out who had more jobs. Because Hillsborough or Polk County, that's not easy to come by. Between all the different searches I did, it came up. It looks to me like there's probably 9,000 plus or minus warehouse jobs in Hillsborough, and there's 13,000 plus or minus in Polk County. And that has nothing to do with the impact fee. If these impact fees were this important to these builders, we'd have a room full of them. There's not one here. They don't care. It's so insignificant to them. It just doesn't matter. The reason there's more jobs in Polk County is because there's more land and more cheaper land. And that's why they're here. I would say whatever we do here, I mean, I hear what you're saying, Mike. But to me, it's all so insignificant. It doesn't matter. This morning when I came to work, I came off the parkway to get on 98. I sat through two lights because it was full of semis. They move slow. They take up four or five positions in every turn lane. We talked about that was the original when I brought this up whenever that was six months ago. That was my original point. These guys have such an impact on our roads, and we're not charging an impact fee that's fair to us. But, again, if this was a big deal to them, they'd be here, and they're not. So, I don't know, you know, I'll leave it at that. All right, anyone else? We do have a second, don't we? Yeah. Okay. We've got a motion and a second. All in favor of the second option is what I'm saying, 171. 171, a blockage. With the blockage. Which is, wait a minute, that's 832. 832. That'd be 832 at 90%. Yeah. Ultimate 924. Yeah. All in favor of that one. And that motion is to adopt the proposed order with 1.71, with the blockage, correct? Correct. Yeah. Proposed order. Ordance. Did I say order or ordinance? I can't. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Nay. Motion carries. Aaron, did we get four votes? No, we've got a vote. Oh. Yeah, you have to have a super majority. Oh, that's right. Yep. And I think Commissioner Troutman was nay, correct? Correct. We've got three. Okay, motion fails. Due to the statute. Yep, due to the statute of super majority. We stay at the current level. Unless someone wants to propose another motion. If not, then I think the item fails due to the lack of super majority. I mean, just for grins, I'll move for 1432, the 1.98 blended ITE and local study. If I could just comment on, you know, again, by us doing nothing and really related now to Plant City, staying at our current level, we're now even lower than Plant City. So we literally are saying that we're the, you know, dollar bargain bin of counties and are not going to look to improve roadways for our residents. Again, as a board, I think it's a direct slap in the face to residents to say that we would do nothing because of future maybes when we're already the lowest cost. And even increasing, we're still going to be the low cost or at least competitive with those around us. So I would like to say this sometimes by doing, you know, when this brought up, we've, we've all heard a lot of different, different things. We've heard reports. We've had, you know, all the stuff that's been given to us. We've talked to numerous, numerous people and, you know, and when I look at this thing is sometimes it's not all that bad to do nothing because there's a better way to do where to, a better way to get where you're wanting to get. I've heard a lot of different stuff of what we can and cannot do and how to evaluate this. And, you know, it's perked my ears up and, you know, we got a report. I agree with that, but it's still up to us to make our decision. So, you know, so take a breath around you. It's over with me. I know. But, you know, doing nothing is not always bad as long as you keep and trying to do the right thing. But I'm going to, I will be quiet now and take another breath, but you go ahead. I want to hear what you do. Well, I just want to say that I expressed my concerns with going with the 198 down to the 225, but I also expressed the fact that if we can settle for, like you said, Mike, for the 1.71, that is still a 45% increase and that's still generating more money. So I can live with either staying current or going to the 1.71 with the current blockage and factor applied. If I, if I may, on the 1.98 that was presented, again, if we look at percentages, plant city in 2024 went up 227% because they obviously undersold what they had before. That's just for general warehousing. When you look at the other parts, because now they, they also added these, I guess, multiple warehouse categories. So you went from 269 up to as high as $2,604 for a high Cuban sort. So I didn't do the math on that, but obviously it's close to a thousand percent. So from when we look at it, at the 171 was kind of my, let's at least do something. I think the 1.98 at that 14.32, again, when we talk about transportation, getting up on the parkway on the 98, now there's a pothole that literally will take out a small sedan that's not being fixed and has been there for a week. If we continue down that path, I mean, there's transportation where what, almost a billion dollars of transportation projects we can't fund right now within the county. So if we don't add more revenue to the transportation kitty, if you will, you can't get anything out of nothing. So I would say on that part, again, that, you know, when I came into this, me personally as an engineer and I know construction costs, I'm like, well, we really need to go at the highest and I get it. We need the moderation. So we do want to live kind of in the middle, but knowing what I know now about Hillsborough County, Plant City, this whole County line corridor of warehousing, that 1.98 with the blended, you're talking about the 1432, the blended with the IT local study. Again, it gets us, it is a little bit higher than the 1.71 to Commissioner Santiago's point. However, when you look at it, it's still, if you were to compare us to the surrounding counties at the current rates that are out there, we are right in the mix with all of them. So now we put that forth to a future business and we'll say, here's the other value adds that Polk County brings. Here's our assets as far as other resources, tax incentives, employee base, you know, all the things that we offer, to me, it puts us in that sweet spot versus just being the lowest cost option. And that, I understand if it puts us out of a league where we aren't even on a radar because we're too expensive. But at the 1432 ramping up in two years to 1591, we would still be cheaper in two years from now than what Plant City currently is if you're going to go build a warehouse there today. Yeah, and these guys are going to come back wanting tax breaks and everything else. And I mean, how could we possibly justify that? I mean, you know, the one remedy is just simply not approve them and then we don't have to worry about fixing the mess that they make. All right. We did have a motion on the third option, the 198 blended, didn't we? Or did we? Yes, we did. I'd second it. We got a second now with Commissioner Scott. Okay. We have a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Yes. Opposed? Aye. Aye. We're in the same boat we were. All right. Motion fails. I would just like to end this that, like you, Chair Wilson, I really look forward to doing an in-depth study that is appropriate and that we're looking at what is a true and fair assessment of the situation. You know, we've gotten to this that started out with asking for an increase of over 300% using this new term, blockage factor. And that would lead people to believe that all of a sudden, just now, there's a realization that heavy vehicles cause more problems than cars. And on its face, that makes sense. But if this were a way to do impact fees, I don't believe it would be a system that would be being brought forward just now. I do think that what we're doing, and I know I am, is about jobs in this county. And I want to ensure that we have steady economic growth, that we do not become stagnant and victims of fees that are unjust and not reasonable. All right. Anyone else? Did we get all that right? Yeah. I just want to make sure, Aaron, you have noted it fell due to the lack of a super majority. Yeah. Thank you. All right. I think we're done. All right. Okay. Have a great day. Still listening. We'll see you.