Board of County Commissioners on 2025-09-02 9:00 AM

Let's get started on September 2nd, 2025, the regular meeting, Board of County Commissioners. Would everybody please stand for our invocation and then remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Good morning. Shall we pray? Gracious Heavenly Father, we once again come together in prayer, thanking you once again for being a merciful, graceful, and just God, who is sovereign in all affairs on this earth. We may never truly understand the what or why of your will, but you have asked us to trust you in all things. We also ask for your forgiveness when we thumb our nose towards the grace that you have given us in your mercy. Father, we ask that you continue to give our leaders the wisdom that only comes from your throne and that we all continue to seek justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly before you. We'll lift these requests before your throne in the name of Jesus. Amen. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Mr. Dave Carter, chairman of the Stormwater Technical Advisory, has to give us an update. Good to see you again, Dave. Good morning, Mr. Manager. Mr. Chairman, county commissioners, Dave Carter, professional engineers. I am serving as chairman of the county stormwater technical advisory committee, and we typically give an annual report to the board. That's what this morning's agenda item is. There are several slides in here that are a recap of the past 10 years of the work of the county. It's a little bit of a redundant for some of you who have been on the board for a while, but there's some new commissioners. I thought it would be helpful to review some of that, and we'll go through those pretty quickly, and then we've got some project slides to show you. So, as you know, the board established the committee about 10 years ago. The primary purpose was to assist the county in being in compliance with their state and federal drainage permits, particularly the NPDES, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, permit, and also to provide oversight and cost-effectiveness. The county back at that point had just instituted the Stormwater Municipal Service Taxing Unit, which generates a little over $2 million the county a year. We meet two to four times a year, depending upon the needs, and we also do a few field visits. We had a very nice one in July out at the Lake Lulu project that we're going to show you some pictures on later. Just some background again. Back in 2013, the county was doing outfall inventory, some education, prioritization, and the county water atlas, but unfortunately had 40 unfunded county CIP projects. In 2015, the MSTU was instituted. The county began planning. They did additional work of water quality management plans, looking at doing some capital projects. In 2019, Lake Gwynn was designed and constructed. Also, Saddle Creek and Crystal Lake projects were studied and looked at, again, continuing with the NPDES requirements. I would point out that those requirements, year after year, seem to be stronger and more involved, and so your county has had to keep up with those additional requirements as years have gone by. Looking at 2021, there was several feasibility studies, and we were looking for funding. Most of the projects that are done with the county are funded by grant applications. The county provides matching dollars, and your staff does a great job of getting those county dollars and spending them efficiently. Looking at 2025, again, continuing with NPDES permitting, But also, there's design and construction underway on three major projects. Also, the Florida statutes have instituted some new requirements for septic tanks, BMAP, and also vulnerability assessment. That would be looking at flood-prone areas, considering your critical facilities, schools, sheriff's office, bridges, things like that. So we'll talk about that a little bit later. To give you an idea of the funding over a 10-year period, you'll see initially there was very little monies being spent. The $2 million plus tax dollars carried over, and so you'll see two blips there back around 22, 23, and, of course, this year. The largest component, I think, that creates that bulge this year is the ARP funds, and those will be spent pretty much completely spent by the end of 26. But this is a big year. We're spending about $27 million this year. Pretty unusual. Again, those funds have accumulated, and that money is being spent on some capital projects that have been long in the planning process. A fair question to ask is, you know, report card, are we doing any better, any worse? And I'll let you know that there's about 100 lakes that are tested, and we have records going back about 10 years on those approximately 100 lakes. They are sampled about four times a year. Some of them have multiple sampling points on the lake, and when the samples are taken, there's multiple constituents, parameters that are tested. And so this is kind of an average upon an average, but I gave you information last year in 23, and we've got 24 data that has come in more recently. About the same answer, about twice as many lakes are improving as are declining. A pretty good number of lakes that show no significant trend. A trend change would be four consecutive quarters where it's gone in one direction or the other. So that's not just a one-time shot. It has to be a long-standing trend before it's considered improving or declining. Once these projects are built, there's a significant amount of maintenance and review that has to be done on the projects. Your staff looks at about 100 major projects annually in terms of inspection and review, over 400 minor outfall projects that are looked at every five years. Those projects are inspected. Any deficiencies, erosion, any problems that are going on are recorded and then have to be dealt with. Actually, the department considers a project not only capital improvement, but also innovative technology review and also surface water studies. Those are all considered projects. There's 38 items that are being looked at currently. To give you some idea of what happens to these projects, the maintenance, these photos show you some of the ongoing maintenance that occurs. The photo on the left is a device inside of a box, and that catches a lot of larger debris and so forth. The two pictures in the center on the right are stormwater sediment areas. To give you some idea, the terminology, TM basically is nitrogen. TP is phosphorus. You can think of that as like fertilizer like you'd get at the store, but that's one of the constituents in the water that we try to limit. You'll see the center picture. There was about 400 pounds of that material was removed within the sediment. It's taken out with a machine. The project on the right, again, about, oh, I don't know, about 200 pounds total were taken out. This is the Walker Road Park treatment projects, and very significant, you'll see from the photos. It's quite an effort to clean that out. But looking at that, there's about 700 pounds of material of nitrogen and phosphorus combined pulled out of that project when the pond is, the sediment area is cleared. The department also works on street sweeping. That's an important part of the effort. It's easier to get material out of the lake, or excuse me, before it gets in the lake, get it off the streets, than it is to get it out of the lake. And so that effort has ramped up significantly over the last 10 years. They're scheduled to sweep about 9,000 miles of streets in the county this upcoming year. They've got about 1,000 pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus they calculated out of the lake system based on that effort. This map just kind of gives you an idea. The effort is very targeted. It looks at areas where there's very little stormwater treatment occurring, so you would expect a high runoff of nutrients in certain areas. Also, looking at the water body downstream of those areas that may be impaired or going to be impaired. And so the streets that are targeted are looked at with those things in mind to try to make most use of the county's dollars. To give you some idea of some projects, we talked about Lake Lulu last year. That project is ongoing now. The large wetland area you see in blue is on the south side of Lake Lulu. You'll probably recognize that's on the south end of Winter Haven. U.S. 27 is over on the left over here. The area along Snively Avenue here is a highly industrialized area. It was built back, I don't know, 50, 75 years ago, maybe more. Very little stormwater retention was done at that time. We just, you know, as an industry didn't know to do things like that. And so there's a lot of runoff from the rooftop and parking lot from those areas. This project, the land was acquired back in 23. There's three components. There's, of course, trying to capture some of that industrial stormwater that I mentioned. The area that's circled, normally a lake edge, you will have ebb and flow between the lake itself and the adjoining wetlands. And that ebb and flow helps treat some of the stormwater. This wetland, unfortunately, has been pretty much segmented from the lake. The channel you see down the middle drains the entire Winter Haven chain of lakes through the outfall at the bottom. And so that water basically bypasses that wetland. And so the project looked at reinvigorating that wetland and put it back in a more natural state. And we've got some photos to show you what that looks like. But you'll see on this picture there's very little connectivity, just that one central canal. These are some recent photos of Lake Lulu's on your left. You're looking, I guess, that'd be looking east. And so those canals in this picture are kind of running north-south. There's some also looking at kind of meandering through there. The edges of those are rough earth right now because this was taken right after the excavation. And those lake edges or those canal edges will be planted to cut down on erosion. Another project looked at was Lake Annie Restoration. That's east of Winter Haven, just south of Dundee. Interesting, this site was an old peat mine. Probably 20, 30 years ago was mined. And while those individual pits are probably not causing any issues downstream, but they could be used for sediment and nutrient reduction. And so the county's project envisions connecting those pits, putting some outfall structures and some better hydrology, some flow-through hydrology to collect some of the runoff from the surrounding areas. Construction is ongoing on that projected to finish in 26. This is the vulnerability assessment that we talked about earlier. The state of Florida actually has to do this, but doing it in conjunction with Polk County, they're funding it. The dots on there indicate the critical facilities. And then the difference about this and what you may think about 100-year floodplain maps that we've had for probably several decades, those maps are quite old. This update is based on new LIDAR information. The topography of the ground is studied a little closer. But it looks at it sort of basin-wide rather than individual facility by individual facility. And it gives folks a better idea where your critical facilities need to be looked at in terms of floodplain. Septic to sewer. This is a very expensive process, but a very needed process, particularly very, very old septic tanks that were built down low in the water table and creating runoff and infiltration issues with nutrients. This project's being done in conjunction with your utility department. It's a very expensive project, but it was being funded with DEP funds. This is kind of an interesting project, Tiger Lake. They are planting eelgrass in sections of Tiger Lake. And it's just something to help enhance the edge effect of the lake and create some aquatic environment on that lake. Peace Creek Canal. I'm sure you're familiar with the Kissimmee River project that feds have been doing for years. And this is sort of a mini version of that in that, you know, the canal basically cut through a number of wetlands. And so it short-circuited that water. And so the projects that are envisioned are to block off very, very slightly some of that water flow in the canal by installing control structures. That would then cause water to back up. I've got a little picture to show you. There's a lot on it here. A lot of information on here. But just look, you can see from the upper left to the lower right, that's a part of the canal that was cut through that property and basically drains the land and does not allow the water to free flow into the adjoining wetlands. And so what the project envisioned is some control structures to be installed, which would then back water up and then go into the adjoining wetlands, which is what it did originally. Unfortunately, if you do that and back water up where it was never backed up before, you've got to have control of that land. The Water Management District won't let you flood folks, you know, without, you know, buying the land and using it because it impairs the property. So that does require substantial acquisition costs. Speaking of that, Simmers Young Park project, the county already owned this land. And so the project that was envisioned out there did not require county acquisition, which saved some dollars. Your county staff was able to use land that was already sort of sitting and be able to use that for some wetland treatment and recreation. This is a list of the stack approved projects. And, of course, you'll see at the top, Lake Gwynn was in 2017 at the bottom, the Peace River Project 2023. These projects can take three, four, five years from the time they were originally envisioned until when they actually go into construction and completion. And so it's quite a lengthy process. Getting the grant funds lengthens that process. And, of course, that's a good thing because you're matching county dollars. But this is a list of projects that are either ongoing or completed. And I just want to let you know that as we do annually, we review the list and our committee voted to recommend approval to the county staff for the project list. Mr. Chairman, that is the end of my report. I'll be very happy to answer any questions you might have. Okay. Mr. Brazel. How much does the MSTU bring in every year? Do you know? Two and a half million. That's it? Two and a half million, yeah. So the $27 million this year is just, well, there's probably some grant money in there. There was a lot of grant money. There's ARP money, and there's some carryover because if the county doesn't spend the $2.5 million, it carries over. And so what you're seeing is sort of this wave's been building up over the years with projects that we're looking at design and construction, and it just happened to hit this year. Of course, the ARP money is a big component of that $27 million. But even $27 million, that's just a small amount of the total projects you guys have listed. And the Lake Lulu one, that was part of the $27 million? Okay. And then what is a water goat? Go ahead. Good morning to have you with Parks and Natural Resources. So a water goat is a device that we could put in a canal system or in one of our treatment wetlands. It has floating items and basically a net, and it catches the floatables rather than it just spreading throughout. So we're able to capture those floatables and the trash and the larger pollutants that prevent them from entering a lake, and then we can pull those out and maintain it that way and remove the trash. And my last question, most of this or all of this is on the Water Atlas website? Is that where your information is located? Yeah. There's a Polk County Water Atlas that's maintained by University of South Florida, and we partner with the City of Lakeland and City of Winter Haven to put that together. And so a lot of these projects get uploaded to them and summaries of them once they're completed. What's the website for that water atlas? And I believe it's polkwateratlas.com. All right. Anyone else? Thank you. Mr. Carter, could you kind of give me a general ballpoint of how much we've generated in grants? Because this is a lot of work that you've done, and, of course, we know that the money is just not there. So I just want the public to know how much work you put behind the scenes in getting these grants. We're sort of averaging it back here. We would say north of $50 million in grant money over the last, what, 10 years? Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's good information to have because it shows the work that you've done behind the scenes to get the money to do the restoration. So thank you. The grant effort the county does is substantial. And, you know, they don't just give you the money and, you know, have a good day. You've got to comply with the requirements of the grant and all the regulatory requirements. So it's an effort to not only get the money but spend it properly. Thank you. Anyone else? Well, thank you, Mr. Carter. Thank you for your update. Appreciate it very much. Dave, we are. And state. Dave and I are alumni of the same university. Oh, man. They got a football. They do. It's right now they do. All right. It's time for public comments concerning the agenda items. Amber, do we have any for that, for agenda items? I don't think so. Okay. All right. Then we need to go for a motion. Consent agenda. Move to a consent agenda. We've got a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Ms. Butterfield. Good morning. Today we have for you to approve and ratify payroll checks number 04138 through 04169, the amount of $45,068.38. We have direct deposits, $2,948, and they're in the amount of $4,351,659.94, dated August 22 of 2025. We have wire and electronic funds transfers of $13,143,518, and 14 cents dated August 19 through September 1, 2025. Invoice checks numbered 489302 through 490242, totaling $17,717,651.54, and those are dated August 19 through September 1 of 2025. For you to approve and ratify, please. Motion for approval. Second. Motion to second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Aye. We also request the approval of your board minutes from your regular board meeting that was held on August the 19th of 2025 for you to approve, please. Move for approval. Second. Motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Anything else, ma'am? Not today. Thank you. All righty. Mr. Mink, do you have 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. First up, item G1, could I ask Ms. LaShonda Salters to come to the podium? And LaShonda, please bring your family if they're with you. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number G1 is to request the board to confirm the appointment of Ms. LaShonda Salters to serve as a director of the Polk County Court Services Division. Polk County Charter specifies that the county manager's appointment of executive service employees is subject to the confirmation by the Board of County Commissioners. As such, I have appointed Ms. LaShonda Salters to the position of director of Polk County's Court Services Division, effective today, September 2, 2025. LaShonda has 25 years of experience in the criminal justice field. She began her career in the late 1990s with the Leon County Clerk of Courts, serving as a deputy clerk and court specialist. In 2004, she transitioned into probation services, beginning as a senior probation officer. Over the years, she has advanced through supervisory roles in pretrial release, drug and alcohol testing, and court operations. Since 2019, she has served as Polk's Probation Program Manager for the Polk County Court Services Division, overseeing misdemeanor probation, electronic monitoring, and specialized court programs. LaShonda earned an associate's degree in paralegal from Kaiser University, a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from the Florida A&M University, and a master's in business administration from Thomas University out of Thomasville, Georgia. She is a certified public manager, as conveyed by the Florida State University. She has completed a Lean Six Sigma certification and has served on Polk's Domestic Violence Task Force, and as a side note, I think Ms. Salter's family is also committed to public service within Polk County, as her son is serving now in the early years of the Polk County Fire Rescue Division, and her daughter is currently serving in the court services pretrial section. The court services division director is an authorized position in the FY2425 adopted budget. The existing appropriations are sufficient to cover the negotiated base salary of $130,000 and approximately $56,000 in benefits. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think it's an honor and a privilege to present to you as a formal recommendation and to request the board's confirmation of Ms. LaShonda Salters to serve as the director of the Polk County Court Services Division, effective today, September 2nd, 2025. LaShonda, please. Good morning. I am truly honored and humbled to be chosen as the next court services director. I would like to thank this honorable board and the county manager's office for their trust and confidence in me. I am ready for the task, and I'm excited to continue my journey with Polk County. I would also like to thank my family, my husband, especially for always supporting my career goals. He followed me here to Polk County, and I'm grateful for the opportunity. Lastly, I would like the Polk County Court Services staff to stand. I thank you for your continued support, and I'm grateful for the opportunity for us to continue to serve the citizens of this great county. Thank you. Thank you, board. Thank you, Ms. Salters, and congratulations. I know we have to have a motion, so can we get- Make a motion for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. And again, congratulations, and look forward to with us, you know, our staff and working together, and again, congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number G2 is to request the board to approve a construction contract with Sin State contractors out of Winterhaven in connection with the Holly Hill Upper Florida Aquifer Well No. 2 and the Oak Hill Well No. 4 Wellheads project. This will be a one-time construction expense not to exceed $3,379,950. Polk County has completed the public process to solicit bids from qualified contractors to construct wellhead facilities at the Holly Hill Upper Florida Aquifer Well No. 2 site and the Oak Hill Well No. 4 Raw Water Well site. Each site will receive the necessary equipment to pump raw water from the wells to their respective water production facilities, including vertical turbine pumps, piping, electrical equipment, and related ancillary equipment and services. Bid No. 25-402 was issued in two contractors' submitted bids. The lowest responsive and responsible bid was submitted by Sin State contractors in the amount of $3,219,000. In accordance with Resolution No. 13-066, $160,950 is included in the proposed contract award amount in order to address allowance and contingency work. The contract time for this work has been set at 300 calendar days for final completion. Funding for this potable water supply initiative is budgeted in the utilities community investment program. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think consistent with the board's priority commitments to available potable water supplies across all of Polk County, I would request the board approve a construction contract with Sin State contractors in connection with the Holly Hill Upper Florida Aquifer Well No. 2 and the Oak Hills Well No. 4 Wellheads project in a total amount not to exceed $3,379,950. Thank you. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number G3 is to request the board approve a land purchase agreement between Rosalita Enterprises Incorporated and Polk County for the purchase of property to support the courthouse electrical upgrades project. This will be a one-time acquisition expense not to exceed $1,812,222. Polk County is planning major upgrades to the electrical system for the courthouse due to issues associated with the existing and aging system, which have caused outages that disrupt daily court functions. These plans include the installation of new high-voltage switchgear to alleviate outages due to equipment failure, along with a new large generator that will have the capability and capacity of powering the entire courthouse during power outages caused by other factors. New transformers will be installed adjacent to the judicial parking garage and maintenance facility. However, the proposed generator is so large and requires a significant amount of space to install, operate, and buffer from existing county operations and facilities. Space and property are very limited in the area immediately surrounding the courthouse and facilities, and there are no open areas, county-owned or otherwise, in which to install such a large generator. A review of the surrounding area has determined that property containing approximately one-half acre located immediately to the south of the judicial parking garage and maintenance facility would make an ideal location for the generator due to its proximity of the proposed switchgear and the electrical systems while being relatively isolated from the courthouse itself. This property would also be utilized for the relocation of cooling towers as well as future additional parking for judicial staff. The subject property is approximately one-half acre in size and contains a concrete block building of approximately 7,200 square feet, which is utilized as a medical office. The existing structure would be removed in order to utilize the site for Polk's planned improvements. County staff contacted the property owner to inquire of its interest in selling the property. The owner indeed expressed an interest in the county acquired and received a property appraisal. Negotiations with the owner have resulted in the purchase price of $1,802,222, and the owner has executed an agreement of sale with the county. The agreement contains a provision that will require the parties to enter into an escrow agreement with the title agent as for the disbursement of the owner's funds. The county attorney's office and the real estate services division have reviewed the agreement and recommend approval. Upon approval of the proposed FY25-26 budget, effective October 1, 2025, funds have been assigned within the general capital improvement fund for the purchase of this property and the respective closing costs. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think consistent with the board's commitment to the judicial component of Polk's public safety priorities. I would request the board approve the proposed property purchase agreement in the amount of $1,802,222. I'd also request the board approve the hiring of American government services to close the transaction with estimated closing costs of $10,000. And finally, I would request the board authorize the real estate services division director to sign all applicable documents to include the proposed escrow agreement, all of which is on behalf of Polk County. Got a motion in a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Final item from the manager's office this morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number G4 is to request the board approve a consultant services agreement with Dewberry Engineers Incorporated to provide professional engineering services in connection with the proposed Lake Marion replacement boat ramp project. This will be a one-time professional services cost not to exceed $496,930.66. Lake Marion covers 3,000 acres in the Kissimmee River watershed northwest of Lake Hatchenaha. Although the lake currently has a public boat launching access point located on the southwest side of the lake, parking and maneuverability are limited. Additionally, the current launch facility is located off of a 90-degree corner road along Jim Edwards Road, making it difficult for safety by way of backing vehicles into passing traffic. The recent purchase of the Bellini Preserve, the property located on the northeast side of the lake, now affords Polk the opportunity to construct a larger boat ramp launch facility with ample parking, better maneuverability, and safer year-round access. The boat launch facility was always contemplated and is compatible with the county's original intent when the Bellini Preserve was purchased. This consultant services agreement will provide permits, construction plans, and specifications for boat ramp, dock, access road, and parking facilities. Following completion of all design and permitting efforts, Polk staff will pursue construction funding through a grant initiative sponsored by the state of Florida's Boating Improvement Program. Funding for this improved lake access initiative is available in the Parks and Natural Resources, East Polk Impact Fee District Fund, as well as the Lake and River Enhancement Trust Fund. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think in keeping with the board's commitment to environmental preservation and outdoor recreation amenities, I would request the board approve consultant services agreement number 2022-064-04 with Dewberry Engineers to provide professional engineering services in connection with the proposed Lake Merion replacement boat ramp project at a total cost not to exceed $496,930.66. Got a motion to second. Any further discussion? Maybe Gay can come up in here. I think the original design is due to be, and all the permitting is due to, within one year, and then we'll, concurrent with that, we'll be chasing federal, some state grants. And the logic behind that is, is that the state looks for shovel-ready projects. If we can pay for that design and get that project shovel-ready, then we get, I think, we get a higher priority with the state because now the project's ready to go. The state wants their money spent quickly, and it's not through the planning and design process. But I would think a year or so to design, and then within a year or two to build, assuming we get the grants. Correct. You're right, because we've already done preliminary work out there, just doing the overall valuation of the site when we purchased it. So we're a little bit further along than we might have been if it was brand new on this, but he's about correct on the time frame on when we will get this. Sorry, my mic's not on. It is my understanding that once this new one is complete... We'll decommission the old one, because it may be used for another component, possibly a stormwater treatment area right in there, but it is, we will decommission it for a boat ramp and use the bigger boat ramp, because it'll have a lot better parking, stabilized areas. You know, it's just going to be a lot more safe and allow for more people to be able to get on that lake. And as you've seen, that community has really grown out in that area, and there's a big demand. Thank you. Thank you. And just to confirm, as far as the number of parking spaces, I know we talked about that on Friday. What was the number of boat trailer parking spots we were going for? We said a minimum of 15, but we're looking more like 20, 25, and then we're going to have grassed ones for future parking, as we see. And we also have space to move a second boat ramp in there as we start to develop and increase the use out there. We just need to judge that before we finish, you know, and go further with the parking and the second boat ramp. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, I think we had a motion in a second, didn't we? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. That's it, Mr. Chair. All right. Mr. Troutman. Yes, I have one item to appoint Mrs. Harriet Rust as a member of the Polk Historical Commission for a three-year term beginning October 1 of 2025 and going through September 30th of 2028. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. That's it. Mr. Browns, Commissioner Browns. I move to reappoint Pauline Simons-Brown as a member of the Citizens Health Care Oversight Committee representing minorities for the four-year term, September 15, 2025 through September 14, 2029. Need a second. Second. I got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. That's all again. Commissioner Sandiago. Yes, I would like to reappoint Tracy M. Gray as a member of the Citizens Health Care Oversight Committee representing children's interests for the four-year term, October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2029. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Mr. Browns, would you? Yeah, I'll move to reappoint Peter Verrill, M.D., as a member of the Citizens Health Care Oversight Committee representing specialist physicians for the four-year term, September 19, 2025 through September 18, 2029. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Move to reappoint Christina Kreiser Jackson as a member of the Citizens Health Care Oversight Committee representing quality of life professional for the four-year term. Term October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2029. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. She's going to be there. And we got expedited hearings. Oh, excuse me. I skipped one. Lay board appointments. I have some lay appointments, Mr. Chair, that I would like to announce. And I see that all three of them are here. So when I call your name, please stand so you could be recognized. I would like to move to appoint Reverend Ray, Reverend Al-Khatib, please stand, Sharon Lewis Mathis, please stand, and Dr. Shadel Terrell, please stand. To serve as members of the Community Relations Advisory Council, known as CRAC, for a four-year term beginning September 2, 2025 and ending September 2, 2029. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. And I do have, Reverend, you would like to say a few words. So if you would come up to this podium. I think I speak on behalf of all three of us that say that we are privileged, the honor to serve on the CRAC, and we pledge to serve with honor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Reverend, any doctor? I see you standing up, so I think you have something to say. I'm going to be real brief. Good morning, everyone. If you don't mind, please give us your name and address. That's just standard. Okay. All right, Shandell Terrell, address is 1969 Crystal Grove Drive, Lakeland, Florida, 33801. Can I speak now? Yes, sir. Okay. First, I want to thank God for this opportunity to serve once again on the Polk County Board of County Commissioners Community Relations Advisory Council. It is a privilege and honor to stand here before you today. I want to thank the Polk County Commissioners, the Deputy County Manager, the County Manager, and the Administration staff for your trust and support. From 2009 to 2016, I served as a board member, vice chairman, and chairman on the Polk County Board of County Commissioners Community Relations Advisory Council. During those years, I saw what we can accomplish when we work together, expanding opportunities, supporting our workforce, and building a strong community. Today, I return with the same heart to serve. My commitment is simple. People, progress, and Polk County. People. People will always come first, listening to our community, valuing everyone's voice, and ensuring that no one is left behind. Progress. It's our shared responsibility by investing in families, businesses, neighborhoods. We create opportunities that move us forward, and ultimately, Polk County, our home, our community, and the place we are building for generations to come. Together, with your partnership and trust, I believe that Polk County best days are still ahead. Thank you for the opportunity to serve. Let's continue to work hand-in-hand for people, for progress, and more importantly, for Polk County, Florida. Thank you. Thank you, sir. And I know that I don't want to leave Sharon behind in case she has anything to say, but... You knew Ms. Sharon would not be. No, she would. In my comment, she just retired, and she's back already. To the Honorable Commission, I'm going to be very short because Abdul spoke for all three of us, but I just want to say 40 years of service with Polk County. And as my commissioner, I know Rick Wilson, I'm continuing to work in all neighborhoods along in Dr. Santiago. We want to thank you. We want to thank you, my county manager. And we just want to say that we are here to serve, and service is what Polk County is all about. Thank you, ma'am. Well, congratulations to all three. We look forward to your work in the CRAC. Thank you, Mr. Chair. All right. Thank you, everyone. All right. I thank you for the expedited hearings, Mr. Meade. Mr. Chair, before we go over expedited hearings, I'll go over the public hearing general procedures. 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 that is experiencing these matters and is able 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 out of turn, shouting out from the audience, disrespectful sounds or utterances while another is speaking are unexactable, 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 that for such purposes you may need to ensure that verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and 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 or present testimonies today must be sworn in. All testimony given during public hearing shall be deemed sworn. At this time, if you're going to address the commission or speak on any matters today or any case, please stand, raise your right hand, and answer out loud to the following question. Do you swear or affirm the testimony or evidence you provide to the commission today is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Thank you. At this time, I'll go over to expedited hearing procedures. Expedited hearings are held pursuant to Resolution No. 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 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, full presentation from staff can be requested from the commissioner, the applicant, or a member 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 a 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. At this time, I will turn it over to Mr. Ziskell. Thank you, Mr. Mink. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, and members of the audience. My name is Ben Ziskell. I'm the Land Development Director for Polk County. Today, there are three items on the expedited public hearing portion of the agenda. Item number N1 is an expedited public hearing of case LDC-PAS 2025-18 Christina Fire Station to consider a future land use designation change from residential low to institutional on 4.57 acres and from residential low to preservation on 2.89 acres. The subject site is located on the south side of County Road 540A, east of Carter Road, directly across the street from Scott Lake Elementary. As you can see on the screen, the small square on the left and the rectangle on the right both currently have a designation of residential low. The request is to change the land use designation to preservation on an existing stormwater management facility and to institutional to accommodate a future fire station at this location. This application appeared before the Planning Commission and received a unanimous recommendation for approval. And following any questions or comments today from the board or the public, staff is recommending adoption. All right. Any questions? Ben, if you could, as far as the preservation designation, just kind of elaborate on why we want to change that and not have to be institutional, but it would be a preservation? Yes, sir. So it is an existing stormwater management facility. There is no intent on ever building anything on this site. So the residential low designation is inappropriate. There's no desire to build homes on this site. In addition, designated as preservation will clarify that it will stay a stormwater retention pond. There's no intention on having any of the fire structure or parking or apparatus on that site. So it made sense to memorialize it as a preservation stormwater retention pond. Thank you. All right. Anyone else? Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to speak on this matter, please come forward and state your name and address. Do we have anyone signed up, Amber, for this? Okay. Thank you, ma'am. Being known, we'll close the public hearing and bring it back to the board. Motion for approval. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Item number N2 is an expedited public hearing for case LDCT 2025-12 mobile home sales LDC text amendment to allow retail home sales off-site as a permitted use in the industrial land use district within the Southeast Polk SAP. This is an applicant-initiated request to allow mobile home sales to be located on a piece of land that has an industrial designation. This type of use is allowed in the industrial land use throughout the majority of the county. However, it currently is prohibited in the Southeast Polk Selected Area Plan. Staff finds that the industrial use or the industrial land use designation is an appropriate location for this use. The Planning Commission has unanimously recommended approval. Following any questions or comments today, there is no action required by the board as this is a first reading. Any questions? Seeing none, ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to speak on this matter, please come forward and state your name and address, and you'll be given three. Amber's saying there's no one signed up, so I'm going to close the public hearing, bring it back to the board. Oh, that's right, first reading, so all right. Mr. Chairman, item number N3 is an expedited public hearing for case LDCT 2025-16 heavy equipment sales and services LDC text amendment to allow heavy machinery equipment sales and service as a conditional use within the industrial land use designation in the Juanita neighborhood. Similar to item N2, heavy machinery equipment sales and services is allowed in the industrial district throughout the majority of Polk County. However, it is currently prohibited in the Juanita neighborhood plan. Staff finds that the industrial land use designation is an appropriate land use classification for this use. The Planning Commission has unanimously recommended approval, and following any questions or comments from the board or the public, no action is required today, as this is also first reading. All right, any questions? Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to come speak on this matter, please come forward, state your name and address. Amber's shaking her head that nobody has, so we'll bring it back to the board, and this is initial first reading. So, Nick, is this the last one? That concludes the expedited portion, yes, sir. All right. All right, going into public hearings. Good morning. For the record, I'm Amy Gregory, traffic manager for the Roads and Drainage Division, and I have three items before you this morning. The first item is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of two traffic calming devices on Wheeler Road North and Kathleen. Wheeler Road North is classified as a local residential road, 18 feet wide, 1,291 feet long, with a posted speed limit of 25 miles an hour. Upon receiving a request for traffic calming, staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history. With an 85th percentile speed of 36 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 217 vehicles, Wheeler Road North met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume. Staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronting Wheeler Road North and received the required 80% favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes per the board's policy. On August 5, 2025, a hearing date of September 2, 2025, was set by consent agenda, and staff posted on-site notices as well. Inasmuch as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices have been met, staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install two speed humps along Wheeler Road North. And I'll stand for any questions. Any questions? Seeing none, ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to come forward and speak on this matter, please come forward and state your name and address. We have one signed up, a Mr. Lee. Would you like to come forward? Oh, Mrs. Lee. Excuse me, ma'am. Good morning to everybody. Pull your microphone down, ma'am, and please state your name and address. My name is Elisa Lee, 6515 North Wheeler Road in Lakeland. And I'm here to see if we can have a speed hump because I left behind the school, and it's supposed to be like 20 miles an hour, and people just be coming through like 4 to 5, 50 miles an hour on that street. And it's not that many residents live there because it's like four houses on North Wheeler Road, and most of the people went to work so they couldn't come. So I'm here to see if we can have that speed hump installed. Yes, ma'am. And there's a procedure, if that's what she's talking about. It's this one. That's this one. Oh, it's this one. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought she might have been talking about a different one. I don't know. I'm sorry, ma'am. Go right ahead. Yes, ma'am. Yes, so I'm hoping that the speed hump can be installed because the speed limit there is like 20 miles an hour, and most people come through there at 40 and 45 miles an hour. I live on the corner, and it's a hazard. All right. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. All right. That's all we had signed up. Oops, sorry. Seat being none, we'll bring it back to the close of public hearing and bring it back to the board for any discussion or approval. Make your motion to approve. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. The next item I have for you is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of four traffic calming devices on Avenue U Northwest and Inwood. Avenue U Northwest is classified as a local residential road, 22 feet wide, 4,919 feet long, with a posted speed limit of 25 miles an hour. Upon receiving requests for traffic calming, staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history. With an 85th percentile speed of 39 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 629 vehicles, Avenue U Northwest met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume. Staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronting Avenue U Northwest, and we received the required 80 percent favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes per the board's policy. On August 19th, 2025, a hearing date of September 2nd, 2025 was set by consent agenda, and staff posted on-site notices as well. And as much as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices have been met, staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install four speed humps along Avenue U Northwest. All right. Any questions for her? Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to speak on this matter, please come forward. Is this over two or three? Two. Two. Okay. Being that we don't have any, we will close the public hearing and bring it back to the board. Motion for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. The last item I have for you today is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of nine traffic calming devices on Dean Street and Mulberry. Dean Street is classified as a local residential road, 20 feet wide, 4,180 feet long, with a posted speed limit of 30 miles an hour. Upon receiving a request for traffic calming, staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history. With an 85th percentile speed of 50 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 558 vehicles, Dean Street met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume. Staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronty and received the required 80% favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes per the board's policy. Staff also distributed ballots to the homeowners whose access is through Dean Street and we received the required 50% favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes per the board's policy. On August 19th, 2025, a hearing date of September 2nd, 2025 was set by consent agenda and staff posted on-site notices as well. Inasmuch as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices has been met, staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install nine speed humps along Dean Street. And I understand that additional speed hump was discussed Friday at the general review on Kid School Road. That's not part of this, but certainly if the board wants to do that, we can do it at the same time. That's what I would like to see. And we've talked about that, adding one speed bump right there past the curve, and it makes it a lot better for the lady that lives there, and it keeps them slowed down. So we can go through our regular deal here and then vote on it as we come back. So just to clarify, what we'll do, instead of nine calming devices, we'll put a tenth in right at that tangent as you come out of that curve. And do we need to have a vote here just to get that one in, or what do we need? Once you do the public hearing, whoever makes the motion. Okay, add the one. Add that one. Okay. Mr. Chair, just a question. What's the length of that Dean's Road? It is 4,100 feet, almost a mile. It's a lot of bumps. It is. We try to put them 400 to 500 feet apart. If they're too far apart, people are inclined to kind of speed between them to get to the next one. So, you know, there's sort of a thought to the spacing. Put the most speed bumps on it. All right. Anyone else? With respect to Kid School Road, we don't have to reclassify that road in order to install the speed bump, correct? The board can direct us to do it. It doesn't technically meet the criteria of the policy, but if the board tells us to go for it, we can do that. Yes, sir. Mr. Chair, the board has used some discretion that you unilaterally have, and I think it's a formality that we'll go through. But the whole issue here is let's get that other hump installed. Exactly. Okay. Anyone else? All right, ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to speak on this matter, please come forward and state your name and address. And I have some signed up, Mr. Bath, Jonathan Bath, Bass. My name is Jonathan Bass. I live at 1175 Dean Street. I don't know how you guys, this is so intimidating. Don't worry about it. You're good. Yeah, I've lived on Dean Street for eight years. It's where my wife and I bought our first house, and it's where we welcomed our first kid. You know, if you sit on our front porch for a day, you see a lot of the reasons why we fell in love with it. You know, there's kids walking, you know, playing with other kids in the neighborhood. You know, families taking walks, walking their dogs. There's deer, turkey. I mean, it's just everything that you could possibly want. But, you know, as you sit there, you'd soon be interrupted by, you know, large trucks, cars, motorcycles, any ATVs, any kind of vehicle that you could imagine flying down that road. And I understand that it's a nice way to get around that intersection to get from 37 to 60 or vice versa. But once it starts putting the families that live there in danger, especially the children, the animals, that's kind of where I have an issue with it. At least probably once a quarter, maybe even once a month, I'll be doing, you know, 35 maybe down that road, and a car will come up behind me. I'm not going fast enough. They're trying to get around to 60, and they won't pass me on the road because going five over the speed limit isn't fast enough for them. And that's – I bet if you ask anybody else who's going to come up here and speak, I guarantee it's happening to them as well. You know, we have two schools. We have dozens of houses, children, pets, wildlife, all of whom I believe are being put into danger because people don't treat it as if people live there. They treat it as this is my shortcut to get from A to B. We live here. You know, this is our home, and we're just – we're asking you to help us protect it. That's all I have. Thank you very much for the time. Ashley Prevotel – oh, I was close. Hi, I'm Ashley Prevotel, 985 Kids School Road. I'm the one that does live on the corner. I appreciate you guys actually taking that in effect and looking into that extra speed hump, placing that as well. I do also have a disagreeance in not changing the roadway, as in it should not be public or however it should be, as in residential. That bridge that is also on Kids School Road cannot accommodate these semis that continuously are coming through here. It was already cracked years ago. I don't know how nobody has fallen in it yet. That is the original bridge that was put on Kids School Road. I have no clue how it is still standing. The traffic coming through here is ridiculous. I feel that there needs to be more speed pumps put in place down Kids School Road, not just one at my home, as in you guys are only putting in one speed hump. You're just putting in more traffic to speed down the rest of the way, because now they're free and clear from the speed humps coming from Dean going around Kids School Road. But what about the rest? What about these people down on Moores and Diesel that are still dealing with the same situation? This has been an ongoing issue. I've lived right there on the corner for 30 years of my life, and it has been an ongoing problem that my mother also was trying to get put in place as well. She is now deceased, so here as our neighborhood, I see a couple of our people here that are actually here trying to get this as well. So I appreciate you guys with the one, but I would hope that you guys would look into getting more placed down Kids School Road in the near future. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Chair, may I? Yes. Ma'am, with your neighbors and others, again, there's a process to this, and Ms. Gregory, if you want to ask and confer with her before you leave, so that you can go through the process, and sometimes that will require the reclassification. You guys did the reclassification for Dean Street, but anybody here, why would you reclassify Dean Street when Kids School Road runs right into Dean Street? If you reclassify Dean Street as a residential, why did you not reclassify Kids School Road? It's all a same problem here. I think some of it is because of the awareness of the problem that's brought, and again, if you'll work with Ms. Gregory, she can go over all of that information with 30 years of records and 30 years of phone calls for my mother. If you look it up, her name was Karen Cole. We understand that. It's the same. And we're trying to give you a process, and so if you would get with her on those other roads, then that would start the process, and if it's required a change, then that can occur. So, again, we're here to work with you, just as Chair said, and if you would talk with Ms. Gregory, we can work that. Thank you. Thank you so much. Mr. Collins. Good morning. My name is James Collins. I live at 1235 Dean Street in Mulberry. I've lived there at that address for approximately 19 years. My wife, who couldn't be here today, her name is Grace Collins because she was working. She's lived there 30 years, and we are in support of the speed hump proposal that you're looking at. I'll make it brief. I'm going to echo pretty much what they said. Early in the morning, a lot of people are cutting through to cut down to 37 from west 60, are speeding, and same later in the afternoon when work lets out, they cut through that area at excessive speeds, and it's dangerous. So, we're in support of the speed bumps, okay? All right. All right. Thank you for the time. All right. I believe that's everyone we had on that to speak. If you're not signed up, okay, all right, come up and give us your name and address. Ladies and gentlemen, if you're going to speak, we just try to get it. Were you signed up? You're on the radar of what we're doing? I wasn't aware I had to sign up for it. Well, right ahead, sir. State your name and address. My name is David Gilbreth. I live at 770 Dean Street. Actually, I'm the person that brought this action to light about the speed bumps. I've lived on Dean Street for like 35 years. Like everybody else has been saying, the traffic is just horrendous through there. People's using that as a cutoff to keep from going through Mulberry. A lot of the semi-trucks, I've been in contact with Steve Logan about the situation, who's got this thing going for me. They didn't have signs up for no-through trucks, and it's a no-through truck area. No truck's supposed to be coming through. So they had the signs installed on each end of the road, but it's not slowed them down. Can't get, I can't get any, I've called, called highway patrol, called other people trying to get these trucks stopped, but they tell me they can't do nothing. So we need the speed bumps tremendously. I mean, I'll sit on my front porch, watch people go through, and I live right in the middle of Dean Street, and it's almost a mile long, but by the time they get to my house, some of them are doing 80 miles an hour, and that's no lie, 80 miles an hour. Every time I see one doing that, I call a cop, you know, the sheriff's department. We really haven't gotten, been an issue off there. Nobody's slowing down. We're fixing to do it. Yeah, so that's why we need these speed bumps. And like Karen was saying about the schoolhouse road, that would be a big deal if we could get that. Well, I know it's a process that I had to go through to get Dean Street re-zoned and get the speed bumps going. So if they do that, then that should be done also. All right. All right. All right. Well, thank you, sir. Thank you. And you see communications that have a sheet for you to fill out, sir. Thank you. All right. I think that pretty much winds that up. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public meeting, and we're going to end it and bring it back to the board and add. We need a motion in adding the one speed bump. Move to approve as presented with one additional speed bump on Kid Road after it or whatever it's called. Kid School. Kid School Road after it's reclassified. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Just two things on my end. Just to confirm, we do have truck restrictions already in place on Dean and Kid School Road. Is that correct? I would have to verify that. I'm not certain. Okay. It sounds like we do, but I'm not sure. We can just confirm that. And then also, if we can follow up, as far as the bridge goes, it's on Kid School Road. As far as the last time that's been inspected, and if there are deficiencies in that bridge, I want to make sure we address that. All right. That's it. Mr. Chair, if I could just clarify, Commissioner Braswell, the 10th traffic calming device would be done in advance of any reclassification of Kid School Road. It would be done concurrent with the initiative on Dean Road. How long does it take to reclassify a road? Good question. Get a pencil and reclassify. But anyway, yeah. What he said. Yes, sir. All right. Any further discussions? All right. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Mr. Chair, item 04 is a public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance of the Polk County Board of County Commissioner establishing vessel exclusion zones and designated swim areas for Lake Winterset, Lake Clinch, and Lake Ariana. As you're all aware, the Sheriff's Office has submitted a letter to the board raising safety issues due to the amount of swimmers mixing with vessels in these areas, and they're asking the board to adopt this ordinance. Also, in addition to the letter in support, which also states that their deputies have reported growing numbers of complaints from residents and documented situations where vessels operations are at unsafe speeds and proximity of swimmers, created hazardous conditions. In addition to that, I have Lieutenant Benador here, I believe, to present some additional testimony to the board. Is Lieutenant Benador here? I believe he may have an eye on him. Good morning. Good morning. Go ahead, sir. So the swim zones, I can speak on a couple incidences in the recently involving some boats and swimmers. Over the weekend, we actually made one arrest where a jet ski was traveling at a high rate of speed in and among swimmers in the Lake Winterset area. Another incident, several years ago, there was a large number of boats on the shoreline that we call the point there, that private property on Lake Winterset, the borders Big Winterset and Little Winterset. One of the vessels had their motor trimmed up just where the prop was in the water and decided to prop wash several people out into the swim zone as the boat was beached on shore. He didn't realize that there was two to three, between five and 10-year-old kids within 10 feet of the prop of this vessel, and he actually went to jail that day. So these are some incidents that are occurring weekly on the weekends there at these swim zones, and the establishment of an actual swim zone that excludes vessels will help ensure that nobody gets hurt. Any questions for him? I've got a question for Randy. If these idiots want to take this show and move it to another location, we can expand these. We would have to do it currently under what FWC is telling us we would have to come back and amend the orders. Back all the way to Tallahassee and back for each one? We would have to adopt an ordinance like we are here. That's why when we first brought it through, we was hoping to do it through resolution to allow the board to quickly move the boundaries as needed. But FWC has told us that we have to do it by ordinance, so we would have to bring back another ordinance, either amend the boundaries or add an additional boundary. So my question, though, is can we expand it without sending it back to Tallahassee for their approval? Because that's been the holdup here. In other words, they moved the show to the other side of the lake, and we want to expand the boundary. No, we would have to get FWC to approve it like we did this, unfortunately. Anyone else? Lieutenant, if I may, I know a couple weekends ago there was more serious instances of fights and all that broke out on one of the lakes. Since that time, have you seen any kind of curtailment or lessening of those instances over the last couple of weekends? Are we still seeing kind of the same issues occurring over and over again? We're seeing the same issues occurring over and over again. I can tell you that the amount of boats since those arrests, and the sheriff has been on TV with this, the amount of boats have decreased slightly. But we're still seeing some of that same activity occurring there on the point to the fact that we've made five arrests in the last three days. And are the officers that are there, the deputies, are they seeing kind of the same crowd, or does it appear to be other people that just aren't aware and are still making bad decisions that are different groups? The majority is the same crowd. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? All right. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to speak on this matter, please come forward and state your name and address, and you'll be given three minutes. I have quite a few people signed up on this, on four and five. So we're just going to go through every one that I've got signed up. If you signed up, maybe I have some that said four and five, which is on our sheets. We're just going to go through everybody right now, and you can speak on every matter, whichever one you want to. Thank you, and we'll start with Bob Sheffield. Mr. Chair, because we have a separate hearing for O5, they should probably refrain from O5 and just give testimony on O4 at this point. Okay. I'm just trying to help out because they're kind of mixed up. Yes, sir. She did the best she could. Amber did. But there's a lot wanting to speak on both. Some on one. Yes, sir. Thank you. Go ahead, Mr. Good morning. My name's Robert Sheffield. I live at 3370 Lakeview Drive in Winter Haven, which is on the north side of Lake Winterset. I've lived in my residence on the lake since 2001, so for 25 years. I've seen the lake change a whole lot in the last 25 years. Some of it's been good, and some of it's been bad. But I'm here today to talk to you about what you're proposing to do as far as a swimming, designated swimming area. I'm concerned that there are rules and regulations that the state of Florida have about swimming areas that I'm not sure that this is a good idea. Having served as a leisure services director for the city of Winter Haven for 15 years and being in charge of lake swimming areas at Lake Martha and Lake Silver, we closed our lake swimming areas for a reason. And you can discuss some of those with the attorney from Winter Haven and the current city manager in Winter Haven. But there are rules and regulations about state-regulated swimming areas and lakes. One of the main ones is that somebody's got to take a water quality test every day and submit those tests to the state, to the state health department. Somebody's got to be responsible for maintaining the areas. Someone's got to provide safety devices for people who are swimming in those areas, like throw rings. You know, whatever you need to keep the public safe. So, as speaking to you, as a person who's ran public swimming areas in Polk County and in lakes, I'm not sure it's a good idea. I'm not sure you're not biting off more than what you want to chew. You know, I know it's a common problem around the state. I served as a president of the Florida Recreation and Parks Association. And it's not something that's unique to Polk County. And, you know, I have some ideas and suggestions. I also am the co-chairman of the Polk County Lakes Advisory Committee. And, you know, I think one of the ways to solve this problem on the chain is to create more boat ramps into other lakes that would allow people access to other lakes. And you're certainly doing that on Lake Marion, and I congratulate you for that. But we need to continue to try to do a better job of getting the public. And I'm speaking of people who are coming and trailering their boats into the chain at Winter Haven. We need to give them more options. Right now, it's kind of limited as the lakes that have public boat ramps on them that are sufficient enough to park their vehicles there. But I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you. I don't miss attending 797 of these commission meetings. Thank you. Thank you. Catherine Nance. Nance. My name is Catherine Nance. I live at 1120 Shoreline Lane, Winter Haven, in the Winterset community. I own a house on Lake Winterset. I'm here to talk. I'm just an old lady here to talk to you today about respect. I grew up in Winter Haven. I grew up swimming in Lake Cannon in the swim area. I grew up on the boating and all the chain. People respected each other. We waved. We stayed far enough away from each other. I ended up moving to Orlando area in 72. Came back in the late 80s and 90s with my family. My son, my husband, and myself, we would go out on the chain. People would stay away. My son would wakeboard, kneeboard, whatever the boarding was at the time. And people were not crazy. Fast forward, my husband had to move back to Orlando for his job as chief of Orlando Fire Department. And I ended up moving back here three years ago, tried to semi-retire, and moved to Winterset because I love Winter Haven. Now, the problem is there's no respect anymore on the lake. I live on the far side. I don't live on the point side. I live on the Winterset side. There is a slalom course behind my house, and I love watching the people ski there every morning between 7 and 8. It's like live entertainment. It has gotten to the point, though, that the jet skiers are going in that same area like playing chicken with each other. And having worked in a hospital for 45 years, I have taken care of these people that crash. Also, Saturday morning, this past Saturday morning, I was sitting on my back porch enjoying the lake, drinking my coffee. I could hear loud music all the way over on Winterset where my brother lives. I have family friends on Little Winterset, family friends on Big Winterset, and it's just gotten to where there was no respect anymore. So I respectfully ask you to please help us get respect back on our lakes. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Don Mason. Good morning. Don Mason, 232 McLean Point, Winter Haven. First off, I just want to start out thanking the Sheriff's Department. Over the last 30 days since the attention has become more prevalent here with this issue, it has slowed things down a lot. It's been much quieter. I myself live three or four houses from the point, and it's been much better. And we are all, the residents of Renaissance and Little Lake Winterset, are very much hoping that we can get this swim zone in place because I think it will help from a safety standpoint. In addition to that, though, without the noise ordinance, it won't matter because the noise itself travels so far. You can hear it through the center of our neighborhood all the way to the guard gate. And as the lady said a few minutes ago, there's, unfortunately, you have to govern respect at this point, right? I mean, that shouldn't be the case. And we just appreciate the effort put in by the Sheriff's Department. It is making a difference, and I believe the swim zone itself will make a major difference. The comment about additional boat ramps to open the lakes up more, there's not a public boat ramp on Lake Winterset that I'm aware of, but they put in three or four or five lakes over, and they come all the way through to get to us through multiple canals. There's a strip of houses that have been built on the canal coming into Lake Winterset, and I really feel sorry for those people because as they leave, their music is blaring. Going right out. And so it's a major issue, and it needs addressed, and we would very much appreciate the approval of these two, number three and number four, in favor of both the noise ordinance and the swim zone. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Mason. Mr. Webb. So you're good? Okay. I cannot read this last name, but I believe your first name is Frank. Frank, okay, I couldn't read it. It's kind of like, I'm not going to say. My name is Frank. Oh, good. We got you up here. Yeah, my name is Frank. Okay, how you doing, Frank? I'm 246, McLean Point, Winter Haven, Florida, 3384. I've grown up in Winter Haven pretty much most of my life. I moved away from Winter Haven for 27 years and recently moved back just two short years ago to where I live now is on McLean Point, which is on the smaller part of Winterset, Little Lake, Winterset, three houses down from where the point is. And I agree. When I moved in, I didn't understand what I was getting into, I guess, and I didn't, not necessarily as much as the boat traffic and everything, but the noise and the music that's played. And not even necessarily that it would be, I mean, anyone would want in their backyard, the profanity that goes out there. I have, I'm younger than a lot of the people in my neighborhood, but I have grandkids now, and I don't want them out there listening to it. And it's so loud, you can hear it inside of our house. And I have good windows, storm windows, a nice house, but the music is just, it's like it's a war of bands every weekend now, and it's been getting worse. And couple that with the fighting, and you can't back a boat. For us to use, we've got to actually pretty much ask somebody to move a boat out. I don't understand how adding additional boat ramps would make that better. Or, like he said, I believe it's all private boat ramps. There's only two or maybe three on the whole, both lakes combined, and both of which are, all of them are private. But the sound and the amount of people and just the jet ski traffic is just really bad in that area. And I know that police are doing a great job, and since the altercation that happened that made national news and has everybody here, it has gone down. The other day I walked outside on a Saturday, and I didn't realize it was Saturday because it was quiet. And it's so rare for that to even happen. And not only that, the only boat I saw go through was a sheriff's boat that waved, and it was actually a pleasant, you know, scene. So, I mean, I believe that we've got to do something before somebody really gets hurt. I mean, the fight was probably just one of small other ones because there's been all kinds of sexual incidences going on. The underage drinking, we constantly, they were taking notes of it. And we have, because our area is on the peninsula, there were parents having to come and get their kids from there because they were too intoxicated. And this is underage drinking. I know the police have policed it and done the best they can, but, you know, their hands have been tied with a lot of the way that they've been allowed to do things. So I really hope you guys really police this or help the police do their job, I guess, in this case. And I thank you for consideration. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you. All right. That was everyone I had signed up for number four. We've got one more. Okay. Mr. Meeks. Yes. If I were you, I will carry through here on this, Randy, with the people that signed up with four and five. How do you want to handle that? If they signed up for four, they can get up and speak on four. Okay. Oh, yes. But will they come back on five, too? Which is fine. I think that's their preference normally. Okay. Okay. I just wanted to make sure. All right. All right, sir. Joshua Meeks, 4565 Walker Lake Road, Marto, Florida. Came to speak on the swim exclusion zone that they're trying to put in play. I just know that it is out of hand. You know, it's gotten carried away. But I think taking away people's rights to the water is not the way to go about it. You know, we do need to put in a noise ordinance, obviously, slow down the music, the profanity, keep all that down. But I like to go out there and just, you know, be there on the water in these areas. And if this gets passed, obviously, like y'all spoke about earlier, when does it stop? You know, if they move down three houses behind this guy's house, you know, then we're back in this same situation. There's other ways to handle it properly, you know, arrest the people that are on the people's property, keep the noise down, let people enjoy the water in these so-called swim zones that are only accessible by boat. There's no other way to get to these pieces of property. So, if you could stay in the water, do what you're legally supposed to do, you should have the right to be there and not roped out of these areas on these specific lakes in the county. Because if you do it here, you know, at what lakes do we stop? When does it stop? Do we have to put all these on every lake? You know, you pass the thing to put in boat ramps on a different lake. You want people on the lakes, but then we're going to keep people from going into certain areas? No. We just need to cut out the nonsense. That's it. And allow people to illegally be there. I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir. All right. Linda Phillips. Ms. Phillips, you're signed up for four and five. So, if you'd like to come speak on four. My name is Linda Phillips, 6617 Winterset Gardens Road in Winter Haven. And what the sheriff said about the people speeding through the channel, we were skiing, our daughter was behind us in the boat, and we were far enough out. They don't look. They come right through and nearly slammed us, nearly hit us. So, it's usually the jet skis. Also, after every weekend, the quality of people there are so inconsiderate, disrespectful. I have a picture on my phone that I will not pass around, but I've picked up chip bags, water bottles, watermelon rinds, foodstuffs of all kinds. But the day I had to pick up a sanitary napkin out of my property, that is just ridiculous. And you know they're having sex on the beach and doing everything. So, the boat exclusion zones don't stop anybody from swimming. We love it. When the families are out there, our favorite sound is the squeal of kids whose dads are torturing them, just throwing them in, having fun on the water. We love that. People that have their music soft enough, they can share it with their friends. But when we had to buy noise-canceling headphones, we are in our house with the doors closed, with the air conditioning on. We can't watch TV because the noise is reverberating through our house. We can't listen to music. We cannot have company because the language is so horrible. You wouldn't want your grandkids, your parents, anybody to hear that. So, I know I'm speaking on both, so you don't have to call me up for five. But if you could please pass this boat exclusion zones, I think that would solve a lot of the problem. And we'd have the families out in the lake swimming out there. If they want to swim in, that's fine. But I think if you pass this boat exclusion zone, it would go a long way toward making our lives peaceful and giving us the enjoyment of our property. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Ed Phillips. Hi, my name is Ed Phillips, 6617 Winterset Gardens Road. That puts me on Little Lake Winterset. My background is I was 10 years a lake patrol officer for Kosciuszko County in Indiana. So, I'm very, very much attuned to safety. That was my priority as a lake enforcement officer. The swim zones is a win-win for everybody. It's going to provide a buffered area for safe swimming for the swimmers. And it's going to improve a more pleasant environment for the lake residents. Had it been in effect, we would have never seen the brawl that's so well documented. I will tell you from a personal aspect, I was coming from big Winterset to little Winterset in idle in my ski boat. And a little swimmer with a snorkeler popped right up in the middle of the canal between big Winterset and little Winterset. I was 50 feet from killing her. I'll never forget that. The safe swim zones have to be established or somebody's going to get killed. I'll guarantee you that. That jet skier that got arrested the other day flying through there, that happens all the time. They go full bore through there, 60 miles an hour, right through that area where people are swimming. Somebody's going to get killed. Thanks for listening. Thank you, sir. Mr. Leonard. Ms. Leonard. Good morning. My name is Celeste Leonard. I live at 6731 Winterset Gardens Road. I'm actually currently the president of Winterset Gardens Property Owners Association. I want to just talk a little bit about, I live on Little Lake Winterset, where you hear that music that is on Big Lake Winterset extends into Little Lake Winterset. And the loud music echoes. It can, it's constant. I do also, as other people have said, I stay in my house every weekend because I can't enjoy my backyard. I'm afraid to use my boat on weekends because of the alcohol that I see being consumed right in front of me. I'm afraid of encountering some drunk driver. The jet skiers repeatedly circling around and around Little Lake Winterset. I'm not sure what the excitement is about, but they are missing children. They're missing boats. They're just missing other docks, people's docks. I've almost seen them come into my own dock at very, very high speeds. Boats and jet skis boats are flying through that canal with swimmers and small children that are actually there. That should be designated as a no-wake zone. There's no signage there. I've called numerous peoples, both at Polk County and at the state level, to try to get that taken care of. But I understand that that's something that the county has to ask for. I've had trespassers come into my yard more than once where I've confronted them. They've actually told me they're coming down into my yard so they could jump on somebody's boat from my seawall. I actually had to install a fence as a result of how many people I had coming onto my property. I guess my point is both these lakes, Big Lake and Small Lake Winterset, have become, and I want to emphasize the word become because it never used to be like this, they've become a haven for disrespectful behavior, for drugs and alcohol, and really, truly, most importantly, extremely dangerous situations. Really dangerous. Somebody is going to get hurt. It is just a matter of time. I appreciate the commissioners and certainly the sheriff's office for being involved to help remedy this situation, and I hope you do pass this. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Uh, Mr. Rosmondo. Candace. Candace. Okay. I only have three minutes. I'm going to fly through this like crazy. Mm-hmm. I'm really just going to tap you and you show. Okay. And I will submit all of these to you, along with, um, over 120 signatures of people who are in support of these ordinances and their addresses and their concerns, um, after I'm done with the presentation. Got it. Good morning. I'm Candace Rosmondo, 6759 Winterset Gardens Road. This is an aerial shot of my home and my neighbor's lakefronts that are included in the proposed swim zone, so you have an example of what we are dealing with. This area becomes extremely congested and the boats and their engines are backed up against my seawall, often hitting it, tying off on it, and usually have anchors in my yard. This extends all the way around to the Renaissance properties. Next picture. Um, children and people of all ages are peppered all around these areas, in between boats, on mats, and swimming all in between. Okay. Next picture. Even behind and all around engines. All it takes is wake from boating activities to smash people into the seawall or into each other. The really dangerous situation would be someone starting their engines and not realizing people, especially children, are behind them. Next picture. That's exactly what happened to this man. After hours of partying with his buddies, his brother decided to start the boat up, and he nearly lost his leg. Thank God it wasn't a child's head, yet. But with the music pumping so loud that it shakes our homes, how is anyone going to hear a cry for help? And with all the alcohol flowing, people are not acting in a respectful or mindful manner. Next picture. After hours of drinking, this man was smashed in the face with a beer bottle. He proceeded to pull a gun out from his boat, but fortunately, PCSO Marine and a hired land officer were on my dock and able to quickly disengage the situation. This happened right next door. Myself and my children had to immediately get inside. I'm not at all surprised about the recent brawl at Renaissance Lot. I've been battling the reckless behavior for four years, and we really need your help. Recently, there were half-naked girls, next picture, from drinking from full-size liquor bottles, kid you not, smoking pot, drinking beer, spring break girls going wild party scene, next picture. The reality is when you span out, you can see that children are playing on a mat and swimming by the engine. That's what is sad. Children are always present in these crowds. I am in full support of providing a safe swim zone and believe these ordinances are absolutely necessary. I've lived on Big Lake Winterset since my early childhood. It did not used to be this way. For a taste of what it is like, I now have a few video clips I'd like you to hear. I apologize they are vulgar, but as homeowners, we have to listen to it. You told me how you would function if you were forced to hear this at any given time. When you call the police for help, this is the voter's response. Well, I'm just—this is— We get your point. Okay, okay, okay. Well, and in respect to that, if you were to look at the video, you'd see that there are children playing on a mat behind the boat that is blaring this music at my home. It's sad when PCSO warns homeowners to not engage with all that I have shared with you, but to contact them instead. When do we get to enjoy our own property? All of this shows a lack of common sense, lack of respect, a lack of discipline, and a lack of accountability. With the passing of these ordinances, PCSO can change all of that and let us all, boaters and homeowners alike, enjoy our beautiful channel lakes. And again, I have 120 minutes. I advise you to read these. All right, ma'am. We will read them, but we're going to take a vote here in a little bit. All right. Thank you very much for your time. Yeah. Can we go ahead and approve this and get it over with? I still got some people. All right. Doreen Nordstrom. Good morning. Good morning. Maureen Nystrom, 6619, Winterset Gardens Road, Winter Haven. Thank you for your time today in listening to this, and thank you to the Sheriff's Department and all of the police officers that have literally had to spend so much time, and it boggles my mind that we even have to get to this point because of the lack of respect, the lack of morals. We've actually had times, and I live on the lake, obviously, cannot bring my grandchildren out because of the language and the noise. And just as everybody explained today, I think you have a clear picture as to what we've been living with for years. But it has gotten to the point where we, as a neighborhood, have had to say, enough. We have actually asked nicely some of these boaters, gone out on our boat and asked them to please turn the music down. And they've actually left, and we thought, yes. And then they come back with larger speakers, pointing them at us in defiance. And the fact that we have to have the thought of police officers having to sit at the cut all day long trying to police these people into being respectful is just unconscionable to me anymore. This is a societal problem, and now it has become a problem of homeowners trying to enjoy. We can't even go out in our backyards on the weekend at all. I was sick two weeks ago, and the reverberation of the noise was just incredible. I don't even know how to address this anymore. The lack of just what one of them said earlier, the consideration is just gone. And now that we have to come before commissioners to take up your time, to take up the police officers' time, Sheriff Jud Grady, who I am a huge fan of, has had to get to the point where he has to get on television and say, enough. Well, as homeowners, we're saying enough. And if they can't be respectful, and like Ms. Linda said earlier, we love the sound of the children out there. We love them jumping in and being excited. But those no-swim zones, if something isn't done, they're going to get hurt or killed. If the noise ordinance is not passed, we are not going to be able to enjoy. We actually have people telling us they're going to have to move. And I'm a real estate agent. Am I supposed to disclose to buyers that are going to come buy a home and say, just to let you know, I don't want to show this home on the weekend because you won't want to buy. All right? So it's affecting value, and it's affecting lifestyle, and it's enough. So I thank you for your time today. And I hope that the people, if there are people in here or people do hear us saying that are those boaters, grow up. Okay? You've got children in the boats with you. What role models are you? So thank you very much for your time. Thank you, ma'am. All right. Susan McEntee. McEntee. Good morning. I'm Susan McEntee, 502 Sweet Bay Circle. I live in Winterset, but I also speak for the landowners over at the point and nearby. There's been a major shift in culture in the area. The lack of respect to people who live on the chain and near the chain is unprecedented, to say the least. We would never go under or within owners' docks, much less yell and shoot birds at the owners asking you to stay clear of seawalls and docks, all private property. We would never consider putting pets or ourselves into other people's yards to use the bathroom, all private property. We would never get so close to people's properties that when owners open their doors and windows, they are greeted by people who are standing in the lake, staring and waving, drinking and yelling, even amplified karaoke on some occasions while boats are anchored eight inches from the seawall, all private property. We would never leave trash like styrofoam cups, bottles, cans, chicken bones, tampons, dirty diapers, broken and runaway floats, and poop bags on our beautiful chain of lakes. We would never blare vulgar music into backs of residences while owners are enjoying the pool, grilling, watching TV, enjoying family time, and just simply living in their homes. Here's my son in the pool. We would never yell back and be disrespectful to landowners when asked to get off the wall or please turn down your music. I say it again, there has been a major shift in the culture in our community. This is loud and clear. With this shift comes safety issues. Who is watching the children swim, snorkel, and play between these boats when the adults are gathering around, drinking on mats for hours? Who is listening and can hear a child's cry for help or assistance when the music from the boats are all competing to be the loudest one out there? Who is commandeering these boats with occupants back to the boat ramp safely? Who is driving these occupants, boats, and trailers home safely from the boat ramps? Overall, accountability is real life. Most of us are taught and learned it at an early age. People must be accountable for their actions. Lastly, I say, there has been a major shift in culture in our area. I do have... Oh, ma'am, we don't need to hear it. It's a lot of F-bombs, and it's right outside the... We know where you're coming from. ...the yard. So I appreciate it. I've had to pull my kids in several times with indecent exposure and indecent words. I appreciate your time. Thank you. I stand in support of this ordinance. Michael Hart. If we could leave the pictures for the record. Thank you. My name is Michael Hart, 6769 Winterset Gardens Road. I just happen to live just next to the point, about two houses down from that peninsula and canal. And I've had the blessing of living on the chain for the last 13 years, last five being right there at the point. I've kind of firsthand witnessed the progression of, you know, bad behavior, as you'd so call it. Obviously, the noise is an issue as a homeowner, as they are backed straight up to, you know, your seawall, blaring music. It's kind of a competition of who can play their music louder. And unfortunately, as far as the swim zone is concerned, these boats, because Lake Winterset is so clear and pristine, it's very clean, sandy bottom. So it has a large appeal for people to want to come in and, you know, feel safe in the water. It's not murky like a lot of other lakes. But being that it is connected to, you know, 9, 10, 15 other lakes, they all take the canals, come south, end up on Lake Winterset to swim. And they choose to back their boats up to where it's shallow and anchor down with their props up. And they'll squeeze as many boats as they can side by side. Sometimes there's 30, 50 boats between boathouses. And there's children playing. And then, you know, they're coming back and forth. They want to be in the good spot where all the popular people are. So they'll squeeze their boats right in. You know, it takes one boat wake coming through to rock these boats and maybe shift them together where someone just happens to be standing in between them. And then, you know, like Candace mentioned earlier, we have witnessed people get cut up by props because these boat operators are inebriated. They've been drinking all day. There's people laying all over in the water. And, you know, they're just not coherent. They're not paying attention. And they're definitely not respectful. As you go down and say, hey, do you mind turning that music down? My little sister's out playing. Or, you know, you have family and friends over. And you have to listen to that music. And so you decide to transition into your house, into the living room, to congregate with the people you love. And you just happen to watch the glass on the back windows vibrate from the base of these boaters. So I think it's definitely necessary to address the noise ordinance and kind of mitigate and give Polk County sheriffs a bit of authority to enforce respectful behavior. Because they have asked nicely. And they have been more than present with the situation. But their hands have been tied. They haven't been able to truly enforce any of this until hopefully now. And you guys can give them the tools and the mechanisms to allow to enforce, you know, proper behavior to where it is respectful for both boaters, swimmers, and the homeowners. Thank you. Thank you. All right. I think that was the last one I had signed up for, number four. Do you have any more? All right. Being seen none, we're going to close the public hearing and bring it back to the board for. Move for approval. Second. Mr. Chair, before we do a motion, I just want to address the first speaker talking about the public bathing areas. I do believe that this vessel exclusion area, swim area, is different than those areas in which he was addressing. Thank you. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Yes. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Item number 05 is a public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance of the Polk County Board of County Commissioners entitled the Polk County Noise Ordinance Repealing and Restating Ordinance 14-030 as amended. As I informed the board, the substantial changes of this one is removing the exemption for boat activities, which will allow the Sheriff's Office to enforce noise issues coming from boats. And also, since we have the public hearing, as you mentioned, there are several individuals who just spoke on 04, also raised issues regarding noises on the lakes and stuff regarding 05. So I would ask the board, unless they want to speak, that we would take that testimony and incorporate it into this public hearing. So unless they get up and want to withdraw that testimony from this public hearing, that would also be incorporated for this public hearing. There would be no need for them to get up and speak again. Everybody okay with that? All right. All right, ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you wish to speak on this matter, come forward and state your name and address. But I believe everybody has already spoken, just like what he just said. So we're going to close the public hearing and bring it back to the board for a motion. Move for approval. Second. Chair, if I have a motion. Oh, excuse me. Just for clarification, this does not matter where the boat is on the lake. It could be at the boat ramp on the shoreline in the middle of the lake. If there's a noise issue, then we now are giving the sheriff's full authority. This would be, in addition to the exclusion areas, this would be any lake in Polk County if it's considered a noise disturbance. Correct. There's a definition for noise disturbance. Perfect. Thank you. Are there hours set for this noise ordinance? Not for the boating activities. There is certain different activities that fall, like a sporting event and stuff, that has hours in which they can operate and stuff, but not for the boating activities. All right. Anyone else? All right. We have a motion in a second, don't we? All in favor? All right. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Thank you. All right, ladies and gentlemen. All right. That ends our public meetings, and we're going to take a 10-minute recess and get ready for our next go. So 10-minute recess. I'm going to re-adjourn our meeting and start off with the general public request to speak. We did have a Shawna Davis set up, but she is not here. So we're going to go right into her comments. First, I mean, people want to speak. So first in is Mr. Abercumby. Morning. Good morning, sir. Members of the record, 2737 Gibson and Yellow Way Road. First, I'd like to congratulate you on your two-hour meeting today. You set a new record. That's great. That's the first two-hour meeting all year. So we still have accomplished a lot, but at least we had two-hour meeting. I've been talking about public records again. I'm here to talk about public records a little more time. I've kind of changed my theories, my attitudes a little bit, and what I'm going to start doing now, everybody's going to be getting emails from me. My public records will be directly to you. I would like to go directly to you rather than to the county attorney. He controls all this stuff, so I'd rather him keep him out of it. I'll send him a copy so he'll have one. It won't be a big deal. Now, the reason for that, of course, is the stalking going on everywhere I go and everything I do. Everybody here knows what I'm doing, especially the attorney's office and the manager's office. So I've got to stop that. Excuse me. I would like to have rebuttals. When I send emails to you commissioners, I would like you to return my answers. A lot of it's going to be about the process. I don't like this three-minute rule because I don't have time to go through an entire complaint. I had one, I believe it was June 5th, May 5th, something like that, one of the meetings, and I brought a specific complaint. It was a page-and-a-half complaint about public records, about this park, about everything I've been trying to get public records on for the last four months. I finally got my first page last week, two weeks ago. It took me a while to get that done, of course, and once again, I had to paint her a picture so she understood what I was talking about. And now, beyond that point, there was a meeting here a couple weeks ago, had a workshop afterwards. And, of course, once I leave the building, then everything starts happening. So, I just wanted to let you know that there was someone, I believe it was Mr. Wilson, I don't know for sure, but I've become the butt of your jokes. You were talking about sidewalks, and you had to make sure that Mr. Abercrombie was agreeable with it. I just want you to know that. So, it's going to be that way. I expect returns of my emails. You won't talk to me. You won't meet with me. So, I expect you at least to be able to communicate through email. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Abercrombie. All right. Next is... If I may, Mr. Chair, just, I'm not sure about the control of the county attorney's office over the public records request. We do provide guidance to the divisions. But, over the last year, there's been, as you stated, over four or five public records requests from Mr. Abercrombie. Well, there's no need to say anything because it won't go very far than that. But, he's received everything he's asked for as of the date. And, he can sit there and say he has it. And, you can email me all you want. It's going to go through him. And, we give you everything that you wanted, Mr. Abercrombie. And, you keep coming back. So, that's your right. No problem about it. You've been doing it for 20 years. And, we appreciate it. So, that's all I've got to say about that. Mr. Vanderbush. Mrs. or Mr. Abercrombie. A Mrs. Hi. Ailey Vanderbush, 1203 King Avenue in Lakeland. Excellent. Just want to talk about sort of a rebuttal on some of the things that have been said about the TNBR programs. And, looking at peer-reviewed journals and not extraneous websites. There's a lot of information here. So, I'm going to go through it fairly quickly. You have three minutes. Yes. I understand that. So, four-year TNR study yields promising results. And, here's all of the cited sources for the material. If you want to go to the next one. Return to Field, Mutual Shelter C Sharp decline in feline intake and euthanasia over the course of eight years. Euthanasia at the Louisville Metro Center declined by 94%. And, feline admissions declined by 42%. And, if you go to the next one, you'll see all the references for that article. Again, peer-reviewed journals. If you go to the next slide. Feeding free-roaming cats reduces presumed interest in hunting wildlife. Basically, if you feed the cats, they don't kill the birds. Influence of care of domestic carnivores on the predation of vertebrates. Study authors concluded that underfed cats were nearly five times as likely to prey on wildlife. We should be feeding our community cats. Next slide. There are many more published articles about the success of TNBR. Next slide. And, here's just peer-reviewed journals. So, if any of you care at all, there's a lot of peer-reviewed journals that talk about the benefits of TNBR in communities, not only in the U.S., but also across the world. And, comparing community cats to community dog programs in generally third-world countries, you can't do that. If you want to go to the next slide, I believe that's even more. You can see here a theme. There are a lot of peer-reviewed journals. The next slide. Habitat loss is by far the greater cause of bird population declines. Birds get hit by cars. And, as we see by even here, looking at all the building that we're doing, habitat loss kills birds. Way more than cats do. If you go to the next slide. This is my last one. The Feline Research Organization, the Research Council, compiles and summarizes the most reputable research for policy makers in the management of community cats. The studies highlighted are peer-reviewed and approved by an advisory board of public health officials, veterinarians, wildlife experts, legal experts, and animal welfare experts. So, if you want to make good decisions for our community cats, this is the place you should be going to find your information. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. All right. Pam Taylor. That's a button or something? No, just talk. No, it's not on. Undoubtedly, somebody. Hello? There you go. There you got it. My name is Pam Taylor. I live at 105 Ellen Court in Winter Haven. This is my first time here. I'm speaking on behalf of the animals. I've been in rescue for around 16 years with the Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue, and I currently am with them. And I'm really concerned that we're not seeming to make any changes or be able to help. And I am aware that you are able to modify and amend the sheriff's budget, and so you can make changes within his budget and ask for different things. And I really would like to encourage you to follow all these people who have put a lot of effort into helping animals. And just to quote one person who has made a big difference for Edward Bach, you should make the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it. I really would think that belongs, that is with animals, too. Okay? Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Ms. Bork? Good morning, commissioners. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you again today. I'm not going to talk about statistics. Y'all have heard them all. We don't need to go through them again. What I do want to talk about is that we've had a growing number of animal welfare advocates speaking to you for the last four months. And this is in addition to all those who have spoken or communicated over the years. We've shared both statistical and anecdotal data. We've clearly illuminated the state of crisis that exists in Polk County Animal Welfare, both at the shelter and in the county as a whole. Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you who I am. Kay Bork. 1133 Brook Road in Fort Meade. We have shared roadmaps for programs and draft ordinances that will drive a long-term sustainable change to get us out of this crisis. It would be by interrupting the breeding cycles with TNVR, low cost of free spay and neuter programs, and by disrupting the backyard breeder supply chain. We've asked for the opportunity to work with you to create an animal welfare advisory committee that can provide input to the county commissioners on gaps that prevent Polk County from improving the welfare in the county. Proposed solutions to fill these gaps and a comprehensive plan for implementation. Okay. So although we will continue to evangelize the merits of the proposals being brought forth, it is really our goal to see change. It's time for action. The Florida Statute 82315 requires every feasible means to be used to reduce the incidence of birth, while improving adoption and reducing euthanasia rates at shelters. Polk County is far from adhering to this statute. On the contrary, Polk County continues to enable the incidence of birth to increase. The path to change, as you've mentioned on several other actions this morning, is through a process. There is a process to revamp the county animal welfare ordinances. To that end, I've requested guidance from Mr. Mink, as county attorney, on the process for that ordinance revision. I look forward to a response from that request, and then we'll head down that path. We, as a county, need to move away from the ways of the past and utilize proven methods that will enable the residents of Polk County to be proud of where we live and the way we treat our animals. As the 875,000 residents of Polk County are further educated on the issues here, they will demand change. We know that we cannot rescue, adopt, or kill our way out of this crisis, and I urge you to take action immediately. It's just time to move forward, and we can fix this together. We all want to work together to help you guys and all of us fix this. Thank you for your time. Thank you, ma'am. Eve Salambini. Hello. I'm Eve Salambini, director of the Street Cat Project, 4230 Live Oak Road, Lakeland, Florida. So I've been pondering Mr. Braswell's recent article in The Sun, The Lakeland Sun, about the six issues that he felt were the most important things that he had taken out of all of the meetings we've had here. And I want to address those because I really think that all of you, not just Mr. Braswell, are maybe missing the point. TNVR is not the only point. We are trying to get the ordinance change to benefit dogs and cats, not just the cats, not just the feral cats or the loose cats. We all know TNR works. We can't dispute that. It's the basic birds and the bees. If you take away the breeding possibilities, you have less cats. So what we're asking the county to do is to help us with that. We have done, as far as the TNR is concerned, we have stabilized many colonies across the county in the last four and a half years. Stabilizing means no new growth, meaning no new kittens. That is the whole reason that TNR works. Does it get rid of the cats? No, it doesn't. It just stops the continuous population growth. We've debunked all of the six points that Mr. Braswell made in his article that he wrote, his opinion letter. And we have obviously not gotten the full point across to you. We have said, as you manage the buildings, budgets, and ordinances that run the county, you can change them, as we just saw with ordinance change in Winterset. So you cannot tell us that you don't do ordinances, because we just saw it. The most egregious part of Mr. Braswell's article was that we are all just emotional complainers. So we're not seeing the big picture, according to him. I'm going to turn that back to you, Mr. Braswell. You're not seeing the big picture. You and the sheriff are living in an archaic 1980s rescue world. It is not that time anymore. Things have changed. Things have moved forward. Killing is not the solution. So as I said, I hope that the words that you printed don't come back to haunt you, because roughly 447,000 people in Polk County own pets. So that's a lot of voters. And by the way, PETA is not a good source to cite with regard to domestic animal welfare. It just reveals how little informed you are. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Sir and Smith. All right. Okay, I'll let the other people do that one time. Now I've let you do it one time. So please bear with us. We'll be nice to y'all. Y'all be nice to us. We're listening. All right, Ms. Smith. Sarah Lynn Smith, 4740 Highlands Place Circle, Lakeland. There is a saying that the heart of a man can be judged by his treatment of animals. And that quote couldn't be more true than it is now in our county. Now is the time as a commission to stand up and take action for change, to bring Polk County into the 21st century and join all the other counties in Florida that have already achieved the success. Many solutions to our animal welfare problems have been offered to the sheriff and you, repeatedly in the past few months and you have ignored them. This is not a problem that is going away and we are not going away. The people you see here are just the tip of the iceberg. Through social media, news reports on TV and print, word is spreading about Grady's death chamber and his antiquated animal practices. The United States, 67% of residents have pets. 447 in Polk County are pet owners. That's a lot of voters. The commission so far has made it clear by word and action that you will not create life-saving ordinances to put an end to the killing of 275 cats and 107 dogs each month. The sheriff does a good job on the extensive crime in our county and seems busy assisting ICE and the newly passed, and he will be patrolling because of the newly passed ordinance to patrol Lake Winterset. He seems to have his hands full. Polk County Animal Control should be run by veterinary professionals with the Citizens Advisory Board. Before I began speaking to the board in June, to be honest, I had never heard of any of you except Ms. Townsend. I find it puzzling that all of you would put your positions on the line to staunchly support the sheriff's position on animal control. He is probably untouchable in an election because he has appointed himself America's sheriff, but not so much you all. I know that if there is not change, the animal advocates, and we are voters of all parties, myself a lifelong Republican, will vigorously campaign on the next election against any candidates not supporting change. 447, that's a lot of voters. Animal welfare and activacy is a growing issue nationally. Laura Trump, President Trump's daughter-in-law, is a huge proponent for animal welfare and heavily involved in Big Dog Ranch Rescue here in Florida. Governor DeSantis recently signed Trooper and Dexter's Law at that rescue. Under the leadership of President Trump, the National Institute of Health has shut down its Beagle Testing Laboratory. I would think the commissioners of the fastest-growing county in Florida would want to have our county shelter be a shining star, not a roach, rat-filled, hot death chamber. When Polk County Animal Control makes national news, and it will eventually, because we are not giving up, will America's sheriff answer for the killing, or will you, commissioners? Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Chair. Ms. Smith, you opened with a quote about the heart of a person being judged, and I would say that that also could show as their treatment towards children. And let me quote you. Maybe when you graduate from high school and have some real-life experiences, you could weigh in on this. When you tell that to a child on social media, it also shows your heart. Thank you. Did I answer that? No, ma'am. Debbie Hicks? I want to hear it. Debbie Hicks, 236 Alderman Road, Lakeland, Florida. At the last meeting, it was clarified that we, the people of this county, own Animal Control Facility, and that the portion housing the animals was built in 1988. So it is almost 40 years old, with no major upgrades being made to said structure. We also know that the population in 1988 in this county was a little over 389,000, and in 2025, it is over 878,000 and growing. We also know that the 1988 facility was built to deal with the stray and displaced animals as they were seen in 1988. We are not that culture in the 21st century. We, as a county, are responsible for providing a safe and functioning facility for the managing of the daily tasks to be performed. In our case, the running of this facility was given to the sheriff's office in 2004 because the county ran it so poorly. On June 3rd meeting, you sent us to the sheriff regarding animal control. Well, I took a handwritten note and delivered it to the sheriff, asking, letting him know I was coming before you about the new facility and asking for a meeting with him and Floyd. I received a very nice letter thanking me for my four years of volunteering at the facility. And to quote in the letter, when I asked about a facility, he said, quote, the current setup at animal control is more than adequate to meet their needs. More than adequate. Is that why it is on record that in 2024, 400 animals died under the shelter care and 561 went missing or escaped? Commissioner Braswell said that the sheriff does not have to report to them about his office, just like Stacey Butterfield. However, I do notice that Stacey Butterfield is here and she does report. Why she reports those certain items, I don't really know. I'm not a functioning person in that, but she reports. I would ask, since the sheriff will not see us, I am asking that a person from the sheriff's office, preferably the person in charge of animal control, be at these meetings and give a report, however brief, and to listen to the citizens of this county, who out of our own resources are trying to care for animals, so they do not go to animal control and become a statistic. Also, I again am asking for an animal wellness advisory committee to be formed by this commission to look into the requests made here today and for the future of the county. That committee or another one will look into the current facility and what options we have to bring it to what we need today. Please start the process. Thank you, ma'am. Brenda Haley. Brenda Haley, 3612 Royal Court, Lakeland. I just want to tell you about a little trip we took a couple weeks ago. Two of my colleagues and I went to visit the Pasco County Animal Shelter, and we chose the Pasco County Animal Shelter because, according to the Tampa Bay Times, of the 11 counties in central Florida, Pasco County was ranked number one, and we were ranked number 11. I gave you a handout, I don't know if they got them, of the facilities there and some of the things they offer. They have a budget of $6.2 million, which is similar to ours. Ours is a little bit less. As you can see on there, 57 full-time employees, 300 volunteers, two full-time veterinarians, five vet techs, 24-7 coverage of the facility. Pasco has a cat and a dog license, so they generate revenue from that. Their facilities are air-conditioned, climate-controlled. They have an air filtration system. They have digital x-ray machines. They have an in-house pharmacy. They play classical music for their animals. They have quiet time. They turn out the lights at 11 to 12 every day, and believe it or not, their dogs don't bark when we toured. The dogs get walked three times a day, and their beddings change daily. But they're able to do this with their 300 volunteers, and we saw some really, really nice volunteers when we were there. But one of the most important things I wanted to bring up today is the trap, neuter, vaccinate, and release program for the cats. In Pasco County, it's decreased their feral cat population in half. To me, that's a public health issue because cats do carry rabies. And my understanding that all the other surrounding counties around us, like Hillsboro and Orange and Osceola, Pinellas, they all have these programs that we don't have. Also, just a little bit of information, a former Pasco County commissioner, Mike Cox, created several years ago a 5013C called Friends of Animal Services, and he and his wife, Abby, raise anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 a year. That's an additional to what the county gives them. So I share all this because we want Polk County to be number one. You know, when we go there and look at their facilities, and it's like, why can't we do this? So I just wanted to share that. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Betty Jean Amaral. Good afternoon. My name's Betty Jean Amaral. I live at 1159 Colony Arms Drive, Lakeland. Thank you. Well, I was one of those colleagues. I went a couple weeks ago with Brenda that you just heard speak. We chose to go to Pasco Animal Control because when they did the study and they did the NBC News broadcast, out of the 11 southern counties in Florida, they were ranked at the top. We were ranked at the very bottom. So we wanted to go over and have something. We wanted to see what other animal controls look like so we'd have something to compare to here in Polk County. And this is only my second time to speak here. I was here on June the 3rd, and I would like to see again, I ask you commissioners to raise your hand if you had been out to our animal control and visited it, and we had maybe two. Can I see how many now have been out there to see our animal control? Years ago, yes. Okay, we have four now? I don't know how many it was before. Okay, I think it was two. Okay. I don't believe so, but anyway, go ahead. You might be out. Okay, good, great. I just would encourage you, because it's hard for y'all to understand unless you've seen it and been there, to go out to our animal control, and especially when it's in the middle of the day and it's hot, to see what goes on with the dogs and cats. And we were just so shocked. When we went to Pasco, it was just like a state-of-the-art animal control, mainly the way it was run, and it is run by personal services through the county commission's office. It's not run by the sheriff's department. It's run by the county commission's office. And I really encourage y'all, if you do get a chance or over in Tampa, to go by and visit and get some good ideas. And also, they've just opened up a new—I was in Tampa Saturday, and we went to visit the Humane Society. They've opened up a brand-new Humane Society in Tampa on Armenia. It takes up a whole city block, and they're now building a vet clinic right next door to it. And we were just amazed how wonderful it was. But I think one of the most important things that strikes me is the fact that when I walk through both of those facilities, through especially the dogs, you never heard any dogs barking because they have larger kennels the way they divide them up. They have a partition in the middle of two kennels, so if there's not another dog there, they can raise it up, and they've got two kennels to go through. And they play music, and it's quiet. The dogs are happy. And I'd just like to say— Ah! Finish up. I saw 150 dogs. I was out at our shelter also Saturday, and I counted 150 dogs, all barking and not happy. So we'd like for you to really do those comparables and try and see what you can do to help us. Diane Schaefer, please. Thank you. Good morning. Diane Schaefer, 3657, Tiger Eye Court, Mulberry, Florida. Every cat deserves a place to be safe, but there is no safe haven for the cats in Polk County. In 2024, there were 3,552 cats that were euthanized at the Polk County Animal Control. There were 400 who died in their care, and there were 561 that were lost in their care. These facts don't lie. We have an animal crisis here in this county, and I am again pleading with you to enact a no-cost or low-cost TNR program for the residents. The facts are this. Polk County remains the only county in Florida who does not provide TNR services at no-cost or low-cost to the residents. The cats continue to multiply, and kittens are crossing the streets and getting run over. The shelters in Polk County are full and turning people away. The solution is simple. TNR is the human way to prevent animal suffering. TNR will cut back on the cat population, help end starvation, and help end disease, and very importantly, cut back on euthanasia. TNR will cost the taxpayers less money than euthanasia, and knowing this, there is absolutely no valid reason not to enact TNR. The question is this. Why must these animals continue to suffer needlessly every day? Why would you not elect to help prevent animal suffering? And lastly, the Bible teaches us that caring for animals is a reflection of righteousness. Allowing animals to suffer needlessly is cruel and goes against the teachings of the Bible. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Shannon Medina. Shannon Medina, 2856, Carrie Lane, Lakeland. Good afternoon, commissioners. This is not my first time up here. I'm sure you guys are familiar with my face. I wanted to stand up here and ask for a speed bump of sorts for those of us in the animal community. I'm not going to go over the statistics like everyone has said, but just to give you an idea of what we're up against, at the Polk County Bully Project, where I am one of the directors, we activated our WhatsApp so that people who needed something could get in touch with us. We had 689 messages in one week. It's impossible to get through to help everyone. We also, while we were just sitting here, Angie and I, we actually held three dogs at Polk County. There was a rescue list sent out of 17 dogs. We went on Sunday when they were closed, and we pulled seven dogs as we were watching two trucks come in, dropping off more dogs. And we feel for the team there. We work hand in hand with them. We try to save lives. Last year, we pulled 65% of all of the dogs in this county to safety that went to rescue. So I'm not here to poke holes. I'm really here to just ask for help. We do need ordinance change. There is a rescue crisis that has always kind of existed here in this county, but it's at a fever pitch right now because now it's pretty much nationwide. And all of the groups that I'm in with all the other shelters are all upset, you know, where are we going to put these dogs? And they're all having the problem that we had, but now ours is even worse. So we definitely need to have some kind of ordinance change, breeding restrictions, just to try to stop the flow of animals going into the local shelter here because I have reached out to other foundations. We brought in Stand Up for Pits. They spayed and neutered 50 pit bulls for free, and those people were very appreciative of it. And I'm not trying to take food out of the mouths of babes. I'm not looking for something to be given to us while someone else in the community suffers. It's just something that we can no longer ignore. One thing I wanted to say is when your good friend makes some bad decisions, do you not stand up and tell them that those are bad decisions and try to teach them the right way to do something? And that's kind of how we feel about animal control. They are our friends, and we are here to help them, and that's what we have been doing for six years. But this last year, currently we are over 700 dogs saved this year. It's just the beginning of September, and last year we were at 810 for the year. So we just keep stumbling backwards. So I'm just looking to let you guys know that we are asking for help, and we definitely need it. Thank you, ma'am. Johanna Allendeen. Allendeen? Yeah. Close enough. Joanna Mukai Allende, 109. Wasn't even nowhere near. 109 Sandburg Lane, Winter Haven. So it's my second time coming up here. It's still kind of scary, but I'm going to keep showing up. Same plea, spay and neuter vouchers, loss and limitations, stuttering dogs, TNVR, and other animal welfare stuff that may not seem important to some of you, but, you know, it's important to us. We're not just pet owners or emotional people, although there's nothing wrong with that. You know, we are the teachers, the moms, the dads, nurses, doctors, lawyers, business owners, vets. We are the voters. We're the residents of Polk County. And we show up here together. We are from different groups, different animal rescues. I volunteer for Polk County Bully Project for Cross Paws. And there's thousands of us that's not here to show up. But, you know, we're here with one voice, a voice that's been providing the statistics and the solutions on the table. And these are not just, like, opinions, anecdotal or emotional reasoning, as in some of PETA's beliefs are based on. You know, these are data-driven solutions. Nearby counties have shown success in implementing these programs. So, I don't know, visit the rescues, go to the shelters again, you know, set up the meeting, see the work, see the heart, see the desperation. And, you know, I admire the swiftness of supporting the Lake Winterset residents. Like, what do we need to do to get, you know, shown that same importance? So, thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Cheryl Ann McGirt. Good morning. This is my first time here. My name is Cheryl Ann McGirt. I live at 2055 South Floral Avenue in Bartow. I was a volunteer at the shelter for many years, and I stopped going for a couple reasons. One is it's very hard to control those dogs when they want out of their cage. My job was to walk them, help any way I could, just to give them some comfort. Our location of the facility is next to a dump, and that alone should tell us something. Maybe that's where the land was cheap. I don't know. But the smell from the dump, if that doesn't get you, when you walk in that facility, I would come home, and my husband, I had to dump my stuff in the mudroom. I smelled awful. I smelled awful. I felt awful. I'm not blaming the sheriff. In fact, I think he's a fabulous sheriff at enforcing the law. Maybe he could help us with the abuse of the animals. The problem is not the people, if y'all have pets, I'm sure you care for them. The problem is the people who aren't caring for their pets. I wish I had a magic wand and could solve that problem. I don't have that answer. We need y'all to help us. How can we improve the facility? How can we have stricter laws to punish those who are abusing these animals? This county has a dump. People dump their animals. I was down at Mosaic on my bike the other day, and there were three dogs that ran up to me, and they told me somebody dumped them. This is the problem in our community. And, again, I don't know how we solve it, but having our sheriff do two jobs seems to be a big problem. He's great at what he does, law enforcement. Taking care of animals? Not so much. I'm sorry. I love Grady, but I told him to do his face. I didn't like it. Now we don't have volunteers. I don't understand why. Do you know who takes care of those dogs? The trustees. They come in in the morning. They feed the dogs one time. So if a dog comes in in the middle of the day or in the evening, he's not getting fed till morning. Good dogs come in. They become stressed. They become mean. There is, I believe, 700, maybe 800 cages. That's a lot of dogs and cats. There's a problem here. I would love, I want to know what can we do to help you help us. We are here. Clearly, there's people here who care. We don't want to put it all on you. We're just asking you to please give us some guidance. Can we go out and advocate? I'll raise money. I'll knock on doors. I want people to take care of their animals because they're so important. But I want you all to know something. Bad things are going on over there. When I was a volunteer, I would walk dogs, sorry, in the back. I saw dogs being stuck with a needle this long in their heart. If I take my dog to the vet, they're going to give it a calming drug. Those dogs don't get that. Please look into it. Please help us. And I will be back. I will support these people. I will support these animals, and I'll support you. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Amber, do we have anybody else signed up? Sure. Go ahead. Just some in the community have accused me of being silent, but I'm more so calculated. I want to understand some of the facts that are with any topic. It doesn't matter which topic it is in particular. So I'd actually reached out to local adjacent counties, some of which you guys have referred to. But this is coming directly from the directors there. One had mentioned TNVR has had only a minimal impact on population control of feral or community cats. Another one says they're sterilizing about 2,200 cats that come into the shelter, and we have not seen a decrease in kitten intake. The reason I bring those up is there's a lot of parts to any puzzle. So when you guys come up here and talk, we hear you. All of us hear you. We all have two ears and one mouth. I think we listen very well. But what I'll encourage you to do is more so solution-based. So with Ms. Hicks, if she's still here, she had mentioned about fans and about some of the cats escaping. If you've been to the animal shelter recently, there's now new fans installed in the ceiling that are aerating those kennels. There's also screen enclosures that are put over. It's an open-air facility. I was there when it was probably 96, 97 degrees outside. It's not that bad inside with the fans that are there. I can't speak to before fans, but the fans are there, and they've got the screen enclosures now that are, I guess, not allowing the kittens or cats that they got out of the cages to go and go out of those garage doors. So it's not that we're stagnant as a community. When we talk about Polk County, this isn't about BOCC or Polk County Sheriff or about a certain volunteer group. It's about the community, and I'll leave you with this as a parallel. When we look at natural disaster response, if you look at any of the Hurricane Miltons or any of the other disasters that we had historically in this county, or even go U.S. wide, worldwide, it doesn't matter. If any of those instances of response were dependent only on the government entities that were locally adjacent to or involved in that natural disaster, the recovery efforts would be decades. The reason that people get help and the communities rebuild quicker and the communities improve better is because of the volunteer organizations and building of those volunteer organizations and the volunteers that power them, because it's about the people. You could throw money at stuff all day long, but money alone doesn't solve the problem. It takes people, compassion, care, time. And so those, when I look at the, I would say the advocates that are here and those that are not here, but the groups within the county, you know, my words are of encouragement to keep building those volunteer organizations, the ones that can take in more animals for rescue. Because I can tell you this, for animal control, if you take a dog or a cat, it doesn't matter, it's going to be surrendered. If all the other shelters are full, animal control still takes them in. And so it's, I mean, it's one of those things that, again, there's two sides to every story. Factually, I've dug into this for the last four months, pretty detailed-wise. And then, so, again, we're going to hear your voices, but also realize that there's more behind it. And for the adjacent counties that you're referring to, they don't have it all figured out yet either. And that's coming directly from those. So I would just say, again, more information is better, but more volunteer hours are needed, no matter if you spend that time speaking here or if you're going to spend the time helping other rescues. I would just encourage you to, you know, to stay true to who you are, for sure, but also to offer that time up to really provide a solution versus just stating more problems. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mike. You know, I've had something I want to say also. You know, we sit up here and we hear it. We listen to you. And it's your right to come up here and speak, you know, to have desires to change animal control. And we will always let you speak. You can come. That is your right. But what I hear and see from this board, however, there's nothing going to change here at the board. That's what we've tried to tell you in a nice way. We're not going to make something happen here today or the next day. The sheriff's office is the one you need to talk to. He is the one. Now, ma'am, ma'am, I didn't interfere when y'all were speaking, so don't interfere when I'm speaking. I'm speaking, ma'am. Paul? Ma'am. Now, okay, okay, Paul. You know, I'm going to read something here that I put together, and I was going to change it, but I think I'm going to read it. You know, the sheriff's office is who you need to have this dialogue with. The sheriff's office is in charge of animal control. So until the sheriff or the sheriff's staff tells us that new ordinances are needed or the changes needed in running a facility, this board will not take actions to regard those things. This board simply does not tell the sheriff or any duly elected official constitutional officers how to do their jobs. They are elected by Polk County voters, not hired by the Board of County Commissioners. We fully trust and appreciate the sheriff's office for its efforts as they serve this board and citizens of Polk County in running the animal control. We've heard your opinions, but please be aware, no different than Mike said, please be aware there's plenty of organizations that completely disagree with what you say. Regardless, this board will not attempt to mandate anything to the sheriff's office running of the animal control, period. If you want to have any chance to make changes, your time would be better by taking directly to the sheriff's office and his office. And that is what we got to say today. We appreciate your time today, and we are adjourned.