Rollcall

Commissioner District 1 Katie Delaney , Commissioner District 2

Tom Goodson, Commissioner District 3 Kim Adkinson,

Commissioner District 4 Rob Feltner, and Commissioner District 5

Thad Altman

Present:

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Katie Delaney, District 1

Commissioner Delaney led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

MINUTES FOR APPROVAL: April 3, 2025 Zoning Meeting; March 11, 2025

Regular Meeting

The Board approved the April 3, 2025, Zoning meeting and March 11, 2025, Regular meeting

minutes.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

E.1. Presentation, Re: Winners of 2025 Brevard County 4-H Public Speaking Program

A representative of 4-H Youth Development stated she would like to thank Commissioner

Altman for the opportunity to have the County 4-H Public Speaking Competition Winners

present their speeches; they are very excited to be here and showcase the work that these two

young ladies have put into their presentations; the public speaking program is sponsored by

Florida Power and Light (FPL); and it introduces fourth, fifth, and sixth grade youth to the

concept of public speaking to help build confidence and hone this vital skill that will be used

throughout their lives. She went on to say this year they had over 100 participants in up to 12

schools; tonight the Board will hear from the winners of both the fourth and fifth grade

competition, and the sixth grade competition; and both are from Robert Lewis Stevenson

Elementary School.

Shelby Windsor cited her speech aloud.

Chairman Feltner asked Shelby if blue is her favorite color.

Ms. Windsor replied in the affirmative.

Katelynn Buchanan cited her speech.

Chairman Feltner stated that was well done and they had set the bar high for the night.

Commissioner Altman stated he wants to point out what a wonderful organization 4-H is in

providing leadership for the future; and moments like this make him optimistic about the future.

E.2. Resolution, RE: Proclaiming May 2025 as Older Americans Month - District 4

Commissioner Feltner read aloud, and the Board adopted Resolution No. 25-032, proclaiming

May 2025 as Older Americans Month.

Dr. John Potomski stated he currently serves as Chairman of the Brevard Commission on

Aging; he thanked the Board for acknowledging the month of May as Older Americans Month;

he stated this year the theme for Older Americans Month, as mentioned, is flipping the script on

aging which focuses on how society, medical community, everyone perceives, discusses, and

appreciates that aging; and now as a senior himself, he writes things down, not because he

cannot remember them, but rather flipping the switch because his brain is full of rich life

experiences and knowledge that sometimes takes just a few minutes to get the point across.

He continued by saying 26 percent of Brevard County population is currently 65 years of age or

older; this year the Brevard Commission on Aging has recognized two individuals for their

innovative work with the senior citizens in Brevard; first is Don Cramer, the founder and CEO of

One Senior Place, which is an award winning resource center for seniors and their families;

One Senior Place provides a unique central location where older adults and their caregivers

can find information, free in-depth consultations, referrals, elder educational events, and direct

access to senior focused businesses, all under one roof; this year One Senior Place is

celebrating its twentieth year of service to Brevard senior population; and among many of the

past recognitions, in the year 2008, Don Cramer was named small business person of the year

in Florida and was honored at a Whitehouse reception by President George W. Bush. He went

on to say this always reminds him of something that George H.W. Bush once said, “I’m a

conservative, but a compassionate conservative.” ; he prays that the County officials remember

this during their deliberations on issues relating to the elders in their care. He stated the second

honoree is being recognized for her efforts to help seniors, Jeanette White, the health and

wellness advocate in Brevard County for Aging Matters; Jeanette was honored last year at the

Sunflower House in West Melbourne, when Aging Matters celebrated the National Senior

Citizens Day; Jeanette teaches sit and get fit, and does classes every Wednesday and Friday

at the Mark Anderson Senior Center in Rockledge; and Jeanette also says that the Sunflower

House also offers many activities of daily living with seniors helping other seniors. He went on

to say in closing, it is his pleasure to present both Don Cramer and Jeanette White to be

recognized by the Commission for their services in Brevard County and its senior citizens.

Chairman Feltner stated there was a request to see one of Ms. White’s routines.

Ms. White stated this is an honor to have her family with her, as a result of this class, it does

not exist anywhere else in the world; she woke up and she too realized that she was senior in

Brevard County, where she originally grew up, a 4-H’er from way back, and she came back to

Brevard County to take care of her mother; after losing her, she decided to stay in Brevard

County; she started a program that is hand-eye coordination to rhythmic music that addresses

the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs); it also helps cognition because it is rhythmic and it allows

one to sit and use the longevity muscles, the core, and quads; and she does it at the Martin

Anderson Senior Center every Wednesday and Friday, donating her time back to the

community. She noted she also teaches classes in Bridgewater where she lives; that is what

she does, she teaches classes; and now that the Board has requested she will show what she

does.

Don Cramer stated on behalf of One Senior Place, including its amazing and dedicated team,

the dozens of resident businesses, the many non-profits, veteran’s organizations, community

partners they support, and the tens of thousands of seniors who walk through their doors each

year, he is honored to accept this recognition; when his old friend, the late Joe Steckler, stood

in front of the Board a year ago, he reflected on his participation in a United Way study more

than 30 years ago, that identified and listed the challenges facing the seniors in Brevard

County; he has not seen that list, but he is willing to bet that if that same research was done

today, the results would be strikingly similar, just amplified, the same problems but on steroids;

consider these points, 12,500 Americans are turning 65 every single day, a trend that is

expected to continue for nearly 20 years; seniors make up only 17 percent of the US

population, yet account for nearly 40 percent of healthcare spending; affordable senior housing

remains in short supply and the gap between the need and availability is only widening; and he

could go on and on, but his team warned him not to. He added one key point compounding

these issues is the fact that people are living longer than before; greater longevity is certainly a

gift, but it is also pushing personal, family, and government resources toward unsustainable

levels; and people often hear the phrase living awareness around senior issues, and yes

awareness matters, but after 25 years in this space, he has come to believe that awareness is

not really the primary barrier, the real challenge is complexity, seniors and the people and/or

organizations who care for them are forced to navigate a dizzying landscape, government

regulation, oversight, funding, tax policy, entitlement programs, private insurance, a fragmented

and overwhelming healthcare system, a patchwork of senior living options, senior housing

options, difficulty finding expert unbiased guidance, and an uncertain business climate that

challenges the hundreds of thousands of mostly small businesses that deliver the majority of

critical senior services. He stated to pick which of these is most important, in a complex

pluralistic nation like this one, with deeply entrenched vested interest and radically polarized

political viewpoints, the answer must be all of the above; at One Senior Place they are working

every day to connect the dots for Brevard County seniors and families who come to them for

help and for the quality service providers that call One Senior Place home; their mission is to

simplify the aging journey by offering a single destination where older adults and caregivers

can find trusted information, free in-depth consultations, educational events, referrals, and

direct access to senior focused businesses and services all under one roof; they are proud to

be part of a solution; and they are deeply honored to receive this recognition.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

E.3. Resolution acknowledging National Child Care Provider Day in Brevard County. -

District 4

Chairman Feltner read aloud, and the Board adopted Resolution No. 25-033, recognizing

National Child Care Provider Day in Brevard County.

Laura Gambino stated she would like to take a moment to acknowledge her group; her father

was a long time entertainer and he told her to never go on stage after an animal act or children,

and now she is going after sticks and speech makers; she thanked the Board for the

acknowledgement, they very much appreciate the recognition; tomorrow they will celebrate all

of the providers at their offices in Melbourne; the day will be called reflect and recharge; they

are celebrating those teachers who are working with the earliest learners, 0 – 5; it is supporting

those families that need child care, high quality, high educational learning experiences so that

moms and dads can go to work and go back to school; she has with her a few members of her

staff, Kristin Weary and Harriet Paredes; Ms. Paredes is the director of providers services and

works directly everyday with the providers; she cannot say enough about what her team and

staff does; representing from her Board is Alan Bergman, Board Chair, and he has served on

the board going on 12 years serving diligently and with pride; two of the finest childcare

providers in the County, James Box and his wife Tiffany own six locations in Brevard County

and work closely with teachers and early educators to provide for the under served

communities, as well as the broader scope in Palm Bay, Melbourne, and Cocoa; and there are

almost 650 children in his care. She noted Dee Helbig is with First Kids at Eau Gallie Baptist

Church; she visits the VPK class at Ms. Helbig's school quite a bit and they love her because

she is a Disney Princess at heart, so when she walks in they think she is coming in costume;

Ms. Helbig will graduate 25 VPK students on May 21; she was talking with Ms. Helbig and

maybe they will bring that VPK class to the Board in June; and she thanked Ms. Helbig and Mr.

Box for their service to the community.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

F.9. Authorization, RE: Municipal Review of Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT)

Percentages Allocations

Sandra Sullivan stated the Local Gas Tax (LOGT) percentages are divided up pretty much per

the population; as the Board knows, there is a challenge with gas tax with all of the electric

vehicles and that the gas tax is going down, while prices are going up a lot; she did a records

request this week for the amount of impact fees on Wickham Road, south of Pineda, which is

of course in the jurisdiction of the City of Melbourne, but is a County road; when doing a

straight line like this and take the population of each area, that population that boarders that

road, that money is going to Melbourne; and it seems there is an inequitable part, she does not

know if this is a legislative change or if there is another way to address it.

F.15. Interlocal Agreement for the Creation of the Metropolitan Planning Organization

Sandra Sullivan stated this is the interlocal agreement for the creation of a Metropolitan

Planning Organization; in a sense it kind of reminds her of the North Brevard Economic

Development Zone (NBEDZ) Space Coast Infrastructure Agency that was created, something

similar, although this one has to do with Federal and State; she read, “to assist a development

transportation system embracing various modes of transportation in a manner that will

maximize the mobility of people and goods within and through the metropolitan planning area

and minimize to the maximum extent possible, for transportation related fuel consumption and

air pollution, and it will function as a multi-modal, inter-modal transportation system for

metropolitan planning”; it sounds a lot like agenda 2030 in 15 minute cities; she is kind of

curious about that; from a fiscal standpoint, last year the multi-modal was 54 percent of the

budget and this year 64 percent of a five-year budget; this concerns her, especially when she

looks at the projects; and she has a question of where the local percentage of the funding is

coming from. She mentioned when she gets a breakdown of that from Florida Department of

Transportation (FDOT), the projects include Brevard, Space Florida, processing and range

facility improvements, $18.75 million and that is from the State with a matching from the local;

similarly, Space Florida Common Use Infrastructure capitals $27.75, none from the local on

that one; the next one, Space Florida Launch Complex Improvements and passenger cargo

$18.75 million, local; another, Space Florida Horizon Launch Landing Facilities, $18.75, local

matching State; and there are others. She continued by saying Brevard County has a fiscal

crisis with transportation, there is a $2.2 billion deficit for capacity needs and maintenance, and

obviously, she just talked about the gas tax, it would be nice if this Board would offer some

clarification with the fiscal crisis that this County has; the County has a taxing authority and she

talks about this all the time, she laments that they are not paying taxes even though Florida

State Statute grants them not to pay property taxes on the land, but does not grant that same

thing on the land improvements; and it comes back to some clarification on this, is the County

spending local taxes to an independent Special District for their infrastructure when they are not

paying taxes and contributing to the tax base.

F.14. Resolution approving the issuance by Brevard County Housing Finance Authority

of Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds (Sunset Palms Apartments Project), in

an amount not to exceed $41,000,000

Commissioner Delaney stated she just really wanted to bring recognition because this is a

project that she really feels is needed in the County; it contains 263 units, all of which will be

rented to seniors age 62 and above; 40 percent of the apartments will be set aside for people

who are making less than 60 percent of the median income; she really wanted to bring

awareness to this project that is happening in Palm Bay, Sunset Palms Apartments; one of the

concerns she had prior to her briefing was she had been to a government meeting and she had

heard another apartment complex like this reaching the end of its 30 years; and the residents

basically got a 30-day notice that their rent was going to go up dramatically. She went on to say

she had inquired with the County Attorney if there was anything the Board could do to help the

residents once they get to that end of term for this affordable housing to give them more time to

figure out what their next steps are going to be; she wanted to thank County Attorney, Morris

Richardson, for looking into that and pursuing her question on that; she thanked the apartment

complex for agreeing to provide a longer term notice of when that 30 years is up; and she feels

like when there are good people out there and doing good projects, the Board should give them

recognition.

F.1. Extend Temporary Use Agreement to Provide Temporary Office Space &

Equipment Storage for County-wide Vegetative Harvesting Program for One Year

The Board approved the Temporary Use Agreement for County-owned property located at

1800 Lake Drive, Cocoa, Tax Account 2423199, to provide temporary office space and

equipment storage for the Countywide Vegetative Harvesting Program for one year.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.2. Sovereign Submerge Lands Easement (SSL) for the Titusville Causeway

Multi-Trophic Shoreline Restoration and Resiliency Action Project - District 1.

The Board approved the SSL Easement for the Titusville Causeway Multi-trophic Shoreline

Restoration and Resiliency Action Project; and authorized the Chairman to execute the

Easement upon Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) approval.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.3. South Beaches 2025-26 Dune Project Maintenance including Hurricane Milton

Response

The Board authorized the County Manager to execute a Change Order of up to $10.9 million to

an existing Contract with Dickerson Infrastructure Inc. to repair the South Beaches engineered

dune project; directed the County to obtain and record voluntary easements for beach and

dune renourishment in the South Beaches; approved use of County owned/managed land for

temporary construction access; authorized the County Manager, or designee, to execute task

orders or contracts work in excess of $200,000 for associated tasks required to complete the

project and comply with permit conditions; directed staff to seek Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) and additional State funding for reimbursement; and approved all

necessary Budget Change Requests.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.4. Approval to submit grant application and execute associated agreement,

modifications, and amendments upon award of the Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Florida Boating Improvement Program Grant

for Brevard County Natural Resources Management Department Boating and

Waterways’ Boating Study.

The Board authorized Natural Resources Management to apply for the FWC Florida Boating

Improvement Program Grant; authorized the County Manager to execute the Grant Agreement,

future grant amendments, and modifications, if the grant is awarded by FWC, for Natural

Resources Management Department Boating and Waterways’ Boating Study, upon review and

approval by the County Attorney’s Office, Risk Management, and Purchasing Services; and

authorized the County Manager to approve all associated Budget Change Requests.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.5. Approval RE: Transportation Impact Fee Technical Advisory Committee for the

Central Mainland District Project Fund Recommendations

The Board approved the disbursement of $1,040,000 in transportation impact fees, in

accordance with the recommendations prepared by the Transportation Impact Fee Technical

Advisory Committee of the Central Mainland Benefit District; and authorized the Budget Office

to execute any Budget Change Requests necessary for implementing these appropriations.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.6. Adopt Resolution and Release Performance Bond: Crossmolina - Village 2,

Neighborhood 7, Phase 1 - District 4

Developer: The Viera Company

The Board adopted Resolution No. 25-034, releasing the Contract and Surety Bond dated

October 24, 2023, for Crossmolina, Village 2, Neighborhood 7, Phase 1, Developer: The Viera

Company.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.7. Approval Re: Agreement between the Brevard County Board of County

Commissioners and Housing for Homeless, Inc. (District 1)

The Board authorized the County Manager to execute an agreement with Housing for

Homeless, Inc. upon approval by the County Attorney’s Office and Risk Management;

authorized the Housing and Human Services Director to execute any future amendment(s) or

modification(s) upon approval by the County Attorney and Risk Management; and authorized

the County Manager to execute all necessary Budget Change Requests.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.8. Approval, Re: Authorizing Resolution, Grant Application, Certifications and

Assurances, Execution of Grant Agreement for FY2025/SFY2023 Space Coast

Area Transit Section 5310 Formula Grant with the Florida Department of

Transportation (FDOT).

The Board approved the following actions for the FY 2025/SFY2023 Section 5310 Formula

Grant for enhanced mobility of seniors and individuals with disabilities, with the FDOT:

•

Adopt and execute the Authorizing Resolution No. 25-035;

Use of FDOT toll revenue credits as a local match;

Use of sales of surplus vehicles as a local match source;

Authorize Transit Services Director to execute and submit the Grant Agreement

electronically,

Authorize Transit Services Director to execute any additional follow-up documentation,

resolutions and amendments necessary to secure these funds; and

Authorize the County Manager to execute any necessary Budget Change Requests

contingent upon County Attorney and Risk Management approval;

•

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.9. Authorization, RE: Municipal Review of Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT)

Percentages Allocations

The Board directed the Clerk to mail a copy of the LOGT percentage allocations to each

municipality for review; and approved recommendation of the Board to conduct the final

reviews of the allocations at the July 22, 2025, Board meeting.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.10. Acknowledge Receipt of the FY 2024-2025 Melbourne-Tillman Water Control

District Audited Annual Financial Statements

The Board acknowledged receipt of the FY 2024-2025 Audited Annual Financial Statements,

ended September 30, 2024, from the Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.11. Approval, Re: Budget Amendment

The Board reviewed and approved Budget Amendment.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.12. Renewal of Annual Property Insurance Program effective 6/1/2025

The Board authorized the Risk Manager to bind and secure placement of the County’s Property

Insurance coverage as presented and recommended by Arthur J. Gallagher, the County’s

property insurance broker, with an effective date of June 1, 2025, at a cost not to exceed

$3,801,034.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.13. Partial Release of Easement

The Board approved and authorized the Chairman to sign a Partial Release of Easement with

Suntree Homeowners Association, Inc.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.14. Resolution approving the issuance by Brevard County Housing Finance Authority

of Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds (Sunset Palms Apartments Project), in

an amount not to exceed $41,000,000

The Board approved and adopted Resolution No. 25-036, allowing the Brevard County Housing

Finance Authority, a dependent special district of Brevard County, to issue multi-family housing

revenue bonds to finance the acquisition, construction, equipping, and development of Sunset

Palms Apartments (the “Project”).

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.15. Interlocal Agreement for the Creation of the Metropolitan Planning Organization

The Board approved and authorized the Chairman to sign the Interlocal Agreement for the

creation of the Space Coast TPO, and to recognize the boundary and apportionment approved

by the Governor.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.16. Appointment(s) / Reappointment(s)

The Board appointed/reappointed Sean Williams to the Economic Development Commission of

Florida's Space Coast, with said term to expire on December 31, 2025; Jeffrey Ori to the North

Brevard Commission on Parks and Recreation, with said term to expire on December 31, 2026;

Ron Bartcher to the Planning and Zoning Board, with said term to expire on December 31,

2025; Nancy Garmer to theSouth/Central Public Library Advisory Board, with said term to

expire on May 5, 2027; and Racquel Butler to the South Brevard Parks and Recreation

Advisory Board, with said term to expire on May 5, 2027.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

F.17. Bill Folder

The Board acknowledged receipt of the Bill Folder.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

PUBLIC COMMENTS (Individuals may not speak under both the first and second

public comment sections.)

Christina Fleming stated she is there to talk about something that is long overdue, impact fees

in Brevard County; these fees, which are designed to ensure that growth pays for growth, have

not been increased in over 25 years, a quarter century; in that time this community has grown,

costs have skyrocketed, and yet the money collected to support the infrastructure has stayed

exactly the same; impact fees are not about recurring expenses, they are about smart one-time

investments; the County can and should use them for critical needs like new fire engines,

rescues, ambulances, and long overdue station upgrades; and these are not luxuries, they are

necessities that ensure the First Responders have the tools they need to do their jobs safely

and efficiently. She noted there are four engines that are having AC unit issues right now; one

of those she spoke to the Board about last year at this same exact time and they are still

having issues; they have to use a robot and wire things in so they can have air conditioning,

summer is coming; right now the County is losing dedicated public safety personnel at an

alarming rate, 31 so far this year; it is in line with last year losing 35 from January to May, and

now 31 this year from January to May; the reason is it is not just about salary, it is about

resources, support, and the basic ability to do the job without being stretched to a breaking

point; there is a growing perception that the money the Board does have is being mismanaged;

and even if that is not entirely true, perception is reality, it affects moral, recruitment, and most

of all retention. She went on to say the County works hard to attract people to live in Brevard,

but what good is it if the very people who protect and serve this community cannot afford to

stay here or feel unsupported in their roles; the County cannot afford to keep kicking the can

down the road; raising the impact fees is not just reasonable, it is responsible; there was a

study done in 1998 and in 2016, either the County did not need to raise them or the Board did

not listen to the firm that was used then; and it is about investing in the future of the community

and showing employees and residents that safety and infrastructure are taken seriously.

Sandra Sullivan stated the first thing she wants to talk about is the last meeting; there was a

room full of firefighters that got up and left the room; from the perspective of when the Board

knew the Rockledge Hospital was going to close, there is a moral line in the sand that at that

point, there was a moral obligation for the Board to get a contract signed with the firefighters

because now, it is putting people’s lives at risk; she is hearing people have already died; if that

is correct, that is on this Board because moving forward, this Board after one more meeting is

off for the summer; and there is not going to be a contract signed while it is gone, and it will not

be done until July, meanwhile, Brevard County has a Fire Department that is being destroyed.

She added people’s lives are going to be lost and this is an ethical issue; she thinks there is

negligence on part of the County for not taking action, hence her strong words at the last

meeting; she is profoundly disappointed; she thought she was disappointed in the last

Commission for not addressing things, like the Fire Department; but this Board has been here

for five months and the people got behind this Board to get this solved. She went on to say the

second thing she wants to talk about is while they have this fiscal crisis, Chairman Feltner is the

Chair of the Tourist Development Council, and he is talking about giving away a piece of

property that is very entrenched in controversy, including a Florida Department of Law

Enforcement (FDLE) investigation; back in 2000 it was acquired for $7.25 million; the appraisal

that was done a year ago was for the piece here in red, as she showed a document to the

Board, which is 53 acres; that is an interior piece not connected to a major road, but it is

delineated on that map; however, the comments made of the TDC was the intent that the

access to giving this property to the City of Melbourne would be the access and include this lot

here, which is a total of 68 acres, and then it has major access. She continued by saying the

appraisal was also done from Public Works and not Solid Waste; there are a number of other

red flags not associated with it; bad optics when this County has a fiscal crisis; and the County

is looking at a situation where land is very valuable, too valuable to give away when it has a

fiscal crisis and it cannot pay its firefighters a living wage.

John Dacko stated he is in attendance tonight to discuss a simple but serious issue, the

County’s firefighters have not received a raise since October 1, 2024; the firefighters under him

are forced to work mandatory overtime every 10 to 14 days and last year alone there was over

24,000 hours of mandatory overtime because there were more than 100 unfilled positions in the

Department; this year, the Department is already on track to lose another 100; the Department

cannot keep up because it is not hiring qualified applicants to replace the experienced

professionals that are leaving; two weeks ago the Board stood here and tried to instill fear in

the public by claiming that raising fire assessment fees by up to 75 percent would lead to

higher prices at Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, or Daycare Centers; that kind of fear mongering,

particularly from one Commissioner, is unacceptable; residents deserve facts not spin; and the

letters the County has sent out have finally reached the public and they are asking questions.

He went on to say he has spoken with his parents and neighbors, they are baffled and cannot

believe that the Fire Department is understaffed and underfunded; they cannot believe the

Department has already lost 100 firefighters and that it is on track to lose 100 more; many of

them, including those on fixed incomes, have looked at their tax bills and said they would gladly

pay more because they value a fully-staffed and well-trained Fire Department; his father, who

served 20 years as a corps man petty officer and is on a fixed income, owns two homes in

Brevard County, his taxes would go up by $120; that is $5 per house, per month; and he is

okay with that because he understands what is at stake. He stated now he was hoping the

Board could explain to the public why it refuses to fund their Fire Department fully, why the

firefighters, mothers and fathers, are forced to work an extra 24 hours every shift, 10 to 14

days; he would like the Board to look his daughters in the eye and explain to them why their

dad and dad’s co-workers have to miss school plays, award ceremonies, weekend

cheerleading events, and softball or baseball games, explain why the Board has had $2.5

million given to the City of Melbourne for a fire training center, that has its own City Fire

Department, yet it continued claiming there is no money to fund its own County Fire

Department; he always tells his daughters to do what is right; when he is at work and he hits a

tough spot, he asks himself what is the right thing to do; doing the right thing is called

leadership; but refusing to fully-fund the County Fire Department because of being afraid to

raise taxes, that is not leadership, it is avoidance. He mentioned this County is at a crossroads;

it needs real leaders who are willing to make tough decisions and necessary sacrifices to invest

in the infrastructure and public funds; yes that means raising revenue through taxes so the

roads can be repaired and maintained, the Fire Department can be fully staffed, and the

beaches can be protected year-round with lifeguards; his wife is terrified that him standing up

there tonight and speaking the truth might cost him his promotion off the District Chief eligibility

list, but he told her that he had hoped she was wrong and that this is a sacrifice he is willing to

make because doing what is right matters most; and now is the time to lead and now is the

time to do what is right.

Commissioner Delaney commented the County is lucky to have him.

H.1. Public Interest Determination: Wetland Impacts for ALF Aurora Indoor RV & Boat

Storage Facility at Aurora Road, Tax Account Number 2719528 (District 4)

Chairman Feltner called for public hearing on a Public Interest Determination (PID) of Wetland

Impacts for Atlantic Environmental of Florida, LLC (AEF) Aurora Indoor RV and Boat Storage

Facility at Aurora Road, Tax Account number 2719528.

Amanda Elmore, Deputy Director Natural Resources Management, stated this is a PID for

proposed wetland impacts for an indoor RV and boat storage facility on Aurora Road in District

4; the impact that is proposed is one-third of an acre and mitigation has been provided; and she

is happy to answer any questions the Board may have.

Commissioner Delaney asked if this is the Item that Ms. Elmore mentioned the consultant

would be in attendance.

Ms. Elmore explained, unfortunately, there was a family emergency, but the owner may be in

attendance.

Commissioner Delaney stated she was hoping someone could share a little bit about how this

builder is going above and beyond as was explained in her briefing; and she does not know if

Ms. Elmore is willing to share that, she was hoping the consultant would.

Ms. Elmore explained double the amount of mitigation has been provided for this project; they

have a State environmental resource permit and mitigation was provided in Indian River County

for that impact; Brevard County has a requirement that mitigation be provided in County; and

the owner went ahead and got those mitigation credits in place as well.

The Board, in accordance with Chapter 62, Article X, Division 4, Section 62-3694(c)(3)c,

considered and approved AEF, on behalf of MBV Engineering, Inc., and Land Vision

Investments, LLC, for a PID for wetland impacts proposed for Aurora Indoor RV and Boat

Storage Facility at Aurora Road, Tax Account Number 2719528.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

H.2. Public Hearing RE: Brevard County HOME Investment Partnerships Program

(HOME) Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Annual Action Plan

Chairman Feltner called for public hearing on Brevard County HOME Investment Partnership

Program (HOME) Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Annual Action Plan.

Juanita Jackson, Housing and Human Services Director, stated this is a public hearing to

announce that Housing and Human Services is accepting citizen participation input as it starts

developing the 2025-2026 Annual Action Plan; to guide consultation and the public participation

process, federal regulation requires grantees to develop and adopt a Citizen Participation Plan

(CPP) which cites the policy and procedures for citizen participation; the plan is attached to the

Agenda; per the Citizen Participation Plan, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires

jurisdictions to hold two public hearings and one public meeting during the process; citizens can

provide input into the development of the Annual Action Plan during this time, during this

meeting, directly to Housing and Human Services Department, and the May 20 Community

Redevelopment Block Grant (CDBG) Citizen Advisory Committee; and after the plan is

developed, it will be posted to the website and available in the Housing and Human Services

Office, at the Cities of Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville Public Libraries, and in the

housing divisions for the City of Titusville, Cocoa, Melbourne, and Palm Bay. She noted after

that period, staff will bring a draft to the Board at the July 22 Board of County Commission

meeting for a vote; HUD requires recipients of HOME and CDBG funds to prepare the Annual

Action Plan using the goals and priorities established in the five-year consolidated plan; and

she advised there is no vote required for this public hearing.

Commissioner Delaney stated she was wondering about the citizen participation and what

could be done to grow the citizen involvement because she knows in 2024, with the six

methods of outreach, zero comments were received; in 2022, two comments were received,

one from her Chief of Staff, and the other from somebody who got the affordable housing onto

the County Charter; it is not the amount of citizen input that she would expect with this topic

with people who seem to be very conscience of it; she was wondering if there are ways of

reaching out like the County social media accounts or actually sending out emails to the

non-profits or the groups that are in this sphere to get more targeted input; and she asked if

that is something that can be done.

Ms. Jackson stated yes; typically, the plan is brought to the Affordable Housing Committee, this

year they are bringing it to the CDBG, which is in the strategy area, in hopes of receiving more

citizen input; and staff can also have it placed on social media and send it to the public

agencies.

Commissioner Delaney commented that would be great.

Chairman Feltner clarified that no vote is needed on this Item.

Ms. Jackson responded affirmatively.

H.3. Petition to Vacate, Re: Rights-of-way/Easements - Per Official Records Book 710,

Page 430 and Official Records Book 790, Page 914 - Merritt Island - PDSK Land

LLC - District 2

Chairman Feltner called for a public hearing on a petition to vacate right-of-way requested by

PDSK Land, LLC located in District 2.

Marc Bernath, Public Works Director, stated this is a petition to vacate a right-of-way for Merritt

Island; it is located in Merritt Island, north of Whaley Road, south of Pine Island Road in District

2; it is a 30 by 20 feet wide right-of-way; from the County’s perspective, both public utilities and

drainage, there are no formal objections, although he understands someone may have come

this evening to raise an objection; and PDSK and Joe Mayer are here to speak for the group

that is trying to develop.

Paul Rosenthal stated he is in attendance representing PDSK Land, LLC who is the owner of

the land on both sides of the property and the petitioner; he is there mainly to answer any

questions; and they would like to thank staff for working with them on this project and the

County Attorney’s Office for help in getting through some procedural issues getting this to the

Board. He pointed out the staff report shows that all the utility providers have supported this

application and County staff has supported the application; and if there are any questions that

come up regarding this from any citizen comment, he would like to have the opportunity to

respond.

George Typhair stated he is the son-in-law of the an adjacent property owner, Edward Cettina,

on the southern side of this proposed subdivision; the concern is the access to his property;

when he purchased the property, January of 2021, this property subject to this subdivision was

still under the previous owners ownership and it was his intent to try to purchase an additional

piece of property to gain access, whereas, currently, he is landlocked and he cannot gain

access to the property; it is on the north side of a drainage canal and on the south side of this

property and on the western side of where Whaley Road would have continued north, had this

been the entry point to where this property would have been developed; since they are vacating

that and coming in from the north it makes it to where his property is there for cut off; and there

is a gated fence where the improved road ends right now. He went on to say it is hard to

determine if the County is even maintaining that last section of road leading to that gate which

is approximately 75 feet or so; his concern this evening is just to make sure an objection is

raised that if this right-of-way is vacated, how Mr. Cettina is able to gain access to his property;

in attempts to assist his father-in-law, about a year ago, they had reached out to PDSK that

bought this property and asked if they would be interested in obtaining his land in order to find

a way to gain some value in the investment that he tried to look into, develop, and make a profit

on; it was not of interest to them, it did not gain them any added value, and so they had

declined to buy the property from Mr. Cettina; now he has to try to find a way to make this a

sellable and developable piece of property in some format as he cannot even gain access to it;

his hands are tied; and furthermore, he learned on Thursday of last week that there is a

drainage right-of-way that, although on the south side of this property, a drainage line was put

in underneath his father-in-laws property, and in the wrong place, was what he was told, which

the County maintains an interest in that line, and therefore, he cannot build or put anything

above that line. He stated there are multiple issues related to this property that he is just

looking for assistance with.

Edward Cettina stated there are a lot of discrepancies on this little spot; the vacate order is

here but this part of the road is not developed yet and there are no details on it.

Commissioner Goodson asked if Mr. Bernath could comment on that.

Mr. Bernath stated he was advised that they had come in earlier this week with this potential

concern; as he looks at the survey, Whaley Road ends before PDSK’s property and he was

told that they had purchased the property with it being landlocked; while he realizes they do not

have the benefit of this because this is late breaking, Whaley Road ends, there is a section

which looks like it is 70 feet or so, and then there is the right-of-way that they are vacating

which does not block their access at all, the property that PDSK owns is what blocks it;

therefore, it is a private matter that needs to be negotiated with PDSK. He added the County’s

interest and actually getting out of this by vacating does not impact this situation at all.

There being no further objections or comments, the Board adopted Resolution No. 25-037,

vacating a right-of-way in Merritt Island, requested by PDSK Land, LLC located north of Whaley

Road and south of Pine Island.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Tom Goodson

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

H.4. Extension of Temporary Moratorium on New Applications of Biosolids to Lands

within Brevard County

Chairman Feltner called for a public hearing for the extension of a temporary moratorium on

new applications of biosolids to lands within Brevard County.

Amanda Elmore, Deputy Director Natural Resources Management, stated this is for a public

hearing for the adoption of an extension of the biosolids application moratorium; the original

Ordinance was enacted in 2019; and this would be another one-year extension that would take

the County through July of next year.

Sandra Sullivan stated she is in support of the moratorium; she was there in 2018 when this

came before the Board of County Commissioners; one of the major reasons it came before the

County Commission at that time was because the AG owner became aware of Perfluoroalkyl

and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) levels and then the County did testing and it was a

problem; it is great that the County has a moratorium extending this; she supports it very much;

and it is her understanding that there are municipalities that are still putting the biosolids on the

floodplain of the St. Johns. She noted she would encourage the County to maybe reach out to

the cities and maybe even extending it with interlocal agreements because people do not want

to contaminate another water body; she would also suggest, the County is putting muck in the

area near Patrick Space Force Station, which is the third highest contaminated base in the

nation for PFAS, the County is dredging that, and it is right in the Lagoon Plan that this could

be a liability issue for the County in the future; they even discussed buying a burrow pit to place

it in; the County should not be placing that on the flood plain; and hopefully that discussion will

be added into this as well. She noted those are two additional considerations for the Board in

the future; and she expressed her appreciation to the Board for what not putting the PFAS

contaminated biosolids on the floodplain of the St. Johns.

There being no further comments or objections, the Board conducted a public hearing and

adopted Ordinance No. 25-06, authorizing an extension of temporary County-wide moratorium

for 365 days from the effective date (July 8, 2025); prohibiting the land application of class B

biosolids except existing permitted activities; providing for exhaustion of administrative

remedies; providing for severability, repeal of conflicting provisions, resolution of conflicting

provisions; and area encompassed and an effective date.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

I.1.

Resolution authorizing a loan in a principal amount of not-to-exceed

$34,000,000.00 from the Florida Local Government Finance Commission (FLGFC)

pursuant to its Pooled Commercial Paper Loan Program (Loan Program) in order

to provide interim financing for various capital improvements to the County’s

Solid Waste Disposal Facilities.

Tom Mulligan, Solid Waste Management Director, stated this concerns the financing of the

Solid Waste Management Department’s Capital Improvement Program; he is requesting that

the Board adopt the resolution authorizing staff to seek a pooled commercial paper loan, not to

exceed $34 million in principal; authorize the Chairman to execute the resolution and various

closing documents with respect to the issuance of the loan; and to authorize the County

Manager to approve all necessary and appropriate Budget Change Requests that implement

this request and allocate the money to the appropriate Capital Improvement Program projects.

He advised the $34 million will go towards completion of construction of phase 1 of US-192 site

development, completion of the construction of the replacement of the Titusville Transfer

Station, expansion of the Mockingbird Way Mulching Facility, and also initiation, construction of

Cell three of the Class one south landfill at the Central Disposal Facility.

Sandra Sullivan stated she was watching under the vendor link, the going out to bid that was

awarded in September for $33 million and some change, for the continued work at the 192

dump; she has a question mark because this is $34 million and she has not seen anything

come forward; she has been watching on the $33 million that was awarded; the County knew

that there was increasing costs on the construction of this dump and yet she, as a member of

the public, tried to keep herself informed, she does not see that level of transparency of

someone saying this was supposed to be about $36 million to build and then it went up to $50

million, and then she heard it went up to $77 million; she asked where is the cost of building

this at; she mentioned she finds it kind of interesting that recently, the reason the County had to

build out at 192, looking at Sarno, Sarno was going to extend the dump for 20 years and then it

could not get the City of Melbourne to increase the height on the Sarno land fill that the County

bought, and she finds it interesting that the additional piece the County was going to buy, the

recycler piece, recently got an increase in height to 80 feet; it is interesting on that aspect; but

more transparency on the cost of things would be very good so the public has an idea of what

is going on. She noted as a consequence, the County is shipping trash for five years because it

was almost out of space at Sarno, when the County started building 192; and that is on the

taxpayers right now paying to ship this trash to dumps while this dump is being built.

The Board adopted Resolution No. 25-038, authorizing staff to seek a Pooled Commercial

Paper Loan not-to-exceed $34,000,000.00 in principal amount; authorized the Chairman to

execute the Resolution and various closing documents with respect to the issuance of the

Loan; and authorized the County Manager to approve all necessary and appropriate Budget

Change Requests to implement the request and allocate these and existing funds to the

appropriate Capital Improvement Program projects listed in the Agenda Report.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Thad Altman

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

I.2.

Request Approval to Negotiate a Contract with the Number One-Ranked Firm to

Perform an Impact Fee Study

Kathy Wall, Central Services Director, stated on February 25, 2025, the Board authorized the

advertisement of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an impact fee study for the County’s impact

fee programs; the County received three proposals from the following firms: Benesch, DTA

Public Finance, and Raftelis; the Selection and Negotiating Committee met on April 28, 2025 to

discuss and write the proposals received; the Committee unanimously ranked Benesch as the

number one ranked firm; it is requested that the Board consider tonight to either proceed with

the Impact Fee study for Emergency Medical/Fire Rescue Facilities impact fees at a cost of

$37,982 or proceed with an impact fee study for all of the County’s impact fee programs which

would cost an additional $181,988 for a total of $219,970; approval for the Selection and

Negotiating Committee’s recommendation of the number one raked firm, Benesch; authorize

the Selection and Negotiating Committee to negotiate the professional service contract with the

number one ranked firm; and authorize the County Manager to execute the contract and

approve all Budget Change Requests to commence the impact fee study.

Sandra Sullivan stated she wants to go to the reason that Brevard County is in a fiscal crisis, to

use the words of this Commission from the last meeting, and it is the cost of growth; she wants

to remind the Board of some numbers and why this is so important; the cost of Fire and

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) right now for impact fees is $97; in 1998, when the County

did the referendum, Brevard Study recommended at least $305 to be comparable to

surrounding counties; in 2016, the study recommended $322.49 for Fire and EMS; Brevard

County is still at $97; and to put the perspective on the cost of growth, in Fiscal Year 2022, the

capital cost was $622,000 of expenditures for Fire and EMS and in 2025 budget, last year the

County was saying about $30 million, in January saying $48 million, and most recently, at the

magistrate meeting, $68 million, and who knows what it is going to be next year. She noted

there is another sewage plant up in the 90 percent utilization; she does not know how the

County is going to pay for all of this unless the Board essentially starts growing a set of balls;

the County needs a comprehensive study; with Fire, if the County does the comprehensive

one, that is going to be nine to 12 months which means the County is not going to have it for

Fiscal Year 2026, for budgeting; her recommendation to the Board, as a consultant, is to break

it up into milestones, and prioritize each one, in the order of priority for them to do it; Fire and

EMS is at the top of the list; they complete that one first and have staff get them the information

they need, so this one is done in time for budget season for this coming year, 2026; if the

County does not have that information, who knows where the County will be at next year;

everyone knows where this is going right now, because District 3 came to a meeting last week,

and she was doing the sales pitch on getting rid of the three percent tax cap as far as she

heard; and the people know how that is going. She noted the Board cannot put this burden all

on the people because this is the cost of growth; and this Board is going to price Brevard so it

is not affordable.

Commissioner Delaney stated she put this slide together because she was really happy to see

these numbers come in and that they were so much less than what was originally anticipated

by the Board; the $10 million was based off of what Billy Prasad, Planning and Development

Director, had brought to the Board last time with the 50 percent over the four-year period; to her

it seems like a no-brainer to go forward with the comprehensive study; she would have to agree

that fire is in such a crisis, she would prefer to start with that and then do the others, following;

if she has support to do all of them she would rather do that; and she would love to see this

move forward so they could share the love a little bit.

Chairman Feltner stated he thought about this earlier and talked to staff so just as a reminder,

voting for any of this, all of this, whatever the situation may be tonight, that does not necessarily

mean that the impact fees will just go up, that is not what is being voted on, it is voting on

completing the study which is the first part that has to be done before considering that; and he

is personally not opposed to looking at all of them.

The Board authorized the Central Services Director to proceed with an Impact Fee Study for all

of the County’s Impact Fee Programs; approved the Selection and Negotiation Committee’s

recommendation of the number one-ranked firm, Benesch; authorized the Selection and

Negotiation Committee to negotiate the professional service contract with the number

one-ranked firm; and authorized the County Manager to execute the Contract and approve all

Budget Change Requests to commence the Impact Fee Study.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, and Feltner

Nay: Altman

J.1. Approval, Re: Contract for Sale and Purchase from Robert Raymond Elser III and

Brooke Cameron Elser for 5041 Frederick Avenue, West Melbourne, as an

Advanced Acquisition for the Hollywood Boulevard Widening Project - District 3.

Marc Bernath, Public Works Director, stated this is for a contract for sale and purchase from

Robert Raymond Elser and Brooke Cameron Elser for 5041 Frederick Avenue; it is in West

Melbourne as part of the advanced acquisition strategy for the future Hollywood Boulevard

widening project, located in District 3; as properties become available, staff has been looking

for over 10 years to get these types of opportunities, so that when the County is ready for the

widening project, the land is in place to widen the road; the appraised value is $255,000; and

that is what the owner is requesting, in addition to the $900 appraisal cost, which is consistent

with prior Board action.

Commissioner Adkinson inquired if the County has to acquire this property for this project to go

forward.

Mr. Bernath responded in the affirmative; he added either the County buys it now at appraised

value or down the road through eminent domain which is typically three to four times the cost of

what they would get at today’s price.

The Board approved and authorized the Chairman to execute the Contract for Sale and

Purchase from Robert Raymond Elser III and Brooke Cameron Elser for 5041 Frederick

Avenue, West Melbourne, as an advanced acquisition for the Hollywood Boulevard Widening

Project; and authorized the Chairman to execute any closing documents that require recording

in the Public Records related to the Contract for Sale and Purchase.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

J.2. Each Commissioner shall appropriate up to $20,000 for TDC events.

Commissioner Delaney stated Chairman Feltner had tasked the Board Members with finding a

cultural item to give $20,000 to out of the cultural funds; she had met with the Warbird Museum

a few times; they are in the middle of building an event center which is desperately needed in

District 1; there are very few venues for this type of thing; on top of that, the Warbird Museum,

unfortunately, lost somebody very important and near and dear to their hearts, this year, who

also contributed not only a lot of time, but money to this organization; and unfortunately, with

his passing, that left the Museum with a shortfall of funds. She went on to say this organization

is not only a great place, these people volunteer their time to restore history and they do a lot of

great things there; she really felt this was appropriate to allocate her entire allocation to this

organization; she really appreciates the opportunity to be able to do that; and she hopes she

can get the support.

Commissioner Goodson stated he thinks in the last three or four years the Board has allocated

over $1 million to the Warbird Museum; and he asked if that is correct.

Jim Liesenfelt, Assistant County Manager, stated he is getting a nod, yes.

Commissioner Goodson asked in the past three or four years what has the Board allocated to

the Warbird Museum.

Mr. Liesenfelt stated they have received money under the Marketing Support Grant Program

for programs; and he cannot tell the amount, but they were given a capital or two for facilities.

Commissioner Goodson asked what was the capital amount.

Mr. Liesenfelt advised he does not have that number in front of him.

Commissioner Goodson stated he thinks it was $740,000 and then there was some more

given.

Mr. Liesenfelt stated $700,000 sounds about right, a couple years ago.

Commissioner Goodson stated with all that being said, it has been over about $1 million in the

last two or three years; and he asked if Peter Cranis, Tourist Development Office Director, has

any idea of the amount.

Mr. Cranis responded he does not have the exact amount but that sounds correct, it was over

$1 million.

Commissioner Goodson asked Commissioner Delaney if she wants to give them $20,000 and

not fund something else that has not received any money.

Commissioner Delaney advised she has not had anybody reach out to her that has asked; this

was a need that she saw; they are basically at the point right now, and because of other things

going on within their construction, not possibly having air conditioning in their event center; that

would not do very well for events…

Commissioner Goodson stated if she knows anything about construction, $20,000 for a big

building will not buy an air conditioner, no.

Commissioner Delaney advised she understands that.

Commissioner Goodson commented $20,000 is going to help them get some fans.

Commissioner Adkinson asked if Tourist Development Council (TDC) money is for marketing

not for completion of projects.

Mr. Cranis stated the Marketing Support Program (MSP) Program was meant to be for events

and marketing of those events or reimbursement of expenses related; and obviously, the Board

can allocate funds as it wishes, out of this bucket.

Commissioner Adkinson asked if this money is for programs that did not meet the minimum

guidelines, originally.

Mr. Cranis responded affirmatively.

Commissioner Adkinson asked if the Warbird Museum has met the minimum guidelines.

Mr. Cranis advised they did meet the minimum.

Commissioner Delaney stated she remembers reaching out to Mr. Cranis and specifically

asking him about this and he told her it would be fine.

Mr. Cranis noted he thinks what he said was the Board could take any action that it desires

related to this as long as the Board voted for it, they could do it.

Commissioner Delaney thanked him.

Chairman Feltner stated he thinks if he understands, the Warbird Museum does have a

Memorial Day Celebration coming up and he thinks they are actively trying to market to

vendors and the like to have a good event later this month; and if talking about events, there is

a pending event out there.

Sandra Sullivan stated when she was watching the March meeting there was also discussion of

giving the $20,000 to some of the cities, like the City of Melbourne with some of their events;

she is a little concerned about what some of those events might be; the Board can feel free to

reach out to her about that; the other thing, more importantly, is what has happened

legislatively; there is a bill that has been passed and has now gone to appropriations that would

give flexibility to Brevard County and other counties in Florida to use the TDC tax to reduce

property taxes and to put up to 25 percent to public safety; given the fiscal crisis that the

County is in, all this money needs to go back to the bucket; the Board needs to wait for this bill

to see if it gets signed into law by Governor DeSantis; the State legislation wants some action

to address property taxes; and they recognize that it is not just Brevard struggling with Public

Safety. She noted this Board has an opportunity; right now, today, she would encourage the

Board to not do anything on this and send the money back to the TDC and see if this law gets

passed; she reiterated this County has a fiscal crisis; and the Board needs to be responsible

and do the right thing, because she does not know how it is going to crawl itself out of this hole

that it got itself into by kicking the can down the road on impact fees for 25 years.

Commissioner Adkinson stated in the summary it talks about what was voted on, on April 22;

and her understanding is that was for 2025-2026, but she does not think that was what the

intention of this allocation is.

Chairman Feltner asked Mr. Cranis to clarify that for the Board.

Mr. Cranis stated that is true; on April 22, what was voted on was the criteria for next year’s

grant program, so that would be the 2025-2026 program; and this particular ask, he believes, is

for this fiscal year, if he is not mistaken.

Commissioner Delaney stated it was just in the spirit of that; and she felt like it was appropriate

to bring this forward.

The Board approved District 1 appropriation of $20,000 from the Tourist Development Council

(TDC) events funding for the Warbird Museum.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, Feltner, and Altman

Nay: Goodson, and Adkinson

PUBLIC COMMENTS (Individuals may not speak under both the first and second

public comment sections.)

Fred Douglas stated he is a member of Truth Revealed Ministries in Palm Bay; he is also a

member of BRITE which is a coalition of 10 congregations of different racial and religious

backgrounds across Brevard County, working together to address systemic problems in the

County; one of these problems that they are most concerned about is lack of affordable

housing; at a recent action, having invited this entire Commission to attend, over 360 people

gathered at Suntree United Methodist to review the affordable housing crisis, school children

sleeping in the woods, members working full-time jobs sleeping in their cars in the evening

because they are priced out of the rental market, over 30,000 Brevard County families whose

housing costs exceed 50 percent of their income, this includes veterans, seniors, and first

responders; Brevard is investing in the tourism industry; and they think that makes sense. He

continued by saying as important as tourists are, should it not also be important to take care of

local constituents who live and work here; it is unacceptable that the County leadership would

support tourism at the expense of ignoring families and children sleeping in the woods; ladies

and gentleman, funds delayed is housing denied; in 2021, he challenged this Commission to

create a housing trust fund that incentivizes developers to build more affordable housing; in

2022, a charter amendment passed with over 60 percent voter support that created a workforce

trust fund; this was a critical step in the right direction; but this Commission has not funded that

trust fund despite wide spread community support. He went on to say 60 percent of Brevard

County voters expected this housing trust fund to be employed; funding delayed is housing

denied; County Commissioner Delaney from District 1 put in writing that she would commit to

find dedicated funding to put towards this affordable housing trust fund; he is there today to

applaud her leadership and invite others to join her because funding delayed is housing denied;

she cannot do this alone, the community needs other members of this Commission to take

leadership roles on addressing this crisis; and the faith community is disappointed in that they

have sought meetings with each of the Commissioners to discuss this issue and work on a path

forward, and those requests seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

He stated today his request is simple, he asked Commissioner Feltner to meet with BRITE

Clergy, a leadership for housing steering committee to discuss a path forward to funding the

housing trust fund.

Chairman Feltner advised he can call his office, they had met in his office before.

Mr. Douglas noted they had met before; and he asked if they should expect a meeting this

month, next month.

Chairman Feltner advised he and his staff are very timely, they will check their calendar and get

it timely for everybody.

Reverend Bailey Schreiner stated he serves as the associate pastor at Suntree United

Methodist Church (UMC); at Suntree the vision is to love God, love each other, and love their

neighbors in extraordinary ways; they live into this vision by providing food and housing for

homeless families with Family Promise; each year they raise more than $21,000 to provide

every student at Harper City Elementary School a $50 gift card to purchase school supplies

that they may not otherwise be able to afford; and recently, they launched a new micro-grant

program to fund projects that will alleviate poverty in the 32922 zip code. He went on to say

Suntree UMC is the founding member of BRITE, which is a coalition of churches who have

joined hands to advocate for issues of justice in Brevard County; for the past three years one of

the key issues has been affordable housing; as a pastor, every week people come to the

church and beg him for help with housing issues; last week it was a woman named June; June

has a four-year-old son who is autistic, she was laid off from her full time job as a registered

nurse, and her lights were turned off because she fell behind on the light bill; they did what

Jesus would do, turned her lights back on, but they cannot afford to do that for every one; they

invest thousands of volunteer hours and more than $100,000 per year to make improvements

to the County with food, housing, and so on; but it is not enough and they need the Board’s

help. He commented they would urge this Board to make a real and sustained financial

investment in the workforce in support of the housing trust fund; it was passed by the voters of

Brevard County three years ago and has not been adequately funded; he has a whole line of

non-profit partners that would love to take advantage of that; one of the partners is an

affordable housing complex in Cocoa; they had a meeting with the 922 crew which is a coalition

of non-profit and school leaders in Cocoa a couple months ago and the manager of this

affordable housing complex told him that their waiting list is more than eight years long

because there is not enough affordable housing; this Board has the power to do something

about that; they would love to work with the Board collaboratively, but they need the Board to

take their calls; they have church property, they would love to talk about creative solutions

about how to use that more; they are already using it in some ways, but would love to use that

more; but that requires communication and for them to work together. He noted they can all do

better and must do better; and this is their prayer.

Conner Mahoney stated he has been running a small newsletter for Christians in the County for

about a year now; there are just over 1,000 subscribers; he also speaks with local pastors on a

podcast; these are all conservative Christian congregations in Brevard County that he speaks

with; some represented here today, but many that are not; he just wanted to read some quotes

from those pastors that he has spoken with on these podcasts on this particular issue; at the

end of these short 30 minute podcasts, he asks every pastor he speaks with if there are any

issue in the County that they might think is under served or neglected, sometimes it is spiritual

needs, sometimes it is social needs about young families, or hunger; but four of those pastors

have specifically mentioned this need of affordable housing. He continued by saying one is

Father Scott Circe, with Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Community and he says, "something has

just opened up regarding the issue of affordable housing that they have opened called St.

Stephens Way. It is an affordable housing for families with school children to make sure that

kids at school have some place to go to study and have a home. That immediately filled up

once it opened because there was such a great need. There are so many school aged children

that are technically homeless”; another pastor, Pastor Gary Ginn of Redeemer Presbyterian in

Titusville says, “We’ve got a lot of people who have good and steady jobs and make a good

steady wage and yet the housing, both renting as well as trying to own is just almost

unattainable. I’m talking about people who have actually got professions, nurses and many

others, educators who find it increasingly difficult. I know up here in Titusville we’ve got a lot of

people who could really benefit from some more affordable housing, to put it quite honestly”;

and another pastor from Merritt Island, David Rosenbaum of Redeemer Lutheran Church, he

says, ”Affordable housing is clearly an issue. Churches are regularly getting people who come

and knock at the door and make a phone call. Can you help me with my rent? Can you help me

with utilities? Housing and hunger, I would say, are two areas where County is suffering and

can use improvement.” He noted he has only spoken with 25 pastors this year; it is a relatively

small number; he did find it interesting that there were four of them that mentioned this

particular need; and it is clearly a need in the County.

L.2. Morris Richardson, County Attorney

Morris Richardson, County Attorney, stated he is advising the Board that he desires the Board’s

advice and direction concerning pending litigation in Brevard County Circuit Court Case No.

05-2023-CA-015474, a case involving the construction of the midreach segment of the Brevard

County Shore Protection Project; with the Board’s authorization, he would like to schedule an

attorney client session for that purpose immediately following the Board’s regular meeting on

Tuesday, May 20, 2025; and he expects the closed session to be brief.

Chairman Feltner inquired if there needs to be a motion and vote on this request.

Attorney Richardson stated a motion and vote would be nice, but by consensus would be fine

as well.

The Board approved scheduling an executive session to discuss the pending litigation in the

Brevard County Circuit Court for Case No. 05-2023-CA-015474-XXXX-XX for construction of

the Mid-Reach Segment of the Brevard County Shore Protection Project, held after the Regular

Board Meeting on May 20, 2025.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

L.3. Katie Delaney, Commissioner District 1

Commissioner Delaney stated she wanted to fill everybody in on what she has been doing

lately; other than her constituent meetings and whatnot, she has had the pleasure of going to

the SHIP contractor meetings; she thanked Juanita Jackson, Housing and Human Services

Director, for hosting that meeting; she noted it was a great meeting for all the contractors that

deal with the SHIP funding; they got to come, learn about the program, and ask questions; it

was a really good thing and she was happy to hear that this was going to hopefully be an

annual thing where the contractors can come in and learn more about the program; she also

had the opportunity to go on a CTE tour of the north high schools and she thanked School

Board Member Megan Wright for allowing her to go on that; it is incredible what the schools are

doing here; so many people ask about what happened to vocational schools and say that there

are no more trades; well Brevard County is the shining star of CTE programs; these kids can

graduate high school with certifications to go directly into the workforce; and they are doing an

incredible job. She went on to say she was able to go to the FPL symposium and she thanked

them; they had a bunch of speakers come and talk about the future of power; Congressman

Mike Haridopolis and Senator Ashley Moody also came and provided an update on what is

going on federally; it was pretty cool to hear from them; she was able to go to the Artemis

rollout which was pretty incredible to see the Artemis capsule; it is incredible what the people

are doing out there at the Space Center; and she also had a meeting with Waste Management.

She mentioned she had received a lot of calls about issues that were going on; she called them

in because she wanted to know what was going on; it ended up being there was a broken line

of communication so they were able to figure out what that was and got that all fixed; that was

great and she thanked them for being accessible; the Speak up Brevard Program is going to be

brought up at the May 20, 2025 meeting at 9:00 a.m.; the staff recommendations have been

released and they are on the Speak Up Brevard website for anybody who has put in a

recommendation; this is pretty cool because last year she and her Chief of Staff were paying

$35 to look at some binders; and it is funny to be on the other side of that. She commented she

wants to encourage the people who submitted CEER recommendations to read that feedback

from staff and to provide their own feedback to the Board, maybe something was

misinterpreted or maybe there are comments that he or she would like to share with the Board;

she requested those be done before the May 20 meeting because that gives the Board

Members time to go through that with them and hopefully get some more yes(s) because

unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of no(s); and one of the things she was really hoping for

this year was to maybe try to work more with the citizens on their recommendations and to try

to find the yes in some of these things. She stated for instance one of the things is more

records online, or all of the records online is what the CEER stated; what she would love to see

is maybe if they cannot put all the records online, maybe some or more records can be online;

it does not always have to be an all or nothing; there was something on there about the

Consent Agenda, and she asked can the totals of money being spent be made more visible so

people do not have to comb through everything; there was one that the Tax Collector put in

about looking for efficiencies in the County Departments; and the response to that was that is

already done at the Workshops, but for her, she felt like that was not totally accurate, and she

felt like the Tax Collector was asking that the County go more in depth about what are some

things that could be cut and what efficiencies could be brought forward. She added she really

wanted to put it out there for the citizens to comb through these staff responses and send back

some feedback so the Board can advocate on behalf of them and their ideas.

L.5. Kim Adkinson, Commissioner District 3

Commissioner Adkinson stated she was honored to be asked to attend the ceremony for the

renaming of the Barrier Island Sanctuary to the Doc Erhart Sanctuary; she also wanted to thank

all the staff that showed up on Saturday, their day off; she really appreciated seeing everybody

there; she expressed her appreciation to the staff that went to Barefoot Bay with her to hear

some comments and answer some questions; she appreciates their knowledge and their

backup down there; and she advised she does not think that will be the last time they have to

go. She noted for those who do not know what Promise is in Brevard, it is a pretty amazing

place that supports young adults with disabilities; she went to their fundraiser, and she thanked

the entire community who financially supported them; there was a runway of dreams fund

raiser, if people have not heard about it or attended, they do it every year and it was pretty

amazing.

L.6. Thad Altman, Commissioner District 5

Commissioner Altman stated he attended the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) meeting and he

appreciated the Chairman giving him the opportunity to serve and Commissioner Adkinson for

her willingness to serve, School Board Member Matt Susin was there as well as the citizen

appointee Robert Springer; it was a very interesting process; there was one contested property

that the VAB voted on and are in the process of possibly giving relief there; he is hopeful that

the process can be opened up more to get more public involvement to let citizens know there is

a process of coming before the VAB to seek relief; it does not mean it will always agree, but

that is something the legislature has given them the authority to do; it is something he

personally takes seriously; and he wanted to thank the members of that board for service

because public service is a tough process, and he respects everyone who has a willingness to

serve. He mentioned he received an invitation and he is sure the rest of the Commission did,

but General Panzenhagen is having a breakfast at the Tides Facility at the Space Force Base

to give the State of the Delta, the Delta Launch 45 and he would encourage each of them to

go; it is real exciting what is happening with the Space Force; it is Friday, May 16, at 7:30 a.m.;

he thinks the Commissioners are going to play a very key role working with the Space Force

and meeting the needs that the war fighters have in Space; and he wanted to let the folks know

that is going on.

Chairman Feltner advised the Cattleman’s dinner is at F. Burton Smith Park on May 16 also.

L.1. Frank Abbate, County Manager

Frank Abbate, County Manager, stated he is grateful for all the opportunities he has been

afforded working for the Board of County Commissioners for the last 36 years; when he started

his tenure as County Manager in 2017 he began with the belief that leadership is

communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in

themselves; early on in his career while he was in Human Resources, they developed an

employee development program coupled with their Executive Leadership Institute that is

unequal from any other similar type program of local government in Florida; that is a legacy that

he is leaving the Board and that he is particularly proud to have envisioned and put in place;

and he has appreciated the opportunity over the last several years to appoint numerous

outstanding people into leadership roles, who are all graduates of these programs. He

continued by saying he is also pleased to be retiring knowing the Board will be the beneficiaries

of these leaders; they are an exceptional team of dedicated workers committed to providing

outstanding public service; he knows the Board will continue benefitting from their wisdom and

experience; and he would encourage the Board to continue asking for and listening to their

sage advice. He noted with the Board’s support staff has continued to incrementally improve

aging infrastructure and capital needs throughout the organization; County staff has done a

phenomenal job to keep these initiatives moving forward; he hopes the Board will continue to

support these important initiatives; he understands it is difficult for County government to have

a long term plan and vision and stay the course continuing the long term plan and considering

the political influences that are part of the reality and dynamics they face as Commissioners;

however, he is confident that staff stands ready to build on these initiatives with appropriate

Board guidance and direction. He stated he knows staff is eager to receive the Boards input on

how to best continue moving this organization forward to a better tomorrow for everyone; he

has benefited tremendously these last eight years from extraordinarily dedicated staff who have

worked tirelessly to make this organization better today than it was yesterday; these same

people stand ready to make things better tomorrow than they are today; with the Board’s

support he is confident of that; the staff he has had in the County Manager’s office is

undoubtedly the best staff that has ever been in that office; the County senior leadership team,

including the County Attorney and all Department Directors, Deputy and Assistant Directors, he

has been privileged to have by his side have been exceptional to work with; their unmatched

work ethic, loyalty, and the way they have been respectful and responsive has made him

particularly proud of them; and he could not have asked for a finer group of people to have the

honor to lead. He noted they have made his job so much easier than it otherwise would have

been; he is grateful for all the confidence they have placed in him and the efforts they made to

execute the vision that they all developed and focused on over the last eight years, that have

been outlined in every one of the budget messages; he looks forward to seeing a continuation

of positive progress being made this upcoming year; and he is glad the current leadership team

that is in place will be here to help and support Jim Liesenfelt, Assistant County Manager, to

further the vision that moves Brevard County forward in a manner that is beneficial for everyone

in the organization and community. He stated in closing he would like to thank the Board for

having provide him the opportunity to serve; and that is the end of his final report.

L.7. Rob Feltner, Commissioner District 4, Chairman

Chairman Feltner stated he has had to follow all the tough acts today and it has been difficult;

he appreciates Frank Abbate, County Manager, more than he is ever going to know; there were

some young people today and it reminded him that he had the privilege of going to Westshore

last week to judge the senior projects; that was his second time doing that; they give him real

hope for the future; there are a lot of smart kids out there; and one of them was actually Morris

Richardson's, County Attorney's, daughter. He noted he is not sure she enjoyed all of his

questions, but she was a good sport.

Attorney Richardson stated and he did not tell him that in advance.

Chairman Feltner commented it became obvious; he figured it out; and she looks a lot like him.

Adjourn

Upon Consensus of the Board, the Meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.

ATTEST:

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