If you wish to speak to any item on the agenda, including consent items, please fill out a

speaker card before the item is considered by the Board. Persons addressing the Board shall

have three minutes to complete his/her comments on any agenda item for which he/she has

filled out a card. The Chair has the discretion to determine or alter time limits on any item

which is not a quasi-judicial public hearing.

The Board of County Commissioners requests that speakers appearing under the Public

Comment section of the agenda limit their comments and/or presentations to matters under

the Board's jurisdiction. In Quasi-Judicial proceedings, fifteen (15) minutes shall be allowed for

applicants and five (5) minutes for other speakers.

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:

CALL TO ORDER 5:01 PM

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Katie Delaney, District 1

Commissioner Delaney led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

MINUTES FOR APPROVAL: September 5, 2024 Zoning Meeting; October 3, 2024

Zoning Meeting

The Board approved the September 5, 2024, and October 3, 2024, Regular Meeting Minutes.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Tom Goodson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

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

Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

Ayes:

E.1.

Resolution acknowledging Julianne Dattoli and Niko Vargas on their ice-skating achievements.

Chair Feltner read aloud, and the Board adopted Resolution No. 24-127, recognizing Julianne

Dattoli and Niko Vargas on their Silver placement at the 2025 US Figure Skating Pairs Finals.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Thad Altman

Seconder: Tom Goodson

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

F.1.

Approval RE: License Agreement with the School Board of Brevard County for Parking Buses at

the Merritt Island County Service Complex - District 2

Commissioner Goodson asked staff if this is approved that the School Board would have all of

the maintenance costs like fencing, lighting, and resurfacing of the parking lots.

Frank Abbate, County Manager, advised he does not believe they are currently paying for any

of the electrical, but that is very minimal; and in the agreement should the School Board want

any improvements or additional costs moving forward, the School Board would be responsible

for those costs.

The Board approved and authorized the Chairman to execute the License Agreement; and

authorized the County Manager to execute any contract-related documents associated with this

action, subject to approval of the County Attorney’s Office, Risk Management, and Purchasing

Services.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

F.2.

Approval, Re: Execute Non-Competitive Lease Agreement and Resolution to Lease County

Owned Property for Bit and Spur Club of Central Brevard, Inc. Equestrian Activities (District 1)

The Board adopted Resolution No. 24-128, authorizing the non-competitive leasing of

County-owned property; approved and authorized the Chairman to execute the Lease

Agreement to lease County-owned property for Bit and Spur Club of Central Brevard, Inc. for

equestrian activities; and authorized the Parks and Recreation Director to sign future

agreements; amendments, and modifications, upon County Attorney and Risk Management

approval.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

F.3.

FY 2023-2024 Merritt Island Public Library Tax District Board Annual Report

The Board acknowledged receipt of the FY 2023-2024 Merritt Island Public Library Tax District

Annual Report.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

F.4.

F.5.

Approval of Changes to Board Policy 08 (BCC-08) and Board Policy 11 (BCC-11)

The Board approved changes to BCC-08 and BCC-11, to provide clarity and consistency.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

Appointment(s) / Reappointment(s)

The Board appointed/reappointed R. J. Durham to the Building and Construction Advisory

Committee, with term expiring December 31, 2026; R. J. Durham to the Contractor's Licensing

Board, with term expiring December 31, 2026; Dr. Teri Jones to the Economic Development

Commission of the Space Coast, with term expiring December 31, 2025; Carol Mascellino to

the Employee Benefits Insurance Advisory Committee, with term expiring December 31, 2025;

George Kistner to the Historical Commission, with term expiring December 31, 2026; Jennifer

Allgood to the South/Central Brevard Public Library Advisory Board, with term expiring

December 31, 2026; Leann Chaney to the South/Central Brevard Public Library Advisory

Board, with term expiring December 31, 2026; Nicholas F. Sanzone to the Marine Advisory

Council, with term expiring December 31, 2026; Logan Luse to the Planning and Zoning Board,

with term expiring December 31, 2026; Debbie Thomas to the Planning and Zoning Board, with

term expiring December 31, 2026; Mark Wadsworth to the Planning and Zoning Board, with

term expiring December 31, 2026; Michael P. Gindling to the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority,

with term expiring August 6, 2027; Terri Friedlander to the Transportation Planning

Organization (TPO) Citizens Advisory Committee, with term expiring December 31, 2025; and

Dani Vinci to the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) Citizens Advisory Committee,

with term expiring December 31, 2025

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

F.6.

J.4.

Bill Folder

The Board approved the Bill Folder, as submitted.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

Carry forward FY 2023/2024 balance into FY 2024/2025 - Supervisor of Elections

Tim Bobanic, Supervisor of Elections, expressed his appreciation and the opportunity to come

out and welcome the new Commissioners; and he mentioned the carry forward request from

their prior fiscal year was not spent due to savings of having a single party presidential

preference primary election. He stated that it saved significant costs that they had budgeted for

as he mentioned in his last budget presentation; the voting equipment is 11 years old and the

budget request would help purchase one-half of the machines needed; and adding the same

amount to the next Fiscal Year’s budget.

Chair Feltner asked if there were any questions for the Supervisor.

Commissioner Goodson stated he spent two months on an Election Canvasing Board; it was as

much fun as a butt kicking; and some of the voters need to go back for penmanship or vote in

person with a driver’s license. He mentioned the importance of voting; and he thanked Mr.

Bobanic for his service.

Mr. Bobanic thanked Commissioner Goodson for being on the Election Canvasing Board.

Commissioner Goodson stated the most important thing about an Election Canvasing Board is

not having to endorse or give money.

Commissioner Delaney asked if the new machines were required due to a software update that

the current machines are not compatible with.

Mr. Bobanic replied the current machines they use for early voting will not even run the current

version of the software. He stated they were using loaned machines with higher model

numbers.

Commissioner Delaney went on to say that the new machines are definitely a necessity.

Mr. Bobanic agreed they were definitely a necessity.

Commissioner Delaney thanked Mr. Bobanic.

Chair Feltner asked if there were any more questions for the Supervisor of Elections; and he

asked if there was a motion.

The Board approved carrying forward the FY 2023/2024 balance of $653,245.54 into FY

2024/2025.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Tom Goodson

Seconder: Thad Altman

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

J.3.

Approval; RE: Renaming of the Environmentally Endangered Lands Program Barrier Island

Sanctuary - District 3.

Commissioner Adkinson stated this was for the renaming of the South Barrier Island area; and

a couple people would like to speak about the topic.

Chair Feltner stated that was fine.

Blair Witherington stated he lives a few miles north of the Barrier Island Center; he thanked

Commissioner Adkinson for sponsoring the motion to rename the Barrier Island Sanctuary; and

he talked about his teacher Doc Ehrhart and how he learned so much from being his student in

the 1980s. He went on to say that Doc Ehrhart was a historical figure who made an impact on

the community and the landscape, the sea turtle nesting surveys that were detailed on the

South Beaches, and took people out to see the nesting sea turtles including County

Commissioners and representatives. He mentioned Commissioner Altman being one of the

ones that went out to see the turtles; Doc Ehrhart would tell stories of the biological significance

of sea turtle nesting and that some of the people that Doc Ehrhart took out cobbled together a

refuge from private foundations, the county, the state, and the federal government and now

they have a mosaic wildlife refuge; and he thanked the Board for having the opportunity to

speak and being able to tell some of Doc Ehrhart’s stories.

Vince Lamb stated he is excited to face the new Board and happy they are here; he served for

about 15 years as a sea turtle volunteer and stated he had a lot of involvement with Doc

Ehrhart; he had the highest magnitude of respect for his accomplishments and mentioned

being able to go to the National Conservation Training Academy; the refuge would not be there

if it were not for Doc Ehrhart’s data; they were there partly because he is a board member of

the Friends of the Carr Refuge which is associated with the Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission and the Archie Carr Refuge; and they were prepared to help

organize a public event at the Barrier Island Center when the sign is unveiled.

Chair Feltner asked if there were any questions or discussion.

Commissioner Altman stated that he knew Doc Ehrhart and went on numerous walks and

heard his stories; he was a larger than life figure and it is sad that he is gone; but he is happy

that he can be remembered with the renaming of the Barrier Island Sanctuary.

Chair Feltner asked if there were any more comments.

Commissioner Adkinson stated that she grew up down that way, but never knew Doc Ehrhart;

she is honored and privileged to have requested the renaming; Doc Ehrhart’s 30-year legacy as

a University of Central Florida (UCF) Marine Biology professor; he did extensive work with his

students in conservation and research and he established the Archie Carr National Wildlife

Refuge; the Refuge was designated to protect the most significant area for Loggerhead sea

turtle nesting in the world; and most significant for Green Turtle nesting in North America. She

thanked Doc Ehrhart for the Refuge being internationally recognized as one of the most

important sea turtle nesting sites; she stated his career as a professor allowed him to mentor,

teach and impact the lives of hundreds of people who still live there; her goal and vision for the

Barrier Island is to carry on conservation efforts for the future of their families and their children;

and she would like to make a motion to approve the renaming of the Barrier Island Sanctuary to

the Doc Ehrhart Sanctuary.

The Board approved renaming the Barrier Island Sanctuary to The Doc Ehrhart Sanctuary.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

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

I.2.

Board Direction: Scheduling of Board Workshop for the Tourism Marketing Support Program

Chair Feltner stated that the prior Board decided this Board should workshop the issue and so

they just need to pick a date. He asked if there were any questions; and if there were any

comments on that.

Commissioner Adkinson stated that the dates that were suggested were 16th, 23rd, and 30th of

January; and she asked that the 23rd be a date that they did not use, if possible.

Chair Feltner asked if there were any other date constraints; and he mentioned it would be in

the interest of the Tourist Development Council (TDC) if the workshop was done as early as

possible.

Peter Cranis, Tourism Development Director, stated yes, it would be best to get the workshop

done as early as possible.

Chair Feltner stated that would be the 16th.

Mr. Cranis agreed, stating that is correct if that pleased the Board.

Chair Feltner asked if there was any other discussion.

Commissioner Delaney asked if the time was 1:00 p.m.

Chair Feltner asked Mr. Cranis if the time was in fact 1:00 p.m.

The Board directed staff to schedule a Board Workshop on Tourism Marketing Support

Program for January 16, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Tom Goodson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

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

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

public comment sections.)

Lisa Cullen, Brevard County Tax Collector, stated last Fiscal Year they started looking at their

budgets and part of their process when they have unused fees is to return them to the taxing

authorities in the equitable amounts that were paid.

Dana Blickley, Brevard County Property Appraiser, mentioned the excess fees from the

Property Appraiser’s office; she stated the check is higher than the Board would normally see

due to the problems a lot of them are having with human capital; and that they average about

eleven vacant funded positions all throughout the year, meaning that her staff of 100 worked

that much harder to make sure that those gaps were filled. She noted the tax roll calendar is

cyclical and unforgiving in the deadline, without an executive order from the Governor, she

does not get an opportunity to take a little longer to do each function in order to facilitate this

process…

Ms. Cullen mentioned that her office has taken on numerous rolls; concealed weapons

licensing being a large part of that; they have also partnered with Department of Health with

birth certificates and have taken over driver’s licenses from the Department of Highway Safety

and Motor Vehicles; she explained that for every service that is performed her office is allowed

to charge a fee; that it is a statutory fee; and that is where her check came from for the Board.

She went on to say it is a nice size check, $ 5.6 million; she wanted to bring that to the forefront

for the public; that is the end of her fiscal year; and the money has already been transferred to

the Board.

Ms. Blickley stated that although the Property Appraisers check would not fund $5.6 million with

it, but there is some funds for cookies to be allocated to the Supervisor of Elections; and that

would take care of Commissioner Goodson’s need to keep his tummy full.

Chair Feltner reminded property owners that if they paid their taxes, in December and January

and February they get a discount; and asked Ms. Cullen to explain the rest.

Ms. Cullen stated that in December the discount would be 3 percent, January would be 2

percent, February would be 1 percent; and in March the full amount is due; and taxes go

delinquent April 1.

Chair Feltner added that the people who paid in November got 4 percent.

Ms. Cullen stated that they have collected 74 percent of the role and they are at $888 million at

this time.

Commissioner Goodson asked if they could pay property taxes quarterly like one would when

paying IRS taxes.

Ms. Cullen advised people can; she would request that he or she sign up for an installment plan

to receive four equal installments, the first two are based on the previous year and once the roll

is received they do a true up; those last two payments will be based on the actual roll; and then

he or she will receive the 4% discount in the installment plan.

Ms. Blickley stated unless a mid-year assessment is done on the property.

Commissioner Delaney asked about the fees that were given back to the County and where

that money goes.

Frank Abbate, County Manager, replied that it would go into a cash forward; there is a mid-year

supplement that would come before the Board in an agenda request; and then those funds

would be allocated at that time.

Commissioner Delaney asked if the funds would go into the General Fund or would only some

of the money go into the General Fund; and she requested more discussion on where those

dollars go since it was not something that was necessarily budgeted for.

Mr. Abbate stated that some of it is in fact budgeted, it’s projected in budgeting, not all of it this

year because of the amount; there is a large part of it that had not been budgeted; and the

Board will have the opportunity moving forward as he previously stated, the mid-year

supplement happens around March and adjustments can be made at that point.

Commissioner Delaney stated she just wanted to bring it up because there are other things,

like the firefighters, that the Board needs to keep the focus on and make sure it gets to a better

place.

Chuck Sheridan welcomed the new Board and wished them good luck. He mentioned the

monthly reports that the Board does because he would like to know what is brought to their

office and the concerns that are mentioned.

John Dacko stated he would like to address the significant issues facing fire rescue; and how

those problems signal a failing Fire Department; Fire Rescue currently has a condemned fire

station, and because of that they have two other stations housing two to three extra personnel;

that makes a total of seven to eight personnel in a firehouse that is only designed to hold five;

Fire Rescue currently has between 10 to 15 people that are on mandatory overtime every shift;

it has between 10 to 20 that are on regular overtime every shift; almost every shift there are 30

to 40 people on overtime; and extrapolate this out 365 days, the overtime budget would equate

to over $7 million per year. He advised that the dollar amount would pay for the contract that

the union presented to the County negotiators, which would allow Fire Rescue to compete with

the comparable wage package that the County presented to the Union; the monies would allow

Fire Rescue to compete with Seminole County, Indian River County, and the municipalities in

Brevard County; Fire Rescue has people in the department that have been continually failing at

their jobs that are being promoted; and they have people who are successful and excel in their

jobs that should have been promoted, that have been black balled and have now left the Fire

Department. He went on to say because of the promotions and the loss of respective Chiefs,

morale is at an all-time low which is a sign of a sick and failing Fire Department; they are not

alone as there are other departments failing as well such as Parks and Recreation, Brevard

County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), and Road and Bridge; much of the dysfunction could be

attributed to Frank Abbate; his leadership has dismantled County departments and blocked

necessary pay raises to retain and attract skilled personnel; years ago Mr. Abbate made a

statement that perfectly illustrated his prospective, “Fire Rescue are no different than office

secretaries in Viera”; the statement devalued the unique and emotionally taxing nature of Fire

Rescue; Fire Rescue Personnel, like dispatchers, Animal Control officers, and Brevard County

Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputies face the worst of humanity daily; and they are not just

employees, they are frontline responders whose roles demand resilience, sacrifice and strength

that cannot be equated to office work. He continued by saying he does not have all the

answers but he knows it will take substantial pay raises and systemic changes to rebuild these

departments; if the Board wants to stop the mass exodus of talent and help restore the health

of these critical services, it starts with the Board of County Commissioners; and he thanked the

Board for its time and urged it to look deeper into issues for the betterment of the community.

Marie Luke thanked the Board for letting her speak; she advised she had never been to a

meeting before but felt compelled to speak; she heard there would be a discussion and

perhaps a vote on making Brevard a sanctuary county; Brevard County has law abiding

citizens, but the Board is considering this radical and unconstitutional move which would allow

criminals and illegals to be protected from the consequences of their illegal acts therefore

protecting the criminals as if they are the victims and the citizens as if they are the criminals;

she has seen and heard many sad stories about what disastrous sanctuary cities have caused

the citizens of the communities, the communities financially, to the police departments, to those

who have had their properties destroyed, taken over by criminals, to those children and woman

who have been raped or murdered with no consequences; and she does not want to ever have

a sanctuary anything here, all she ask is that he or she please follow the Constitution and the

laws that he or she swore to uphold and protect to the lawful citizenry.

Christina Fleming welcomed the new Commissioners and the old Commissioners. She stated

that as of today, the County has lost 105 Fire Rescue personnel, 94 of the field which would be

added to the meeting minutes after she speaks; she mentioned there is a 20-year Lieutenant

medic that is battling occupational cancer while working three jobs to pay for the treatment; and

according to State statute Brevard County should be paying that; Brevard County Fire Rescue

is in a pay freeze that is being used as cheap negotiation tactics; and the County Manager has

been approached three times about a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a raise and

had said no, so the money is sitting in Payroll right now serving no purpose. She continued by

saying she stands before the Board not only as a concerned citizen but also as someone who

is deeply troubled by the ongoing mismanagement of the Fire Department, it is with frustration

and disappointment that she address the issue, one that directly impacts the safety and

wellbeing of the community; for months now there have been repeated claims from the County

Manager, Public Safety Director, and others within the administration that they are unaware of

the internal problems facing the Fire Department, yet the signs of mismanagement are

undeniable; from staffing shortages to inadequate salaries, outdated equipment, and inefficient

operations, the signs of neglect are all too clear; and to say that they are unaware is, frankly, a

disservice to the hardworking men and women who risk their lives every day and to the

residents that depend on their service. She asked how does BCFR accept the claim of

ignorance, when the evidence of dysfunction is so glaring; She stated the issue is not about

passing blame it is about accountability; the County Manager is charged with overseeing and

ensuring the effective operation of every department in the this County; for the past several

months, really years, BCFR has been hearing excuses and evasions, but to be clear leadership

means taking responsibility, especially when things go wrong; the Fire Department deserves a

leader who is not only aware of the challenges but is actively working to solve them; they

deserve better than vague reassurances that things will improve, please trust us and Roll Tide

while the problems continue to grow; and the public deserves transparency and the firefighters

and first responders deserve the resources and support they need to do their job safely and

effectively. She asked the Commission to take immediate action; she advised there needs to

be real answers not more evasions, and a commitment to fixing the problems that are putting

both the community and the first responders at risk; and that includes removing people from

their positions.

H.1.

Approval of an Amendment to Chapter 62, Article X, Division 6, Section 62-3751, Exhibit A -

Stormwater Management Criteria; Subsections 4.6(d) and 4.6(j), Brevard County Code of

Ordinances, to allow polypropylene pipe in the County right of way and provide for

administrative waivers for inverted siphons.

Marc Bernath, Public Works Director, stated he is with Rachel Gerena, Engineering Manager;

this is an approval of an amendment to Chapter 62 of Brevard County Code of Ordinances to

allow high performance polypropylene pipe in County rights-of-way; and as well as provide

administrative waivers for inverted siphons, often referred to as bubble up structures.

Commissioner Delaney stated that she has major concerns regarding the inverted siphons; all

of the research she has done showed that they fail regularly, and require a lot of maintenance;

she does not know why the Board is making its code weaker; even the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) said these structures can present problems, communities look for

ways to avoid siphons in their wastewater collection systems when possible; and there is a

flood risk if they are not maintained properly. She continued by saying she understands that

they will be required to keep the flood waters on their own property, everyone knows how that

sometimes goes.

Mr. Bernath stated the Board has reviewed them in the past and what this is doing, at the

request of the development community, is it would simply shift it from the Board responsibility

to a staff administrative approval process; that does not mean that staff would start approving

them any more than in the past; but it would just allow them to expedite where it made the most

sense. He stated that staff agrees, which is why they made it very specific that it was only for

commercial applications and there are a number of other requirements; for example residential,

HOAs, in the County right-of-ways are excluded because of the maintenance concern; with that

being said, it is a substantial benefit to developers; and trying to be responsive to them, staff

wanted to offer this alternative path, but again making sure that the concerns that

Commissioner Delaney had enumerated are addressed.

Commissioner Goodson asked if it followed State Code.

Rachel Gerena, Public Works Engineering Manager, stated she does not believe there are any

State restrictions on inverted siphons, none that she has come across.

Commissioner Goodson asked if the State agreed to the use of polypropylene pipe.

Ms. Gerena responded that yes FDOT had approved polypropylene pipe; they approved it in

2014; there has been extensive research on it; and her staff has talked with both the State as

well as other municipalities as well as visiting some sites that had already utilized it to come to

that conclusion.

Commissioner Goodson asked if they only used it in green areas, in other words, like through a

culvert easement.

Ms. Gerena stated it is actually approved for all applications.

Commissioner Goodson asked if it has been approved for driveways, road crossings,

everything; and would the cost to the owner be 50 percent, from concrete to that.

Ms. Gerena stated that it would not be a significant cost difference material wise but there is

cost savings installation-wise if there is a contractor that is used to installing them; and it is

really hit or miss depending on who is doing it.

Commissioner Delaney stated while she would not die on the hill of the polypropylene pipes,

one thing that the Board needs to consider with that is that when there are entities like cable or

internet, those type of businesses, if they are drilling into the ground, there is not a whole lot of

room for error with the pipes; with concrete, at least one knows he or she was hit concrete

before having drilled through; and with these pipes if someone were to drill though it there

would be a bigger problem to deal with. She expressed that the inverted siphons were a poor

practice; she stated she is worried that the person who would buy the property may or may not

know that they have a siphon on the property; it goes unmaintained; and then the property

owner would have a bigger issue to deal with.

Commissioner Goodson asked Commissioner Delaney if she knew anything about Florida, in

digging or drilling, people better call for locations because the cost that will occur in hitting a

fiber optic is astronomical; therefore do not buy the idea that drilling is going to affect anything,

if he or she does not call, he or she will suffer.

Commissioner Delaney stated that her concern was not so much the drilling into fiber optics,

her concern was that, and she is sure that they get a lot of phone calls just like her about

certain companies that do their digging and hit sewer pipes and things like that, it is just a

lesser of a product.

Commissioner Goodson stated he hears her but that he or she cannot govern stupid.

Chair Feltner asked Mr. Bernath if he could speak to the concern raised about digging and

interference with these kind of pipes.

Ms. Gerena stated in regards to directional drilling through the pipes, the County does

experience directional drilling through the concrete pipes that are in the right-of-way; can these

pipes be drilled through absolutely; the problem is less that they cannot feel it, the problem is

that they do not notify County staff when they do it; regardless of whether they have drilled

through a concrete pipe and know they did it, the likelihood that they call is very unlikely; staff

had addressed the issue with the drilling with one of the major companies that carries this type

of pipe and the corrective fix for fixing an application like that is actually a lot easier for the

polypropylene pipes; the problem is going to happen eventually somewhere somehow; and the

County does a pretty good job making sure those pipes are located on plans so that they do

not.

Commissioner Goodson asked if the concrete pipes come in eight foot length; and then asked

if the polypropylene pipe could come in 20 to 40 foot length.

Ms. Gerena stated typically it would come in 20 or 24.

Commissioner Goodson stated so the installation would be greater for the contractor and

cheaper for the developers.

Ms. Gerena responded generally yes.

Commissioner Goodson stated that if he or she knows anything about concrete pipe today it is

extremely expensive and there is a wait for concrete pipe sometimes because the demand is

so high.

Commissioner Delaney stated if there is no other discussion, she would like to make a motion.

Mr. Bernath stated to address Commissioner Delaney’s concern over the maintenance, one of

the stipulations is that the maintenance agreement shall be provided by the property owner,

that would include maintenance frequency of the inverted siphon, the increased maintenance

needs for the inverted siphons, and potential increased cost associated with such a system. He

noted staff believes they have addressed the concern, although, the concern is a real concern.

Commissioner Delaney asked if the Board could amend what is there currently. She stated she

would like to motion to pass the Item with the amendment that the inverted siphons stay with

the Board of County Commissioners.

Commissioner Goodson asked to have the amendment explained again.

Commissioner Delaney stated she would like to have the waiver through the Board of County

Commissioners that way there is some sort of public record so that future owners are protected

if a contractor would like to do that route.

Commissioner Goodson asked Mr. Bernath if that would show up on the plans.

Mr. Bernath replied yes it would.

Commissioner Goodson stated therefore the developer and the owner that would buy the lot

would have a set of plans showing it.

Mr. Bernath stated correct and as he had mentioned before it would get approved they would

need the property owner with their maintenance plan so they would need to acknowledge that

as part of that process.

Chair Feltner asked Commissioner Delaney to state her motion one more time for the Clerk to

the Board.

Commissioner Delaney stated she would like to make a motion to pass H.1. with the

amendment to make the waiver still have to go through the Board of County Commissioners.

Morris Richardson, County Attorney, asked just for clarity that would accept the proposed

amendment 4.6(d) adding the term polypropylene pipe but would reject all of the proposed

amendments to 4.6(j).

Commissioner Delaney responded, yes.

Commissioner Goodson asked Mr. Bernath if the motion were to pass how much it would affect

his staff and affect the county in cost.

Mr. Bernath stated since they do not get that many of those type of requests, it would not be a

great administrative burden; it is really a request that the development community has long

requested it be moved from the Board to our staff as an administrative process; in trying to be

responsive, staff has worked over the last year or more putting it together; and if someone

came in, and it fit the criteria, staff would endorse it and then they would put it on the Board

Agenda.

Commissioner Goodson asked if the motion were to be passed would it be guaranteed that

every one of them would be caught or would it fall by the waist side.

Mr. Bernath responded by saying that if the developer or contractor did so without staff’s

knowledge they would not be able to catch everything; but if they came through their office

looking for an approval they would not approve it unless it met the requirements; if there were

ever any uncertainty staff would have the option to come back to the Board, and say there are

some concerns; and it would be on the Board to approve.

Mr. Bernath asked to confirm that the resolution is one, so they will redraft that with the County

Attorney and bring that back to the Board.

Morris Richardson stated it does not need to return to the Board, staff will just revise the

amendment and it goes for signature by the Chair.

The Board adopted Ordinance No. 24-30, amending Chapter 62, Article X – Environmental

Protection and Conservation, Division 6 – Stormwater Management Criteria, Section 62-3751 –

adoption of Stormwater Management Criteria Exhibit A – Stormwater Management Criteria;

specifically, amending Subsection 4.6 (d) of Exhibit A to allow for the use of polypropylene

pipes in Brevard County Right(s)-of-Way; and rejected Subsection 4.6(j).

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, Feltner, and Altman

Nay: Goodson, and Adkinson

H.2.

Approval of an Amendment to Chapter 62, Article XI, Flood Damage Protection, Division 1

Marc Bernath, Public Works Director, stated this is an approval of an amendment to Chapter

62, it is to satisfy the community rating system as part of the National Flood Insurance

Protection (NFIP) Program for the County to maintain the current Community Rating System

(CRS) rating of a seven; and it requires all manufactured homes, newly installed or replaced in

a special flood hazard area, to be elevated to at least one foot above the base flood elevation.

He stated this is also in alignment with other parts of the Code which requires one foot above

elevation but is specific for structures, so this aligns that part of the Code, but also keeps the

County compliant within the NFIP CRS to ensure that homeowners can get the best possible

premium discounts on flood insurance; and he will stand by for any questions the Board may

have.

Commissioner Delaney stated this is for the public’s sake; and she asked if that is so the

people can keep their discount.

Mr. Bernath responded that is correct. He stated the Florida Department of Emergency

Management noted that the County needed to make the update; and it is really just an

administrative request to stay within the program at its current rate.

The Board adopted Ordinance No. 24-31, amending Chapter 62, Article XI, Flood Damage

Protection, Brevard County Code of Ordinances, to adopt an updated version of the Flood

Insurance Rate Map and to specify elevation of manufactured homes in flood hazard areas to

base flood elevation plus one (1) foot above frame of manufactured homes; specifically

amending Section 62-4001, Brevard County Code, to remove the definitions of “expansion to

an existing manufactured home park or subdivision”, “substantially improved existing

manufactured home parks or subdivisions”; specifically amending Section 62-4001, Brevard

County Code, to include the definition of “market value”; specifically amending Section

62-4001, Brevard County Code, to modify the definitions of “appeal”, “existing construction”,

existing manufactured home park or subdivision”, “new construction”, “substantial

improvement”; specifically adopting a updated Flood Insurance Rate Map into Sections

62-4005 “basis for establishing areas of special flood hazard and adoption of Flood Insurance

Rate Map”; specifically amending Section 62-4061 “general standards” to include reference to

the date the County was accepted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to

participate in the National Flood Insurance Program in subsection 7; specifically amending

Section 62-4062(4) specific standards for manufactured homes and recreational vehicles in

areas of special flood hazard; providing for conflicting provisions; providing for severability;

providing an effective date; and providing for inclusion in the Brevard County Code of

Ordinances.

The Board recessed at 6:02 p.m. and reconvened at 6:11 p.m.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Thad Altman

Seconder: Katie Delaney

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

I.1.

James Road Traffic Calming - District 1

Marc Bernath, Public Works Director, stated this is James Road Traffic Calming; it was

presented to the last Board and continued to this one; there is a requirement in the stipulated

settlement agreement of 2007, after years of litigation, requiring the traffic calming to be

considered and for input from James Road residents; a public involvement meeting was

previously held as well as input solicited directly from owners of properties that traverse James

Road; and then at the D1 Commission office staff met with all residents that wanted to attend to

get into more specifics. He stated a traffic engineering consultant which works for Taylor

Morrison and confirmed by staff proposed implementing traffic calming due to the limit of

right-of-way as there are no other cost-feasible alternatives in order to reduce vehicle speed

and improve the safety of the roadway for the users of James Road with the addition of traffic

by the Taylor Morrison development; the Board may consider approving the recommended

traffic, all of the traffic calming measures, approving one or a combination of both, rejecting all,

or other options it may wish to direct staff to pursue; and he will be standing by for any

questions the Board may have.

Commissioner Delaney asked about the concerns of the narrowing of James Road; and from

the briefing staff had, the road is not getting smaller the lines are just coming in, so the amount

of pavement that is there is still going to be there, the pavement is not going to go away.

Mr. Bernath responded that is correct. He stated that when staff mentioned lane narrowing in

this particular case James Road varies from 10 to 11 feet, so it would be standardized to 10

feet; the reason for doing that, and it would be leaving the existing pavement, it is moving the

lines in one foot, there needs to be standoff separation from where the speed tables are and

the guard rails; and that allows them to do that. He continued by saying if the Board wants to

do speed tables it needs that one foot of separation to do the guard rails because of the road

side drop off hazard that is being presented by introducing a new condition, in this case the

speed tables.

Commissioner Delaney stated basically the guard rails were put in place so that when people

go up and over the speed tables that there is less of a risk of somebody driving recklessly and

going off into the ditch.

Mr. Bernath responded right, whether it is reckless or carelessness or maybe blinded during

night conditions staff reviewed their concerns with the traffic consultant for Taylor Morrison and

Taylor Morrison agreed to, in the cases where there are speed tables, to have them

accompanied with guard rails because of the concern for safety.

Commissioner Delaney asked about the paint markings that are on the road; and stated those

were not put there by the county or the developer.

Mr. Bernath stated to the best of his knowledge that is correct, certainly for the County and he

believes for the developer; it is believed that some good willed individual took the County’s map

and tried to see where the speed tables would be but he or she have it slightly wrong; that

made it so that some people thought that their driveways would be blocked; staff has worked

with the consultant; they have been out there on site; and the speed tables will not be blocking

any driveways.

Chair Feltner stated just to clarify if the Board did not do anything tonight, what would be the

consequences of that on this Item.

Mr. Bernath stated as the stipulated settlement agreement currently requires in order for the

developer to finish or complete their work, the County would basically be ceding, allowing them

to move forward and then they do not have to bear the expenses of this; there has been some,

and that is where option four comes in, there has been some discussion of potentially bonding

it, but right now as the stipulated settle agreement requires they cannot finish the work until

they do the traffic calming.

Commissioner Adkinson asked what a bonding situation would look like.

Mr. Bernath replied with that he would ask the County Attorney to weigh in on that one.

Morris Richardson, County Attorney, stated, theoretically, it would look like the developer

posting a bond or some other kind of cash security in the amount of the estimated cost of

performing the improvements; in this case, because the developer’s cost is based on an actual

contractor’s bid rather than the construction cost, it would probably be that amount rather than

that amount plus some contingency; then that money would be available for the County to use

within a reasonable period of time potentially tied to something like issuance of Certificates of

Occupancy within the new development; and the County could decide to use that money either

for the improvements that are advised based on the study or some other combination of traffic

calming improvements or not use it at all and return any unused funds, at the end of the period,

back to the developer. He stated then the County would be at risk if there were cost overruns or

if the County decided to do something different and more costly than anything that exceeded

whatever was posted; it would be County obligation not developer obligation; and that also

involves County performing the work which means either self-performing or more likely

contracting to do the work as opposed to having the developer use their forces to perform the

work now.

Chair Feltner asked what is the year-over-year construction inflation situation today, if the

County took the money and escrowed it and did not spend it for three years on the traffic

calming, what would be the inflationary effect of that.

Mr. Bernath stated without quoting actual Consumer Price Index (CPI), he has seen some bids

at 15 to 20 percent year-over-year since Covid, 2020 timeframe.

Chair Feltner stated construction cost dollars are devalued 20 percent potentially year-over-

year.

Mr. Bernath answered in some cases more.

Margaret Bassett stated she lives on James Road and saw a vehicle go by doing at least 60

miles per hour; it has that deep wide ditch; and if they do not get the traffic calming somebody

is going to get killed out there.

Robin Hunter stated she hopes the Board would approve the traffic calming design that was put

together by the County and the Windward Preserve developer.

Tom Sullivan, with Gray Robinson Law Firm on behalf of Taylor Morrison, stated he

appreciated Marc Bernath and Morris Richardson’s comments and the questions regarding the

bond; Taylor Morrison is in the position to either construct the improvements that they have

presented to the Board, which they are willing to do to fulfill the obligations under the settlement

or they would consider the bond option as Mr. Richardson laid out; an additional wrinkle he

would like to add is based on a conversation that was had with Commissioner Delaney, in the

event that they post the bond and there are some improvements that were non James Road

improvements that the County decided to use those funds for they would have no objection to

that and therefore would not be requesting a refund of those dollars if they were not used

toward the James Road improvement; and stated he has Gil Ramirez, who is their traffic

expert, as well as Fred Miller with Taylor Morrison who are happy to answer any questions that

the Board may have if there are any follow-ups from the last meeting.

Susan Rollins stated she recommends that the Board pass this and not put it to, bonding the

money; it made her nervous what the gentleman prior said that maybe the money could be

used for other things; she lives off of James Road and she walks that road daily; she used to

walk with her dogs but they are unable to make that walk anymore; when she is walking that

road most people would either slow down or pull over so that people who walk can pass; it is

only a 35 mile per hour road and they are real nice, other people, just the current traffic now

where it is like they either mathematically know exactly how much space they need to pass her

or they do not care because sometimes she could reach out and touched the vehicle; and at

some point sometimes she feels like throwing a water bottle just to get a reaction. She stated

she cannot imagine how much worse it is going to be with the additional traffic of the

development; she feels like right now the residents are in this situation where the Board has

asked the people what they want, the people tell them what they want, the Board asked if they

are sure, they put it to a vote, and 85 percent of the people that returned the ballot said there

are concerns about future traffic; and right now, 71 percent said they had concerns about the

current traffic. She stated she does not know how much more desperate they could be that

people are begging the Board to help them; if 85 percent of the population of Brevard County

asked the Board for something it would probably give it to them; and now 76 percent of the

people that voted said they would want the speed tables put in; the people are asking the

Board for help; and the people are begging for the Board to help to pass the amendment and

let them return to a very quiet community that they all moved out there to live in.

Jennifer Therrien stated she had been working on the James Road traffic calming for 20 years

and five months, it has been a long road; she provided the Board with a map showing the

overwhelming support for the traffic calming, particularly the speed tables, and those are noted

in green on the table; the current traffic study that they had showed there was an average

speed of 46 and 48 miles per hour (mph) on a 35 mile per hour, on two spots on the road, so

obviously already there is a problem before talking about adding additional traffic; and people

look to the County to provide its residents safe access to their mailbox; and an area for the

residents to walk their pets or ride a bike without the fear of being ran over or someone ending

up in the ditch. She noted she has nearly been hit three times while walking her dog; she has

seen residents of nearby streets probably going in excess of 60 mph; she cannot tell the Board

how frightening it is when two cars are passing and he or she is at the mailbox and there is one

foot or one and one-half foot between him or her and a car doing 60, there is not even a word

for it; and she has visited Board meetings and visited the Road and Bridge, there has been

hard work done between the County and the developer to come up with a fine design. She

continued by saying she pleads with the Board to put that into effect; there is a stipulated

agreement that they worked exceedingly hard to put together; the residents know the

development is coming they are just asking for the Board to put the traffic calming in to provide

a safe environment for them; and not only for James Road, but other residents in the area. She

asked the Board to move forward with this and not delay because if it is not implemented now,

just as it was mentioned by Marc Bernath, that cost will likely increase; she knows that there

has been considerable consideration; and she would ask that the Board to please press

forward with the implementation of the traffic calming before the building phase starts on

Windward Preserve.

Rick Hefflefinger stated there is no question they are going to get traffic calming but he is on

Friday Road and Friday Road is not James Road; problem is Friday Road is going to get a lot

of traffic, and they already have speeding; he mentioned a survey had been done; there was a

plan; they had a meeting that was mis-addressed but nobody knows how that happened; and

the whole thing has been a botch. He stated he is seriously disappointed; he thinks the

contractor’s guy was let too much in charge and the County was not watching what was going

on; now there is a plan that includes guard rails; he realizes everyone that lives on that road is

going to get traffic calming; and he just wants to make sure everybody knows James Road is

getting guard rail because guard rail looks like crap, it looks like they live on a freeway. He

stated that he hopes the people that voted know they voted without guard rail, that was not

included; he asked does there have to be guard rail, is there any room to either vote for all of it

or some of it, he commented all of a sudden the guard rail has to be there because it is safety;

there are no guard rails on Friday Road and there has been more cars in the ditch than James

Road has; nobody has asked them about, the need to get Friday Road some guard rails; and if

someone is speeding and he or she flies over the speed hump he or she deserves to be in the

ditch. He asked why the County cannot go back out with another survey and let people decide

if they want the guard rail; he stated 50 percent of those people said they did not want the road

narrowed, and he asked where are those 50 percent now; and they already did the survey, met

the legal requirement, and notified the people but they were notified of the wrong stuff, they

changed the plan. He stated he would love to get guard rail, like to get his pipes buried but that

is not going to happen; Friday Road was completely ignored; it is going to get a lot of the traffic;

he realizes that, they are a 45 mph; and there was talk about making the whole development

35, but then people would whine that they could not get out fast enough. He expressed his

concern for the people on Cox and Friday; he inquired if there is something the County can do;

and he commented how about the speed limit signs, can they get a couple of those signs,

throw them in for a while at maximum capacity just to remind everybody this is residential out

here. He went on to say this is going to kill some golf cart people on Friday Road; he will not

ride his bike on it right now; the County does not mow the side enough for him to even pull

over; he asked the Board to have a little concern for that stuff; James Road is getting traffic

calming, but he does not know if everyone knows exactly what they are getting; and he just

wanted people to have a fair opportunity to vote.

Lee Windschitl stated there has been an increase in speeding on James Road in the 25 years

he has lived there; the Walmart Distribution Center on State Road (SR) 524 got a stop light, a

lot of the speeding is to get around two of those three stop lights; there is one at Friday Road

and SR 524; one at the Walmart Distribution Center, and one at SR 524 and Cox Road, so

people are speeding down James Road to beat two of those three stop lights whether they are

going west or east; and it significantly increased the speeding on James Road. He continued by

saying Florida Power and Light (FPL) came in and put in large concrete power poles that block

the view of the people that come down the road; they are on the south side of the road, and he

lives on the south side of the road so when he pulls up to the edge of his driveway on James

Road, he is having to try and see if anything is coming because of those power poles; he has to

be careful somebody speeding does not run into him or he does not hit them when pulling out.

He commented they are adding 250 homes to James Road so people know that the speeding

is going to increase; as a minimum they need the speed tables, bare minimum, to slow them

down as much as possible; and there will still be people that will speed over them. He asked

the Board to please vote yes to give the residents the speed tables on James Road; and he

stated the Board has to do something or someone is going to be killed, someone walking a

dog, pushing a stroller or riding a horse.

Ed Dwyer stated he observed the speeding on James Road having lived there for 24 years. He

mentioned he made the traffic calming survey that everybody saw and had presented to the

Board; they are the ones that walk their dogs between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.; he gets to

observe everybody going down the road and the people on James Road that live on James

Road very rarely speed, but the people that use James Road as a crossroads speed a lot; they

deal with a specific bus driver, daily, that he has to wave down daily that speeds down James

Road going 50 mph, with a bus; it is unsafe for people right now, if they add 250 to 400 homes

and maybe 500 to 800 cars to that road; study showed that when they did this study over a

three day period that there were 680 cars on average, that is people using their cars three or

four times a day going back and forth to Walmart, going back and forth to work that is how

many is going down there now, so to add another 800 cars to that. He stated the bottom line,

what the residents are looking for is that they all know that James Road, and to bring up the

guy on Friday Road, James Road is way different than Cox Road and Friday Road, James

Road has a 24-foot wide ditch, it averages 12 feet deep, it is three feet from the edge of the

road on average from the edge of the pavement on the Northside, and then the concrete poles

are five feet on the Southside; there is a pinch point there; if he or she is between the pole and

the ditch he or she would have three feet on one side and five feet on the other side to get out

of the way whether he or she is in a golf cart, on a horse, walking the dog, kids riding their

bicycle, or pushing a kid in a carriage; and everybody on Friday Road and Cox Road, they all

use James Road, he sees them every weekend. He added they are all there on their golf carts

they are bringing their kids down there, and with all this traffic, if this is not done, then there is

going to be fatalities. He mentioned if he is wrong, the builder has agreed to put these speed

tables in; and none of the residents have a problem with having the guard rails, definitely have

to have a guard rail on this side of the ditch just because of the depth of it; there cannot be a

speed table without a guard rail; and nobody is going to complain about what it looks like. He

stated what he is really concerned about is people getting hurt, somebody getting killed; he

assisted in three recoveries in his 24 years; two of the cars were upside down in the ditch, their

tires were only showing; one of the cars he did not even know was there until the next day; and

a motorcyclist died. He noted it is all about safety so please vote yes on this.

Roger Helms, lawyer from the Orlando area, stated it was good to see Commissioner

Goodson; he remembers when they elected him to the Port Authority back about a quarter

century ago in the port; and he is glad to see someone his age who is still working. He stated

he had a career in law enforcement, an accident investigator, and a Reconstructionist; he went

off in the military, got shot in the Army, and then went to law school and parlayed that into

cases against Department of Transportation (DOT) and planning agencies with regard to road

construction; he had a similar case with what they are dealing with now with the safety plan; it

was a sharp curve on Fort Benning, Georgia; two young soldiers were decapitated by guywire

on a telephone pole because there was three or four feet from the side of the road; as a young

investigator brought up why not put in guard rails or do something to protect it and it caused a

big scandal; and it is similar to what is going on here. He continued by saying they have a

vetted engineer verified study by traffic professionals, the Laster Traffic Group, who have said it

is appropriate given the speed circumstances here, to put the speed tables out here; he cannot

tell the names of the people that will be saved by doing the right thing and approving the plan,

all the Board has to do is say ‘I vote safety’; he cannot tell the names of someone they prevent

from being paralyzed but he will tell them as a trial lawyer, that costs $20 to $50 million in a jury

verdict these days; the County Attorney can tell them the liability picture; and one thing for

certain is with respect to road design it is muddy and what smart lawyers do is get around

things. He went on to say one in Orlando, it is always planning versus operational; they said no

one cannot sue them for planning the stop sign out there but they did not inspect it and see that

the sun was bleaching it out where nobody saw it and somebody was killed at the intersection;

and in closing, he cannot say what will happen but he can say that it is his opinion, as an

investigator in the past and as a trial lawyer that specializes in this sort of thing, somebody is

going to get killed or somebody is going to get paralyzed; and somebody is going to be asked

the following question, so wait a minute they had a plan which was done by engineers and

traffic studies to slow the traffic down to save lives, they had a trial lawyer come to them and

incidentally his fees have been set at $1,000 an hour in this circuit, and they had all of this in

front of them and they did nothing, that is wrong.

Lillian Leber stated that she does not have a problem with the speed tables on James Road but

her concern is that if they are put in now prior to the construction when all the cars are really

there that the speed bumps will deteriorate from all the trucks going by; and then who is

responsible for paying for the replacement of the speed bumps if they are done now versus

after construction. She repeated that was her concern, that they would have to be replaced at

the expense of the County versus the builder who is putting them in now, so she just wondered

if the developer could wait until the development is complete.

Chuck Sheridan stated that he grew up on North Merritt Island and they had a similar situation

where there was a ditch on one side and trees close to the other; by the time he ended high

school he pulled three people out of the ditch dead, there was an s-turn there and cars would

go by his house 80, 90, 100 mph sometimes; when they just put the speed bumps down

Crisafulli Road, he went to go visit his mother and she said it is wonderful the cars have slowed

down; she does not have that much traffic now, and is not as concerned driving down the road;

therefore, it does save lives.

David Scott stated he has property on Offshore Lane; he was told about the speed tables; they

plan to build eventually; he has an eight year old, a seven year old, and a four year old; growing

up, as kids you go out to the road, his dad would send him to take the trash out; his kids cannot

do that with cars flying down the street; he is working on the property bringing fallen trees down

with a tractor; and these cars go whipping by. He noted the speed tables are needed; he hates

speed tables with a passion; but he asked the Board to please pass this.

Commissioner Delaney stated she has a lot to say about the Item, but she just wanted to clarify

something, and the people in District one know her, so they know her heart when she says

leave it to lawyers to give part of the conversation and not the whole conversation, the

conversation she had with him was about blinking lights being put on Friday Road and she

asked him if they did a bond, how much would that be and could he add that in, so it would not

be taking anything from the people on James Road; and she just wanted to clarify that because

the whole story was not told and she will definitely know better for next time. She mentioned

that she had a community meeting with the people from the community and she wanted to

thank Mr. Bernath and Corrina for coming; Corrina came on a day that she was on her leave

and so she really appreciates that, it means a lot, and it means a lot to the people in District

one; this has been a very long drawn out fight and the thing that she has to stay focused on is

what part of the development are they talking about; and she understands what this will look

like for District one and for the people of the community because she is dealing with the same

thing right at SR 528 because she lives in Canaveral Groves. She stated if it goes forward as

the engineers have designed that does not mean she will not fight for Friday Road; she will call

on the State and the new Congressman to help with the infrastructure issues here in Brevard

County; and Friday Road will be on the front of her mind to make sure that part of the

community is safe as well because it is not just safety issues it is psychology, once all the traffic

calming goes onto James Road regardless of what everybody is going to say, there is going to

be increased traffic on Friday Road. She stated she is making a commitment to the people that

she will not stop pushing for improvements on Friday Road because the Board has got to make

sure that everybody is safe in the whole community; this is a unique opportunity to have the

developers help pay for the improvements on James Road; and it would be, in her opinion, silly

for the Board not to move forward with the plan. She commented she hopes that her fellow

Commissioners will partner with her on making sure that they monitor and keep an eye on what

is going on, on Friday Road as well because it is going to affect that as well.

Chair Feltner asked if there were any more discussion on the Item.

Commissioner Delaney stated she would like to move to approve the Item.

Morris Richardson, County Attorney, asked just to clarify because there were several options

recommended, is it option number one to approve all recommended traffic calming measures.

Commissioner Delaney responded yes.

The Board approved Option 1) recommending all traffic calming measures (i.e., speed tables

with guardrails, textured pavement, reduction and standardization of travel lane width, and

vibratory edge line marking); adopted Resolution No. 24-129, supporting the implementation of

Traffic Calming measures on James Road; and delegated authority to the County Manager, or

designee, to execute any related documents, including, but not limited to, permits and

associated bonds.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

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

J.1.

Approval, Re: Purchase Agreements, Resolutions, and County Deeds for a Portion of County

Owned Parcels 110 and 112, and County Deeds and Resolutions for Existing County

Rights-of-Way for Parcels 100, 101, and 109, all Related to the Florida Department of

Transportation (FDOT) Facility Improvement Project 4074023 State Road 528 East from East of

State Road 524 (Industry) to East of State Road 3 - District 2.

Marc Bernath, Public Works Director, stated it is an approval for purchase agreements,

resolution and County Deeds for a portion of County owned parcels and County Deeds and

resolutions for an existing County right-of-way related to the FDOT facility improvement project

which is on State Road (SR) 528 East and the west side of North Courtenay Parkway; it is

providing fair market value of $6,700 for parcel 110, $235,000 for parcel 112, and for the other

associated right-of-way because it is right-of-way the county would not get any costs

associated with it or fees associated with it, but this would allow FDOT to move forward with its

planning of potential widening for SR 528.

Commissioner Delaney asked if it is going to be widening the road coming off and onto SR 528;

onto Courtenay Parkway; and then going east onto SR 528.

Mr. Bernath responded based on the parcels that they are looking to take that is what he

believes but he has not fully seen the proposal at that point; they have identified that they need

the additional right-of-way for what they have projected; but it would make sense based on

where they are looking for what he would call slivers of County property.

Chair Feltner asked if there were any more discussion on the Item.

Commissioner Goodson stated he has no problems with the Item and asked to make a motion

on it.

The Board executed and approved the Purchase Agreements with FDOT for portion of County

owned parcels 110 and 112; executed and adopted Resolution Nos. 24-130, 24-131, and

24-132; and executed and approved Deeds for parcels 110.01, 112.01, 100.01, 101.01, and

109.01 all related to FDOT Facility Improvements Project 4074023 of State Road 528 east from

east of State Road 524 (Industry) to east of State Road 3.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Tom Goodson

Seconder: Thad Altman

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

J.2.

Board direction regarding the request from Space Florida to connect to the Merritt Island

(Sykes Creek) wastewater system and the participation of Space Florida and State Agencies in a

regional Port St. John wastewater treatment facility and force main (District 1 & 2).

Frank Abbate, County Manager, stated staff has worked with Space Florida for the last several

years and preliminary discussions relative to needs that they have and the partners they have,

relative to water wastewater treatment on the Barrier Islands; recently, staff received a letter

that was shared with the Board that was signed by four of the secretaries of the State of Florida

from the Florida Commerce, Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Department of

Education, and Florida Department of Environmental Protection expressing their strong interest

as well as that of the Governor’s office to assure that the County is working in a unified manner

to provide wastewater where possible; staff has been in those discussions they have laid out in

the letters that were attached to the Agenda Item that spoke to that issue; and they have set

certain perimeters of what they would be looking for, primarily to assure due diligence which is

to make sure that the County is doing all the right things in terms of protecting safety, in terms

of assuring the capacity that is at the Sykes Creek facility is maintained for the rate payers that

put it together, and that any future utilization would be in a manner that was fair for those that

were coming into the system as well as the rate payers who built the system that is there now.

He went on to say as part of that effort there is also what is called a Military Installation

Resilience (MIR) Grant that they have been working with Economic Development Council

(EDC) on and the Department of Defense (DOD) which speaks to a longer term solution where

the County would have a regional facility somewhere on the mainland looking at perhaps in the

Port St. John areas, that is what is being looked at; and with that dialogue they are going to

have upcoming discussions with the State and the State agencies that he mentioned; having a

new Board, he thought this was an opportune time to make sure the Board is aware of what is

going on and to get its input as the meetings are being scheduled as he speaks; Eddie

Fontanin, Utilities Director, is here to discuss the Item in greater detail; and staff will do their

best to answer any questions the Board may have and get the input so that staff knows they

are moving forward and aligned in a unified matter.

Eddie Fontanin, Utilities Director, stated he can expand a little bit on the Item or he can do a

question and answer, it is the Board’s choice.

Commissioner Goodson asked if the Air Force had been there 70 something years and

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had been there 65 years roughly, why

is the Board here today wanting the County to take their sewage; why did they not plan for the

future; he stated now if the County takes their sewage it is going to cause the plant to be at risk

of being over capacity, therefore, the County is not going to be able to sell the deal about septic

to sewer for the Lagoon; and he asked why the Federal government has not done anything.

Mr. Fontanin stated he cannot speak on behalf of the Federal government but what he does

understand, the is Air Force Base who has the wastewater treatment plant has made a

notification concerning the flows at the plant that are getting to a level where they are putting a

limit on what Space Florida can do in the future.

Commissioner Goodson asked then why not increase their plant.

Mr. Fontanin stated that is a question that has not been presented.

Commissioner Goodson stated so that seems to be no concern of the Federal government, it

all falls on the County; and he asked now at the same time, did they not just recently ship some

of their stuff south to Cocoa Beach, that put the Cocoa Beach plant in jeopardy of violating their

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permit.

Mr. Fontanin stated he was not aware of the dynamic of the Cocoa Beach…

Commissioner Goodson stated he would get him the report; he will not agree to this unless

staff tells him that they are going to charge enough that is going to allow them to increase its

plant; for the citizens to pay for it, then come back and charge the citizens in his district to do

that, no; but he is only one of five commissioners.

Mr. Fontanin stated they are in its infancy with regard to this and as Mr. Abbate attested staff

has presented some perimeters to Space Florida at a preliminary level of what they want to

accomplish from due diligence; it is staff is full intention, and if the Board read one of the

correspondence that staff replied to from one of the letters they received that is a common

theme; staff just wants to be fair; and fair is associated with cost. He went on to say they

continue through the due diligence they will understand more of the parameters; as they talk

about potential industrial pre-treatment and whatnot, it is identifying what it is, and identifying

the strength and magnitude of what that is; and when one goes through that process then he or

she can actually identify the investments needed to, and he does not want to say protect

Brevard County, but assure that Brevard County is able to maintain the environmental laws that

are in effect today.

Commissioner Goodson responded that the County has slim to no chance to buck the Federal

government; he has never seen the Federal government roll over and play dead, so he does

not expect this to happen; this is not going to be pretty, it is going to be a nightmare; and the

taxpayers on Merritt Island would go absolutely ape crazy.

Frank Abbate, County Manager, stated that is why everyone is here to discuss it; staff has

made it very clear they have had dialogue with EDC, they have had dialogue with others, and

they have made it very clear that the County’s expectation is that all costs that are associated

with taking the wastewater needs to borne by those that come into the system; that includes

any pre-treatment that might be needed offsite or any technological improvements or

expansion that might be needed onsite to assure that it is handled appropriately; in addition to

that whatever capacity would be utilized the County’s expectation is that it is not only a short

term solution but on the long term that whatever capacity they utilize at Sykes Creek when it

gets to the regional facility they are paying the proportionate share of the new cost at the

regional facility; that protects the rate payers who currently paid for the Sykes Creek facility at

the rates that they paid when they invested in this 20 to 30 years ago; and so those are all

parameters that they have put forth and staff plans on moving forward with based on the

Board’s input, consideration, and the dialogue staff plan to have with the State as soon as that

meeting is scheduled, which looks like it might be as early as December 9th.

Commissioner Goodson stated North Merritt Island has suffered extensive flooding, piling of

water and they have asked NASA for seven months, or a year, if they can put it in their ditch

and they were told hell no; Merritt Island cannot even put water in their ditch; he asked would

Mr. Abbate agree that they were are going to have this regional plant, they are going to have to

cross two rivers, Banana and the Sanctuary in Merritt Island then the Indian River, three, and

then have to get permits from Army Corp Engineers; and if anyone knows anything about the

Army Corp Engineers, it will take probably 30 years to get that permit.

Mr. Abbate stated that is part of the dialogue; the partners that Space Florida has, they are not

looking for that kind of delay, they move rather quickly; that expectation in terms of what it is

going to take to move forward, he can tell that it is staff’s concern that it not only look for a

short-term solution but to have viable partners who understand, and are willing to participate in

the long-term solution; that long-term solution is one that the DOD shares in wanting to assure

that there is resiliency that the County is protecting the environment and that is what a regional

facility would do; if in fact the study that is conducted, that the Board has supported, provides

that that is a plausible course of action, of course he cannot speak to that issue today the

County has to conduct a study, that study should be completed within the parameters of what

the grant that was approved; the target is no later than May of 2026, so that is really what staff

is looking at; and staff knows the State is very interested, based on the letter that was read,

and working to see how they can provide support in terms of moving this forward in terms of

grant funding and providing the water quality improvements to the Lagoon, how everyone can

work together, that is what they told the County and that is what the County plans to be

discussing with them based on the Board’s approval.

Commissioner Goodson stated he appreciates Mr. Abbate’s honesty and he is sure Mr. Abbate

will protect Brevard County; and the Board will move forward, all he is asking for today is to

consider a study.

Mr. Abbate responded the Board is just considering the parameters that we are talking about,

something the Board is comfortable with; of course staff is not going to make any firm

commitments, staff is going to bring it back to the Board; and this is just the opening dialogue

that staff hopes to be able to move forward with.

Commissioner Goodson stated Federal government, State, he feels so comfortable, he feels

this kind of easing up behind him and kissing him, but he is comfortable with it.

Stel Bailey stated she testified at the White House before Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ) about the pollution from the space industry and how it affects the quality of life; she has

worked with Congress, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several national

groups on issues like Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS) chemicals and the dangers faced

by the military families and firefighters; her dedication to improving the water quality and health

of impacted communities has gained international recognition; it is concerning that the

wealthiest people in the world who stand to gain from the Spaceport expect the residents of

Florida to shoulder the financial burden of crucial infrastructure enhancements tied to the space

sector in the DOD, upgrades they were aware of, that were necessary at least a decade ago; if

the industry can create rockets that can travel to Mars it should certainly be able to prioritize

creating sustainable living conditions here on Earth to ensure our species thrive; and yet they

now anticipate that the County will bear the weight of its wastewater issues. She noted she

finds it deeply troubling that the space industry and the Federal government are neglecting their

responsibility regarding wastewater management and the lack of a comprehensive plan for

sustainable growth; it is astonishing that they would have the audacity to send certified letters

to the County implying the County could face serious consequences if it fails to meet the

demands of the industry; the industry is set for a significant growth; and it is eyeing the funds

the community members spent years fighting to save the Indian River Lagoon, to support their

growth. She stated the investments in water restoration were never intended to benefit the

industries or developers, in fact NASA spent decades dumping waste into the Lagoon and has

not done nearly enough help mitigate that; Merritt Island is currently grappling with serious

flooding challenges; and now the Federal government is looking to add to the strain to this

community by temporarily hooking their wastewater to Sykes facility, the facility is expected to

hit capacity within 10 years and is already notorious for frequent spills. She stated this facility

should be operating at 50 percent capacity to prepare for storm surges, flooding and other

environmental challenges, unfortunately, most of the wastewater treatment plants in Brevard

County are not; in addition, there are plans to build the new facility in Port St. John where the

industry aims to divert their waste from six existing plants; while Space Florida has pledged to

invest in infrastructures, taxpayers will still bear the cost by being forced to pay $10,000 to

$20,000 upfront to connect to sewer system; and although there are grants, people pay those

costs first and have to wait for a reimbursement. She continued by saying perhaps Space

Florida could ask its billionaire partners to cover the connection cost instead of trying to use

funds meant for water quality to cover the industries failure to be proactive and manage its

waste and growth properly; and she would urge the Commission to ask the imperative

questions like how the waste will be brought across an entire Lagoon, consider the options, and

ensure taxpayers are not exploited, explore solutions like a Spaceport fee, an embankment fee,

also approach the State legislator to address the impractical 2030 septic to sewer mandate,

and find a more effective option for Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) other than a

reimbursement. She added she believes a new plant could benefit the County, but she feels the

Board is putting a lot of pressure on the communities by not considering the cost that Space

Florida and the documents provide.

Sandra Sullivan stated when people talk about Space Florida, they are talking about the

biggest controversies and corruption that has gone on in Brevard County; at the end of

September there was a meeting, she was printing out the agenda, parts of it, she got to the

meeting, and there was an Item added to the agenda between the time she left home and the

time she got here, which is $1.71 million to put to the second study for alternative three to put in

a regional sewage plant; she has issues with how that went down; the EDC represents private

interest; they did the first study and she did a records request for the (inaudible) study; and they

did not even consider putting a sewage treatment plant in Space Florida for their industrial

waste. She mentioned one thing not really talked about much is this is industrial waste and one

cannot put industrial waste to a sewage plant that is for residential sewage which works on

activated sewage bacteria to break it down; as soon as he or she puts industrial waste in that,

that plant does not work; so the idea to let them clean up the industrial waste, if they are going

to do that they might as well build a package plant to handle their own sewage waste; and this

problem started because Space Force does not want their sewage private sector. She stated

Merritt Island or County spent half a million dollars on a hydrology study, it is on the 10-year

flood plain; and why the corruption to take Space Florida and have the permitting done by the

city of Titusville in 2010, was to avoid the requirements of the County not to bring fill in to

elevate their lands which clearly if looking at Google Earth Pro one can see that they did. She

expressed another major concern stating that they just got a president for America First; what

is going on in Brevard County is it is selling off Brevard to foreign interests; she believes based

on the documents, that the whole thing is about a piece of property that Bright Line purchased,

Bright Line which is owned by Fortress which is majority owned by Dubai, come into the port

one can see the big exploration tower welcome to the Dubai of the Americas, that is what we

have here, the port, cargo, space hundreds of billions of dollars, and now they want a regional

sewage plant so they can do our sewage infrastructure as well; and one last thing about Space

Florida, they passed in legislation the past year on Senate Bill 102 putting in affordable housing

there, it is not just about space commerce it is also about residential housing.

Jack Rattorman stated he represents the Merritt Island HOA, which represents all the homes

from the Barge Canal to the NASA gate, he is also on the North Merritt Island Dependent

Special District Board, which represents the interest of the North Merritt Island community; they

are an elected board; and they represent, according to the map, from the middle of the Barge

Canal to the middle of NASA causeway; these folks have never at all asked the people to look

at any plans they have about putting anything on the property that the Merritt Island Special

District Board is supposed to regulate; and so the due diligence, he begs to differ with them. He

continued by saying he would like to remind the Board, the one that he is on is also elected like

this Board; he asked who is going to pay for the new system, what is the percentage of the

capacity of the Merritt Island facility, he thinks it is 85 percent now; understand that it will be

industrial waste, who is going to regulate whether it is industrial waste or residential; he

mentioned North Merritt Island has many concerns because it has been dealing with flooding

and other issues and this would just be one more; and he is asking that this be put off to a

public meeting and additional public information be given. He stated he would like to know how

much of an increase of liquid is going to be pumped down, and how many foot deep well, 2,000

foot well below the aquifer and anything extra, that is what is pumped down, so that would also

increase that; and he asked the Board to please not do this without the consent and input of

North Merritt Island.

Rick Heffelfinger stated he was going to congratulate Mr. Abbate on a wonderfully written letter

about due diligence and the whatnots, but then he heard the other speakers; it is a hard night

for Mr. Abbate, a lot of this is water; the developers are building a bunch of developments; the

County is not even sure where that sewage goes and now the space port guys wanting to

dump their stuff in; and he does not live on Merritt Island, but he feels for them and thanked

Commissioner Goodson for standing up for those people. He stated if Space Florida wants to

do that there is a great answer, they pay for the County’s stuff as well as their stuff and do not

charge the taxpayers anything; the County has something they want, so pay for it, that is the

bottom line; and the due diligence is make sure that it does not fall on the taxpayers because

we all love the Space port, rockets and all, but they have to pay their way.

Milo Zonka stated he is an employee of SpaceX but he is not representing SpaceX, but

representing the guy that stood there in 2006 when they celebrated the fact that after decades

of only being a launch property that they brought the first manufacturing for space to Brevard

County; that was the Crew Exploration vehicle from Lockheed Martin and the County loved it;

from there they have had so many programs, so much growth; so many new opportunities and

with that come the consequences; that is what is now being talked about; people like it when

the companies come and build and they hire contractors to do their building; we like when they

hire people who buy houses, do shopping and all those things; but those people when they go

to work, they poop, that is what we are dealing with; and when they are manufacturing these

next generation space vehicles that are going to go to the moon and to Mars and carry

America’s flag, when they do the manufacturing it uses water and it creates wastewater, so

those are the down sides of the glory of having the jobs and the investments and to be able to

say that we are the home to intergalactic space right here in Brevard County. He stated he

does not think the space industry has asked for this to be free; he does not speak for the space

industry; he does not speak for his employer, he is just asking a few questions that he thinks

are worthy of being answered; he does not think anybody has asked for this to be free; he does

not think anybody has asked for it to come at the expense of the Brevard County rate payer; he

asked if everyone could just take the conversation down a notch and not be in a controversial

or argumentative phase and to get back to the information phase; and that is the only reason

he came to the meeting was because the entire body of information that the Board is asked to

make a policy decision on was four letters. He mentioned he thinks there is more information

that the Board needs to see and the community needs to see; he heard a gentlemen ask for

the capacity study for Sykes Creek, that could be a public record; everyone could benefit from

having that information to understand what those issues are, and what the cost is to expand

Sykes Creek, that would be good information to put out there; he spoke with Eddie Fontanin

and Commissioner Goodson, he just wants the information out there and for the Board to be

fully involved; these are very serious issues, lots of issues of awesomeness; and rockets that

are going to go to the moon and Mars and employ people, those people are now staples of the

communities, in the schools and all of those things. He stated he works with the most amazing

people at every company one can imagine up there and they are deeply vested in the question;

and he would just say as the Board is looking for policy direction there is more information that

needs to come to the record.

Commissioner Goodson asked if all this is so wonderful why is it taking 70 years to decide that

people need somewhere to relieve themselves.

Mr. Zonka stated what he knows of the system, the Cape Canaveral system was built to

accommodate a certain level of activity that is on the Air Force station; NASA does not have a

wastewater treatment facility; everybody uses the Air Force; and that plant right now is about,

last he saw from the studies that were done was at about half capacity and then they allocated

the rest or they are worried about water intrusion, the plant flooding so they hold back some of

the capacity; and that is the current challenge. He mentioned he does not know if anybody

envisioned the level of success that Kennedy Space Center and the Space Coast were going to

have because it now has millions of square feet of new facilities that are up there and

thousands upon thousands of people working there; should they have been more aggressive in

their assumptions, yes; but now the question is do they want to double down on a plant; the

plant at Cape Canaveral is at a three inch elevation and not where anyone wants to put another

dollar to build or expand a plant; and he sees Port St. John’s resilience issues.

Commissioner Goodson asked would it not be true to say that NASA does not build a rocket.

Mr. Zonka responded NASA contracts with people…

Commissioner Goodson stated NASA does not build a rocket.

Mr. Zonka responded correct.

Commissioner Goodson stated they just built a brand new office complex center up there for

them with people’s tax dollars; and if everything is so wonderful with SpaceX, it sounds like

they could cut NASA and have 20 more years on the poop plant.

Mr. Zonka stated he was not party to that conversation but that he appreciated the thought.

Commissioner Goodson stated that President Trump was going to have two fellas that is going

to be party to that conversation, but he is all for it as long as it does not hurt Merritt Island; and

he thinks it is wonderful as long as he does not ship bad stuff down there, he wants premium

stuff coming to his plant.

Commissioner Delaney stated she does not know if Mr. Zonka is aware of the letters that were

received but they are very pointed; and how dare the State do this and try to withhold funding

from the people of the County and handcuff them, so that is the tone he is getting; and she

says that with all due respect.

Mr. Zonka stated that is not his argument; and that is his point, exactly, those four letters

should not be the breadth of all the information if the Board is being asked to make a policy

decision; that is all he is saying; he did not write the letter.

Commissioner Delaney advised she thinks that is what is being talked about tonight.

Mr. Zonka stated he gets it; he is just trying to take the temperature down because a decision

has to be made; if the first answer is not to send another letter like that, it is a perfectly valid

position; but there still needs to be a solution.

Chair Feltner stated he wanted to clarify and asked if anyone else wanted to speak on the

issue; and he asked if there were any follow up questions for staff based on the cards that were

heard.

Commissioner Delaney asked if there was any way to get the capacity for Sykes Creek and

where they are at with that.

Edward Fontanin, Utility Works Director, responded yes they could get that.

Commissioner Goodson asked if Mr. Abbate, needs a motion to proceed on the Item.

Chair Feltner stated what was requested is to give direction to staff on how to proceed so as a

Board it needs to get something.

Commissioner Altman stated he thinks this is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Brevard

County to really be a part of something that is much bigger, this community put the only

humans on the moon, this community is leading the way to making society interplanetary which

everyone knows, ultimately, will have to be done if people are to survive as species; this allows

the County to be a part of fixing a serious problem that the Space Center is facing, but it is a

good problem because no one anticipated that the County would be soon facing 600 launches

a year; that one would be placing colonies on the moon, on Mars; that this incredible individual

is able to launch rockets and literally catch them in the air when they come back, no one could

predict the rate of growth, the rate of scientific breakthroughs that have been achieved through

American Ingenuity; they have been achieved because of this wonderful entrepreneurial private

sector system; what happened is there is a space race where China now has returned samples

from the moon, they have landed on the polar region of the moon, they are leading the way of

getting back to the moon; and National Security is dependent upon winning. He mentioned he

was there when they built the Sykes Creek plant; if somebody would have told the Board it had

an opportunity of providing needed sewage capacity to a guy that is launching rockets that can

hold hundreds of people that were going back to the moon and going to mars, that there would

be an entity called Space Force that is at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and at Patrick,

that is leading the way in the world to keep national security, that there are two launch

providers that are two of the most innovative wealthy entrepreneurs in the history of the world

that need help, he thinks everyone would be excited about that opportunity; and that the

investment that was made 30 years ago, 35 years ago can be a very significant part of

achieving this national goal, this goal for mankind, the greatest, the most exciting and the

greatest adventure of human existence. He went on to say this is something much bigger than

Brevard County and he thinks Brevard County has the ability to step up to the challenge and be

a part of that; so he hopes the Board can take a can do attitude and work with private partners

and rise to the occasion to do some of the most basic that County government does, provide

infrastructure; this has happened so fast that NASA could not foresee it; even the private sector

could not foresee it, but Brevard County foresaw it, and built the Sykes Creek plant that still has

10 years of capacity left; the County can fill this void but it has to be done quickly; and in the

long run he is convinced that the people in North Merritt Island, people in Brevard, and the

people in this country will prosper because of the Board’s actions here.