Seminole County. I'm going to call this meeting to order. If you would please silence your cell phones and electronic devices. We would appreciate that. As always, we are going to start this meeting October 27th, 2026 with an invocation. Today we have the pleasure of having Trina Hawker, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints in Seminole County here to give us our invocation. Thank you. I'd like to share my favorite scripture with you. It's found in Romans 8, 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness to our spirit that we are the children of God. And that brings me a lot of comfort to know that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me and He is aware of me. And I feel comfort when I am going through trials and I feel strengthened when I feel weak. Dear Heavenly Father, I'm grateful. We're grateful to be gathered today here at this County Commissioner meeting and we are grateful for another beautiful day and for the lovely area we live in. And we're so grateful to be living in Seminole County. We're grateful for all of the good leaders that do their best to make things happen in our county that will make a better life for us here. We are grateful for each of our county commissioners and we ask Thee to please bless them as they have decisions to make and that they will be led by Thy Spirit. And we also pray for their families and all of their loved ones as they make sacrifices to be supportive in our community. And we are very grateful for them. We ask Thee to please be, continue to be with all of our leaders here and those that are present as they do your work. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 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. We're going to start off this morning with awards, presentations, and proclamations. And the first one will be read by Commissioner Constantine. This is a proclamation proclaiming November 4th through the 11th, 2026 as Operation Greenlight in Seminole County. Thank you very much. And I will move the proclamation of Seminole County Board of County Commissioners proclaiming the week of November 4th through the November 11th. Operation Greenlight in Seminole County, Florida. Whereas the residents of our community have respect, admiration, and the utmost gratitude for the men and women who have served the United States Armed Forces, protecting our freedoms and ensuring our safety. And whereas the contributions and sacrifices of the men and women who have served the Armed Forces have been vital in maintaining the freedoms and way of life enjoyed by our citizens. And whereas Seminole County seeks to honor these individuals who have paid the high price of freedom by placing themselves in harm's way for the good of all. And whereas approximately 200,000 service members transition to civilian communities annually with an estimated 20% increase of service members who shall transition to civilian life in the near future. And whereas veterans often face challenges as they transition from active military service to civilian life, including navigating benefits, accessing resources, and finding meaningful employment. And whereas the National Association of Counties and the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers invite the community to join Operation Greenlight for veterans, a program symbolizing hope, renewal, and forward movement in support of veterans transitioning to civilian life. And whereas as we approach Veterans Day 2026, Seminole County recognizes Apparition Greenlight and encourages our citizens and businesses to honor those whose immeasurable sacrifices help preserve our freedom by displaying a green light in a window of their place of business or residence from November 4th through November 11th. And now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners does hereby designate November 4th through November 11th, 2026 as Operation Greenlight adopted this day on the 22nd. We have a first and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Passes unanimously. This morning we have Joey Cody, Veterans Services Division Manager, who's going to accept and say a few words. We'll do the, come on, keep it coming. I'll just fill in time for you, buddy. We'll do pictures all at once at the end of the two proclamations. Sir? Ma'am, Chairman, Commissioners, Mr. Gray, Ms. Latour, and Ms. Johnson, thank you for constantly placing our veterans first in our community. You know, in the back we have two heroes, and they're here every day to ensure that the veterans are being taken care of. And to you guys, I applaud your commitment to our veterans. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate all the work you've done. Since you've been here, we are delighted to have you. And your team. All right, the next proclamation is proclaiming Dion, Leonard, DeDonna, and Matt Weber as the Artist of the Year in Seminole County. And this will be read by Commissioner Lockhart. I'm going to take a point of personal privilege. One of these Artists of the Year, Dion, Leonard, DeDonna, I have known since she was a little peanut twirling around in a tutu. So, Dion and her family were family friends for many years, and she actually watched our kids. I think she changed Jake's diaper. Yeah, so there's a little more information than any of you all wanted this morning. But that is not why she is receiving this recognition today. I am just so incredibly privileged to be able to read this proclamation and to honor Dion. If you've ever had the chance to watch her dance, it is truly remarkable. So, Commissioners, it is truly my honor to move the following proclamation of the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners, proclaiming Dion, Leonard, DeDonna, and Matt Weber, who did not change my son's diapers, by the way, as the 2026 Artist of the Year in Seminole County, Florida. Whereas the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners and the Seminole Cultural Arts Council acknowledge the significant role that the arts play in the quality of life of the residents of Seminole County and have supported the Artist of the Year annual program since 2003. And whereas the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners wishes to acknowledge the contributions of individual artists, including but not limited to performers, visual artists, technical artists, historians, authors, chefs, architects, and fashion designers as Seminole County's 2026 Artists of the Year who have contributed to the enrichment of Seminole County and who are active in the community for the advancement of the arts. And whereas the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners will honor local artist Dion, Leonard, DeDonna, a professional dancer, choreographer, educator, and multidisciplinary performing artist, and Matt Weber, a performance lighting designer and sound engineer. And whereas Dion, Leonard, DeDonna, a Florida native who began her dance training at Sanford's Miriam and Valerie School of Dance Arts and later returned as an instructor after having served as a member of the Ballet Guild of Sanford Seminole and the Soda Pops, where she has developed a lifelong connection to the local arts community. And whereas Dion, Leonard, DeDonna has become known for her versatility, creativity, and dynamic stage presence, and she is a founding member of the acclaimed theatrical troupe Phantasmagoria Orlando, performing as Lady Cimmerine, where her artistic talents extend beyond traditional dance to fire and LED performance, stilt walking, and theatrical storytelling. She has choreographed numerous productions, including Mamma Mia! and Spam-A-Lot! at Sanford's historic Ritz Theater Wayne Dench Performing Arts Center, and has performed at community festivals, cultural celebrations, and special events throughout Central Florida. She has been a longtime supporter of many local nonprofits, including the Seminole Cultural Arts Council. And whereas an accomplished dance educator and competition judge, Dion teaches and choreographs for dance studios, theaters, and educational institutions nationwide, her collaborations include Orlando Ballet, photographers, dance retailers, and national brands. She remains particularly dedicated to supporting arts education through workshops, master classes, and choreography for Seminole County Public Schools. Through her passion for movement, artistic innovation, and commitment to mentoring, dancers of all ages and abilities, Dion continues to inspire the next generation of performers while making a lasting contribution to Seminole County's vibrant arts and cultural community. And whereas Matt Weber is a dedicated performance lighting designer and sound engineer whose technical artistry has helped bring live theater to life in Seminole County for more than 15 years. As a key member of the production team at Sanford's Ritz Theater Wayne Dench Performing Arts Center, Matt Weber has provided lighting design, sound engineering, and technical operation for more than 61 theatrical productions, including Annie, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, Dream Girls, and Mamma Mia! His expertise includes coordinating complex lighting sequences involving more than 200 cues per performance. And whereas, beyond his work at the Ritz Theater, Matt Weber has generously volunteered his talents to support annual productions at Midway Elementary School for the Performing Arts. Through his technical expertise, creativity, and long-standing commitment to community theater, Matt has made an invaluable behind-the-scenes contribution to the performing arts in Seminole County. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners wishes to commend Dionne Leonard-Dodonna and Matt Weber for their promotion of the arts and culture throughout Seminole County and Central Florida. Be it further proclaimed that this proclamation be spread upon the official minutes by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in and for the County of Seminole and presented to Dionne Leonard-Dodonna and Matt Weber with best wishes on their selection as and recognition of being chosen as 2026 Artists of the Year, adopted this 27th day of October, 2026. Second. We have a first and a lot of seconds. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Hearing none, it passes unanimously. We have Commissioner Anthony Armandia, who would like to do the honors of a few words. Feet diaper changing, Commissioner. Thank you, Commissioner. Chairman as well, Anthony Armandia, Seminole County Cultural Arts President. And I wish to introduce to you Dionne Didonna and Matt Weber as Artist of the Year. Would you all like to say anything? Right. You have to come down to the microphone, Dionne. Oh, my God. I have a voice. But we have to get you on the record. So there's your notice. Oh, my goodness. You're on record. Excuse me. Well, like Miss Amy. Oh, wow. Miss Amy. Like Miss Amy said, I've grown up in Sanford, literally. My home that I grew up in is still, my mom still lives there. I performed as a reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh in the Christmas parades when I was in elementary school, all the way to twirling, dancing with fire on First Street for the mayor. I'm just, I don't have words. Thank you. This is, thank you. Thank you. Don't drink coffee. This is a great honor to be recognized like this. Normally, I'm not seen in any of the productions. I say in the background, I'm not comfortable in front of people, so I like it that way. But I do enjoy being a part of the productions and bringing that and letting other people see colorful things and hear the productions in a wonderful way. So thank you for this recognition. Well done. Well done. How about you meet us on the floor for some pictures? Thank you. All right. Next up, and she is already teed up, and we are already sitting down ready to pay attention. Look at us. Excellent. President of our Seminole State College here, and we are behaving. I'll hand it over to you, Dr. Lorenz. It's early, though. Thank you so much, Chair Hur. Thank you, Commissioners. Thank you to the county staff for providing me the opportunity to come and give an update on Seminole State this morning. I'd like to start by acknowledging you know her as Commissioner Lockhart. We know her as Trustee Lockhart, our longest-serving board member. Thank you for your leadership both at the college and throughout the community. So I know a primary interest for you as the Board of County Commissioners is developing and sustaining a thriving economy in which all citizens have the opportunity to achieve a family-sustaining wage and a fulfilling career that then contributes to that thriving economy. Seminole State shares that goal. In January of this year, we launched our current strategic plan, Impact 2030. We focus on three areas of impact, our students, our employees, and the region, and I will structure my comments around those three areas. Seminole State has defined our strategy and purpose to be your learning partner for career success, and, of course, students are at the heart of that work. The strategic focus on integrating their current learning experiences with long-term career success is truly a differentiator for Seminole State. We're preparing students not just for their first job. We're preparing them for a resilient career. We provide excellent technical training in the student's field of interest, and we provide intentional training in the durable career skills that transcend any given field. Communication, problem-solving, teamwork, resiliency. And we know through our own experiences and national research that the more closely we can connect what a student is learning in the classroom with those career goals, the more likely they are to persist and complete their education. And I'd like to highlight two ways that we're doing that. We are skillifying our curriculum. The faculty across all disciplines are explicit about those durable career skills that students are practicing and acquiring in any course. For example, in her biology courses, Professor DeJesus Barrios includes such a skill at every class meeting. She might say, Hey, today we're going to be working in small groups in the lab, and I want you to focus on giving each other constructive feedback. She quickly explains the concept, and at the end of this session, she asks students to write a quick reflection on how they did. This does not impact the rigor or the pace of the biology curriculum. It enhances students' career skills. She regularly surveys her students, and they tell her that they have gained confidence in those durable career skills. In our welding courses, Professor Quattrini treats the lab as a professional working space and holds the same expectations of his students as he would of employees. He explains to them they're gaining much more than welding skills by learning to work as a team, problem-solve, show up on time, and display a good work ethic. Work-based learning is another strategy to be our students' learning partner for career success, and we look to our employer partners for support in executing the strategy. Work-based learning includes a range of opportunities, and of course, the gold standard is paid internships. But we also have apprenticeships, regular site visits to employers, job shadowing, capstone courses in which students are given real-world problems by our employer partners to solve, clinicals, and then high-impact practices, including original research and service learning. And we have evidence of success. More than 5,700 new raters graduated last year. We have a 98.4% job placement rate for our associate in science and bachelor's degree students. Within one year of graduating, they're either placed in a job in their field, or they're continuing their education in that field. The statewide average is 92.6%, and our previous high was 95%. We are very proud of our progress in this area. Our Center for Public Safety's Law Enforcement graduating cohort had a 96% first-time pass rate recently, with two of the previous cohorts achieving a 100% first-time pass rate. And I'm very proud to report that the training center has earned 14 consecutive years of perfect audits from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. This achievement embodies the high expectation and standards our faculty and staff uphold for our students, who will ultimately be protecting the public's safety. Our nursing program is continually ranked top 10 in Florida for associate degree and nursing graduates. And hot off the press, on Saturday, we learned that our third quarter pass rate was 96.2%, and we are number one in Central Florida. Our most recent graduating class had 36 students who participated in a dedicated education unit, either at AdventHealth or OrlandoHealth, where they developed advanced clinical skills, confidence, and competence. They also earned an advanced cardiac life support certification prior to graduation, which is a unique opportunity. Not to be outdone, our physical therapy students just had a 100% pass rate on their licensing exam. Seminole State's team of construction and design students earned national recognition after winning first place in the quality control category at the 2026 Associated Builders and Contractors Competition. Innovation and collaboration are core values at Seminole State, and we strive to maintain an entrepreneurial mindset. Along those lines, we are repurposing and renovating spaces to provide learning environments that mirror professional settings and utilize the latest industry-standard tools so students can really hit the ground running in their careers. The newly renovated George and Gretchen Smith Center for Workforce Trades focuses on serving our construction trade students. With updated or expanded labs for electrical, plumbing, carpentry, HVAC and refrigeration, and welding, the center also features a new soils testing lab, as well as training rooms and study spaces. The college has also updated computer labs to form a new innovation center, made possible with funding from the Florida's Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive Grant Program. The lab is equipped with the latest tools and technologies to simulate real-world cybersecurity and cloud computing operations, while the virtual reality lab features augmented reality equipment that will be used to enhance learning experiences for our digital media, construction, and engineering programs. This space positions the college to be a preferred learning partner destination for students and businesses alike, helping our future and current workforce upskill. At Seminole State, every employee is key to student success, and in turn, we are committed to our employees' success. Seminole State recently earned national recognition as a great college to work for by the Chronicle of Higher Education. And this recognition is based in large part on employee feedback about workplace practices, policies, and the overall employee experience. This recognition also supports the commitment we make in our strategic plan to create a collaborative, innovative environment where employees are valued and supported through learning, skill development, and career success. Seminole State has a significant impact on our regional economy, as demonstrated in the results from an independent economic study done last year by LightCast. Just a few highlights. Seminole State's total annual economic impact is $1.3 billion, made up of the income and impact of our alumni, $120.9 million in operations spending, and $52.1 million from local student spending. For every dollar spent on Seminole State, taxpayers gain $2.70, and society gains $14.30 in added income and social savings. The average associate degree graduate from Seminole State will see an increase in lifetime earnings of at least $300,000 as compared to those with a high school diploma. I also wanted to highlight some partnerships on our campus that are intended to serve the broader community in addition to our own students. We have a new Heart of Florida United Way partnership and shared space. You may have visited the new Raider Care Village in our Sanford Lake Mary Student Center. CARE stands for Community Assistance for Resources in Education, creating a student and community resource area that includes support from and connections to the Department of Health and Children's Services, Mission United, Seminole County Legal Aid Society, the Sharing Center, and more. And there is a 2-1-1 specialist on site. It's also home to our food pantry and Rally's Closet, which provides gently used clothing. I would encourage you to stop by the village to check it out, or you can get more information on our website. We're fortunate to also partner with Heart of Florida United Way as the primary higher education partner for Midway Elementary, a community partnership school that is the first in our county and serves as a hub uniting academic health and social services in one place. It is so inspiring to see how our community comes together to reduce and remove barriers for students and family members and increase access to education. We also welcomed CareerSource of Central Florida to establish a career hub on our Sanford Lake Mary campus. As you all know, CareerSource Central Florida helps individuals advance their skills, explore career pathways, and connect with education and employers. And having their team on our campus allows us to provide students and community members with enhanced support and career resources exactly when and where they need them most. And looking to the future, one of our top priorities is the expansion of our Altamont Springs campus. Thanks to recent state funding and extraordinary support from our community partners, we're gaining momentum toward the construction of Building B. This expansion will help us address critical regional and statewide workforce shortages, particularly in nursing as well as other health sciences. We're also preparing to launch our new medical lab technology associate in science degree, a program designed in direct response to workforce needs identified by our health care partners. This is exactly what Seminole State does best, listening to community, anticipating future needs, and creating pathways that connect students to meaningful careers. We're working in partnership with Florida State College of Jacksonville, the City of Altamont Springs, and BEEP to develop an autonomous vehicle tech training program, which could position Florida to be a leader in this growing field. We're also investing in our advanced manufacturing curriculum to meet the needs of industry and equip our graduates to excel. We're exploring other exciting opportunities that could shape the next chapter of our institution. We've begun a study for a new performance center that could serve both as a home for our students' creativity and a vibrant gathering place for our community. In conclusion, while the landscape for higher education is constantly in motion, our commitment to being your learning partner for career success remains unchanged, and Seminole State is well positioned to meet this moment. That is due in no small part to the incredible support from our community and elected leaders, including you, our Board of County Commissioners. I want to thank you and the county staff, and I commend you for your commitment to our community. I feel so incredibly fortunate to work and live here in Seminole County, and I feel so honored to lead Seminole State College. And I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much. Commissioners, questions, comments? Comment, good work as usual. We sincerely appreciate the collaboration amongst all community shareholders, and the work that you all have done in so many aspects that impact the economic development of this community is amazing. It continues to surprise me how often you all are constantly developing new programs and have the ability to shift focus when necessary as the market ships, which is very telling of your management and your Board of Directors as well. So good work. Thank you very much. Thank you. Commissioner Lockhart? I would be remiss if I didn't say thank you for your leadership. We have only had three presidents at Seminole State College in its entire history, and I still think of Dr. Lorenz as being the new president, and yet you've been with us now for? I'm in my ninth year. Yeah. So no longer the new kid on the block. And I think the way that you have figured out this community, because we are large and small all at the same time, and it takes a lot of intentionality to take on a role like you have and really get involved in the community and figure out how things work and put together these relationships, which really allow us to be so nimble and responsive to the workforce needs. I had an opportunity yesterday to speak with some of the student government students at the Sanford Lake Mary campus, and it always encourages me when I get to talk with students about what their path is and where they want to go and where they came from. And I think when we think of students at Seminole State, we just think of them as being, you know, they're students who are going to college and check a box, right? And they are so diverse in their paths and the way that they got there and the challenges that they are facing currently in order to accomplish whatever it is they've set out to accomplish there. They're working full time and they're going to school. Some of them are living at ROM. There is tremendous need and there is tremendous passion on the part of these students to be a part of this community and to accomplish what they've set out to accomplish. And I truly believe it's because of the culture that's been established there by the entire leadership team. So I don't get paid extra for saying these things. I don't get paid anything to be a trustee at Seminole State College. But I love the work that you do and I appreciate so much the impact on our community. Thank you very much. And I'll just follow that with a personal story, and that is that I have two graduates of Seminole State. One is my second son, and he graduated with one of the first baccalaureates. And we did the drive-through graduation. Might have gotten in a little bit of trouble for some of the shenanigans that the Hur family pulled that day because we were just so damn happy he graduated. And he is gainfully employed. He's part of that 100% that has been in a work environment at a publicly traded engineering firm for now three-plus years. And the second one is one of his buddies that took a more difficult path and got an associate's degree and is doing amazingly well and thanks me every day for the work that we did together between the foundation and you and I to escort him through that process. So from parents, it matters. So I'll end this with, go state, go far. Thank you for being here. Mr. McIntyre, I feel like we set you up every time we do these meetings where there's very exciting stuff that gets talked about and then we do a financial forecast. But there is very exciting stuff to be looked at. And Scott's going to share our economic outlook and portfolio review. Thank you all, and it's good to see you. And you're right, it feels like I always do follow some really impressive people here, whether it's your students or your veterans. And I'm honored. So as always is, forgive me, am I doing this right? Okay. So the Fed actually raised rates in September, and we've been anticipating this for a while, and inflation has moved higher, and the conflict in the Gulf is unresolved. And at this point, one of the things that's really important to note is, A, yields have risen significantly. In September, they rose significantly, which is always a good thing if you haven't bought yet. It's not a great thing if you've already bought. A lot of your money was placed in December, January, February, before the hostilities began in February. And, you know, I've been coached to make sure that it's clear that when we make recommendations to hold additional liquidity and move money into AAA-rated investment pools, that's an investment decision. And part of it is frat and liquidity, and part of it is the idea that we expect that yields will continue to rise for a while. The Fed meets tomorrow. We don't expect they're going to do anything. Part of that is that the election is right around the corner. I've always been under the impression that the Fed does not want to appear political. So to the extent they're able to hold back their will, and I believe they will, they're still very, very likely to increase rates in December, which actually is really fortuitous because your ad valorem taxes start to come in in early December. They start to have money to place at higher yields. So we made the conscious decision to accrue liquidity and to hold back, and as that's happened, yields have continued to rise. So securities that might have been bought in June and July would have been underwater by the time you got to September. So this is a very difficult market to navigate, and what we're trying to do is make sure you've got adequate liquidity for the expenses that you have and also to make sure that you're maintaining a methodical approach. So this is just a glance at, and if you look at the right-hand side of the CPI report, the green line is the headline consumer price index year over year, and the red line is the core. So everybody knew that headline inflation was going to move higher because gas prices have been higher, energy prices have been higher. The surprise, I think, was that the core rate moved higher. So a lot of that energy has bled through, is starting to bleed through to the core, and when that happens, there is pressure on yields to move higher. So, again, we're staying respectful of that, being conservative as we go forward. This is the two-year Treasury, and as you can see, the yield on that has moved higher. That bottom there represents, with the arrow, February 27th, which is the day before the hostilities began. So you can see a direct correlation between what's going on in the Middle East with energy prices and the two-year Treasury note yield. As yields move higher, prices move lower. So that affects your portfolio, and, you know, I think it's going to be a benefit, obviously, as we move into the tax collection season. This is the thing that I want to note on this. This is the September Bloomberg survey of 83, 85 economists, and the middle part there shows the August survey and the September survey. And what I have circled is the over a one-month period, these economists believe that overnight rates will be 50 basis points higher than they did the month before. As much as anything, that reflects the increase in inflation. And we look forward to inflation. I look at a measure called true inflation, and I look at the Cleveland's Fed inflation now measure. And, again, October is still higher. November appears to be moving higher as well. So conservative is the best approach. Looking at yields from where they have been to where they are, the bottom section in Treasury, you can see there has been a pretty steady step up in yields. We've sort of leveled off a little bit, again, with the expectation that the Fed doesn't do anything, that they're pausing. But I think the trend is that things will stay high. We don't expect them to move too much higher, but we believe they'll stay high. The overnight rates, which is where your liquidity is, moved up with the Fed's rate increase, should move up again in December. My expectation is when monies are starting to be invested in December and January, we're going to be a little bit more conservative in where those are placed, be a little bit more cognizant of the cash flows being more forward than I thought they were going to be, and probably curtail the duration a little bit, short maturities relative to what we had done last year, sort of staying out of the way of the train. My expectation is that your interest earnings for, well, I'm going to talk about the calendar year. I know your fiscal year began on October 1st. But I expect that we should be about 70 basis points higher than we would have been, and I expect things are going to stay elevated for next year, which means that your interest earnings should be, you know, protected, should be, I assume, if your balances are similar, should be pretty similar, if not higher, than they were this fiscal year, which isn't what we expected. When I was standing before you last time, we expected that the end of the year overnight rate would be 3%, and it's likely to be closer to 4 1⁄8. So you've got a lot of upcoming, just a maturity today. That will, I'm instructing that that, or recommending that go into prime, floor prime, AAA rated, federated, managed. And then you've got a whole bunch of, a lot of maturities coming up that were stacked. Those will be reinvested back at favorable rates. You have a meeting. I'm going to be in front of you, I believe, on the 9th. So we can address everything that's maturing the following weeks on the 9th. But we're to the point now where with your tax money starting to flow in December, those maturities will likely be able to be reinvested. But again, I want to emphasize as much as anything else that my recommendation to hold, for instance, is $20 million maturity that is today in the AAA rated fund is an investment decision. It's not punting. And I'm also in front of you for accountability and to give you information and to allow you to ask questions. So the recommendation is that the money be transferred or moved when it matures into the Florida prime. And then I'm back in, is it two weeks that you have your next meeting? And then we can address all of these maturities that are coming up. Thank you. Any questions? Madam Chair, I'm prepared to make a motion to implement recommendations of our financial advisor based on a report submitted today and recommend the clerk implement said board recommendations. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Passes unanimously. Thank you, Scott, for being here. Thank you. I appreciate it. All right. That takes us to the consent agenda. Does anyone have any additions, deletions? I'll start with the county manager. Thank you, Chairman and Commissioners. Just one addition you should have received at the end of last week. It's item number 6A, and that's naming the Rosenwald Park to the Rosenwald Legacy Park. And you should have all the backup with that. And with that, no other changes. Commissioners? Madam Chair? Yes. I support the consent agenda. I just have a quick comment I'd like to make. Item 14, I think our staff as well as our commissioner on that links board is doing a great job. I just want to make sure that there's a comment that next year we're looking at the paratransit, and it's going to either be a work session or some type of meeting that we're going to have so we can all discuss it. That's all. All right. Commissioner Zembauer? Madam Chair, motion to move and approve. Hold on a minute. They didn't pound on the table. We didn't ask about public comment, but I see no yellow forms down there. Therefore, Commissioner Zembauer, keep going. Yes. Move a motion to approve consent agenda items for the constitutional officers, items 5 and 6. Then 6A through 15. Second. We have a first and a second. Any further discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Hearing none, it passes unanimously. All right. We have come to the portion of the program where we are going to discuss development services update and an Acela implementation. Mr. Rhodes. Yay! Good morning, Commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you this morning. I want to talk with you about what I consider a terrific success in the implementation of the Acela, also known as one-stop implementation, and then talk about some department priorities going forward from there. I'm going to show you some brief screenshots and share with you some information about Acela, again, slash one-stop. Talk with you a little bit about that process, how our customers can access the system, how our customers going forward. We'll look forward to enhancements to that system. I want to talk with you about the much-anticipated dashboard capabilities and some additional refinements to those dashboard capabilities as we move forward and, again, outline those department priorities. So we're clear, Acela is the vendor software. Acela is the vendor name for the technology behind one-stop. In one-stop, we're calling basically our customer permitting portal. The services that we're providing through one-stop, cover building, planning, code enforcement, public works, fire inspection, and even addressing. It's a shared records platform that helps us coordinate review and reporting and, I think, more importantly, facilitates collaboration across the departments that are all using it. And over time, we hope to see improvements in the efficient delivery of all these services. Just some quick background. We kicked this program off in August of 2024. That was when you all approved the selection of the vendor and the contract to begin moving forward. In fairness, there was a lot of work ahead of that to kind of prepare for the approval of that vendor. We kicked off the program with the vendor in September of 2024, and we spent many, many weeks and months of tailoring and design for that system. Earlier this year, we started to do module testing where the staff came in and started hitting it hard and working through all the different workflows for all the different permit types. And finally, on October 19th, this past Monday, we went live with the system. And I would like to take a moment just to kind of extend some thanks to a number of folks who participated in the process and made it all happen. And first off, I want to recognize Joe Alcala and Jeff Leveroni and his entire information technology team, most of whom toil in anonymity, really, but just did a terrific job in making it all happen. And I don't know if Joe and I know Jeff is here, and Jeff's been through a number of body parts. And we're happy to see him up and around and back in the office today. But they've been terrific. Omar Almodovar with Accela is here. And Omar has been a great late addition to the vendor team, really, over the last, I don't know, four, six months or so, helping us kind of bring it across the finish line. And just like any organization, you know, Accela went through people, we went through people. But I have to say, Omar has been just a great addition and a great positive attitude and really helped make it happen for the vendor side. I really want to thank Amy Brown and Megan Zernowski. They've been our business experts. Amy and wave. Wave. Megan. Thank you, Megan. They've been our business experts for permitting and planning. And these ladies have been at it morning, noon, and night for many, many, many months on design and testing. And they're still at it. This is probably the least amount of time in probably a year that either one of them has worked on anything but Accela. So happy to recognize them today. Also on the IT side, Archana Vermani has been our IT project manager, Archana Wave. And she's handled all the challenges, not least of which have been shepherding all of us, including the IT team, moving us from a 30-year, almost 30-year-old platform to a platform that has been implemented in this century with things that we expect to see in this century, like email and things like that. There are a lot of challenges, and she was up to all of them and has had a wonderful attitude throughout, and it's been a joy to work with her. And last but not least, I really want to thank Sandy Riley, our permitting division manager, Sandy. Sandy's lost her voice and her mind and a few other things. But she's really been the champion of this thing, even since before the idea was a gleam in most of our eyes. I know she's dreamed about this for a long time. Sometimes the dreams have been nightmares, but I really just can't thank her enough for being just a rock throughout this entire process for us. Building this system was really a major step and a huge investment on your part. It's also important to note that maintaining it going forward is just as important. Buying a system like this is like buying a car, like buying a house. You know, you've got your continuing maintenance costs, and so while we're excited to take a moment now to celebrate, we also know that there's a lot of work to do to continue to keep it relevant and keep it working for us. And we'll talk in a few minutes about some of the enhancements that we're going to be making down the road to continue leveraging this important investment that you all have made. I do need to take a moment to thank a couple other people, more than a couple other people. But communications and outreach on this was critical. We have thousands of customers that depend upon this system every single day. You know, hundreds of us depend upon this system every day. And Chris Patton and Ashley Riggio, Chris is in the back wave, Chris, you know Chris. Chris, Ashley, Tim Williams on the website have been fantastic at, one, getting the word out. They sent out, you can see, 44,000 plus marketing emails to customers as we were coming into this process. Lots and lots of one-stop page views, and Tim Williams kept that up to date as we were moving forward. We've got lots of tip cards, and you've seen the signs around the building, hopefully, advertising the changes. We had social media work that was done to kind of keep the information out in front of people leading up to the process. So I have to give our customers credit, too, because they heard the messaging, and it was great. So we had a little bit of grace last week as we were getting our feet on the ground. But folks definitely want to get back to work, and I appreciate the effort that went into all the communications to make sure our customers were well-informed as we went through the process. This is a little harder to read, but this is a screenshot from the beginning of our portal. So if you were to go to our portal now, this is what you would see. It's important to understand that account registration and sign-ins are kind of a standard these days. So even when you go to Amazon now, you can browse all you want, but if you want to buy, you've got to log in, you've got to create an account. It's an important security feature that we needed to have, and it's also really helpful for customer case management. So the good thing about creating an account in our system is that once you've created it, all of your permit activity, all of your code enforcement complaints, anything you might be doing on the planning side, it's all going to be captured for you, and it's going to be referenced for you and your account when you log in. So you're going to know as a builder, okay, I submitted my re-roof permit on this date, and it's available now, or I've got to submit this revision. All that information is there at your fingertips as a customer when you've logged in. So as people get used to the system, hopefully they also get used to logging in, creating their account, and making the most of the system that way. You'll notice a number of service tabs up at the top. They are the different modules, so we've got building, planning, permitting, fire, and engineering all there as customer service tabs. Again, it makes it easier for you to kind of segregate and monitor your different cases as they go along through the process. There are a lot of search features here for our customers, and again, we're looking at the customer portal only right now. But as you can see, there are customer dashboards, records that they can manage under a My Records section. They can do advanced searches and get additional information. They can search the entire range of information in the system once they've got their accounts created, so they're not necessarily limited to only their work. They can search for and look at other activity. And going forward, you know, we expect to make enhancements to this system. So one of the things that we've heard already from a lot of our customers is, hey, I want to get more information about my code enforcement complaint. And so as we move forward and we get feedback, we're going to continue to look at enhancements and providing additional detail and information for our customers. Here's an example of a return search results in a code enforcement query. So you can put in your case number and get the direct record. You can put in an address and get all the records associated with things. And it works similarly across the modules so that you'll be able to do things that you expect to be able to do, frankly, as part of working with any database like this. To dashboards. We have a dashboard, and it's a good start. This is the front end of our current version of the dashboard. And you can see here we're monitoring planning applications, permits issued, code enforcement cases, and we can do that on a monthly basis. We can also go back. One of the really important decisions that we made was difficult, but it was important, was importing all of our old cases into the system. So we've got many, many years' worth of data in our system now. And as we begin to get more familiar with the data and make sure that everything landed where it was supposed to and it migrated over, and that's important, we're going to be able to compare year over year and look at our history in a little bit longer view than we've been able to in the past. And, again, we'll make enhancements to this as we go along. This is a snapshot into permitting inspection activity, and you can see we've got it currently broken down by type. One of the things that I would consider an enhancement down the road is to provide feedback to our customers as to why people fail, most of all, if there are failures. Or what are the most common problems that people come across in plan reviews? And those are enhancements to dashboard opportunities that I see in the future as we go along with this. It's also important to note that with most of our dashboards, you are able to drill down and drill through to get to underlying data. And, again, it's not on every measure right now, but we look forward to enhancing that and making it possible for folks to get deeper into the data in order to get the information that they might be looking for. This is our planning snapshot. Again, it gives you a sense of what we're doing on the planning side by case type, year over year. And, again, drill down, drill through capabilities that we look forward to improving on. I want to move now into kind of turning the page on the code force, I beg your pardon, on the Accela piece of the puzzle and look forward to using Accela more as a tool. We need to remember that the software is a tool and that the information that it provides us, we need to use to kind of inform us and inform our policy. And so as we do that, we're looking at development services activities going forward. I'll talk in a little bit more detail in a moment about all of these, but these are the things that are kind of on our minds as we look at development services over the next year. We've got legislative requirements to implement. We've got a fee study that we need to do. We're looking forward to advancing a redevelopment strategy and a redevelopment study. We need to develop some organizational agility, and probably more importantly than anything else, we need to build some staff expertise and some continuity across the department. The legislative mandates, you all are familiar with most of these, and I don't want to dwell on them too much, but we hear about them, but we're not always aware of the impact that these legislative mandates have when it comes to just kind of day-to-day work life. I can tell you that you all responded over the summer by passing a resolution that was in response to HB 399 and HB 803 that, among other things, requires that we adjust our fees so that we capture no more than our actual costs. So we've started a fee study on that, but the resolution is a temporary measure, and getting through this process and coming up with those costs and doing all the other things, those two pieces of legislation required is something that is a factor in the Excel development because we've got to go back and we've got to adjust the fees in that system. It's also, just from a practical standpoint, a deep, deep dive into what our actual costs are that takes time and energy that isn't always taken into account a lot of times during the legislative session. Another bill that we're working on right now and you're going to be hearing a little bit more about shortly is the impact of House Bill 927, which I liken to the development navigators. If you remember when the Affordable Health Care Act got adopted, there were a lot of navigators employed to help people through that process. Well, the legislature has deemed that we need people for the development process as well. And so part of what HB 927 does is require us to develop lists of folks who can serve as consultants for folks in the private sector to be able to utilize in order to help them get through the development process. And so we'll be talking with you a little bit more about that and some other legislative mandates and implementation of those legislative mandates as we go forward. I mentioned the development services fee study. We started that, again, as kind of a result of the adoption of $399 and $803. Matrix Consulting Group is the consultant doing that work for us. We are already well into that. And we hope to have a product that we can present to you all sometime in early 2027, hopefully in the February timeframe. And just to kind of prepare you for what might be ahead, I offer you this matrix that was provided by Florida Tax Watch, which gives you a ranking of Florida counties and their permit fees. And this is from 2022, 2023. I would just note that we have not changed our development fees since long before that time. And so we are probably not in any better shape now than we were in 2022 and 2023. And you'll see the results of that from Matrix, and we'll have an opportunity to talk about that again in a few months. I want to talk quickly about the revitalization and re-involvement strategy. You all were kind enough to make sure we had some funding for that in this year's budget, and we are working with procurement to try to find a contractor. We've got some folks in continuing services that we may be able to utilize, but this is an urgent need for us. You all already have got some of these strategic development quarters identified through your HIP-TI and HIP-AP zoning categories. But we need to do a little bit more, and we need to look a little bit harder at just strategic redevelopment opportunities throughout other, I'll just say underutilized commercial quarters throughout the county. And so we'll be doing that as part of that redevelopment strategy. I think it's important that we find ways to encourage assemblages of some of these properties. There are lots of little slivers here and there. I think the recent Land Rover development that you all looked at, I think it was last month or earlier this month, was a terrific example of what happens of the good kind of development and redevelopment you can have when you work with property owners to do these assemblages, and we hope to do a lot more of that going forward. I think it's also important to look for high-impact projects that diversify our real estate asset mix. We heard a lot, particularly as we've talked about Amendment 3, about the impact it will have because we're predominantly residential, and we want to look for ways to try to enhance that so that the HIP may not be as bad as time goes by in that regard. I want to talk a little about organizational agility. Some of that obviously has to do with our continuity, and we've had some turnover in the department, and I'm a recent addition myself, so I think I know what I'm talking about. The truth of the matter is we've got terrific folks working in the department. We need to find ways to develop that staff and find some ways to just enhance that organizational continuity. I don't know what happened nearly as well as most of you do in this county 20 years ago, so there's a learning curve for me and for all of us, and we're going to work really hard to just kind of strengthen ourselves and the department that way. We want to become more project-oriented. We need to start going after large projects, and that doesn't mean that's sort of large development opportunities, but development opportunities that are presenting themselves that are going to enhance the tax base more importantly than anything else, I think, and also just be prepared to tackle projects that are kind of not necessarily in the strict construct of what the land development code and the zoning categories currently provide. Development trends change, and unfortunately, you know, we're not able to change as quickly, in part because of state law and in part because of just the processes that we have, and we need to find more ways to just be nimble and tackle those kind of opportunities and hopefully in a positive way enhance the development climate here. Next steps going forward, again, looking back again on the one-stop experience, we're not done, so I want to just reiterate that, you know, what you see today we're going to continue to improve on and make enhancements for. Legislative mandates are something that's going to consume us over the coming weeks and months, and about the time we get ready to implement half of those, we're going to have session back in session and looking out for it again. So I think that's a constant for us, and I'm not going to say I look forward to the challenge, but it's a challenge for us, and regardless of what happens with Amendment 3, the legislative changes that were specified out of last session, we've got to implement. Whatever happens with Amendment 3, there are going to be changes during the next legislative session that may or may not have impacts on us, and we've got to be ready for those. Our development services fee study we do expect to have back in front of you at some point early next year, hopefully in February, and I know that will be a robust discussion because there will be increases, there may be decreases, and at the end of the day we're going to hopefully get to a place where we can recover our actual costs. Redevelopment study we hope to have delivered to you later next year, probably into the fall, but hopefully that's something that, again, is something that is quick and provides us with the agility that we need. And then, of course, the staff development and training is an ongoing responsibility that we have, and we look forward to, again, helping to build on the good work that's been done over the last couple of years, not just with Accela, but with the investment that you all have made in trying to make this a great community. So with that, I will shut up and see if you have any questions. Before we move on to Commissioner's discussion, I actually just want to say thank you, and we really need to give a standing ovation to this team. It is close to impossible to convert a 30-year-old system and load history. That's amazing. Amazing. As I was writing questions, you were answering them. Just before we speak, I want to see, just confirm for me, Ms. Drager, there's no public comment? Correct. All right. Mr. Dilawri was the first with his hand up. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I would also echo, as we all stood, to thank our staff. You all did a phenomenal job, and I think that needs to be echoed multiple times as we move forward because it's not easy just to continue doing your everyday job, finding a new process, and then reloading all the things that happened X amount of years in the past. So thank you, everyone, that has been associated with that. But I'd like to ask a question regarding the study that you're doing and the new legislation that's been passed and looking at, as we move forward, how is it going to handle the reserves? Because I know we're only supposed to be charging what the cost is, but how do you identify that and actually have enough during the down months? Because there are fluctuations throughout the year that you have to have enough reserves to carry that through. And so can you expound on that a little bit? I could take a shot at it, and I will say that the legislature at one point through other legislation provided for building departments to develop reserves. And now that we've adopted this new legislation that says we're only able to recover actual costs, we're going to have to come up with a way to build that reserve mechanism into that actual cost. I'm glad we have a smart consultant who's working on that, and hopefully that's a part of the recommendation that we'll be looking at and talking about. Because I can see that will be a challenge. Yes, sir. No question. Okay. Thank you, Madam Chair. Any other comments? Commissioner Zimbauer? Thank you very much. Just echo what everybody's said. In the private sector, I've been through this, and I always say morale and acceptance from the staff is always the tone that goes along with these conversions when you do this. Mine's a little different. I would ask my fellow commissioners to consider that we ask our county manager. It was brought up a couple times during this presentation. We continue to hear this narrative in other presentations, which is, you know, Senate bill this, Senate bill that. The impact, the unfunded mandates continue to come out of Tallahassee. I would like our staff to develop a process of an economic impact statement on each one of these that come into the county that what are the direct costs to the county for the staff time and or any other overhead that's incurred to be able to abide by a recently passed bill in Tallahassee. I think it's valuable. I think it's valuable to us. It'll be valuable to the Florida Association of Counties. And it would be valuable for conversation with our legislatures in Tallahassee on what the true costs really are. I mean, it's one thing to pass a bill, and there are many reasons why that's done. But I'm not certain that they clearly understand the economic impact to the local governments. And I think that's a big issue that I would like to see support that we ask our staff to do that. Discussion on that, commissioners? And if you don't mind, Chairman, one of the things we've already – I appreciate that because we're already working on a briefing with the board coming up soon in the next couple of months on the impacts, and we'll add that piece to our briefings with you all. Great. Thank you. I would concur. I don't think there's any reason not to do that. I mean, in Tallahassee – I have this visual of a thermometer, and every day that they pass something, we start to inch it up. Correct. I mean, it's ironic when Tallahassee adopts policies, it must include an economic impact statement on things that are done, but yet it's not done when it's passed in Tallahassee and handed down to the local governments. So what's good for one should be good for the other. But it's clearly a good management tool that we should understand the costs associated. When we get mid-year and we start seeing budget adjustments and we're wondering why, and you've got a bunch of staff time that's tied up and abiding by a Senate bill that's been passed, we don't always see that. The folks on the ground floor see that, and senior management sees that. Quantifying that, I think, is great. So good. I'm glad that we're looking into that. Thank you. Mr. Constantine? Well, I was trying to go through a whole meeting without saying anything. However, we could adjourn now. I fail. I keep a stopwatch here. We want to hear from you. Tell us what you want to say. Well, first of all, there is an impact statement on every bill the legislature passes. It usually affects the state. When it does do a local, it does say that, but it is traditionally lower than really. It is. Secondly, the Florida Association of Counties does do impact statements on a general basis for every bill, which both of those things could possibly help our staff as they're putting it together. And to that point, my point on that is, and I understand and agree, but it's flawed. Because what this county does is different than what other counties do. Agreed. So, you know, I put that in a swag message, some wild-ass guess that Tallahassee does for all 67 counties. Some counties may be in a better place than us. We may be in a better place than others. So that economic statement doesn't reflect real life what's going on in our county. So I think that's best served. Thank you. Yes, Commissioner. Well, and I think your point is well taken, and looking at the per capita county and municipal building permit fees that range from $2.36 to $168.41 is reason enough to understand that everything is not the same. Going back to the actual implementation and use of Acella, is it Acella or Axella? Axella. Axella. I've been saying Acella. A-C-C. E-L-A. Axella. Axella. When our offices get phone calls from frustrated citizens who have hired a contractor because things aren't moving forward, and we delve into the, you know, because, of course, the contractor usually tells the client, the county is holding up. You know, why are things not progressing? Well, you know, the county. And then when you find out, when you actually dig a little deeper, it actually sometimes isn't the county at all. It's sometimes the contractor. And so there's this he said, she said happening, and the homeowner doesn't have a line of sight easily into what's actually happening with their contractor in the county. So they're at the mercy of whoever's giving them information. And Sandy has just been absolutely wonderful with helping Patty and some of these phone calls to dig down into what actually happened. Will this program allow these property owners to have access to the data for their own property so that they can see themselves what the contractor is doing and not doing? Yes. The short answer is yes. We're also looking at some other data points that might give us, help inform the public about what contractors are able to get through the process more quickly than others. And so this is a data-rich environment. We can provide a lot of great information for ourselves and for our customers so that, you know, again, going forward, when you decide to select a contractor to use something, you might be able to use data out of our system to make an informed decision as well. But as far as the transparency goes, yes, owners will be able to log in, create account information, get connected to their cases, and monitor their projects as they go along, if they'd like to. And so the contractor will have their account with all of their different open permits, and the property owner will also have access to the things that are unique to them. Yes. Again, provided they set up their account information. Yeah. Right, right, right. Yeah. I mean, everyone has an Amazon account. I think we should be able to figure this out. I think that was an example that was used earlier. Yeah. So let's take it another step further, and let's talk about the nosy neighbor who sees the work that's going on at the address across the street and wants to know if the neighbor has pulled a permit. Will they have access, like they do currently, to be able to look up an address and see the permit activity? They will be able to query and see whether or not a permit has been applied for or issued. Okay. I am the nosy neighbor, for the record. We're not questioning that. Just saying. Just saying. So I want to ask a clarifying question to the answers that you just got, because you asked, will it? Does it today? Yes. I just want to get the time frame on the record of everything that you've said so far, we are doing currently. Yes. Again, provided you set up your account information, connect to your cases. Got it. Okay. All that good stuff. Then I want to fast forward to the redevelopment study, the fall of 2027 target. This is critical for my district. That 1792 corridor in particular has been such a struggle over the years because of the layout of those parcels and the stormwater management and all of the challenges that we all know that we have with the redevelopment of that corridor. Will part of that study include property owner, stakeholder meetings? Are we doing this by data or are we actually getting out in the field and talking to property owners? I'll be blunt to say we haven't gotten that far into scoping yet. I was just going to add, too. So our plan is, and I know this has been a conversation this board has had for the last couple of years, and especially the 1792 corridor. I know you all have brought that up. So Mr. Rhodes and I and Ms. Johnson have actually sat down, and we're going to start the scoping of it and start meeting with you individually to get those type of comments and expand it however you all would want it before we put it out on the street to hire. That's fantastic. That is music to my ears, I will be honest. It's a long time coming. I remember commissioners years before I was ever sitting on this board discussing that. So the fact that we're actually going to do it is pretty exciting. So thank you. Any other comments? I have a couple questions. Are there capabilities in the system that we're not taking advantage of yet? Absolutely. Absolutely, and we are looking forward to, again, becoming more familiar with the software and developing enhancements to the software both for the public and for us as managers and you all as policymakers so that we make the most of this system going forward. Is there applicability to other departments that have not joined yet? I think the vendor would probably say yes, and vendors have a way of doing that. He's remaining very neutral. He's very calm. I feel blessed for having him. There are certainly opportunities to broaden the use of the application over time. I think we want to make sure that we do what we need to do well first before we get too much further into it. And I think it will take us a little bit of time, probably another year or so, to really get comfortable with the product and then we can start looking beyond. How many years of history were loaded? Our intention before it's all done with the migration is to load all of the history that we have. So I think we're beyond 30 years. October of 1984 says Ms. Riley. Awesome. Yeah, so a lot of data. And again, apples to apples comparisons of all that data over time, very difficult. We weren't capturing the same kind of information in 1984 as we were in 94 and 2000 and so on. So we want to try to make sure that we're getting relevant information when we present it. Fabulous. Commissioner Lockhart? Well, to get to the dashboard, how would one get to the dashboard? If you go to our one-stop site, to the dashboard, I'm sorry. Right now we don't have the dashboard available. It's not out there publicly. So we've not... How do I get to the dashboard? It's not public, Commissioner. We'll get it to you. You said it's not available to the public, but certainly it's available internally. It is available internally. We have not published a website yet with the information on it. So I have links... It's not ready. It's not done. Right. He was giving us a glimpse into the future. Okay, wait. I'm hearing two different things. I'm hearing it's available internally. Yes. It is available. It's done. It's available internally. It's never done. Well, it is... Someone is accessing a current dashboard that you are looking at and it has data in it. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. Do our offices have access to this dashboard? Not yet. It's not fully developed. Is that the problem? We've been working with the... We've had the data in the system for a week and we're going through and we're validating that we're looking apples to apples, whether it's inspections cases... I was just told it is. I kept... Yeah, I was corrected of it will to it is. And so I'm thinking now we are it is, but it's not. So I just want to... I apologize. No, it's not your fault. It's not your fault. I just want to make sure I understand. I know you want to see it too. Well, I'm curious. So will it, when we have access to it, after everything has been verified, when you click on code enforcement, will you be able to drill down to see what different types of cases? Yes. So if I wanted to see how many chicken complaints there are, I can see chicken complaints. I'm not sure we get down to the level of chicken complaints, but we have... But yes, by case type, you'll have information. Okay. Yes. I think that is relevant and important to the case type because as we're making decisions about ordinances and changes, if Susie Q continues to call and complain about chickens in my office, and I want to look and see how many actual code enforcement complaints have there been about chickens, to know how am I going to vote if there is a proposed change to a chicken ordinance, it would be helpful. And I'm using this because it's silly and it's not like, I get it, the people are laughing. But I think that's the kind of data that is actually useful for us in terms of making decisions that come before us and determining any changes to ordinances. So I'm just trying to get an idea of how deeply can you drill. All right. Thank you. Understood. So dashboard done, data validation not done, when it's done, dashboard launched. Correct. Commissioner Zimbauer. Thank you very much. I just want to say to all of your staff, I'm not sure the public understands, or even if all of us understand, how heavy a lift this is. When you go from a software program that's been utilized for however long, that has been outdated for as long as it's existed, and now you are entering that many years of past data into a system, that's a lot of journal data entry moves, number one. Number two, it's the familiarity of the staff with the new software and that learning curve and learning all the nuances and the shortcuts and all the things it's capable of doing. I would suspect it's going to be a couple of years before you scratch the surface of taking full advantage of the software's capabilities because you just don't have the staff or the time or the bandwidth to do that. And you don't necessarily need all the things it can do right away because what it can do today, once you first get it going, is far better than what we had before, and you'll build upon that, I would assume. The one thing I did not hear in this, is there going to be any AI integration or capability in this software? I appreciate you bringing it up. As a matter of fact, Excel has got a workshop coming up in November where they are kind of introducing us to the AI innovations that they've been making, and some of those will be coming to us later this year or early next, depending upon when they begin to deploy all that. Great. Yes, sir. We're thinking about it. The vendor's thinking about it. I think that was one of probably the better aspects of selecting this vendor. They are the gold standard in this space, and they continue to invest in the product and advancing the product, and AI has been something that they've been working on now for some time, and we're looking forward to seeing the innovations as it relates to plan review and expediting plan reviews so that we can focus on some of the harder stuff. Great. Yes. Good. Thank you very much. And thank the staff for their patience and the learning curves, and I've been through this, and it's not easy on staff. You know, it certainly is not. They're not familiar with it. They want to hate it, don't like it, you know, want to throw it in the garbage can because it's too hard and difficult. Well, the reality is once you get through this struggle, it'll be a far better tool and much easier to work with. So thank you all very much. I have just one final confirmation. Who owns the data? We own the data. And so if we ever transition to another system, there's a way out, and I see you are not remaining neutral on that. You're shaking your head. So for the record, I'm seeing the representative shake his head yes that the county owns their own data. We own the data. It's important to note that it is in the cloud. Our prior application was not in the cloud. So, again, it was another aspect of this whole migration process that was very important. We had a lot of information here on servers that was tying up time and energy and trying to keep that maintained, that it's now being maintained by the vendor. But if we decide to go another direction, it's ours to take. Terrific. May I just say one last thing? And one, one of the questions that Commissioner Lockhart asked about permits and, you know, where it is and the finger pointing. Chairman, you and I had a conversation recently on this, too, and poor Ms. Riley back there has to go through many spreadsheets and systems or pull all that together. This will actually, of course, it will streamline all that for us. But Mr. Rhodes didn't thank one person, and that is himself. He came into this role, as you remember. He came in as to help us convert, move our code enforcement over from the sheriff's office to the county. And he has stepped up and really, along with his great team and across departmental teams, and has really made this project work. This project was just started before I even got here. And the other person I want to thank is Ms. Johnson. She's behind the curtain, usually, you know, her and directing and working with Mr. Rhodes, too, because without the leadership and working with the great team that we have, this wouldn't have been possible. They were here, I remember. So I was the optimistic person during this process, right, Mr. Rhodes? Yes. Right? Trisha? They were always telling me everything that could go wrong with it, you know, about the transition, which is true. And I had so much confidence in them and this team and how they've been working that when it went dark, as we call it, on a Wednesday and it was going to come up the following Monday, they worked all the way through the weekend, all their staff was here. I just knew it was going to be a success because we had the right people and the right positions and the right team ensuring that this was successful. So my hat is off to you, Mike, and your leadership in this process, and you too, Trisha. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. Great report. Thank you all. That takes us to the county attorney's report. I have no report today, Chairman. Awesome. We kind of miss your reports, but it's good when you don't have one. County manager. Just one item, Chairman and Commissioners, I was asking Ms. Shannon Witzel to come. Just give us an update. You've heard about the mosquito dengue cases that are going on, and I thought it would be a good opportunity for her just to update the board and the public on what the status here in Seminole County. Thank you. Good morning. Shannon Witzel, Division Manager for Watershed Management, which includes mosquito control. As you all are aware, central Florida has seen an increase in locally acquired dengue cases over the past several months. The Florida Department of Health has confirmed two locally acquired dengue cases here in Seminole County and issued a health alert because of those two locally acquired cases yesterday. So just a quick update on our mosquito control activities in response to these disease vectors. Mosquito control operates border to border in Seminole County, which includes going into all of our cities. We continue to treat countywide. We have seen an increase in mosquito activity to continue countywide. So in addition to conducting our normal routine mosquito control treatment activities countywide, we are conducting enhanced treatment within those disease vector areas. So that includes increased nighttime fogging, daytime larva siding to treat the larvae so they don't emerge to adult mosquitoes. And then we also are canvassing those disease vector areas to treat and target those standing water areas which are breeding mosquitoes. I will say our mosquito control staff cannot access all of the areas that are potentially breeding these mosquitoes. The mosquitoes that carry dengue are specific to container breeders, so they are found typically in people's backyards in the smallest amount of water. Mosquitoes can start breeding in water that's there for three to five days. So we are encouraging our residents to protect themselves from dengue by monitoring their house, place where they work, and just walking around at least weekly, and dumping out containers that can hold water, breed mosquitoes. If you're going to be outside, wear protective clothing, long sleeves, use mosquito repellent. I can't encourage that enough. Because while our mosquito control team continues to treat, we cannot be everywhere and catch all of that standing water. And I think that's it unless there's any other questions. Any other questions? Just a comment. Are we pushing that out on public information on people to check their backyards for empty pots and pails? One of the big offenders that I think that people don't realize is used tires. Used tires are probably one of the largest offenders of mosquito breeding havens that people just don't think about. Because the tire is laying there without a wheel on it. It gets rain in it. They don't see it because it's not a bucket. It's not like a container, but it holds water, and now we have mosquitoes. So if we can add that to the recommendation, get your used tires emptied and cleaned up and put under cover or something. Or get them out to the landfill. Absolutely. Yes. Yes, Commissioner Lockhart. So what do you recommend to the average homeowner for their own type, other than knocking over areas where water may be standing or what have you? What type of product do you recommend for homeowner use to try to keep mosquitoes out of the yard or off the patio? So we recommend EPA-registered mosquito repellent to use on yourself. You can, if you have, like some people have fountains and stuff that they have, and they will go down to your local hardware store or whatever and get the mosquito dunks that you can put into that, which is essentially a larvicide, a bacteria-based larvicide that prevents the larva from emerging. So it's a common product. People use bromeliads as another really common place where it rains, a little bit of water stays in that bromeliad plant, and that can breed mosquitoes. We see that very often. So people can either hose out those bromeliads at least weekly, flush them out, or get those mosquito dunk little pellets to put into the bromeliads. So my dad used to nuke everything with malafion. I'm guessing that it's not your suggested course of action. That's very effective. But probably not what you want to do as a homeowner. Yeah, but see, now the bats, there's like we've got a double-edged sword with the bats right now. All right, all right, all right. Well, thank you. Thank you for your work. That is all, Tim. Is that all? All right, that brings us to item 17. There's the approval of an at-large appointment to the Building Code Board of Appeals. So moved. Second. Further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Passes unanimously. That takes us to our district reports. Commissioner DeLaurie, you are first up. Thank you, Madam Chair. First, I want to commend our staff. I was at the Boomba Sports Complex on East Lake Murray Boulevard this past weekend. Not just the nine, but the other six. So the total of 15 fields look phenomenal. And speaking to the families that are out there playing, they commented, several of them commented on me, because I asked about the status of the fields, and they were just in awe. And so a lot of kudos goes out to our staff that's been planning it and been orchestrating it and to see it through. And the organizer was very impressed with the level of play out there. So kudos to anyone associated with it and doing those 15 fields well done. I'm sure we're going to see that later on this week when we have a ribbon cutting out there. But it's just totally amazing. Next, Madam Chair, I did distribute to each one of you a sample of a letter for Orange County, Lake Pickett North. They're going to be going to Agricultural Certificate for our Enclave. And the letter is pretty well straightforward. I know we've written letters to Orange County Commission. They're hearing it this afternoon. So if there's any changes to this, I'd like to ask support to try to get the chairman to sign this so we can get it to the BCC of Orange County before their meeting. It's pretty straightforward. The staff was the one that wrote this, and I didn't know if there's any objections, if we can send this to the BCC for them, I'd greatly appreciate it. Any objections, Commissioners? Nope. All right, I'll sign it before I leave. Okay. And thank you, Madam Chair and Commissioners. And then next, I know on item number 15 with Greenwood Lakes, we're doing some great improvements there to our master plan from the FDEP revolving fund. I'm just asking if we could ask our staff to look at our regional projects because of what needs to happen for the aquifer to include Orange County, OUC, and other utilities in Seminole County report back to us because we've done some major investments for regionally that we have not been taken truly advantage of. I'm sure that the state will be talking to us later on, all the work we've done at Yankee Lake, and it's in our comprehensive plan, the master plan, and they just want to identify that so as we move through the year, as we move forward, that they can report back to us so that we can act as a board, and I just want to identify that. If there's support to do that. Thank you. Madam Chair? Support to do that? To identify and report back to us. That's all. And you understand what was asked for? Yes, we... Okay. Commissioner DeLarri and I talked about it. Awesome. Thank you. Just wanted to talk to the board about that. That's in my report. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner Zimbauer. I don't have a whole lot. Everything's pretty quiet in District 2, and, you know, we have the mosquito issue. That's been addressed. Local musician John Anderson passed away last week. Of those who have ever had the opportunity to know him, his famous song, Seminole Wind, which is a very Florida, green, natural song, and I think the county ought to adopt it as our official song. And, but other than that, everything else is fantastic. Nothing else. Awesome. Commissioner Constantine? Thank you very much. Over the last couple of weeks, I just want to congratulate some festivals, English Estates, Viva Oviedo, the German Oktoberfest, and the Bulgarian Fest at St. George Orthodox Church. I've had speaking engagements with the DeGrove Seminar on Florida Forever at Berry University with the environmental advocacy and as a keynote speaker at the Florida Springs Council. I want to congratulate the mayors. They did wonderful and the, the, such a good job you do, Madam Chair, when you, when you're giving the mayors such a hard time at that thing, so congratulations. And in particular, you know, I know we're going to probably say something, not today, but later do something, but all three mayors that are now leaving the, the city, their cities and all the work that they've done with Seminole County over the years. And I know that they, Mayor Bates had her last meeting last week, and so we want to just recognize that as a congratulations to her and, and like I said, all the other mayors because it, it, it, it works because we work together and, uh, really appreciate it. On November 4th, there is a, uh, statewide opioid abatement in which my, myself and the sheriff will be attending, uh, as members, uh, the Council of Local Government, or, I'm sorry, the, the National Association of Counties is having a listening sessions on November 5th at two o'clock on negotiating energy and data, data center agreements throughout the United States, if anybody's interested. Uh, the, uh, very popular and successful Greek Fest is coming up November 6th through 8th, uh, in, at the, um, Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church in Altamont Springs. Uh, the Thousand Friends of Florida, the most preeminent conservation and land use group in the state is, is celebrating in Tallahassee at Twin Towers, not Twin Towers, what is it, Twin, what, what is it called, Amy, up in Tallahassee, Twin, the, um, location that you were having your seminar in Tallahassee, that huge conservation area. Oh, Cascades Park? Twin, okay, never, I'm sorry. I, I can't help, I'm sorry. And I, I'm sorry, I forgot to, but in Tallahassee on November 6th, they are having their 40th anniversary celebration. November 8th, Castleberry Food and Wine Festival is coming up. November 9th, the Central Florida Zoo Ceremony on unveiling, unveiling a sign of thanks to Seminole County for its long-term support will be coming up. But in addition, starting November 13th through January 17th, the ever-popular, uh, Lent, Asian Lantern Festival is coming up and is the biggest, obvious fundraiser for the Central Florida Zoo. So, um, just suggest everybody get their tickets early because they go fast. When they're going to sell, they are on sale today. How would you get them? Go online with, at the Central Florida Zoo. Okay, thank you. You're welcome. Twin Rivers? Twin Rivers? There you go, I thought of your Twin Rivers. Google is my friend. Thank you, thank you very much. I knew it was a twin, and I said Twin Towers. No. Okay, Twin Rivers. Um, we all know November 1st is, uh, Daylight Savings Time, uh, ends, fall back. November 3rd is Election Day. Very, very important, ladies and gentlemen, Election Day this year. And I've got to give a shout-out because I hear about Seminole State, who I love, and Stetson, who I respect, but the University of Central Florida, this past weekend, defeated the number two team in the nation, 39-31. Go Knights! Charge on! Thank you. And they still wouldn't rank them. And that's okay. That's okay. Give them more incentive. Give them more incentive. A win is a win. All right. Does that conclude your program? Yes. Uh, I just want to give a big shout-out to David Johnson for all of the presentations he's been doing, uh, around educating our citizens about, uh, the, uh, Amendment 3. He attended, uh, PBAS, and then we followed, not too long after that, similar with the Rotaries. And a big thank you to Darren for presenting at the Rotary. Like Mary Rotary, we had a good crowd, and it was a great presentation. Um, I also want to tell you about something that I attended that I think we should think about at the county, Orlando Health has built a program called WeBuild, and it was built through their HR department, and it takes, uh, folks with different abilities and puts them through a 12-week internship program with the idea that they will work somewhere afterwards. And they have now taken this. It's been so successful within their organization that they have the person who is running it, who is a retired principal, so educator by background, will teach us how to do it. And we've talked about this for years, but never really landed anywhere. This is a resource that is of no cost that can generate opportunities for people that live right here in our community. It is called WeBuild. Um, on a really positive note, Rom recently announced that a $20,000 grant from the Fox Wind Foundation, so the interesting thing about that is that's a name none of us have ever heard of, so it's pretty cool. And then they got $50,000 from the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation, so they are in the realm with some major, uh, players that are giving grants. And the last thing is that I have spent, um, a significant amount of time, but much less time than those of you that did this before me, at the canvassing board recently. And it is not invigorating work, let me just say. Exactly. Um, but, uh, it is, it is being run exceptionally efficiently, and, uh, the folks that are running this election, Persemino County, are working some 14, 15 hour days, seven days a week until this is over, so, um, send them a bouquet of flowers if you want to, but it's amazing work that is being done over there. And that does conclude my report. Um, I have a question. Mr. Lockhart, Mr. Lockhart's report. Did you not give your report? Did I skip you? Yes. Oh my gosh. That's okay. I am so sorry. It's okay. I am so sorry. You saved the best for last. I wondered how we were this far ahead. You saved the best for last. It's fine. I didn't, I don't take offense. Um, I do want to talk about sloths, though. Who knew that sloths would be the kumbaya bipartisan legislation that would be presented, um, in Washington, D.C. and in the state of Florida. So I attended, um, a press conference at the Central Florida Zoo this last week with both Congressman Frost and Congressman, Congresswoman Laurel Lee. Um, they could not be quite more opposite on the left and the right spectrums of politics in this country and the fact that they came together, um, by virtue of, um, uh, representative Anna Eskamani, uh, talking about the tragedy that we had here with the sloths dying and Central Florida Zoo taking over their care and, um, rehabilitating many of them. Um, it was just, it was a great moment to see, um, to see them come together and talk about building this new, putting together this new legislation that will hopefully stop the sloth trade before it comes to the United States. It's nice to see bipartisanship. It was very, it was very good to see. So that was, it was a great press conference. Um, the, uh, kudos on moderating the mayor's conference panel again. That's, that's such a difficult, it's such a, it's, it's a fun, but difficult event to manage and you do it exceptionally well. Um, the Emerald Awards, which is a salute to black excellence here in Seminole County is, uh, a fundraiser for Breaking Bread and Beyond, which is a nonprofit that feeds the homeless in Seminole County. Um, and that event will be November 7th at Northland Church at the rink. And so it's an opportunity to recognize, uh, members of the black community who excel and have performed exceptionally in all sorts of arenas in this community and do a good work by contributing money to the nonprofit Breaking Bread and Beyond. So tickets are available online, um, would love to see folks there. Um, wanted to, um, also just go back and see if we have an update. Several meetings ago, we gave, uh, direction for the county manager to work with our, um, our legal counsel on, uh, for collective bargaining to talk about where this board could might, could potentially come together to have discussions, uh, preparing for collective bargaining. So I'm, I'm assuming that those discussions were already held with Mr. Mandel. Can you give us an update? Sure. Absolutely. Thanks, commissioner. Yes. So, uh, right up, following that meeting, we set up individual meetings with each of the commissioners, all of you have been briefed by Mr. Mandel and Mr. Mandel described the process, uh, that we would go through. One of the questions I know, commissioner, that you had had about having a closed session early on to talk about strategy, um, process again. Um, and I, I would throw that back to the board after speaking with, um, um, all of you. You know, the direction, the feedback I got was to wait until January when the, um, contract is open. That's when we are starting to open the contract when the union then will propose changes to their, their contract. We would bring that back to, uh, we would have a closed session with the board. You all would then discuss with the negotiating team, the strategy on how to move forward. Um, if there's a willingness to do it even before that, you know, that's up to the board. We, you know, we just have, I'd have to just coordinate with Mr. Mandel to, to do that. So I'll leave, I'll leave that up to the board to make the decision. So for the record, I was one of the commissioners that said I would rather meet sooner rather than later. So if the majority of the board gave different direction, I just want to make sure that for the record, I was interested in having a conversation sooner. So I, I, I would like to meet sooner, but I want to meet after it's open and we have an idea of what we're talking about as opposed to, um, venturing down a path before we have that view of the board. That was my position. Same. Now, I agree with your philosophy and that's exactly what I said. Not exactly, but in the same pretense. Well, that's three, so it doesn't matter what you said. Go Knights. Go Knights. I just, sometimes when we, sometimes when we ask for direction to have there be polling done, I just wanted to make sure that A, it was in fact done and B, where everybody actually stood. I think that's helpful. I didn't take it as polling. We were just talking about communication. We weren't polling for a vote. We were polling for consensus on when to meet for direction. Yes. Yep. Okay. Thank you. That's all I have. All right. Well, I apologize again, uh, for that, for skipping you. It's okay. Do we have any public comment? No, ma'am. Look at us. With that, I, uh, I will adjourn the meeting. Thank you all. Thank you. Okay.