Welcome to our November 19th BOCC meeting. If you would, please stand for the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Good morning. Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, as we enter into a season of thanksgiving and as we begin a new chapter here today, we thank you for your many blessings in our lives. As we gather today to do the work of the people, we ask that you would bring to fulfillment all that you have called us to do. We pray that you would make our way purposeful and that you would give us a heart of wisdom. Strengthen us by your favor and grace. And I ask this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The first items of business that we have is the investiture of newly elected and reelected commissioners. The first up is Commissioner Becky Troutman, County Commissioner for District 1. the Honorable Stacey M. Butterfield, Clerk of Courts, will be administering the oath and her daughter, Holly Kate Troutman, will be holding the Bible. And now we will have the swearing in of Commissioner Bill Braswell by the Honorable Stacey M. Butterfield, Clerk of Courts. And his wife, Kathy Braswell, will hold the Bible. I will support the Constitution and Government of the United States that I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the State and that I will well and faithfully perform the duties of County Commissioner District 3, of which I am now about to enter. Of which I am now about to enter. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. Now we will have the swearing in of Commissioner Michael Scott, District 5 by Daniel F. Pilka, Esquire, to minister the oath and his wife, April Scott, will hold the Bible. Raise your right hand. I do solemnly swear or affirm I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and the Government of the United States and the Government of the United States and the State of Florida and the State of Florida and that I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the State and I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the State and that I will well and faithfully perform and I will well and faithfully perform the duties of County Commissioner District 5 the duties of County Commissioner District 5 of which I am now about to enter and which I am now about to enter. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. This time, Board, we will go through the reorganization of the Board pursuant to the charter the Board at this meeting must elect the chairperson and vice chairman prior to taking nominations for chair I will first open public comment for any member from the public to speak on items 4 through 6 which is the election of the chairperson vice chairperson and resolution authorizing banks to honor and cash warrants signed by the new chairperson in the clerk effect of November 19, 2024. Is there anyone from the public who wishes to address the Board regarding items 4 through 6 please come forward and state your name and address for the record and you will be limited to 3 minutes. Seeing none at this time I will close the public comment and request a motion for nominations of chairperson and or vice chairperson. I would like to nominate Mr. Rick Wilson. We have a nomination for chair, Commissioner Wilson. We have a second. All those in favor by indicating by stating aye. Aye. All those opposed by stating nay. The motion passes. At this time I will turn it over to Commissioner Wilson for the election of the vice chair. Yes. I would like to hear a motion for election of vice chair. I move for Martha Santiago as vice chair. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Second aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Moving fast. Yeah. Switch. All right everybody. Let's get this ball rolling here. And then Mr. Chair we've got the last item on the reorganization that's adopted resolution authorizing banks to honor and cash warrants signed by a new chairperson and the clerk affected November 19th, 2024. Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Mr. Braswell I believe we're at the point I'd like to bring you down to the... No. Are we... Yes sir. Back to us. Okay. Yes sir. Mr. Chair? Yes sir. I think family and friends have been here came in for the ceremony I think it's... We can give them some time to take pictures that would be great. That would be great. That's why I keep her around to keep me straight so I'll make everybody happy. I think they would like to have... Yes. So how do you want to do this? We want to take a recess for a second to allow those photos Yes. And then for 10 minutes and then... Yeah we'll take a recess for 10 minutes and be back. Thank you. It's a distinct honor to recognize our outgoing chair. Over the past year under the leadership of Commissioner Bill Braswell this board has done some great things for the residents and the visitors of Polk County. As a board chair Commissioner Braswell has provided outstanding leadership and direction for Polk County's future and has focused on several long-term issues facing the county. Bill thank you for your leadership thank you for your time and energy and thank you for the dedication to the people of Polk County. Thanks Rick. It's an honor and a privilege to be a commissioner in Polk County. When 150,000 200,000 people vote for you expecting you to carry out the policies that they want it's very humbling. It's also very humbling when your fellow board members elected as chairman and I want to thank you guys for that. I'm also looking forward to working with our two new board members. Welcome aboard. I think the citizens once again got it right in Polk County and I'm looking forward to keep Polk County moving in the right direction. Thanks. All right. At this time we will have we've got I think I got two here but this is the time for the audience if they like to come up and address anything they want to talk about and just give us your name and address and you'll get three minutes. The first one I have is Cassandra Richards. Good morning. Good morning. Cassandra Richards 357 can you down the road? Pull the microphone up to you. Down the road Lake Wells, Florida. First I'd like to say I miss Commissioner Cumbie. I don't see him on there. But anyway I'm here to address Highland Park once again. As I said before and I probably stand here many times saying it until something gets done but the big dump trucks have started by coming through Freeland the road. Freeland the road is not a collector's road. I would say it every time we have a Commissioner's meeting it is not a collector's road because there's Lewis Griffin going to 60 but people don't want to turn on Lewis Griffin because they will never get across 60 to get on 60. There's not a light there and everybody know how busy 60 is. Now we have seven subdivisions coming up in that area right now along with a pipe plant. It has something has to be done. We need speed bumps. I have come out of my driveway it's 25 miles per hour on that road. Children are playing and I'm going 25 miles per hour and people fly around me because they want the speed. That's not right. They need to stop coming down free down the road. There needs to be a light at 60 and Lewis Griffin so they can go down the proper road and we need speed bumps. That's the road that the school buses use. There's nothing out there to stop them from speeding. We need a survey. I know DOT handles the lights but I know the kind of commissioner also can get things done a lot quicker dealing with them than we do because we have been trying for over a year. Nobody should have to be killed trying to get on 60. That's going to be a busy road with seven subdivisions. Huge subdivisions. Mr. Wilson I'm going to ask you and whoever you can get right through there down Buckmore and Hunt Brother Road and Lewis Griffin Road and see all of this construction going on. Seven subdivisions and when a hurricane comes there's nowhere for the water to go with all this building. So go ahead. There's a procedure on the speed bumps. You can get with our staff and start that. It's a procedure that we have in place and we do it all over the county. Some of those lights and stuff I know that's DOT and I have spoken with Steve Logan and I spoke with his supervisor and she said well if they're going eight miles over the speed limit you can get speed bumps but Steve is saying it's a collector's road. It's not a collector's road. That's the road everybody chooses because it's easier for them to get to Walmart or where they need to go because they will never get on 60 at Lewis Griffin and Freeland and 60 but thank you for your time. Thank you. All right. I have a Patricia Robertson. Good morning. I'm here about name and address place. I'm sorry. Patricia Robertson 1803 Village Court Mulberry and hear about an appeal of a piece of property that they want to develop on Shepard Road to go from a three-story development to a four-story development. Okay. Let me It's page four of the agenda. You can talk then or you can do it now. I mean whatever you like to do. You can do it while we're talking about that. Well since I'm up here. Okay. I just want to I just want to say I've done this multiple times and we cannot understand we're the development on the immediate south border. We're one and two-story condominium units and we've been there since the 80s and we have Huntington a three-story apartment building on our western border and now he's got approval apparently to build a three-story apartment cluster of apartment buildings on this 14 acres that fronts on Shepard Road and he wants to go to four stories to go from 163 units to 200 units. We can't for the life of us understand why he should be allowed to build four-story apartment buildings just right on top of us right on our north border. There's a public utility easement there that houses our live station for our property which I don't think people have taken into consideration. He was given a waiver to put in an emergency entrance off of Imperial Lakes Boulevard which is where it's the one entrance and exit for that community and it's a safety hazard frankly. We have flooding issues which y'all have spent millions of dollars to alleviate and it's helping but now we're going to pave over that you know and take away what a piece of his property is wetland with a retention area. It has a creek running through it. It runs under Shepard Road into Polly Creek. It helps drain that area and we're going to destroy that. So that's my objection. Thank you for listening. Thank you ma'am. Anyone else? Come on up sir. Thank you. Congratulations to each one of you that was elected. My name is Ron Wade. I'm representing my sister Sandra Spivey and my brother-in-law Fred Spivey and she's got an MRI today and he has dialysis. They live at 4402 Ginny Drive Lakeland Florida 33811 and she wrote a little letter here of what her complaint is. When Hurricane Milton came through October 9th 2024 when it hit Lakeland three water lines broke the time the hurricane was here and caused water to rush in and caused my septic tank to come in our house. We have lived there a long time and never had a problem like this before. It damaged everything in the house and we feel that because of the building of condos and warehouses that are being built around here the drainage is insufficient. They live over by the airport Lakeland airport. If they they need to put new drains in we had a lot of septic back up in our house which was not fun to clean up and I feel that the county and the city should be held responsible for what happened to us. We have tried to file a claim and nobody called us back. I have given my brother permission to read this to you guys. Thank you. Thank you sir. Mr. Chairman if I could if Mr. Bode will stand up in the back if you'll go see Mr. Bode we'll talk to you about making sure if you filed a claim toward the county or the city but if you want to file a claim against the county Mr. Bode will get you in the right direction make sure we get back to you. Talk to somebody about that gentleman standing back there. Right back there. Yes. Thank you sir. Anyone else like to address. Good morning. Good morning. Congratulations for our newly elected commissioners. I just want you to know I canvass neighborhoods for you guys out in the hot summer days on weekends. So I'd like hopefully you'll listen to what I have to say because I have spent time and money promoting you guys. I live next door to the Spiveys. My name is Daryl Medley. I live at 2302 Noretta Lane. I'm right at the corner of Jenny Drive and Noretta Lane. My property flooded. I had about 14 inches of water in my house as a result of water backup. I have videotape and pictures of the drains that there's two grates in my yard that were not taking any water on. they were actually pushing water out. And this is like really early during the storm. As a result of that, the whole intersection where we live was underwater. And over a period of time, they built nothing but huge warehouses, a brand new huge apartment complex down the road, and another big subdivision. The one thing about all that new construction, they all have retention ponds. The only retention pond I have in my house is a 32,000-gallon pool, which has been ruined, plus my home. I would like some help and at least understanding what can be done to fix this issue because we have had, we had a month before Milton hit, we asked the county to come out and clean our drains. They came out, and I'm not sure what all they did, but my neighbor, Diana Morris, had spoken to them several times and told them whatever they were doing wasn't sufficient. They actually ran a camera down there, apparently, and there was a break in the pipe somewhere. So all of that water and that new construction is dropping into Polly Creek. Polly Creek starts at the very end of our street, and whenever that rain gets like that, it comes down our street to our intersection, and I am in the lowest part of that whole neighborhood. So if the county would like a resolution to our issue out there, you're welcome to buy my property and turn it into a retention pond because that's what it's become. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Anybody else? All right. I think it's time to approve a consent agenda. So moved. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Ms. Stacey Butterfield. Good morning. Today I have for you to approve and ratify payroll checks number 03454 through 03524 in the amount of $52,852.21. We have 3,002 direct deposits in the amount of $4,376,365.63. Those are dated November 15 of 2024. We have wire and electronic fund transfers of $13,984,587.31. Those are dated November 5th through November 18th of 2024. And we have invoice checks numbered 471031 through 471816 totaling $13,609,813.13 dated November 5th through November 18th of 2024 for you to approve and ratify, please. Motion for approval? Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chairman, I just have one other item, if I could. Some good news item, as you're aware. With outstanding bonds, the rating agencies periodically do what they call a surveillance and a review of the conditions. And I'm proud to say that the bond rating has been raised to a double A minus from A plus on some exceptionally strong coverage levels. So, S&P ratings recently announced that they raised that rating, as I mentioned, from A plus to a double A minus on the public facility bonds that the county has outstanding. And the outlook is stable. And their reasonings, they said the upgrade reflects their view of the county's exceptionally strong coverage levels with no plans for parity debt and a disincentive to bond down due to the use of excess pledged revenues for operations. The bonds that they're talking about are secured by a first lien pledge of revenue sharing funds received by Polk County and the public service tax revenues that are levied on the sale of electricity, water, and gas in the unincorporated areas of Polk County. So, this is good news. This happens periodically and just shows the financial health of Polk County and the management of Polk County and decisions that you as policymakers make. So, thank you. So, we couldn't get double A plus. Not yet, but we'll still keep trying. All right. Let's move on. You don't have anything, Mr. Mink, right? No, sir. Mr. Beasley. Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board, members of the viewing audience. The manager's office will have seven items for board consideration this morning. Item number H1 is to request the board approve a construction contract with Ajax Paving Industries of Florida in connection with the Imperial Lakes Drainage Improvement Project. This will be a one-time construction contract expense not to exceed $8,941,173.86 to be funded 100% by the federal government's American Rescue Plan Fund. Polk County has completed the public solicitation process seeking bids from qualified contractors who are interested in constructing roadway and drainage improvements along Imperial Lakes Boulevard within the Imperial Lakes subdivision located within the Mulberry community. The work primarily consists of construction of two retention ponds, installation of new storm sewer, drainage structures, roadway curb and gutter, and general roadway construction. Bid number 24-614 was issued and three contractors submitted bids. The lowest responsive bid was submitted by Ajax Paving in the amount of $8,691,173.86. The recommendation of award was issued and no protests were received. In accordance with County Resolution number 13066, $250,000 is included in the proposed contract award total to address contingency and allowance work conditions. The contract time for this project has been set at 365 calendar days. Full project funding is available within the county's American Rescue Plan fund as provided by the United States Department of Treasury. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think knowing that this has been a long-awaited project by those residents and members of the Imperial Lakes community, and in keeping, I think, with the board's commitment to address localized flooding, I would request the board to approve the proposed construction contract with Ajax Paving Industries of Florida in an amount not to exceed $8,941,173.86, all in connection with bid number 24614. Jay, does this, all of the drainage used to go to the west, right, but it didn't really go anywhere, so are all those ditches on the west side of the road, are they still functional, and are they still going somewhere, or how does that work? Yes, sir. The, what is, the road, assist, training system basically discharged, went to the west, went through a series of lakes and, and ditch channels, went south, so what this is allowing now is for that water to backflow and or flow into these ponds and now go around the eastern side and go south, so it's basically creating a big storage area for that water that was backing up in the roadway to sit in the ponds rather than in the roadway. And then what I was talking about Friday, so north of there, which is the part I remember, really flooding bad, that's all going to run, it's, it's being worked so it'll run into these ponds and then go somewhere else. Yes, sir. To the south. We're, we're raising that road about a foot and a quarter through that area to get it up, so that'll all be rebuilt, and then that draining system will now function and interconnect into the road drain system and discharge into these ponds. And that, those ponds or drainage system to the south, I mean, that's a deep, I mean, it's got a long ways to go to fill that up, right? Yes, sir. So this thing's going to handle everything? Once again, I'm an engineer, so I say there's never a guarantee that it will not flood again, but the intent is for what we've done, the modeling we've done, is it will handle a hundred year storm event. Okay, thanks. Any other questions? Do I have a motion? No. Move for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number H2 is to request the board approve an agreement with Kissinger, Campo, and Associates for related engineering services in connection with the FDC Grove Road Northridge Trail flyover project. This will be a one-time expense for negotiated phase two engineering services in an amount not to exceed $1,839,792.64. Polk County has completed a public competitive process to solicit proposals from qualified firms to provide professional engineering services for a proposed two-lane roadway located in northeast Polk County. The proposed roadway will begin at Access Road Northwest and extend south over I-4 intersecting with Home Run Boulevard at Crossover Lane and FDC Grove Road. Professional engineering services for this project will be developed in two phases. Phase one will include the project development and environment, the PD&E study, to include the requisite roadway alignment study. Phase two services will include all preliminary and final roadway design services. The objective of the PD&E study is to provide a new connection across Interstate 4 to improve the interconnectivity of the Polk County roadway network and relieve congestion on the nearby segment of US 27. The project's impact on the social, economical, cultural, natural, and the physical environment will be analyzed and assessed to develop the location and design concept of the project in accordance with Florida Department of Transportation policy, procedures, and requirements. Upon Board's subsequent approval of the proposed alignment study, an amendment to this agreement will be brought to the Board for those phase two negotiated services. A request for proposal number 24174 was issued and four firms submitted qualification proposals. On May the 7th, the Board approved the selection committee's recommendation to enter into contract negotiations with Kissinger Campo and Associates. The proposed agreement is the result of those negotiations. It is anticipated that the phase one services will be completed within 24 months with the term of the agreement extended until all services are completed. This project is 100% funded with monies assigned to Polk County as a result of several federal appropriations sponsored by Polk's federal legislative delegation members. Those funds are budgeted in the Roads and Drainage Division Special Revenue Grant Fund. So, Mr. Chair, members of the Board, I think in keeping with the Board's commitment to improve traffic congestion and roadway infrastructure within the northeast sectors of Polk County, I would request that the Board approve the proposed agreement with Kissinger Campo and Associates for phase one engineering services in connection with the FDC Grove Road-North Ridge Trail flyover project in an amount not to exceed $1,839,792.64. I have a motion. Motion for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Against? I got messed up there. Opposed. Opposed. Motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the Board, item number H3 is to request the Board approve a standard grant agreement number INV51 with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to provide funding for the county's advanced algae cultivation technology for nutrient removal from Florida's surface waters project. This agreement represents a one-time state revenue totaling $2,300,000 to support the project with no requirement for any of the standard county matching funds. As a result of Polk County's water quality sampling program, staff has identified numerous water bodies in need of improvement. In some cases, staff has identified treatment projects to restore or improve those water bodies, and in some cases, staff is evaluating new innovative technologies likewise. The nutrient levels in Lake Hancock and the contributing streams are above the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's water quality standards. The Upper Saddle Creek is the primary nutrient loading source to Lake Hancock. This innovative project sets out to test a new algae harvesting technique to remove nutrients in the Upper Saddle Creek before those waters are discharged into Lake Hancock. In 2023, Polk County submitted an application to the state's Innovation Technology Grants Program. Polk County was subsequently awarded this competitive grant to implement the project and produce a final report detailing the results of the study. Through this agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, they will award Polk County $2,300,000 towards testing this innovative technology and producing that summary report. This project requires no matching funds and work will occur over two fiscal years. Approval of this grant agreement is the next step towards moving this innovative technology project forward to evaluate a treatment technique that then could be used and applied on a larger scale and on similar water bodies within Polk County. This project has been reviewed by and is recommended for approval by the County Stormwater Technical Advisory Committee. Funding for this water quality initiative is budgeted in the Special Revenue Grant Fund within the Parks and Natural Resources Five-Year Community Investment Program. So Mr. Chair, members of the Board, I think in keeping with the Board's commitment to improving surface water quality throughout Polk County, I would request that the Board approve the proposed standard grant agreement number INV-51 for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to provide funding for the Advanced Algae Project in an amount not to exceed $2,300,000. Move for approval. Second. I've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the Board, item number H-4 is to request the Board to approve a Florida Defense Support Commission and Department of Commerce Defense Grant Agreement number SO-253 to pursue less than fee acquisition with willing property owners located within the Sentinel Landscape areas adjacent to the Avon Park Air Force Range. This agreement represents receipt of a one-time state revenue not to exceed $500,000. The Florida Defense Support Commission and Department of Commerce has awarded Polk County a $500,000 grant for acquisition of development rights within the Sentinel Landscape to secure economic sustainability for the state of Florida and to secure operations of the Department of Defense facilities. Federal military bases are recognized for their value in the state of Florida and their associated communities. The Avon Park Air Force Range is one such a facility and is an economic driver for the rural communities of central Florida that it serves. As an outward local commitment, Polk County also has an environmental lands program to acquire conservation lands and create wildlife corridors. This $500,000 state grant will be used by Polk County to work with willing sellers located within the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape to further support acquisition of properties in connection with the Readiness and Environment Protection Initiative, which supports cost-sharing partnerships with military installations. Polk's leveraging concept is to use the funding from multiple sources to be able to acquire military encroachment or conservation easements within the designated areas. Once willing landowners and Polk County have agreed to terms and funding has been identified, an agreement for sale and purchase for less than fee will be brought back to the board for further consideration. Polk's leveraging funds are available in the Environmental Lands Program, the Kissimmee Corridor Projects Community Investment Program budget. Funding for this continued investment within the Sentinel Landscape Area is available and budgeted in the Parks and Natural Resources Special Revenue Grant Fund. So Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think in keeping with the board's continued land conservation initiatives and support specifically of USDOD facilities by way of the Avon Park Air Force Range, I would request that the board approve the proposed Florida Defense Support Commission and Department of Commerce Defense Grant Fund Agreement number S0253 in the amount of $500,000 to pursue those conservation easement acquisitions within the defined Sentinel Landscape Areas. I have a motion. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number H5 is to request the board to approve a construction contract with Bullhead Corporation out of Mulberry, Florida in an amount not to exceed $3,300,000.14, all in connection with the Lake Annie Water Quality Improvement Project. Board action today will include a community investment program amendment and budget transfer in the amount of $720,000. Polk County has completed the public solicitation process seeking qualified contractors who were interested in making improvements to altered wetlands and uplands along the Peace Creek Canal. This stormwater infrastructure site is located near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and U.S. Highway 27 within the Dundee community. This project will consist of removing invasive vegetation and replanting with native vegetation, improving the perimeter berms, and increasing the inflow and outflow of the water, which will result in the restoration of the wetlands and improve stormwater quality. Bid number 24464 was submitted, was issued, and Bullhead Corporation was the only bidder submitting a responsive bid in the amount of $3,143,143.14. A recommendation of award was issued and no protests were received in accordance with resolution number 13066. $157,157 is included in the proposed contract award to address contingency and allowance work conditions. Consistent with federal funding stipulations, all related contract work must be completed no later than December 2026. Funds totaling $2,580,300 are available in the designated adopted community investment program project, and funds in the amount of $720,000 are available for transfer from the American Rescue Plan fund and the stormwater MSTU fund. Total construction costs will be split between federal American Rescue Plan funds in the amount of $1,042,642, or roughly about 32% of the project cost. State Department, Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant funds in the amount of $1,000,000, or roughly about 30% of the project costs. And from the Polk local funds, the Polk MSTU funds in the amount of $1,257,658.14, or roughly about 38% of the project cost. So Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think in keeping with the board's commitment to water quality improvement projects across Polk County, I would request that the board approve the proposed construction contract with Bullhead Corporation in the amount not to exceed $3,300,300.14 in connection with the Lake Annie water quality improvement project. Today's board action would also include the requisite community investment program amendment and budget transfer in the amount of $720,000 from within the county stormwater MSTU fund and the federal government's American Rescue Plan fund. Move for approval. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chair, members of the board, item number H-6 is to request the board approve an agreement for sale and purchase between RF Development Group Company, Inc. in Polk County in conjunction with the Environmental Lands Program Conservation Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee project number EL-100-23. This would be a one-time property purchase expense not to exceed $5,245,000. In February of 2023, the board adopted resolution 2023-009, which created the Polk County Conservation Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee, or we call the classic. The creation of the classic was in response to a bond referendum approved by Polk voters in November of 2022 to finance capital projects related to the acquisition, the preservation, the protection, the management, the operation, and restoration of environmental lands, water resources, and important fish and wildlife habitat. The classic reviews and evaluates properties nominated by property owners and provides a recommendation to the board as to whether or not staff should pursue the acquisition of such properties deemed consistent with the program objectives. One such property nomination was made by the RF development group for large tracts of land located along or near Freelander Road and the Gulfview cutoff road area to the southeast of the Lake Wales community. The property is comprised of two parcels and contains approximately 649 acres. The properties were evaluated by the classic, which recommended approval, and in December of 2023, the county commission approved staff to pursue the acquisition of these properties. Additionally, these properties lie adjacent to a closed county landfill known as the southeast landfill, and the county will use a small portion of the properties adjacent to the common boundary for future monitoring and mitigation activities associated with landfill operation. The county hired an independent appraiser to establish a value of the property and a value of 5,190,000 was established. The owners of the property have agreed to accept the county's offer and have executed an agreement for the purchase of those properties. The county attorney's office and the real estate services director have reviewed the agreement and recommend approval. Approving the agreement, authorizing the issuance of funds for the purchase, and hiring American Government Services Corporation to close the transaction will allow the county to take ownership of the properties for their intended purpose. As this expense was not anticipated during the FY 24-25 budget process, upon board approval, a community investment program will be amended administratively to cover the solid waste division's purchase portion totaling $600,000. Funds are available in the Environmental Lands Acquisition Fund in the amount of $4,645,000 and in the Solid Waste Operations Fund in the amount of $600,000. So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think in keeping with the board's commitment to environmental preservation, the preservation of wildlife habitat, and the protection of pulch water resources, I would also request that the board approve the proposed agreement for sale and purchase and authorize the issuance of funds in the amount of $5,190,000 for the outright purchase. Also, I would request that the board approve the hiring of American Government Services Corporation to close the transaction and approve paying closing costs estimated at $55,000 for a total property acquisition cost not to exceed $5,245,000. We have a motion. So moved. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Final item from the manager's office, Mr. Chair, members of the board. I'd remember H7 is to request the board approve a construction contract with SIN State contractors out of Winter Haven in connection with the Babson Park water production facility, ground storage tank, and high-service pump station project. This will be a one-time contract expense not to exceed $4,741,905, with over 90% of the project being funded by the federal government's American Rescue Plan Fund. Polk County has completed the public solicitation process seeking bids from qualified contractors to construct a 140,000 ground storage tank, dual pump high-service pump station, and a new electrical equipment building at the Babson Park water production facility. This is located within the county's southeast region utility service area. This project will increase potable water system reliability and will help maintain water quality through the increased aeration provided via the new ground storage tank. Bid number 24476 was issued and three contractors submitted bids. The lowest responsive bid was submitted by SIN State in the amount of $4,516,100. A recommendation of award was issued and no protests were received. In accordance with resolution number 13066, $225,805 is included in the proposed contract award to address contingency and allowance work conditions. The contract time for this project has been set at 365 calendar days for final completion. Funding for this project is available in the county's American Rescue Plan Fund in the amount of $4,348,630 and within the Polk County Utility Division's connection fee fund in the amount of $393,275. So Mr. Chair, members of the board, I think again in keeping with the board's commitment to ensure reliability utility systems across Polk County and improve the potable water quality for all citizens, I would request that the board approve the proposed construction contract with SIN State contractors in an amount not to exceed $4,741,905, all of which is in connection with bid number 24476. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. That's it for me, Mr. Chairman. All right, we'll have some Commissioner comments if they wish. Commissioner Troutman. I would just say it's my pleasure to be here. It's a huge honor, and more than that it's a responsibility to all the citizens, not just those of District 1. So as we move forward, I just ask that everyone be willing and open to holding us all accountable to serve the citizens of Polk. Commissioner Braswell. Nothing other than welcome to our new commissioners. Well, congratulations to both Commissioner Scott and Commissioner Troutman, especially, no offense, but especially Commissioner Troutman. It's good to have another female on the board, and I think, Stacy, you said it was since, what, 90s that we've had two females on the board. So we're making progress here. So anyway, congratulations and welcome. Mr. Scott. Yeah, definitely. Thank you to the support of the board and the welcoming arms of all the staff of the county. It's certainly been a refreshing breath of fresh air and how great talent we have. I would ask for staff, I think, on our closed basin situation that we have within the county. I'd like to see staff bring something to the board to talk about the design requirements for closed basins. We noticed quite a bit of flooding, obviously, during the hurricane, and specific to closed basins, you know, after the storm goes away, there's no point for the water to drain off to. So we'll just, I'd like for staff to look into that. That's all I have. Thank you. Commissioner Scott, that item is tentatively set for a work session topic within the next 30 days. Thank you. And I'd like to just say the same thing. It's an honor to have our new commissioners here. You know, our county's very blessed. We have some great people that's in staff that keeps this county headed in the right direction. And so I just, I welcome you, both of y'all, and I look forward to working with you. All right. Randy? Yes, sir. We head into the public hearing portion of the agenda. I will start with 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 topic. Individuals speaking during the public comment section of a matter will be strictly limited three minutes. The board is experienced in 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 then unnecessarily 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 or unacceptable and you will be asked to leave the chambers for the remainder of the day. If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the board with respect to any matter considered today, you will need a record of the proceedings and for such purposes you may need to ensure a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony evidence upon which the appeal is based, which you must gather at your own expense. Anyone in the audience who wishes to speak and present testimony today must be sworn in. All testimony given during public hearing shall be deemed to be sworn. At this time, if you're going to address the commission or speak on any case today, please stand, raise your right hand and answer out loud the following question. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony or evidence you provide to the commission today is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Thank you. The first public hearings are the expedited hearings. I will go over the expedited hearing procedures at this time. Expedited hearings are held pursuant to resolution number 2022-089. Expedited hearings are used when no opposition was present at the planning commission hearing. The applicant agrees to the expedited hearing and recommendation of the development review committee is for approval. Expedited procedures are the following. After staff briefly introduces the case, the hearing will be open for public comment. If anyone speaks during public comment, the applicant will be given the opportunity to respond. After public comment, the board will consider the land use case. At any time, a full presentation from staff can be requested from a commissioner, the applicant, or a member of the public. All documents attached to the agenda are deemed part of the record of the land use case. Unless removed from the list of experts by motion of the board, all individuals on the list of experts attached to the agenda are deemed experts for the purpose of the land use case. At this time, I will turn it over to Mr. Sisco to present the expedited hearings. Thank you, Mr. Mink. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, members of the public. There are three items on today's expedited public hearing agenda. Item number 01 is an expedited public hearing for case LDC-PAS 2024-16, Dynaco LLC, CPA, to consider a future land use designation change from residential suburban to linear commercial corridor on approximately 0.8 acres. The subject site is located on the south side of State Road 60 west of the city of Mulberry. You can see on the screen the subject site in a red box currently having its residential designation, but both to the east and the west as well as to the north across State Road 60 have a commercial designation. So this request is to change the subject parcel to the linear commercial corridor similar to those uses and those designations to the west and north. The Planning Commission reviewed this case and recommended unanimous approval and following any questions or comments from the public or the board, staff is also recommending approval and this is an adoption hearing. Any questions? Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public hearing. If you'd like to come forward and speak on this matter, this is the time to come up and state your name and address. Seeing none, we'll bring it back to the board for this motion or discussion. Motion for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chairman, item number 02 is an expedited public hearing for case LDC-PAS 2024-19 Lakeland Highlands OC CPA to consider a future land use designation change from residential medium to office center on approximately 1.4 acres. The subject site is located on the east side of Lakeland Highlands Road on the south side of Lake Highlands Boulevard south of the Polk Parkway and south of the city of Lakeland. As you see on the screen here, half of the property already contains the office center designation. This request is to change the designation on the remainder of the property to expand the existing use on site. The planning commission recommended approval at its hearing. Staff is also recommending approval and this is an adoption hearing and following any questions or comments from the board or the public staff recommends adoption. Any questions? 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. Seeing none, I'll bring it back to the board for a motion or any further discussion. Motion for approval. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Chairman, item number 03 is an expedited public hearing for case LDCT 2024-23, subdivision of lots with multiple structures to consider an amendment to the Land Development Code to allow lots with multiple units in existence more than 20 years to subdivide regardless of minimum lot size provided that certain conditions are met. And this is really a response to a real world situation where a property owner was stuck and not able to rebuild after a catastrophe. If you notice on the screen, the subject parcel that brought this to light contains multiple structures and they have been in existence in excess of 20 years. However, one of the structures burned down and in order to try to rebuild the structure, the owner of the property was seeking financial assistance, but that required the property to be subdivided. The property does not meet the minimum lot size to be two independent lots. So this ordinance would would provide for that flexibility to subdivide, to allow rebuilding after a catastrophe, but it would not open up future cases of subdivisions where we don't want them or where it's not appropriate. So we feel this is an appropriate change to the text of the Land Development Code to provide flexibility in those unique situations where we have an existing property and they're trying to rebuild and move forward with their lives after a catastrophe. This is the first reading of the ordinance and no action is required by the board today. But your planning commission did recommend approval and staff is also recommending approval. And I do believe that the the applicant or the owner of this property is in the audience today. So happy that we can craft something to be able to help her in her situation. Very much so. Any other questions? Just one question. With respect to the driveway, is there a requirement for an additional driveway if it is divided they can maintain what they have currently? There's flexibility to do that to do that either way. They could certainly have an easement and provide cross-access or they could seek an independent driveway. So that would be up to the the owners of the property as far as which which mechanism they they seek for that. If we want to make sure that was flexible. Thank you. Anyone else? Ladies and gentlemen this is a public hearing. If you wish to come up and speak on this matter please come up and you'll state your name and address and you have three minutes. Seeing none I'll bring it back to the board for a motion. Well this is a first hearing. Oh yeah first hearing. Mr. Chair so uh so now we'll move on to the normal public hearing on the non-expedited hearings. In the first matter we have Mr. Lowry is going to present to the board for a vacation of um platted on drainage and utility easements. Good morning uh Scott Lowry real estate services support manager. We only have one item today. Uh it's a petition that was received from Samuel and Carolyn Strickland as co-trustees of the Strickland Family Trust to vacate portions of a platted public and drainage. I'm sorry public drainage and utility easements as shown on the plat of river ranch shores unit one recorded in plat book 48 at pages 26 through 48. The plat filed in 1970 describes five foot wide easements excuse me for drainage and utilities along the rear and side lot lines of each lot which are presumed to be public due to lack of a dedication to the contrary. The petitioner owns two lots and a residence was permitted and constructed in 1971 which goes over the common boundary of those two lots and creates an encroachment into the easements. The petitioner bought the property in 2018 and a recent survey and title examination for the sale of the property revealed the encroachment. They've requested the vacation of a portion of the easement to eliminate the encroachment clear any clouds on the title and allow the sale to go through. The appropriate county divisions and utility providers were notified and no objections were received. Staff recommends the board waive the petition fee in this particular case due to the permitting and adopt the resolution to vacate the subject portions of platted public drainage and utility easements shown on the plat of river ranch shores unit one as fully described in the legal description contained in the petition and resolution and i don't remain standing for any questions. Any questions uh 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. Seeing none we'll bring it back to the board for discussion and motion. Move for approval. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you Mr. Chair. Next item is a de novo hearing for the separate road multi-family project prior beginning the hearing i will go over the de novo hearings in accordance with the de novo hearing uh procedures in accordance with resolution 2022-090. The procedures are as following first staff will present the staff report and recommendation after staff presents the staff report and recommendation the applicant will have 30 minutes to present the applicant's case after the applicant's presentation any organized opposition opposition will have three minutes total to present their case if more than one person or entity qualifies as organized opposite opposition 30 minutes split equally amongst them for example if three individuals qualify as organized opposition then each will have 10 minutes to present their case or organized office opposition shall consist of any entity or individual individual that filed an application for de novo hearing or which has received written authorization from at least five entities or individuals to speak on their behalf and those entities or individuals have agreed to waive their ability to speak during the public comment portion of the public hearing after the organized opposition presentation the public comment portion of the public hearing will be open each speaker during the public comment will be allotted three minutes individuals whom are represented by the organized opposite opposition will not be allotted three minutes during the public comment any public comment after once public comment has been closed the applicant will have five minutes or any time reserved from the applicant's case presentation respond to the organized opposition and public comment at the applicants response the chair will close the public hearing the board will discuss and vote on the matter the de novo hearing record all document documents attached to the agenda and presentation given shall be deemed part of the record unless removed from the record by motion of the board county staff submitting the staff report shall be deemed experts in the land planning unless disqualified by motion of the board applicants organized opposition and public may request documents to be entered into the record during their presentation applicants and organized opposition opposition may request a witness be recognized as an expert during their presentation applicants and organized opposition and their witness are subject cross-examination by the other party ex parte communications the board members receive numerous communications from the public unless otherwise stated it should be presumed that the export the export take communications have been made to the members of the board regarding the matter during the hearing the applicant organized opposition and the public may request a board disclosing ex parte communications or or site visits that have that they have had regarding the matter in questionable regarding the communications or site visits unless the board member accuses themselves they have determined that they that he or she is able to hear the case and fairly and impartially make a decision on the matter based on the substantial competent evidence in the record the quorum just as a reminder commissioner respects civility at all times the commission's review is limited to determine whether the applicant is consistent with the polk county comprehensive plan the land development code and determine whether the application is compatible with surrounding area therefore the evidence and testimony you must give must be relevant to whether the application 완성 can consistent with the polk county comprehensive plan and the land development code and what the application is compat the application is compatible with the surrounding area information that is relevant or repetitive only serves to frustrating initially equals a Honda村 hearing, and at this time I'll ask the commissioner to disclose any ex parte communication, site business, or other matters that they need to make public. And I will start with Commissioner Troutman. Commissioner Braswell. I'll do communications with staff. Okay, thank you. And at this time, my understanding, there is no organized opposition. We have not received any written notification, so at this time we will not have organized opposition. I will turn it over to staff. Good morning. Eric Peterson for the Land Development Division. On June 5th, 2024, the Planning Commission voted 5-2 for denial of the Villages of Imperial Lakes, LDPD 2024-2. The applicant requested a de novo hearing. The hearing was first set for August 6th, 2024. It was continued to November 19th today. The subject property is located south of Shepherd Road, north of Imperial Lakes Boulevard, north of Village Court, west of Imperial Parkway, east of Sundance Boulevard, west of State Road 37, north of the City of Mulberry, south of the City of Lakeland, in Section 27, Township 29, Range 23. On October 17th, 76 mailers were sent to area property owners. Three boards were posted on the property on November 4th, 2024. A legal ad was published in the Polk Sun on October 30th, 2024. So far, staff has received 43 form letters in opposition and four emails in opposition. The request is for a 200-unit apartment complex on 14.58 acres. The development will be approximately four stories high. The height limit of the RH district is 75 feet. Here's our location, as I read into the record. This is the site south of Shepherd Road. Originally, the property was residential medium with a preservation designation over the creek that goes through the property, and then a portion was community activity center. On November 21st, 2023, the board heard a case and approved the change to residential high under case number LDCPAAS 2023-18. This is the site, and as you can see, there's a small drainage creek that goes through the property going from south to north. This is the site plan overlaid over the property, approximation. This is an aerial photo taken in April. The access, the primary access, will be shared with the commercial out parcel. That will be part of the development as well. As you can see, here's the approximate location of the creek that goes through the property. There's an underground drainage culverts that connect it to another county-owned stormwater management facility on the north side of Shepherd Road. This is the site plan. As you can see, there is an entrance on Imperial Lakes Boulevard. This is an emergency access only per condition. Their primary access is through Shepherd Road. It will connect with the commercial property using the same access point. This is another look. There's the location of the emergency access on the south and the main access on the front. This is an approximate location based on the site plan of where those buildings will be located on the property. There's a minimum 100 feet of separation between the buildings and the south property line. In the area, we have a number of urban services available. Sidewalks, transit, there's commerce right next door. There's a Publix within a walking distance. There's plenty of employment opportunities in the area and educational facilities. Site plan, once again. You can see the separation provided by the parking lot and landscaping buffering to the south. Under the county's new plan development standards, this meets and exceeds the location criteria for the area. They only would have needed 32 points to achieve the full 15 units per acre. They achieved 40. Staff recommends approval because it meets and exceeds the plan development standards. Land uses are compatible with adjacent properties. The changing of the land use or the development of this site is not contingent upon any drainage, whether it's permitted as it is today at 140 some odd units or it's built to 200 units, the drainage issues will remain the same, so that's not a factor. There's ample transportation capacity on Shepherd Road and all the continuing links from that point on. There are ample urban services and infrastructure on site, and it's consistent with all policies and objectives of the comprehensive plan. With that, I'll stand for questions. Any questions? Commissioner Brayle. So as it stands right now, it's entitled to what, 140 units? Yes, it would be 10 units to the acre, so that would be 145. Do you know during Milton, did it flood? Do you have any idea how it fared out there? No, I didn't, don't have any information on that. And I know I heard some discussion about parking. There's inadequate parking. What was that conversation? The Planning Commission was concerned about parking. The site plan shows below the two spaces per unit, but this is not an issue that's approved at this level of approval. This is essentially your density approval. Staff has a process for evaluating waivers to our parking standard. Now, if you so choose, you could put a condition on this site that they not go below the minimum, and then staff couldn't grant any type of waiver. I will state that when we consider waivers to the standards, we require sufficient data and analysis to demonstrate that it's meeting the county standard. Do we routinely waiver parking standards? Depending on the situation. Do we ever? Yes, we do, for many uses. Sometimes it's commercial. Sometimes there's situations where multifamily, for instance, we've had some low-income housing projects where we reduced the amount of parking because they weren't typically owning a vehicle or owning a second vehicle. All right, thanks. Any other discussions? Mr. Chair? If we could just expand, as far as the, I understand the parking is not at this level of approval, but so I understand what is the deficiency in parking spaces, what would be required at the 200 units versus what they're proposing? It's two per unit is the standard requirement, and that assumes that every unit is the same. They're provided about 1.75 per unit, so it's within that threshold, I believe. And if you could also, the commercial parcel that's there on the northeast, as far as a land use for that or a type of facility that go in there, from my understanding, that could be a high-intensity drive-through type restaurant application if it were designated for that. That is true. It's a community activity center. It allows all types of retail, restaurants, office, a number of catering to a community level, essentially a five-mile radius or greater. And just one follow-up on that. So with the shared entrance for that, if that's developed into some type of drive-through, the residents could be impeded from entering or exiting their home if they're living in an apartment because of that, correct? When it comes to drive-throughs, we have certain standards for setting back the drive-through lanes and having out-of-quit stacking capacity. That would be reviewed when we reviewed the commercial parcel if it happened to be a fast-food restaurant. It's 2.7 acres. That's pretty large for a fast-food restaurant. That's more than ample space. Yeah, I've seen a few around the county. You think it's big enough, and then there's an issue. One last question with respect to compatibility with the surrounding area, this being proposed from what I heard earlier, four stories to get the 200 units. What else in this surrounding area is a four-story structure? This would be the first four-story structures in the area. The abutting Huntington apartments to the west are three stories, but their development is actually a higher density than is proposed here. So this is higher, but it's not as many units per acre. But elevation-wise, this would be higher than the surrounding areas, correct? Yes, by one story. Okay. Any other questions? I was going to say, could you go back to the points for the PD? So can you go through that just real quickly through the PD process and how they got their bonus points? Yes, the points come in three main forms, the infrastructure primarily in the area, the existing water, the wastewater, the access, the sidewalks, the capacity of lift stations and things of that nature, the proximity to fire rescue, EMS, the proximity to local schools, general mercantile, and, of course, the CAC district, which is over 50% developed. They also have adequate drainage to achieve because it's part of our system. We control what goes into this site. We control what goes out of this site. The county owns the cohorts on both ends. And Mr. Jarvis is here to speak on any details you have, questions about drainage. Okay. Go. Can you go back another slide? Keep going. So I guess I was thinking it was the whole square there, but the commercial portion is already cut out. This is the L shape or whatever you want to call it. Okay. Yes, the commercial will be sharing access, but it's not a part of this approval. Okay. They will be sharing the same entrance as the road going into the complex, yeah, and also the – is there any way that that commercial area will have an exit out onto Shepard Road? No, it would not meet our driveway spacing, and they really can't make that median cut right here. They would be a little too far over. So there's no resolution for that. They will be sharing that area. Yes, that's the only way it's going to work is with a shared driveway. So I see the creek going through. Can you go back to the one where – okay, the apartments. So what are they – and maybe this will be coming up later on, but what are they going to do alongside the creek? What kind of construction is going to take place along that? As you can see, the creek comes through here. Much of their retention and possible spillway for the creek is in preliminary design on the site. There's an existing wetland area they would be expanding. There would be one crossing here over the creek. How many retention ponds in my county? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Am I correct? A lot of retention ponds for that area. Okay. They've planned for a considerable amount, and it's a conservative approach. Anybody else? Mr. Chair? Mr. Chair, just to follow up, so doing the math, and I know the parking isn't here, but going to the RH designation that the site currently has, that would allow for the development of a three-story, 140 doors without any further approval. Is that correct? Yes. It would actually allow for four stories, possibly five, but their upper limit is 145 units. Okay. I should clarify. Yeah, it would designate the number of stories, but as far as the population density, we'd be at that less than 200, but they have provisions now to do that without any other approvals. Yes, the land use grants them 10 units per acre. Okay, and then in that existing designation now, with respect to the shared entryway, and I guess I go back to, does that really change anything else on the site plan except for the number of doors that we're talking about for the site? With it being an RH versus the approval they're seeking now? Yes. The site plan probably wouldn't change much if it was fewer units than if it would be greater. They're asking for an upper limit of 200. They might not get there with the design of the site, but this gives them the opportunity to seek the full 200. Understood. Thank you. Anyone else? All right. We don't have an applicant, right? We do have an applicant, so the applicant will present. We don't have organized opposition. They would like to come forward at this time. And the applicant will be given 30 minutes to present his case. One last thing, Chair, if you don't mind. Again, Mr. Peterson, the staff finds this compatible with the surrounding area and consistent with our land development code. Yes, ma'am, we do. Good morning, Commissioners, and congratulations to Commissioner Scott and Commissioner Troutman and also Commissioner Braswell for a re-election. My name is John McVeigh, 6700 South Florida Avenue, Lakeland, Florida. We're here representing the owners, which is GG7, I think it is. This project has been ongoing for about a year or longer, and you guys, the new commissioners are getting it probably for the first time, kind of cold turkey. The other commissioners are probably more familiar with it. I want to talk about citizen objection, what they are objecting to, how we can resolve that, some of the things we've asked for. However, the site is 14 acres, it's in an area of the county that is probably close to 90% developed along that Shepard Road corridor. Excuse me. And this is kind of an infield last piece of property on Shepard Road. It's adjacent to the shopping center on the east side. It's adjacent to an apartment complex on the west side, which is 16 or 17 units per acre. It is adjacent to some condos on the south side, which is about seven or eight per acre. The rest of them are apartments. These are livings and all. In looking at the comments and also talking with staff and also talking with the county drainage department, we've been working fairly close to them trying to figure out a way to improve the drainage in Imperial Lakes. The county, in the meantime, has purchased the eight or nine acres. They're building a retention pond, and they're rerouting the water that was flowing to the north, possibly, to the south, which was taking them away. We are committed to doing 100% retention with discharge after the 100 year. We're also committed to doing two parking spaces per unit based upon the final site plan, so we don't need a waiver. If we can only get 163, we get 163. If we can get 194, we get 194. We want the ability to design with the agencies, SwiftMUD, DEP, the county staff, to get as many units as possible because of the expenditures in development now on that. There's a concern about four-story buildings on it. We will commit to only do three-story buildings if that's one of the major problems with the county. So during all the other hearings, the main complaint was drainage, drainage, drainage, drainage. I have probably 120 letters of opposition, and every one of them referred to drainage. That's one of the reasons through Mr. Beasley and through the Polk County Drainage Department that they were able to put together funding to build this facility, which will relieve, hopefully, the drainage problems and raising the road within the neighborhood and all. During Hurricane Milton, the ditches, the retention ponds, everything filled up. There was a little bit of water outside of the main channel of the ditch on this property. Our intention is digging the retention ponds to hold the stormwater, but also to raise the site a couple feet to eliminate any flooding issues. Access, Shepherd Road will be shared with the commercial. The commercial will be approved under its own site plan at a later date. The county may, I don't know, give you a ride in, ride out so that people going out of the subdivision can go right on the Shepherd Road instead of crossing at the entrance to the main development. We provided recreation, a recreation area, talked with the fire department. They wanted an emergency entrance because it was over 100 units. Because of emergency fire, emergency in case there was an accident. So we gave them that. We also have a, there's a lift station on the south property line that belongs to the condominiums. It's actually built on this property. So we're willing to give them an easement and work with them to make sure, you know, that even if we put in a new station and revamp everything, we're willing to work with the people to the south. We're willing to offset the 100 feet. We're willing to do the four-story maximum that we will not do only three stories at all. Our goal is to do a quality development. And whether we do, we could actually do under the RH a six-story building as long as we don't exceed 145 spaces. We want to make it, it's got some nice trees around the edges. We want to make it a nice place and a nice community. I'll be happy to answer any questions. It's prime location. It's got a transit stop. It's got sidewalks, water, sewer, schools, recreation, everything needed to qualify for those 40 points. So it's, we ask your support, we ask your approval, and I'll be happy to answer any questions. Questions? Just to clarify some of the concessions you're willing to make, maybe this is procedure, would those be conditions that we would put on today? Conditions of approval would be fine. Yes. So the limiting of from three, from four-story down to three. And also the commitment of the two parking spaces per unit, regardless of however the math works out. Right. We'll honor that. Those can be the conditions. Okay. And also committing to a hundred-year storm design, which will actually help the off-site recapture. That ditch goes from the public shopping center area north across Shepherd Road back into Pulley Creek, which is north of Shepherd Road, about a half a mile or so. And then it runs westerly towards the Alify River. So it's not a closed basin, but it's a compromised basin. To clarify for that, the hundred-year storm event would be zero discharge until after the hundred-year event. Zero discharge until the hundred-year event stage. Right. I had one other question. There was a comment made earlier in today's meeting. As far as, is there an existing easement for that lift station that you referred to on the other community? No, we're willing to give them one and work with that community because they're having issues with their lift station, and they've had it for several months now, maybe years. And we're trying to figure out a way to work with them, maybe build a new lift station, abandon the old one, and letting them hook into it with some shared costs. Excuse me. With some shared costs. Mr. Chair, are we able to just confirm the lack of or presence of an easement on that? I believe that's something the county attorney's office has been working for a long time with the development. I don't think we can make that as a conditional approval. We have to just take them as their word to work with us that. But there has been an issue. If this is the development involving Imperial Lakes Condominium Association. I think there's about 60 units. I don't know. Yeah. If this is the one that we've been working with, we've had an issue, and we've been trying to work it out for several years now. Okay. It sounds like this would maybe bring that to a conclusion. Hopefully. We've been trying to work on a conclusion for a while on that issue. Thank you. It's been going on almost as long as we're doing the land use and the PD zoning. It's been going on quite a while. We've had several conversations with the group and their attorney. Mr. Mayor, we could condition this as well then for the 100-year event. With the 100-year event, I believe you could put a condition on that. I just don't think we could put a condition involving the easement. That's something we have to work on as a side issue. Understood. Thank you. Anyone else? Again, just to clarify, if he's willing to make these concessions today, as far as some of the concerns from the neighbors, I think this could be a way that we could guarantee that they would have the three stories versus the four, five, or six that they could do as entitled at this point. Correct? Correct. Okay. Anyone else? All right. John, I'll give you some time if you need to come back after public comments. Thank you all. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public meeting. If you wish to speak on this, please come forward. We'll give you three minutes. Give me your name and your address, please. Thank you, commissioners, for taking me and listening. My concerns about the piece of property, that's... Give me an address, please. My name is Larry Benarowitz, and I live at 1845 Village Court, Mulberry, and I've been there since 2011. Okay? And I've watched it develop. And I asked Mr. Peterson, I sent him two pictures of current position of flooding that occurs on our property from the developments that have happened in the past. And I asked him to show those pictures, but I guess he didn't. But one of the things, I'm not an expert. I'm an observer, a resident. You know, lived there for, you know, 12, 13, 13 years now. But my concern is the development of this property and stuff. Mr. McVeigh is wrong. It's been on... They initially asked for the development of 33 homes and stuff back in 2015, and now they've changed it to be an apartment complex, right? My concern is that if you take a look at the pictures, if they put the parking there and the buildings there, all you've got is a floodplain. The water's going to come down. There's only one place for it to go further down Imperial Boulevard. And you guys addressed that, the Imperial Boulevard flooding with a couple million dollars and stuff. Well, if they elevate that piece of property, it's going to run into our property and it's going to flood us. If you're going to approve this property, you better build a wall to prevent the water from coming into our units because we're right next door. And that's what happened with Sundance. When Sundance was developed, they allowed that property to be elevated five or six feet. We have rivers in back of our property that stream from Sundance going down to Imperial Boulevard, which makes the flooding worse. When I first moved there, the flooding further down by the golf course wasn't as bad. But once you developed Sundance, all that water came from Sundance down to our property through Pine Run, and it just floods it. Okay, so my concern is flooding, and the occupation in the two parking spaces per thing, you're just going to have one big pond. That's what you're going to have. So thank you for listening. Do you have any questions that made this up? Mr. Chair, can someone show me where exactly he lives on the map so that I can get a perspective on this? This is Village Court here. This is Sight. Thank you. All right. Thank you, sir. Okay. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Good morning. My name's Judy Swim. I live at 100 Country Club Lane. I'm in the Imperial Lakes Services Community Association Phase 2, which sits back behind the old Country Club. We're off Imperial Lakes Boulevard. First of all, I'd like to give you a stack of statements from residents of my subdivision and Double Eagle, which sits right north of us. This area that they're talking about building, this area that they're talking about building, we've met with Swift Mudd. Swift Mudd says the only permit for this property is for six homes that was issued in 2021. It's never been updated, it's never been updated, and they've been out there quarterly checking this particular lot. They've not gotten any notice of any change to apartments or anything else to that particular lot. So I have a real objection to the fact that this area, according to Swift Mudd, is the overflow flooding area for all of Imperial Lakes, which is 3,700 homes. We are already flooded, even with the last change. This is what my road looked like coming into my property. If you go back to the L or the H1 statement they showed you, where they had the two ponds they want to build, my road is what goes in between that. That comes to my house and my neighbor's houses. We're already flooding, and they want to lift the road there another foot and a half. We're going to be flooded out. You're going to have a whole lot of lawsuits from the people living in my subdivision if people can't get emergency access or in and out of their subdivision. And now you want to put another 145, 168, 200, pick a number, it's been fluctuating, into this small area, which is the overflow. The emergency exit that's coming out there, I'm not sure I understand why a fire engine is going to go down Shepard Road and onto Imperial Lakes Boulevard to come into the back end instead of turning in off Shepard Road. Why there even needs to be an emergency exit there? Because the fire department is nowhere near coming in that way. So why would you have that other than to have it opened and now more cars coming onto Imperial Lakes Boulevard? Because you know and I know emergency exits get opened all the time and left open. So thank you very much, but we hope you please deny this. Thank you, ma'am. Anyone else? Oh, I'm sorry, if anyone wants to see the flooding we had, I have pictures. Oh, yeah, I can believe you. Anyone else? My name is George Lord. I live at 4486 Fairway Oaks Drive in Imperial Lakes. Could you put the schematic back up that shows the buildings? Yeah. Looking at the upper right corner, that blue area is a pond. It's jointly owned by the people that want to build the apartments and by publics. It serves as a retention or drainage pond for Imperial Lakes Boulevard. And it is becoming very overgrown with vegetation. Anything that you do to approve this should require the owners to keep that pond pristine, clean. Because otherwise, it's going to be overgrown and we're going to have more flooding. So I just ask you to consider that. Thank you. Thank you. Bill Giesa, 4458 Fairway Oaks Drive. Before I get to my two concerns, two thank yous. Long time ago, I took an oath. I appreciated witnessing the oaths this morning. Since I'm retired and I'm seeing somebody else serve, thank you. Also, I appreciate what was passed this morning to work on our flooding to the south of Imperial Lakes Boulevard, affected by what we're talking with this consideration. That leads me to my two concerns. The concern of possible flooding to the south based on however the water is going to flow by whatever means adding this development on top of the water that leaves out of the north end. The second one is, since we only have one way in, one way out from Imperial Lakes Boulevard, this emergency exit, the concern is how do we ensure that it truly remains an emergency only and does not add to our traffic with that only one way in and out on the boulevard. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Anyone else? Mr. Robertson, 1803 Village Court, Mulberry. I'm a resident at Imperial Place Condos, which is a 37-unit complex, not 60. We've had recently three different lift station companies certify that our lift station has no issues and is operating good. It's also recorded on a public easement, even though it is on their property, that was recorded years ago. It's been there 40 years. So even if you approve this, we don't need any help with a shared new lift station. That's it. Now I want to bring up the lift station issue. Thank you so much. Thank you. Anyone else? All right. Seeing none, we're going to shut down the public and bring it back to the applicant. Casey, comment, public comment, and bring it back to the applicant. Thank you. John McVeigh again, 6700 South Florida Avenue. Four basic objections or comments, and I'll try to go over those individually. The actual number of units in the project to the south I said was small, maybe 60. It's 37. Okay. Today is the first day we've heard that the lift station is operational and in good shape. They kept calling me as the representative to the owner, wanting us to build a new lift station, change everything, do all this stuff. You know, if we don't need to do anything, we don't need to do anything. I mean, we'll put our own lift station in and pump wherever we need to pump. I mean, that's really good news for us because we don't have to worry about them being out of service and all this, you know, all this. Number two, the county is, and Jay is here to talk, but the county is doing the drainage facility, as this morning was approved, to the south. And we're, the one lady was talking about the road and raising the road and going between her house. I don't know where she lives, but it's not on our property. That's probably referring to the county's drainage facility. Again, we have committed to three stories. We've committed to 100-year storm. We've committed to two parking spaces per unit, whatever that is. You know, we just need to be able to design because these are preliminary designs. And until we get through DEP, swift mud, county, county drainage, you know, as long as the entrances don't change, then we should be okay. Now, there was also concern about the emergency entrance. The emergency entrance is really there for two reasons. One is if our entrance has an accident or gets blocked, the fire trucks can go around or EMD can go around and come in the emergency entrance. There's also a lot of concern that if Imperial Lakes gets blocked, they can come through this development and go out to get into Imperial Lakes to service a better, you know, time-wise and going somewhere way around and trying to get in another way. So it's really twofold. The only reason we show an emergency entrance is because Polk County regulations under the fire code require that. And they wanted emergency only. They will have either a blast horn or a code that they can open the gate. Probably utilities, if they're going to service something or look at something, they may have that. But it's not for the residents to use, and it's not even out. It's an emergency entrance. Our residents can't go out that emergency entrance. They have to go out Shepherd Road. So I'll be happy to answer any questions. Any questions? Mr. Chair, I have some for the applicant. Just for clarity, the existing pond that was brought up that's on the southeast portion of the site that services, I guess, Publix, and maybe it's on this property currently. When you talk about the design of the stormwater system for this and the 100-year event being the threshold, that existing pond, obviously on this particular plan, is showing some type of berm feature separating a proposed retention pond with that existing pond. Would there be engineering done to essentially shore up that existing pond to where it will function? And I bring that up that if there's a 100-year event and it's only designed to a 25-year and yours is 100-year, now you've got two ponds at different levels and one's trying to spill into the other one possibly. So just looking ahead, would there be any consideration for that existing pond? Good question. That pond is being shared by three people or three groups. One is the Shopping Center Publix Group. One is the north's edge side of the golf course around the townhomes, and the other is this site. What we propose to do is hold ours back, clean up the pond, clean out the ditch, open up the drainage, and then do an HOA, a homeowners association, where there is a maintenance agreement not only on the ponds, but a maintenance agreement on the dishes and on the existing pond. It's been set there for years and nobody does anything. Okay, and to further clarify that, so the existing pond would not be used in your calculations for stormwater treatment or storage for this site. It would all be on the proposed ponds, correct? On the proposed site. The existing pond is taking the existing drainage. But I will say this, with the design the county has, some of that water on the north side of the boulevard is going to be rerouted to the south, which will take some pressure off of that existing pond. Mr. Chair, I had a question for Mr. Jarvis. On the staff side, just regarding that. Is he here? Yep, there he is. I don't know how I missed him. Thank you. Mr. Jarvis, thank you for coming back up. A question with respect to our Imperial Lakes drainage improvement project. When we look at this particular site, again, not knowing the details of that design work that was done for our project that we approved earlier today, but for this site, do we know if, from a modeling perspective, that RM to RH designation, because I understand that was last year when we, the board approved the RM to RH, was that higher density factored into our water flow calculations where we've now approved this construction of the Imperial Lakes project? If I remember correctly, this is not in that same basin as what is currently, there's a separation. Now, whether there's a connection through the golf course, which may be the case, those two are kind of separate. I think part of it was when Imperial Lakes south flooded, it would back up, maybe into part of this system at some point, but really it's been concentrated more to the south, and that's what we're looking to address. But this will take potentially some water off of the, that would go into the golf course that may come north and through this system, may take that south now and alleviate some of that. Okay. Thank you. Anybody else? Okay. Well, let's bring it back to the board for any further discussion. And was it, just to confirm the applicant, were you complete with your presentation? Yes, unless the board has any more questions. All right. Thank you. Like I said, I'll bring it back to the board for further discussion. Sure. I'll open up. We've talked about drainage and entrances and commercial property. For me, none of that really matters. That can all be figured out later. Ten units per acre is where I'm stuck. That seems to be, in my opinion, the more compatible number, and I think that's plenty. I don't know what the densities. I know it was said earlier about the surrounding property, but on that or for that, I will not be supporting this. Yes. Yeah. Just on, again, hearing during staff's presentation that this facility or the site received an RM to RH approval in 2023. I'm looking at this. It looks kind of a stepwise, like, let's just push a little bit more, a little bit more. So, for that, I would also be held at the ten dwellings per acre based on that historical fact of the site. Anyone else? I'm going to go along with, you know, just what we just said. So, I won't be either. So, do I have a motion? I'll move to deny the application. Second. Okay. Motion to deny. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? And it is denied. Motion passing is denied. All right. Is that it for the day? I think that's it for the day. I've got one last thing to say. Thank you, guys, for the opportunity, you know, and best of luck to the new commissioners. Thank you. Thank you. I just have one last thing to say. Neil Cumby has left the building. But Michael Scott has arrived. We are adjourned. Thank you.