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 9:02 AM

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Rob Feltner, Chairman, District 4

Chairman Rob Feltner led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

MINUTES FOR APPROVAL: January 16, 2025 Tourism Workshop; February 20,

2025 Budget Workshop; March 13, 2025 Zoning Meeting

The Board approved the January 16, 2025, Tourism Workshop, February 20, 2025, Budget

Workshop, and March 13, 2025, Zoning Meeting Minutes.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

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

Reschedule July 3, 2025, Zoning Meeting

Chairman Feltner advised he has a housekeeping issue that he does not want to forget about;

he has a request from staff to move the July 3, 2025, Zoning meeting to July 17, 2025; and he

asked if the Board is amenable to that.

The Board approved rescheduling the July 3, 2025, Zoning meeting to July 17, 2025.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Tom Goodson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

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

E.1. Resolution acknowledging Myositis Awareness Month in Brevard County. -

District 4

Chairman Feltner read aloud, and the Board adopted Resolution No. 25-029, recognizing May

2025 as Myositis Awareness Month in Brevard County.

Minerva Rogers stated she is honored to be present as an advocate for myositis awareness; as

someone living with Dermatomyositis, one type of myositis, she knows firsthand the challenges

that come with the rare and misunderstood disease; and she expressed her thanks to

Chairman Feltner and his team, and to all of the Board for recognizing the importance of

Myositis Awareness Month. She stated this proclamation is not just words on paper, it is a step

forward towards a greater understanding, earlier diagnosis, and better support for those

affected with myositis; myositis could be invisible, but its impacts are life changing; fatigue,

muscle weakness, chronic pain, and skin reactions are daily battles for many; that is why

raising awareness is so critical; by shinning a light on myositis, they are not only supporting

those who live with it, but are also encouraging research, better treatment, and a stronger

community; today, it is recognized that no one should fight myositis alone; with awareness

comes action and with actions comes hope; and she expressed her thanks for standing with

them on this fight.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Rob Feltner

Seconder: Katie Delaney

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

E.2. Resolution acknowledging May 1st as National Day of Prayer in Brevard County. -

District 4

Chairman Feltner read aloud, and the Board adopted Resolution No. 25-30, recognizing May 1,

2025, as National Day of Prayer in Brevard County.

Loretta Dozier, Founder of Dove Bible Club, expressed her thanks to the Board and to

Chairman Feltner; she welcomed the new Commissioners stating it is good to see their faces;

she is the founder of Dove Bible Club, which is an afterschool club that shares the gospel of

Jesus Christ with students in schools; she is also the Brevard County coordinator for the

National Day of Prayer (NDP) Task Force; and the goal and mission is to multiply into unified

public prayer for America. She added Kathy Branzell, President of NDP Task Force, is over the

entire United States, where she is gathering all of the States, and praying for America on that

day; everyone heard Chairman Feltner say since 1775 and in 1952, President Harry Truman

called for a day of prayer; President Ronald Reagan, in 1988, designated it as the first

Thursday, so every first Thursday in May there is a NDP; millions of people would be praying

for family, business, education, the military, the government, the church, and the media; and

those present is just a few representatives of the different people who will be praying in Brevard

County. She stated they just want to thank all of the Board for designating May 1, 2025, as a

day of prayer in Brevard County, which for the last eight years had been done; and those

present gave the Board a hand of applause. She mentioned President Donald Trump, said,

“We need God. We need God in our nation, in our government. We need God. We want

God.” She added he declared, when he talked about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and he

celebrated Holy Week, Jesus died, he was buried, he came back to life, and now he is sitting at

the right-hand of the father; she wants to introduce and see the Board’s constituents; and if

seeing this here, the theme for the NDP this year is coming from Romans 15:3, pour out to the

God of Hope, and be filled; if wisdom is needed, call out to God; if peace is needed, call out to

God; and she provided the Board with a brochure. She reiterated thanking the Board, again,

for a day of prayer in Brevard County; and she would love for the NDP volunteers to introduce

themselves, for the Board to know who are its constituents.

Evie Ostrander stated Pastor Mark Ostrander is Pastor of The Mission Church; there are

several churches represented here; she pointed out the Board has been provided a handout

that gives the Board a listing from early in the morning to later in the evening; there are prayer

events all around the County and there is 51 actual locations, and virtual meetings; even the

U.S. territories are getting involved and there is one in Puerto Rico; and there is more than

what is provided. She added they all go up on the Florida website to show Florida; the Board

should see the red dots all over Brevard County of the gatherings of all kinds of churches and

businesses, with multiple languages, ministries, home groups, kids at schools, flagpoles, and

government facilities that are all located throughout the County, and in multiple languages

which is amazing to her; some of these churches are multi-church gatherings in one place

and/or there are some churches that are open, but just have all day prayer for people to walk in

and pray at many times; today is important because it came through the government for all

Americans to pray on this day; and she wanted the Board to know that beyond this day, it is

always prayed for.

Chairman Feltner stated it needs it; and he expressed much appreciation.

Ms. Dozier stated she wants the Board to see whom she has with her and where they are from.

Pastor John Keen stated he oversees Acts II Ministries in Melbourne.

James Fontenot stated Love, In The Name of Jesus Christ (INC).

Richard and Evelyn Colon stated Community Gospel Truth in West Melbourne.

Pastor Bawanna Bostic stated City of Refuge Christian Center, Cocoa; she had the pleasure of

praying at a Board meeting two weeks ago; and she is happy to be here again today.

Evelyn Colon stated Community Gospel Truth; she also works with Dove Bible Club; and she

volunteers for NDP Task Force.

Margaret Erwin, Prayer Coordinator, stated The Mission Church, Palm Bay.

Edie Martinez stated Gospel Truth.

Brenda and Willie Garcia stated The Mission Church, Grant-Valkaria.

Reverend Marcella Rojas stated MARPLLUS Ministries.

Brother Ed stated The Mission Church, Palm Bay.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Rob Feltner

Seconder: Katie Delaney

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

F.1. Waiver Request, Re: Waiver of Parking Requirement (25WV00004) and Waiver of

Wall Requirement (25WV00005) for Met-Con Site Plan (25AD00003)

District 1

The Board granted a waiver of Section 62-3206(d)(18), which requires one parking space per

500 square feet of floor space to allow the reduction of required parking for the proposed new

development; and granted a waiver of Section 62-3202(h)(10), which requires a six-foot

masonry or solid wall when site planning commercial developments within a BU-1, BU-2 or

Industrial zoning and adjacent to a residential zoning designation. Approval is subject to the

criteria depicted in site plan 25AD00003, the Alternative Parking Design Exhibit, and the

conditions outlined in the Summary Explanation and Background section of the Agenda Report.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

F.2. Approval Re: Interlocal Agreement with the City of West Melbourne for Sheridan

Road Sidewalk Improvements - District 5

The Board approved and authorized the County Manager to execute the Interlocal Agreement

with the City of West Melbourne for the Sheridan Road Sidewalk Improvements; authorized the

County Manager to execute any necessary agreement-related documents, such as

amendments, contingent upon review and approval by the County Attorney’s Office, Risk

Management, and Purchasing Services; and authorized the County Manager to approve any

Budget Change Requests associated with this action.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

F.3. Legislative Intent and Permission to Advertise Amendments to Chapter 62, Article

VII, Division 2, Section 62-2844, entitled Performance Security, to allow the Public

Works Director to release or reduce performance security, as appropriate, for the

construction of improvements associated with subdivisions and plats upon

issuance of a certificate(s) of completion.

The Board granted legislative intent and permission to advertise amendments to Chapter 62,

Article VII, Division 2, Section 62-2844, entitled Performance Security, to allow the Public

Works Director to release and reduce performance security, as appropriate, for the

construction of improvements associated with subdivisions and plats upon Issuance of a

Certificate(s) of Completion.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

F.4. Single Source Request with WesTech Engineering, LLC for Mims Water

Treatment Plant Clarifier Improvements ($1.3M) (District 1).

The Board approved the Single Source Request for the Utility Services Department to purchase

the Mims Water Treatment Plant clarifier equipment from WesTech Engineering, LLC;

authorized the County Manager to execute the Single Source Justification and Approval Form;

and approved any required Budget Change Request (BCR), amending the five-year Capital

Improvements Plan (CIP) as related to this project, and any reimbursement requests,

amendments, or other administrative actions to initiate the single source purchase.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

F.5. Approval, Re: Resolutions and Public Transportation Grant Agreements, Florida

Department of Transportation Public Transit Block Grant Program.

The Board approved the following actions for State Fiscal Year 2026 Public Transit Block Grant

from the FDOT, in the amount of $1,930,380: executed and adopted Resolution No. 25-031;

authorized the Chair to sign the follow-up grant agreement, contingent upon County Attorney

and Risk Management approval; authorized Terry Jordan, Transit Services Director, to execute

any additional follow-up documentation, resolutions, and amendments necessary to secure

these funds; and authorized the County Manager to execute necessary Budget Change

Requests.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

F.6. Appointment(s) / Reappointment(s)

The Board appointed/reappointed Eric Michajlowicz to the Planning and Zoning Board/Local

Planning Agency, with term of appointment expiring December 31, 2026; and John Moran to

the Tourist Development Council, with term of appointment expiring October 7, 2028.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

F.7. Bill Folder

The Board acknowledged receipt of the Bill Folder.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

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

public comment sections.)

Elizabeth Blackford stated she is present to talk more about some of the excellent ideas from

this year’s Speak Up Brevard submissions; she would like to draw the Board’s attention to four

suggestions that could easily be combined and approved; they are numbers 23, 36, 68, and 75;

these ideas are likely to succeed because they offer these advantages; first, they use programs

already in existence at Keep Brevard Beautiful, the University of Florida Institute of Food and

Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension Office, and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office

Work Farm programs; second, they offer landscape training, certification, and hiring incentives

to County residents and inmates, in a line of work with otherwise very low barrier entry; third,

they reduced beach and roadside litter from entering and polluting the Lagoon; and finally, they

would steadily remove invasive plants like Brazilian Pepper, replacing them with properly

maintained native plants and trees. She added while researching the four suggestions, the ad

hoc committee identified existing County programs that already provide necessary training and

personnel; two of the offices said their programs are currently being revised; and making this

an ideal time to incorporate any new material with minimal effort. She stated she provided the

Board and the County Manager with a summary of the relevant Citizen Efficiency and

Effectiveness Recommendations (CEERs), briefly showing how consolidation, revisions, and

use of existing resources could bring four great ideas to life, and at a minimal expense; and she

is hopeful the Board will vote to accept the four recommendations, with revisions at the May

meeting.

Dolores Conway stated in July 2023, the Florida Legislature designated the South Beaches,

now called the Brevard Barrier Island Area (BBIA), as the Area of Critical State Concern

(ACSC); today she would like to address the native trees and shrubs on the BBIA, in the ACSC;

trees, especially those in tight groups can act as wind breaks, slowing down the wind in a

hurricane; a tree canopy also reduces the force and the speed of the rain before it hits the

ground; roots hold the dirt in place and absorb the stormwater runoff; trees are essential to the

barrier island; years ago, the Brevard County Code of Ordinances excluded tree protection for

most of the island; many lots west of State Road A1A are around 75 by 150 or .26 acres, while

others are around one acre; the exclusion site size for saving trees is one and one-quarter

acres and under; the County Code has 28 pages of detailed information about land clearing

and tree protection, but excludes most of the lots on the barrier island; she thinks this was an

oversight at that time; Section 65, landscape performance standard, states single-family lots,

one and one-quarter acres or less are exempt from removal and replacement criteria, as

outlined in Section 62-4341(18), including specimen tree criteria; the exemptions for lots under

one and one-quarter acres is having a devastating effect; trees are being removed and not

replaced; once all the native trees and shrubs have been removed from a lot, it is never the

same; and the trees are gone forever. She mentioned she has some pictures to show the

Board on the overhead projector of before and after development of a lot; she showed the

Board two lots before they were developed and after development, with just a couple of Palm

trees; she showed a house where most of the landscape was kept and the house was pushed

towards the ocean, and there is a driveway showing, that most of trees were kept; there are

ways to do it; and trees that should be saved and that are good for the BBIA are Live Oaks,

Seagrapes, and Sand Live Oaks. She added to save the native trees on the island, she asked

for the Board to consider amendments to the County Code, which removes one and

one-quarter acres, or less, and replaces it with one-quarter acres, or less; and under Section

65-4334, the single-family lots of one and one-quarter acres, or less, that have a Certificate of

Occupancy (CO) would go to one-quarter acres, or less, and the same with Section 65-4341.

She stated in 2019, former Commissioner Curt Smith, and staff did a lot of work addressing this

problem, but the Commission did not take it up; and she asked if the tree preservation

amendments could get a second look to try to get that exemption removed.

Commissioner Delaney ask if Ms. Conway minded emailing that to the Board.

Ms. Conway responded she will email it to everybody; and she stated she is from District 3.

Christina Fleming stated today she wants to talk about the firefighter Emergency Medical

Technicians (EMT), who have been serving their communities for five to 10, or more years;

those who have stood the test of time enduring countless 24’s, been there through the

holidays, missed the birthdays, celebrated in turnout gear, and the life-changing calls that

leaves lasting marks; these are not new recruits, they are seasoned firefighters and they are

fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, and neighbors; now they are being told, “It’s time to go to

paramedic school. It’s mandatory. Figure it out.”; and she asked to figure what out. She went

on to say these are men and women who, after years of stagnant wages, had no choice, but to

build a second job into their lives just to support their families, to put food on the table, to afford

housing in the very communities they protect; they have created budgets that work, barely;

budgets that do not include quitting that second job or coughing up hundreds of dollars in fuel

for weekly clinicals and classes; budgets that do not stretch to cover the unpaid hours away

from their families; now, they are being asked to throw that structure away, to give up the few

hours they have left with their kids and their spouses, just to meet a requirement that was

signed years ago; and they are not talking about an unwillingness to serve, but is talking about

exhaustion, about respect, and about fairness. She added yes, the job evolves; yes, there is a

need for medics; what is being done here is not support; it is pressure; it is force; it is disrupting

lives, marriages, mental health, and a financial stability; they are cornering the very people who

have already given so much; they are taking the firefighter to become a paramedic, and in turn,

while they are in school getting their medics, and then becoming medics after a year; then they

are hiring another firefighter EMT to fill the spot that was just vacated; and the Board is making

it a shell game which is a waste of time and money. She continued to say if leadership wants

medics, then they need to invest in them; they need to hire them with comparable wages, do

not punish loyalty with mandates, reward it with partnership because the bottom-line is they

cannot keep asking more from people without giving them more to work with; and they are not

building a stronger Department this way, but it is burning out at the core.

Sandra Sullivan stated the County is in fiscal crisis with a $2.2 billion budget; the County has

$2.2 billion in capacity needs and maintenance needs for roads; the firefighters is another

illustration of just how poorly this County has been managed fiscally; but there is a big secret,

shh, do not tell anybody that there is a situation with Space Florida, because they are not

paying taxes. She stated the Board probably saw the news that came out in Spectrum that

there is a massive amount of development that is going to be happening at Space Florida; last

year, Legislatively, the Legislators allowed Live Local there, and now there is hotels, recreation,

and lots of other things; it is interesting, that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA) does not allow those uses, by its lease agreement; but she is sure they will change

that. She mentioned the Board did a study, under Public Comments, and the way it was done

was not legal on Merritt Island incorporation; the biggest piece of information that came out of

that was unfunded liability for flooding between $5 and $10 million to the County, and that is

why the Board wanted to hand it off and get rid of it, because who is going to pay for that;

Commissioner Goodson has been great on this subject by bringing it up; Space Florida does

not want to pay for it, they said in this room, that they want to use other people’s money, and

meaning, they want to use the taxpayer’s money; this problem that they have, the County paid

$500,000 for a hydrology study which puts that on the 10-year floodplain; and she pointed out

and showed the Federal wetlands inventory, which is clearly a problem. She stated that in the

North Brevard Economic Development Zone (NBEDZ) minutes, it shows that they wanted to tap

into NBEDZ to pay for the sewage pipes going to the Sykes Creek; she showed Sykes Creek

has one of the highest dumps in Brevard County for sewage dumps; there is a problem here,

because the Federal government says when Federal land is leased to private entities, that the

local government of the State and Brevard County has the right to do taxation; if, when reading

the State statute, they gave Space Florida the right to not be taxed land wise, but not the

improvements; since the Board has a fiscal crisis ahead of it, it is putting its blinders on, and

pretending it does not see this problem, it is time for the Board to go to the State to get some

legal opinions, if needed, or to go to its own attorney, who seems to do the will of the

Commissioners which is why she is suggesting going to the State to get this fixed; but the

Board is wanting to put the burden on the people, which is just too much.

Karly Cooke stated she is a public affairs specialist for the Small Business Administration (SBA)

for Disaster and Recovery; right now, their Florida declaration is open again, for all of the

survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton disasters, and for those who were not able to get

disaster loans; the SBA has physical damage loans, which are loans for people who were

directly hit by the Hurricanes; the SBA also has Economic Injury and Disaster Loans (EIDLs) for

those people who were indirectly hit by the disaster; for all of the survivors out there, SBA does

have loans that will be able to help a person manage to get his or her house, or anything back

to where he or she wants it; this is for businesses, homeowners, renters, and more; it is open

for everyone, and it is very beneficial to the community; at www.SBA.gov/disaster.com is where

he or she would be able to apply; and there is also the Business Recovery Centers (BRCs) all

around Florida, for the survivors to be able to apply.

Chairman Feltner inquired if Ms. Cooke came all the way from Atlanta to tell the Board about

this.

Ms. Cooke responded she came from Palm Bay to talk to the Board today; but the speaker’s

card has an address from Atlanta.

Commissioner Altman expressed his thanks for Ms. Cooke being there today. He stated they

want people to take advantage of these hardships; and he inquired when the deadline is for

filling out those applications.

Ms. Cooke replied for the physical damage loans, the deadline is April 27; and for EIDLs, the

deadline is June 30. She mentioned there being 60-day grace period to apply, giving the

applicant some room to work with.

I.1.

Request approval to Advertise a Request for Proposal for County Manager

Search/Recruiting Consulting Services.

Melissa Power, Human Resources Director, stated Item I.1., is a request for approval of an

RFP for the County Manager search/recruiting consulting services; pursuant to the Board’s

direction at the April 8, 2025, meeting, staff drafted an RFP seeking proposals for consulting

services to assist the Board with the search for qualified candidates for the position of County

Manager; attached to the Agenda Item, is the scope of services, and the selection criteria for

that RFP; staff is requesting approval to advertise the RFP; in addition, staff is seeking

approval of the selection and negotiation committee, and similar to what was done in 2017; the

proposed committee includes the Director of Human Resources, the County Attorney, and

either a Commissioner or designee of the Board; with the Board’s approval an RFP will be

advertised and the selection committee will review the proposals submitted; after the review,

the committee will bring its recommendations back to the Board for final consideration; and

once the Board approves the selection of the consulting firm, the selection and negotiating

committee will negotiate the terms of contract; and bring that final contract back to the Board

for final approval.

Chairman Feltner asked if this is about the consultant at this point, not necessarily the minimum

requirements for the next County Manager, and that is something that the Board will work out

with the consultant.

Ms. Powers replied yes. She stated once the consultant is selected, the Board could work with

the consultant.

Chairman Feltner clarified this is just the RFP for the consultant today.

Commissioner Delaney stated she does not know if the Board had a chance to see some of the

changes that she proposed in the RFP; personally, she would love to see this be more in the

public, and not so much behind closed doors with a committee; some of the changes that she

is proposing is to get rid of the Cone of Silence and like she said, she would like to be more in

the public, for the Board to ask its questions at a meeting or at a workshop, or however, it

decides to do it; rather than a three-member panel committee, she would like to have the whole

Board, as the people who picks the consultant; she was also hoping for the Board to ask for

email copies; it says in the RFP, that the County is not required to notify submitters of

amendments; she thought it would be nice for the Board to send that out to people, so that they

are aware if there are any changes that are made to it; a majority vote is required to add a

candidate; she feels, that the Board Members should have the ability to bring forward

somebody who he or she would like to interview; there was no minimum amount of candidates

stated and she is hoping that the Board could ask the consultant if they are capable of bringing

forward a substantial amount, she put 20, but she is not sold on that amount; no community

engagement request specified and she would like to request the firm’s prior experience with

community engagement; not all firms are created equal, in her opinion, some people might do a

better job of engaging the public, and it would be nice to hear about that experience; there were

no samples requested of the firm’s RFPs and she feels like the Board should be able to see a

sample of their work, before the Board decides to hire them; another is, it states bi-weekly

updates on the candidate search, and she would prefer weekly updates; and social media is

not included in the reference checks and in 2025, she just believes that social media accounts

should be checked.

Chairman Feltner inquired for his own clarification on that, when Commissioner Delaney is

saying social media references, what she means by that, is it for the consultant or the

candidate.

Commissioner Delaney responded in the RFP for the consultant, it talks about things the

County is asking them to verify the educational background of the Board’s selected candidates

and conduct, criminal, financial, and newspaper; and she is asking to add social media and civil

litigation checks.

Chairman Feltner clarified for the consultant.

Commissioner Delaney replied, right.

Chairman Feltner asked if there were other things on her list, because he did not mean to

interrupt her.

Commissioner Delaney replied sure. She added there was no time limit requested and if the

Board could provide a recommended event timeline for the County Manager procurement

process; and those are just some of the things.

Chairman Feltner stated he thinks the Board is happy to try to address some of those; he thinks

there might be a legal question or two in there; and he asked for Morris Richardson, County

Attorney, to weigh in on this issue of Cone of Silence, specifically.

Mr. Richardson responded Board Policy BCC-25, requires the Cone of Silence in every

solicitation; the purpose of the Cone of Silence is actually for transparency and to prevent

individual lobbying of Commissioners, and decision makers; in the process, it requires a more

transparent, and public process; it has a fundamental protection of the process; he read aloud

from BCC-25, “It is designed to protect the professional integrity of the public procurement

process by shielding it from undue influence prior to the recommendation of contract award.”;

the Board would have to waive BCC-25, in order to adopt that particular recommendation; it is a

requirement of every State agency under State law; and the State law, Chapter 287, does not

directly apply that to local governments, most local governments have adopted it.

Commissioner Delaney stated her thought was not to get rid of transparency; she would like

the Board to forego this Policy and to have this public; basically, the consultants could come to

a workshop or a Commission meeting and they could give the Board their spiel, then the Board

decides; and it was never intended for any kind of backdoor deals or anything like that.

Chairman Feltner advised he understood.

Mr. Richardson continued to read aloud from BCC-25, “The Cone of Silence does not apply to

the County’s designated representative noted in the solicitation or discussion at a duly noticed

Pre-Proposal Conference or at a public meeting.”; he stated Cone of Silence does not apply to

public meetings; and if that is the concern, there is no need to eliminate the Cone of Silence.

Chairman Feltner advised he does not think they are in conflict; there are definitely going to be

multiple public meetings about this; he asked about the issue of the timeline; he stated in this

RFP, he agrees with Commissioner Delaney, in theory, and in his mind at the beginning of the

new Fiscal Year, the County has a County Manager; and he asked if that is where she is

headed.

Commissioner Delaney replied yes.

Chairman Feltner asked the Board if it is amenable to that, as a timeline amendment.

Commissioner Adkinson remarked sure.

Chairman Feltner advised that could probably be in the motion.

Commissioner Delaney asked about the weekly updates from the consultant, instead of

bi-weekly.

Ms. Powers responded the scope of services is just intended to give the vendors an idea of

what the County is looking for, so that he or she can provide a responsive proposal; and she

reiterated the details of how the search is going to happen will still be worked out between the

Board and the vendor once it is selected.

Chairman Feltner asked when the consultant is hired; and the Board says here is what he or

she is going to do, along with the timeline, and those kinds of thing.

Ms. Powers replied affirmatively.

Chairman Feltner remarked but it would not hurt if it were in the RFP.

Ms. Powers replied no; and she stated staff did include that.

Chairman Feltner advised he is okay, personally, with weekly updates; he does not think that is

unreasonable; and at the close of business on Friday, Ms. Powers sends the Board an email.

Commissioner Delaney stated exactly; and the three others that she feels passionate about

would be the samples of RPFs that they have put out before.

Chairman Feltner asked if that is part of the process; and he stated he does not mean to

interrupt.

Frank Abbate, County Manager, responded they do not do Request for Qualifications (RFQs)

or RFPs; they respond to proposals; but they do not do any.

Commissioner Delaney questioned what other proposals; she stated whatever their sample

proposals have been in the past; and she figured that before the Board hires somebody, it

should see what his or her work has been in the past.

Chairman Feltner stated that would indicate that he or she has done this before, in other

jurisdictions; they could include, basically, a resume that shows two other jurisdictions he or

she done this in; and he asked if that is what he is hearing.

Commissioner Delaney replied exactly.

Chairman Feltner inquired what staff thinks about that.

Kathy Wall, Central Services Director, responded this RFP does ask for resumes of the people

who are going to be working on this.

Chairman Feltner advised since the RFP asks for the resume, maybe the Board can just

follow-up when it comes to some candidates, and say can…

Commissioner Delaney interrupted by saying send the Board some samples.

Chairman Feltner went on to say can the applicant send the Board some, because he thinks

one will lead to the other.

Commissioner Delaney stated the next one is the emailed copy, if the people who are applying

for this could email their version and not just the Universal Serial Bus (USB) because she feels

like that will be more accessible, easier for not only staff if there a Public Records Request, or

something like that, it is simpler to just pop an email over than it is to have to fuss with…

Chairman Feltner inquired if she means their work versus.

Commissioner Delaney replied of their resume or their application for the job.

Chairman Feltner inquired if rather than having a USB dropped off can staff put that on a share

drive or something like that.

Mr. Abbate explained that the Purchasing process handles those type of items; they apply to all

current processes for RPFs and RFQs; if she wants fundamentally to change the process of

what staff is doing, which is what is being talked about here.

Chairman Feltner clarified once they have a consultant, he thinks they can just clarify that they

are going to send the Board things electronically.

Commissioner Delaney stated that she thinks that this was more so targeted to the actual

applications; and she just figured that it would be more efficient to…

Chairman Feltner remarked the applications for County Manager or the applications for the

consultant.

Commissioner Delaney referred to the consultant, because she thinks people are interested.

Ms. Wall advised staff does get a USB drive on every proposal received.

Chairman Feltner stated how about this be split; and whenever the USB is delivered staff could

just put it on some sort of share drive for the Commissioners to have.

Commissioner Delaney remarked perfect.

Ms. Wall stated that is fine.

Chairman Feltner asked if that is fair.

Commissioner Delaney replied that works.

Ms. Wall agreed

Commissioner Delaney stated the final thing is the three-member panel versus the Board

making this decision.

Chairman Feltner inquired what the pleasure of the Board is; he stated he is happy to do this or

if somebody is nominated by the Board to do that, which he thinks was in the motion; it is going

to be an inclusive process; all the Board is trying to do is get a consultant; and he tends to

agree with Commissioner Delaney, that it needs to be done with some speed if meeting the

joint concern of having someone at the new Fiscal Year.

Commissioner Goodson stated he really does not know how the Board is going to vote on this

today with all the changes; and he thinks a small book would have to be written and sent to the

Board.

Chairman Feltner felt that the Clerk and the staff are clear on some of things that were just

discussed.

Commissioner Goodson asked if the Board is clear.

Chairman Feltner asked for the motion to be restated.

Commissioner Adkinson stated her motion is the same; and the motion is to approve the

requested actions, with the Chairman appointed to the selection committee.

Commissioner Altman stated he will second the motion.

Chairman Feltner advised he thinks a couple of key amendments were added to that; and the

Board establish a timeline that it will have a new County Manager hired by the beginning of the

new Fiscal Year

Commissioner Adkinson stated that friendly amendment is accepted.

Commissioner Altman accepted that amendment.

Commissioner Delaney accepted that amendment; and she stated then the bi-weekly to the

weekly.

Commissioner Goodson stated no.

Chairman Feltner advised he thinks that is an administrative thing; and the Board has agreed

collectively as a Board that that is going to happen.

Commissioner Delaney stated awesome; and she expressed her thanks to the Board.

The Board approved advertising a RFP for County Manager search/recruitment consulting

services pursuant to Board Policy BCC-25, “Procurement”; appointed Melissa Powers, Human

Resources Director, Morris Richardson, County Attorney, and Chairman Feltner to the

Selection and Negotiating Committee; directed the Selection and Negotiating Committee, after

final selection of a firm by the Board, to negotiate the terms of a professional service contract

with the selected firm and bring the contract back to the Board for consideration; and directed

staff to establish a timeline to hire a new County Manager by Fiscal Year 2025-2026.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Thad Altman

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

I.2.

Legislative intent and permission to advertise an ordinance providing for the

General Fund recapture of the tax increment used to finance the North Brevard

Economic Development Zone for the purpose of using such funds to support

Brevard County Fire Rescue, while honoring the existing contractual obligations

and commitments made by the Zone.

Commissioner Adkinson stated she is going to go ahead and make a motion; she moves to

approve the statement of legislative intent; direct staff to prepare an ordinance implementing

this intent; schedule and advertise the ordinance for public hearing; and direct the County

Manager to develop a Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget, with the additional $3.3 million allocated

to a specific Fund, and to be designated to the BCFR budget.

Commissioner Delaney asked if it is possible to amend this today and allow this to go through,

if there were changes made.

Chairman Feltner advised for the Board to let that consideration be part of the discussion, after

going to the speaker’s cards; and there are eight or nine cards.

Jessie Wright, Developer, stated he flew in from Los Angeles last night just for this meeting; he

represents the old Searstown Mall project, which is a $220 million project with mixed zoning for

a hotel, assisted living, and an apartment complex; and he noted his time is not running. He

went on to say ending NBEDZ is the end of projects that can create jobs, tax revenues, and

tourism; it will end the dreams of the small business owners and developers; why, because

without incentives, they will not survive; what he is requesting is to allow NBEDZ to continue,

the Board can still kill the projects as they come through, and see if they are legit or not; and

promoting the small businesses is about growth, jobs, and tourism. He advised he is a witness

of the hardworking people who work at NBEDZ for the last two and one-half years, especially

his project; he is ending the runoff into the Lagoon on a 22-acre project; he rests his case, if

killing NBEDZ is for political reasons; NBEDZ drives local growth; it was built for Titusville and

North Brevard County, not Tallahassee or Washington; ending it gives away the local control of

the communities future; grants have revitalized commercial areas, attracted tourism, and also

has helped to reduce crime; NBEDZ often serves as the final push, that brings in millions of

private capital to Brevard; without NBEDZ, the money may go to other counties or States, and

weakening the competitive edge; this is not a political risk, but is a leadership opportunity

supporting NBEDZ and protecting and creating jobs in this community; and voters remember

who stood for opportunity, not who backed down under pressure. He went on to say small

businesses, families, and job seekers support this program because it gives them a real

chance to succeed and stay in Brevard County; he is hopeful for the Board to allow this to

continue; he knows that Commissioner Goodson could possibly change his vote, as far as

killing it; he knows that Commissioner Delaney stated that she ran on killing NBEDZ and she

has confessed, that she does not need to; and he expressed appreciation for the Board’s time.

Chairman Feltner advised Mr. Wright the Board has two questions; and he asked how much is

he requesting from the Zone.

Mr. Wright responded for the last two and one-half years, he has been working on a grant of

about $2.4 million, with a division of about $800,000 for each segment of the project, as each

section ends; and Morris Richardson, County Attorney, has been working with the City of

Titusville’s City Attorney for well over two years

Commissioner Altman expressed his appreciation to Mr. Wright, for coming to the community,

and for working to upgrade the Searstown Mall; he grew up there; and he has been part of this

community for a long time.

Mr. Wright mentioned Commissioner Altman being a little boy when the Searstown Mall opened

up.

Commissioner Altman agreed; he remembers when there used to be Tarzan Wonderland near

there; he could tell him all kinds of stories; Titusville is a special place and the Board is excited

about what he is doing; he expressed his thanks for that; and he inquired when he made the

investment decision to purchase that Mall and upgrade it.

Mr. Wright responded the offer was made back in 2017; he stated he purchased the property in

February of 2018; the intention was to retrofit Sears; unfortunately, after Hurricane Irma came

through, it flooded Sears; Sears filed for bankruptcy in July of 2018 and they wanted to rent it to

another entity, which he ended up paying them to move out; retrofitting it was not an option; he

saw the community’s need for a redevelopment; he then started putting residential in the front,

facing US 1; he flipped the project and within the last couple of years, he changed the

independent senior living to assisted senior living, because that is a need that the City has; that

is why the project is moving forward; and as of right now, they should be done with the

infrastructure within the next 30 or 40 days.

Commissioner Altman stated it is his decision to make these investments; and he inquired if

those decisions were based on, or acting in reliance of the local government providing this Tax

Increment Financing (TIF), this redevelopment entity to help support his investments.

Mr. Wright responded yes. He stated he is getting rid of the Searstown Mall built in 1965; there

has been runoff into the Lagoon for well over 60 years; he assumed that this incentive given is

to cover at least a portion of it; it is a $220 million project; and $2.4 million is just a little over

one percent.

Commissioner Altman inquired if NBEDZ was something he based his decision on to make

these investments.

Mr. Wright replied that is correct.

Commissioner Altman advised he has a point to make during discussion; and he thanked Mr.

Wright.

Mr. Wright indicated that if this were a different meeting he would rescind the project.

Commissioner Goodson expressed his thanks for Mr. Wright remembering his name; there are

two other votes; he wanted to point them out for him Commissioner Adkinson and

Commissioner Feltner; and he might want to make sure they change their votes.

Mr. Wright stated he would dance on this table right now, if that is what it takes for them to

change their vote.

Chairman Feltner stated he met Mr. Wright before; and they had a meeting at his office.

Mr. Wright stated yes, he remembers.

Commissioner Delaney asked Mr. Wright to tell the Board a little bit about his project, as far as

there being a business that is actively polluting right now, that Mr. Wright is not associated with,

onto his property that goes directly into the Lagoon, and the upgrades and changes that he

made on his property are basically going to make some huge impacts, right.

Mr. Wright responded yes. He stated the contamination is from the Cumberland Farms, it is on

the northwest corner of the project, and it has been going on since 1983; he has been fighting

Cumberland Farms, he is either going to end up suing them and the Florida Department of

Environmental Protection (FDEP) because they believe that is their jurisdiction, and the city is

not doing anything about it; the contamination goes from west to east and it ends up in the

Lagoon; he is putting them under pressure to end this, either take it out and do something to

give him the no further action letter; and yes, he is making sure, he is a stand-up guy, that this

polluting of the Lagoon is going to stop, which has been going on for 60 years. He added in

addition to the runoff, there is benzene that is going underground; the water tap is about three

to four feet and it moves with the water; and it is going towards the Lagoon.

Chairman Feltner clarified Cumberland Farms is located on Hopkins Avenue.

Mr. Wright replied affirmatively.

Tom McCullough stated he works for SpaceTEC Partners, Inc., located in Titusville, and they

are in the middle of operating, standing up a training facility on Chaffee Drive to help with

manufacturing skills for trades in the aerospace industry; this started out as a grant from

Florida Department of Commerce; he also worked with Troy Post, North Brevard Economic

Development Zone Director, for an agreement of funds to help them, and to be located in North

Brevard to help be qualified for those funds; they are in the middle of standing up and building

out this facility right now; he wanted to cover where it says honoring existing, contractual

agreements; and he is wondering if that is going to continue being the case.

Chairman Feltner stated he believes that is the case.

Mr. Richardson replied the law requires it.

Mr. McCullough concluded by saying required by law makes him very happy.

Bart Gaetjens, Chairman of the Zone, stated he moved to unincorporated Titusville in 1990, he

did not know much about Brevard County, but it became readily apparent to him that while

working throughout the County, there existed an economic iron curtain starting at the Beachline

Expressway, Bee Line back then, and heading north to the County line; North Brevard has

experienced many economic downturns from the demise of the Mercury and Apollo Programs,

the move of the governmental agencies to Viera, and most recently, the end of the Shuttle

Program; in 2012, Scott Pelly of 60 Minutes, did a segment on Titusville, after the Shuttle

Program ended; and it painted Titusville as dilapidated and inferred that it was finished. He

continued to say Titusville knew it needed to diversify and the Zone was created; some will say,

it already has an Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC), and is

therefore, a duplication of efforts; he is the past chair of the EDC and it does a fantastic job, but

not all economic consultants are aware of the advantages and the opportunities that North

Brevard offers; as these consultants often insist on locations in a better-known area, in the

south end of the County, and therefore promoting the benefits of North Brevard is a job of the

Zone staff and the board members; many state that there is no need to offer incentives to the

Bezos’ and the Musk’s, and yet, all five districts in Brevard have employees working for those

companies; and these employees buy homes, pay property taxes, etcetera, which benefit the

entire County. He stated simply put, if North Brevard has a population of approximately 45,000

and the future population, and job growth decrease, then the residents will be paying the

increased taxes or receive less services, as the cost of materials and labors increase; the Zone

Projects portfolio lists 165 businesses as having been assisted with financial, technical, or both

services; the Zone has granted 54 incentivized Projects, where employers must meet certain

criteria, or do not receive the incentive or grant disbursements; some of the small businesses

which have created jobs in North Brevard, include Raider Outboards which is currently creating

an electric outboard motor for the Ukraine defense ministry, Paragon Plastics, Inc., GenH2,

New Energy Electric, Precision Shapes, Inc., and Red Canyon Software; all of those

businesses started with less than 15 employees; as the Board heard from Mr. Wright, the Zone

also assisted with redevelopment, such as the Miracle City Mall and transformed it into Titus

Landing; and the Zone is currently working with Mr. Wright on the Searstown Mall. He

mentioned hearing comments such as, “Well, you all are back on your feet and no longer need

the Zone.”; to him, that would be like Urban Meyer in a championship game telling Tim Tebow,

“It’s the third quarter. We’re up by three, take a seat, Tim, we got this.”; the Zone serves an

essential function; without the Zone, his fear is that a reemergence will be seen of the

economic iron curtain; and the Zone is making North Brevard a better place in which to live,

work, and play.

Bob White stated he is pleased to be able to be here today to speak on behalf of this and to

speak on behalf of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida; the Board knows their

Jeffersonian principles are personal liberty, limited government, and free markets; he wants to

share something with the Board from the Declaration of Independence, “Governments are

instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”; and that

phrase reflects the social contract theory, which suggests that individuals agree to give up

some freedoms, in exchange for the protection of their rights by a government. He stated there

is always this conflict that exists between individual liberty and the existence of government et

al; that is where that consent of the governed always has to come into play; as far as personal

liberty and limited government, by doing this the Board has an opportunity to eliminate an entire

layer of government, which obviously, it served a purpose, a very valuable purpose, no one

would argue that there was not a need at one point for an NBEDZ to exist, and clearly it served

a useful purpose; but he is one of those people who believes that it has run its course and is no

longer necessary. He went on to say the consent of the governed ought to be now; take those

funds and move them to an area of expense that all would agree is absolutely essential; that of

course is BCFR and emergency services; he does not think there is anybody in this room that

would disagree that that is an essential government function; this is an opportunity to eliminate

a layer of government, that is no longer in play, no longer necessary, and actually use that

funding for a level of government, a purpose of government that they all agree is necessary; as

far as the free market goes, that third Jeffersonian principle, he thinks clearly, while there may

have at one time been, that barrier that was talked about for the Beachline, he does not believe

that exists any longer; he does not live in Titusville and he does not claim to know everything

there is to know about Titusville, but he has watched the development that has been happening

up there, it has been going on, and certainly some of that has been because of NBEDZ, but not

all of it; it is standing on its own firmly, and he thinks it can continue to; and he encouraged the

Board to go ahead with this Item and approve it.

Robin Fisher stated in 2011, he came down from that dais and walked down here to make a

presentation to the Board of County Commissioners about the NBEDZ and how he thought it

was important for the future of North Brevard; it is ironic, that 14 years later, he is back and

trying to save the Zone; as a Commissioner, this is a 72-mile long County, and is ‘only as

strong as your weakest link’, if there was a chain on that 72 miles; as a Commissioner, he

always tried to make sure that he was doing his best for the entire County, and he made sure

he was not doing anything in one part of the County to hurt another part of the County; and he

thinks this move would definitely hurt North Brevard. He mentioned during his time as

Commissioner, he made sure the Board was able to do things; for example, Commissioner

Goodson, one year ago in his District, he remembers the Pulte Homes property, and the Board

tried to make sure that is was successful because it created the Fortenberry Regional

Stormwater Treatment System; in Districts 3 and 5, was the Field of Dreams, trying to create a

park for kids with a disability; and in District 5, the Board helped with the St. Johns Heritage

Parkway (SJHP) which in 2008, 2009, and 2010 the economy was bad and people were

judging whether the Board ought to be buying property, whether it could not pave the existing

roads, and why it was extending the SJHP; the Board realized the value of SJHP in District 3;

and he expressed his thanks to Commissioner Altman and Commissioner Goodson, for when

they were in the House of Representatives helping to make that Field of Dreams happen,

because they gave him State money which was a big thing for the Board. He stated it is

important to realize the success in District 4, and Duda had a lot to do with the planning of it,

but District 4 has greatly benefited from North Brevard by not taking the County Seat out of it

and not taking the School Board out of it; it is now taking some of the Court System out of it; he

thinks the County is better off; and he does not fault Viera, because he thinks a great job had

been done and that it is the golden child for the County, but at the same time, he thinks they

need to be sympathetic of the North Brevard situation because they have definitely benefited

from it. He mentioned he was the first one when the Washington Nationals were vacating the

Stadium and were moving, to create that Stadium for the United States Specialty Sports

Association (USSSA); that has been good for Viera and the County; and he is proud of all of

those things. He pointed out some informational facts that he wanted the Board to know, that

in 1990, the population in Titusville was 40,000; in 2024, the population was 50,000; in 1994,

the population was 398,000; right now, the population is 658,000; the County grew 260,000

people and Titusville has grown 10,000 people; he does not believe in the notion that in 35

years, if growing 350 people a year… He asked Chairman Feltner if he may have a second;

and he expressed his thanks. He went on to say that he does not believe that only 10,000

people of the 260,000 people moving to the County, that has now arrived and it does not need

any help anymore; Titusville is still considered the weakest link of this County and people are

trying everything they can to change that; the Zone was a huge benefit for it; he is going to

respectfully ask the Board to do something, by not killing the Zone; and if this is for the

firefighters, his suggestion would be to table this and maybe, go back to the Zone board and

ask the Zone board if it will reconsider how it allocates funds. He suggested considering that,

there are six fire stations he believes in District 1, but he is not sure of that; if his research is

right, there is Stations 21, 22, 24, 26, 29, and 44, and take half of the Zone dollars, and allocate

it to those Stations in the Zone’s area; take half of those dollars and allocate it to those for the

firefighters, for the infrastructure, and for the salaries, or whatever the Board has to do; it does

not have to kill the Zone; but at least as a community in the north end, it is putting its money

where its mouth is and it is trying to help the firefighters, and that is the way to do it without

killing the Zone. He indicated that if he were up on the dais and making a motion, he would say

table this and give the Zone board a chance to reallocate dollars and to look at possibly how

the Board could help the firefighters, because that is what everybody said this was about, and

still keep the Zone in place and help the firefighters at the same time.

Commissioner Altman expressed his appreciation to former Commissioner Robin Fisher for

being here and for his public service. He stated the Board does not get to hear from a former

Commissioner often and it is wonderful.

Mr. Fisher remarked it is usually not good when they have to come up.

Chairman Feltner advised he actually hears from them all of the time.

Commissioner Altman stated he means in public and here at the Board meetings. He noted as

the Board moves forward, it knows what is happening with the challenges to meet Brevard’s

economic growth and economic destiny of what is happening in North Brevard; and he asked

what some of the shortfalls are that need to be fixed and addressed, that may not be

addressed if the Board does away with NBEDZ.

Mr. Fisher responded he thinks the first thing is the North Brevard region getting its fair share; it

is known by the population statistic, it has not had the kind of growth that the rest of County

had; it is known that the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) from downtown Titusville is

only creating $300,000 a year in revenue; there is really no additional revenue coming in that

would allow it to expand and incentivize companies to come here; he admits, he loves that

community, he has been there for 35 years, he would not want to live anywhere else, but they

are not the shiny penny on the block; when there is opportunity for people to come to Brevard,

they typically are going to Melbourne, Viera, or South Brevard; the Zone has given the incentive

to allow it to have redevelopment, which is badly needed; there is still a section of the

community that are in the 60’s; and the Zone has played a huge part in helping make Titusville

better. He stated he is proud of where it has been since 2010, since the Shuttle started rolling

out, but they are nowhere out of the woods; he thinks by taking the foot off the gas right now, it

would be the typical thing that has happened to Titusville in the last 60 years; and when there is

a little success, then somebody yanks the rug out from underneath it.

Commissioner Goodson stated he does not know if Mr. Fisher has followed a developer

wanting to develop the Sherwood Country Club and put in townhomes and homes; the public

came out in an outcry; Commissioner Delaney spoke against it; it was approved in Zoning; he

asked how can it be always North Brevard is not the shining penny when people speak against

development up there; and he asked for help for him to understand that.

Mr. Fisher stated he is not sure and he thinks people in general, all over the County, if it is

going to affect them, they are going to speak about development; there are going to be some

people who are supportive of it and some people who are opposed of it; he thinks, in that case,

the people who lived on that golf course were…

Commissioner Goodson interrupted by saying they had their piece of the pie and did not want

anybody else to have it; one lady stood up and he found this to be totally funny, moved from

New Jersey, and was going to have a lake behind her house; but did not want the alligator, but

yet she moved to Florida. He stated think about it, because it is hard to understand.

Mr. Fisher replied he understood.

Commissioner Delaney stated she would like to expand on that just a little bit because of her

name being mentioned; Sherwood is a bit different from the things that are being redeveloped

because of the Zone, like the Searstown Mall for instance; that is a major blight, right smack

dab in the middle of Titusville, that luckily, because of the Zone there is somebody who is

willing to put the money in, put the infrastructure in, and get rid of that blight in that community;

Sherwood is on the outskirts of Titusville and the issues there were flooding; and it had nothing

to do with blight.

Commissioner Goodson remarked she is correct, but it has a lot to do with the tax revenue for

District 1; and if there is no infrastructure, as far as homes and developments, then it does not

become the shiny penny.

Commissioner Delaney asked if it is more profitable for the community to have commercial,

rather than residential.

Chairman Feltner advised this is starting to sound like a debate, with respect there are three

more speakers.

Sandra Sullivan stated at the last meeting a motion was made to direct staff to prepare a

statement of legislative intent regarding the discontinuation of County TIF payments to the

NBEDZ Trust Fund, the dissolution of NBEDZ, and the refund of any uncommitted TIF funds on

the deposit of NBEDZ Trust Fund to the respective taxing authorities that contributed those

funds, including the County; she showed a sheet of this being official record; when the Board

has this unfinished business up there and it already took a motion to issue legislative intent, the

only thing the motion should be for is a vote of intent to put this on a critical need for the BCFR;

and the decision to issue legislative intent has already been voted by this Commission, unless it

intends to rescind that today. She stated she does not understand the point of this Item that

contradicts with a vote already taken; the only add, is whether the Board is going to use this

money; the intent is to use this money for BCFR; and the motion should be amended to that

point. She added she brought up many points in the last meeting about the controversies with

NBEDZ, that was formed in response to the agreement with Titusville on doing the site planning

and building permits on an agreement with Space Florida; a lot of the money and controversies

involving, for example, bond funding the Space Coast Infrastructure Agency, which was created

by them, and the bond funding for Blue Origin, the County cannot bond if being a Special

District formed by a vote by the Commission; the County was sued; and the Clerk’s Office won.

She stated NBEDZ was created and that area was to be recovered by 2016; it was supposed to

be created for five years and sunsetted; it did not sunset; the County has a much greater

critical need, it has many critical needs beyond BCFR; she means, just on transportation the

County has a $2.2 billion deficit for capacity and maintenance, which matches what its entire

budget is; the County is in fiscal crisis; its analogous of a person’s house fallingdown and giving

money to their neighbor to go on a vacation to Europe; stop this, the County has the EDC, the

EDC tax abatement, and many incentives; there is Space Florida who is offering tax breaks as

well; they do not pay taxes on the land; they should be paying taxes on the buildings, which is

different issue; and Mr. Fisher spoke over, and she did, too.

Chairman Feltner advised that is okay because he let her.

Larry Linkous, Founder of New Life Space Coast in Titusville, stated New Life is a church that

has served the community for over 40 years; he and his wife have lived in Titusville for 45

years;

Titusville, Brevard County, and the Space Coast is their home; he is present today to appeal to

this Commission to retain NBEDZ; a whole lot has been said about that; he has a whole lot to

say, that he may not say, but he would like to say he does not think it is good or fair, that this

Commission has pitted the Zone against the BCFR, because it makes for those who are

standing here for the Zone look like they are opposed to the BCFR, and that is not a good

position to have to be; anybody would be out of their minds, to be against BCFR and first

responders; they are heroes, they are champions, they run to what others run from; he hopes

that the Commission would reconsider; and he does not mean this lightly, but all of the wisdom,

experience, and ability that this Commission has to find another way to finance BCFR without

eliminating the Zone. He mentioned the Zone being important to, not only to North Brevard, but

when looking at the Zone related to Blue Origin; he means that is not a Titusville issue; if it was

said that Blue Origin is a Titusville company, some would laugh at the Commission; but the

Zone was important to what has happened with Blue Origin, by bringing it here, and

establishing it at the Kennedy Space Center. He stated he hopes that the Commission would

consider that and that it would find some other way; he is not opposed, by any means, it looks

like some may be, and it looks like they are to BCFR, which is ridiculous; the Commission put

them in this position when standing for the Zone, because it looks like they are trying to take

money from the men and women; and there are ways, the Board is intelligent and creative, and

can do better. He asked the Commission to reconsider and find other ways to finance the

needs of BCFR, without eliminating the Zone, because the Zone has been and continues to be

a vital piece of help; not only in North Brevard, but in Brevard; and this is one County, one

people.

Robert Jordan stated he works alongside a great group of people on the Zone, whom, as a

reminder, are not paid for those services, and who have spent hundreds of hours making

decisions for the benefit of North Brevard and all of the County; and they are all small business

owners like he, that range from real estate sales, civil engineering services, mechanical

services, sports video technology, logistics and procurement, and Certified Public Accountant

(CPA) services. He mentioned he would like to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work

and commitment that each Member of the Board bring to the community; he knows all too well,

the difficult decisions that elected officials must make, and he applauds all of their work; the

Board’s efforts in managing the County’s resources and addressing the needs of the residents

are commendable; however, he is deeply concerned about the recent decision to cancel

NBEDZ; it embarked on the intentional practice of improving its community’s well-being and

quality of life; he does understand that there may be reasons behind this, it is crucial to

consider how this action will affect, not just the dedicated firefighters, but also the 115,000

residents of District 1, who rely on economic stability and growth; and the cancellation of the

Zone could lead to diminished economic opportunities within the District, and perhaps the

Board look into modifying incentives or additional funding sources that would allow for them to

achieve both goals. He added to let them come together as a community, residents, business

owners, and public servants to discuss how to best support both, the firefighters and the local

economy; he would like to respectfully request that the County Commission support a delay in

the Legislative decision today; perhaps, table it, or not even vote on it, which certainly would

make him happy; the community of North Brevard humbly seeks the Board’s divine wisdom and

compassionate guidance and in their journey together, they can recognize the strength found in

unity, and the profound impact of shared insights; the Board’s support is not just welcome, it is

essential for nurturing the collective spirit and fostering growth within the total community; he

sincerely appreciates the time and effort of the Board for dedicated service to the community;

and he is grateful for the Board’s consideration of his words. He expressed his thanks for the

Board’s dedication to the County; he looks forward to the Board’s deliberation; and he would

respect whatever decision the Board makes for the benefit of all of Brevard County. He noted

North Brevard sincerely needs its love, support, and guidance.

Commissioner Altman stated he will be brief and he knows the Board discussed this last time,

but his position has not changed; he felt that this is extremely important; he thinks it is

important, not just for North Brevard, but he thinks it is important for all of Brevard; North

Brevard plays a critical role in supporting the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), space businesses,

and activities with so many companies looking to move here versus moving other places that

are in the aerospace community; they first look at Titusville because that is in closest proximity

to the KSC; there needs to be a strong base there; and he supports the Zone, not just to help

North Brevard, but he truly believes it is in the best interest for all of Brevard and is part of the

package to be a quality community, with a high standard of living, a high quality of life, good

clean jobs, and the ability to meet the County’s destiny as a community that is so rooted in

aerospace and discovery.

Commissioner Delaney stated she wanted to answer Commissioner Altman’s question about

what are some of the struggles going on in North Brevard and why the Zone is needed. She

replied one of things she heard from the business owners is that one of the things that steers

them to say South Brevard, is the fact, that there are buildings ready for businesses to move

into, and North Brevard does not necessarily have that; and what NBEDZ has done is helped

incentivize those to come, with the help of getting sites ready for construction, because they all

know site prep is a huge investment and just having those properties prepped for construction

makes a huge difference, which is a huge contributing factor as to why businesses would

choose South Brevard over North Brevard. She mentioned talking to business owners who say

that if it was not for the Zone, they would not have come to North Brevard; it is not a secret that

before she was elected, she did not have a full understanding of what NBEDZ has done and

what it has done for North Brevard, by spending more time reading and talking to the people up

there; she sees the value in it and she still stands by it, if North Brevard is going to sacrifice its

economic development, everybody else should be sacrificing as well; she is not opposed to

looking into ideas like some of the speakers had mentioned, a portion of that money going to

Fire Rescue, and continuing the economic development; and she asked if there is any kind of

way that NBEDZ can continue some funding of economic development in North Brevard and

attributing some of those funds to public safety.

Chairman Feltner replied he thought that was an interesting comment, in addition, because he

is sticking to the matter at hand, which is there is a situation with the Fire Rescue. He stated

he thought earlier it was suggested that half of the TIF would go potentially to the firehouses,

something along those lines that are up in the north end of the County; and just so he

understands, he asked if the Board were to move this along today and something was worked

out before the next Board meeting, could that be amended at the next meeting to include that

potential proposal.

Mr. Richardson responded he thinks so, as long as it is advertised broadly enough, that would

be an amendment that the Board either could make at the meeting when this comes back, or

the Board at that meeting, if necessary, depending on what different action the Board took,

compared to the advertised ordinance, and the Board could ask for it to come back at a

subsequent meeting; and he added, the Board cannot use TIF for that kind of general purpose

government, but it could just reduce the contribution that should recapture for the General Fund

portion of the TIF.

Commissioner Goodson advised one thing he has not heard from any speaker is what Titusville

is going to do, nothing; and he asked if they are on the hook to help their own city, as far as

incentives, and stuff like that, or is Titusville just letting it go free.

Commissioner Delaney replied the Zone encompasses more than Titusville; and she stated

there is many places outside of the City of Titusville that benefit from the Zone.

Commissioner Goodson remarked he is well aware that the Zone is outside of Titusville, but if

Titusville is the weakest link, and they are not the golden penny, would Titusville want to help

some.

Commissioner Delaney mentioned they are contributing.

Commissioner Goodson expressed his thanks; and he stated well, then that was so simple. He

indicated asking Mr. Fisher to comment, he has all of the answers, right; and he mentioned for

him not to use his name again.

Commissioner Adkinson stated she does not know what is going on.

Mr. Fisher remarked he does not have all of the answers, but just so the Board knows, Mr.

Richardson could make reference to this…

Chairman Feltner advised the Board already had public comment.

Mr. Fisher apologized.

Chairman Feltner advised Mr. Fisher is answering Commissioner Goodson’s question.

Mr. Fisher pointed out that is all that was doing, because Commissioner Goodson said just ask

Robin Fisher to come up; and he reiterated that he is sorry. He asked if can answer his

question.

Chairman Feltner stated without objection, the Board is going to allow it.

Mr. Fisher stated the County Attorney or maybe the County Manager may be able to answer

that, but Titusville does contribute to the Zone; and 40 percent of their revenue on the

commercial business does go to NBEDZ.

Commissioner Goodson asked if they do it outside of the city.

Mr. Fisher replied affirmatively.

Commissioner Delaney stated if she remember this correctly, those funds are to be used within

the city.

Mr. Fisher reiterated Mr. Richardson might be able to answer that.

Mr. Richardson advised that is correct; there is an Interlocal Agreement; the city funds a trust

fund; those funds are kept separate from County TIF Trust Fund; and for example, the first

speaker, Mr. Wright, his Searstown Mall project, he believes the way that is set up is it would

be funded entirely from Titusville’s TIF trust account.

Commissioner Adkinson advised that she just wants everybody to understand that this is not

going to be the only difficult choice the Board has to make; there are some serious budget

problems; and this is not the only cut or change that the Board is going to have to make that

people are not going to be happy with.

Chairman Feltner inquired if Commissioner Adkinson is open to including an amendment, at

possibility the next meeting, that there could be an agreement that would include some of the

revenue for Fire Rescue, as suggested, and it does not mean that it has to be done.

Commissioner Adkinson asked if Chairman Feltner is saying that at the next meeting possibly

changing what the Board is doing today.

Chairman Feltner responded affirmatively.

Commissioner Adkinson replied no.

Commissioner Altman inquired for his understanding this is to advertise for an ordinance, but if

there were to be some sort of agreement, the County is advertising an ordinance but that does

not mean setting in the concrete how the Board is going to vote; that would go contrary to the

intent of advertising; sand when the public comes, and the Board hears if there are some

potential tweaks or changes, or compromises, the Board could consider that.

Commissioner Delaney stated yes.

Mr. Richardson responded absolutely, as long as they are within the scope of what was

advertised;, the Board could tweak the ordinance; if it is outside of the scope of what was

advertised, and if it is so different then that is a substantial change; and it might just have to

come back in a different form.

Commissioner Altman stated okay.

Commissioner Delaney inquired if what is asked for today is considered a substantial change.

Mr. Richardson responded to what.

Commissioner Delaney stated for the 50 percent of money to stay with the General Fund and

earmarked for Fire Rescue.

Mr. Richardson replied he is going to try to write the advertisements of the ordinance titles

broadly; he would imagine that is something that could be considered, but he has not done that

exercise yet, so he cannot say for certain; but if the majority of the Board wanted to do that, it

would just be a procedural mechanism of how to get there;, would it be at the same meeting or

future meeting with additional advertisement.

The Board approved the Statement of Legislative Intent set forth to prepare an ordinance to

end the County General Fund contribution of TIF to the North Brevard Economic Development

District Trust Fund and limit the uses of funds maintained in the Trust Fund, solely for the

payment and administration of existing Zone obligations or transfer of surplus funds to the

County General Fund; and directed staff to prepare an ordinance implementing such intent and

schedule and advertise the ordinance for public hearing.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Tom Goodson

Ayes: Delaney, Goodson, Adkinson, and Feltner

Nay: Altman

J.1. Approval of the Tourist Development Council FY 2025-2026 Marketing Support

Program Funding, Criteria, Application and Event Income/Event Expense

Worksheet

Peter Cranis, Tourism Development Director, stated Item J.1., is an Item coming from the

Tourist Development Council (TDC) for the FY 2025-2026 Marketing Support Program (MSP)

funding and criteria.

Ruth Kaufhold expressed her appreciation to Commissioner Altman’s staff who helped her

yesterday. She stated she wanted to let the Board know that she has a big concern with the

application process for the MSP; she does not know if this applies, because she just ran into all

of this within the last week; the cultural grants applications need to be seriously reviewed,

because there cannot be people who are not cultural or companies or anything like that be

allowed to continue applications; Space Coast Pride is not a culture and she is just going to tell

the Board, it is not; it is a lifestyle that is chosen by people, not a culture that can be seen, that

has existed in this County for many, many years; this is ridiculous; and that is all that she wants

to say about that right now.

Commissioner Delaney advised she has some concerns and she thinks she mentioned this

when this had been brought up before about the Commission splitting the $100,000; she was

wondering if, rather than that because she thinks the intent, from what she remembers was

events that were not large enough to qualify; could the Board just make a different one that is

zero to $5,000, versus giving each Commissioner a $20,000 pot; she just feels like any time, in

the past, that the Commissioners had been given a pot of money to spend; the public seemed

to have some concerns about that; and she is wondering if that would be a friendly

amendment.

Chairman Feltner replied he would address that as the Chair of the TDC and the person who to

move that forward. He stated the MSP grant structure, the Board had acknowledged that there

are some smaller events that would not meet the criteria of the room nights; that is the thing the

TDC is trying to cure; he recognizes, again, some of these that the Board voted for before, the

Melbourne Art Festival, the Native Rhythms in Wickham Park, Green Gables, and Field Manor;

some of these other things like the zero to $5,000 is understood, but specifically with the

Vietnam Veterans, all Veterans of Brevard’s situation is paying for the Park which is

approximately $15,000, he thinks; those are Board actions, he does not get to just give these

groups a $1, without the Board saying okay, because collectively, the Board has to agree to it.

He advised he only wanted to put a mechanism in there for each Commissioner to recognize

that some events are happening in their District, to give each the opportunity to say the

Melbourne Art Festival was left out of this somehow, and that he or she wants to try to help

them; that is all that it is intended to do; and he is certainly open to some kind of change in the

future, that somehow rectifies this situation. He added there was just a round number of

$100,000 that was allocated for the smaller events and divided by five, there are five

Commissioners, he was just trying to be open and equal with his suggestion of each

Commissioner identifying a couple of events up to $20,000; that is it; that is his only motive;

and for the TDC, while having good representation, there might be one area of the County that

maybe does not have as much representation on there, and it gives the Commissioners the

opportunity to identify a group.

Commissioner Delaney stated she was not meaning any ill intent.

Chairman Feltner stated he understands and he does not take it that way.

Commissioner Altman mentioned he read the criteria and he thinks it was well written; he thinks

the TDC has done a good job; he agrees with what the Chairman said; there are small

programs that no one knows better than those people in that local community; having each

individual Commissioner to give their input and to make a recommendation, he thinks is good;

that is government closest to the people; and there is a check and balance though that that the

Board cannot allocate or appropriate monies, that the Commission as a whole has to vote and

approve that. He stated he agreed about the concept of how to define culture, but that is not

what the Board is doing here; that point is well taken and the Board will have to hear all of

these requests as they come; it will have to make a decision as a collective body for what is

good for the community; this is just for criteria; and he thinks it is well written and that it is off to

a good start.

Chairman Feltner pointed out the Veterans group came to him saying that they are a new

group of younger guys who are taking over for the older guys; they are not great at fundraisers

and they have had just a horrible time coming up with the money, just to cover the Park fees;

that is what they needed help with; they would never be able to meet the criteria of the room

nights, because quite candidly, they camp, and they are not staying in hotels; they are camping

at Wickham Park; that is just a textbook example; and that will be one of the groups in the

future that hopefully future boards will help out. He stated that is it, if a person has an improved

idea for the future, he will tell them that he would bring it to the TDC; he will leave that option

open; if a person can find a better way around that, he currently does not have one; prior

Boards with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund or Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic

Security (CARES) funds, he thinks that is when they got in trouble; it was acknowledged by all;

but at the time, in the beginning, he thinks they were not going to have Board approval. He

added it is his recollection that the Clerk said, “I’m not writing a check to anything without the

Board’s approval.”; ultimately, the Board did vote on those things; the point is well taken; and if

there were a suggestion in the future, he would certainly be open to it.

Commissioner Goodson inquired if prior to all of these changes, in the old days or in the old

times, was there near as much trouble as there is now, because he would say there is more

trouble now. He stated tell him what his thoughts are if he wishes to.

Mr. Cranis responded he thinks these grants over the last four or five years were well

discussed at the Board level; there were many different positions on those; and it has not

changed a whole lot in the last four or five years.

Commissioner Goodson stated so Mr. Cranis is telling him right now that he is happy as heck,

but if he were up to tell him he would like to go back to the other way, he would make a motion

to go back to the other way. He asked why it has to be so difficult and why they do not make it

a little easier on staff. He stated if Mr. Cranis is happy, he is happy.

Mr. Cranis remarked he is happy if Commissioner Goodson is happy.

Commissioner Goodson stated that was a good answer and he is happy.

Chairman Feltner advised he thinks the TDC is in a better place because of some of the

adjustments that were made from where the prior TDC was, which was when applying for the

grants the TDC was going to do the marketing for the applicants; this Board had decided that,

and that is what is actually in place before the Board today, it might not be the best thing for the

groups that the TDC does the marketing; there had been some groups who said that is

wonderful because he or she is not a marketing expert, but is good at running an art show; he

thinks that has been a good thing; there are other groups who say that they just need the grant

funding to pay for security that day; that is what is being put in the criteria here, is giving them

the option; he thinks that is a cornerstone part of what the Board is doing; and that alone, which

he knows, Mr. Cranis is trying to stay out of the opinion business, but that will probably make it

easier in what the group’s future asks will be. He asked if Mr. Cranis would agree with that.

Mr. Cranis responded affirmatively. He stated he thinks the way the criteria is written, there is a

lot more flexibility for the groups, and he thinks that is an advantage for them.

Commissioner Altman stated he knows that Commissioner Goodson already knows this, but

any old guy questions he certainly is willing to fill them, since he is one of old old guys, and he

can go back to the old old days when it was first created; he thinks one thing that is important is

there being movements in the Legislature to sunset TDC’s, which he is against because he

thinks they are important; but if there are those laws that are passed it has to look at sunset

votes, he thinks is important that the Board include as much of the local community as it

possibly can on these type of grants, because it is going to need their support. He went on to

say he was the Chairman of the TDC when the Board passed the Tourist Development Tax

(TDT), if failed twice before it passed the third time; one way the Board was able to pass that

was it was able to be inclusive and include a broad spectrum of the communities; he thinks it

has been a positive growth of the tourist industry; he is impressed of what is being done now;

and he supports it.

The Board approved the TDC FY 2025-2026 MSP Funding, Criteria, Application and Event

Income/Event Worksheet; approved total funding of the FY 2025-2026 MSP up to $740,000;

approved making the Legislative finding that the TDT funds are authorized for each grant

pursuant to Section 125.0104(5)(a)3., Florida Statutes, and Section 102-119(3)a., (3)d., (5)a.,

and (6)a. of the Brevard County Code of Ordinances because each grant supports an activity

or event which has, as one of its main purposes, the attraction of tourists as evidenced by the

promotion of the activity, service, venue or event to tourists outside of Brevard County;

authorized the Board to provide for $20,000 per Commission District for a total of $100,000 that

is part of the total $740,000; and authorized Peter Cranis, Tourism Development Director, to

negotiate and sign all necessary grant agreements and related documents upon County

Attorney’s Office, Risk Management, and Purchasing Services approval.

*The Board recessed at 10:53 a.m. and reconvened at 11:04 a.m.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

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

J.2. Board Approval: Proposed Fire Assessment Adjustments for Brevard County

Fire Rescue

Mathew Wallace, Public Safety Office Director, stated with him is Fire Chief, Patrick Voltaire,

Brevard County Fire Rescue (BCFR); they will be going over Item J.2., he will give a brief

introduction to the Agenda Item, and he will review the requested actions; and then he will turn

it over to the Fire Chief to go through the various options and get down in to the details of

those. He stated on February 11, 2025, at a Regular meeting, the Board asked staff to go

back and update the seven-year plan to include employee recruitment, retention, infrastructure,

and capital needs; the Board gave staff direction to bring back options to meet those needs

with potential fire assessment adjustments; and in this action BCFR is requesting Board

consideration for three actions. He advised each separate action would require a motion and a

vote for those to be approved; action one, would be a proposed fire assessment not to exceed

rates; action two, would be for the Board to approve the fire assessment notice to the affected

property owners, that may be found on attachment two of the Agenda Report; and staff will

update this notice with the not to exceed amount, if the Board so chooses and approves that in

action one. He stated on attachment three is impacts to each property class and every

property class owner, whether commercial or residential, could go to that attachment to see

what the impacts are for the various options; action three, would be to set a public hearing for

final approval of the fire assessment; staff is requesting May 20, 2025, Regular meeting at 9:00

a.m.; Florida Statute requires that 20 days after the public notices are sent, that the public

hearing date may be set; and if the date of May 20, 2025, is approved staff will begin

immediately after this session to get those public notices in the mail to ensure they meet that

Florida Statute. He stated additionally, in the property notice to the owners, staff includes a

phone number for BCFR, the senior staff will be monitoring between now and the public

hearing; staff will bring the data back to the Board, as inputs from the civilians about whether

they are for, or against, or neutral for the fire assessment and share that data with the Board at

the public hearing; and now he will turn it over to Fire Chief Voltaire to go through the individual

options and the details of those.

Fire Chief Voltaire stated he will go over the various options that are in the Agenda package,

just as the options he spoke of when he met with each individually; it will be the options in both

table one and appendix one; option one, captures capital and infrastructure requirements and

addresses future station and crew needs not identified in the previous seven-year plan; this

accounts for inflation losses from years 2021-2025; covers exhausted non-reoccurring

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds; this option includes a six percent annual inflation

rate for capital and infrastructure; adjustments would use the current approved fire assessment

methodology with annual increases equal to Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate or three percent,

whichever is less; and option one provides for the County’s proposed one-year contract,

including subsequent increases for two years thereafter. He continued to say option one (a),

would be Specialized, Treatment, Education and Prevention Services (STEP) program plus

CPI, plus a modest additional wage adjustment; option one (b), would be STEP plus CPI, plus

aggressive additional wage adjustment for the two years beyond the one-year they are

currently in; option two, captures all of those things that he spoke of, the only difference being it

is a proposed one-year contract, in a subsequent three years of wage increases or

adjustments; STEP plus CPI, plus modest wage adjustment would be option two (a); option two

(b), would be STEP plus CPI, plus aggressive additional wage adjustment; option three, is

notated as zero percent because that would be anything the Board desired outside or above or

beyond those options, if none of those options work for the current team; option four, submitted

by District 1, works out the current options, but adds in some different scheduling flexibility;

option four (a), would basically be option two (b), with the three-week Kelly Day option: and

option four (b), would be option two (a), with a 24/72 work option; and option four (c), would be

option two (b), with the 24/72 option. He stated before he passes it back to the Board, he

wanted to thank the Board for the time it has taken to discuss this with them, and how it took a

lot of time in the discussions for getting to where they are today.

Commissioner Delaney inquired if Fire Chief Voltaire could tell the Board what the modest and

aggressive percentages are.

Fire Chief Voltaire responded percentages would be a negotiated topic; the aggregate rates are

what is seen in the table; the Board has seen the negotiation of the percentages but they vary

from rate-to-rate and rank-to-rank; and for him to provide an exact percentage would be tough.

Frank Abbate, County Manager, advised he can answer that question; the chart that the Board

has that shows the impacts, shows the differential between each of the options; it would be to

add the total additional fire assessment revenue, plus the total General Fund impact for each of

those options; and the differential is the difference between a modest and a more aggressive

one. He added if looking, for example, between one (a) and one (b), it would be to add $9.4

million, plus $7.6 million as modest and then the$12.9 million and the $9.98 million, the

difference of those numbers between a modest and an aggressive one, and the total amount of

revenue there would be the amount that would be available within the department to use; and

then whatever is negotiated within that would be what would be done.

Commissioner Delaney inquired if she is remembers correctly, it was between six and ten

percent.

Mr. Abbate remarked that is for only one option, because that depends on what is negotiated,

what rank, and what position gets what.

Commissioner Delaney stated right.

Mr. Abbate remarked it is a different amount.

Commissioner Delaney stated she is just typing to put it out there in Layman’s term for people

that is all.

Christina Fleming stated in 2017, staff was addressing the fire assessment; then it was

increased, but obviously it either was not enough, or the monies were not used correctly; the

Board was given four options today; whatever options the Board decides on, needs to be

extremely aggressive; the Board is so behind the eight ball, that it needs to be progressively

thinking for the next seven years; the BCFR department is hanging on by sheer determination

of what employees it has left; and they are exhausted. She went on to say that she is willing to

support an increase; actually, for her, if doing the aggressive four (c), she will be paying $21.66

a month more than what she is paying now; she is more than willing to give up anything; she

will give up her coffee if she has to and they all know how big that is for her; and she will give it

all up, even if the Board raised her taxes, she will pay it, in order for the Board to support its

BCFR department, in order for it to be what it is supposed to be. She mentioned the definition

of budget is a plan for the coordination of resources and expenditures; the Board must plan for

the future, not now, but for the future; and to please budget appropriately.

Ryan Barrack expressed his appreciation to the Board for hearing this Item and for giving it the

attention that it deserves; public safety is a core function of government, and the constituents

appreciate being a priority; he has met with all of the Board on multiple occasions; he know that

the entire Board supports the BCFR department; he thanked Commissioner Feltner for always

making appearances at the new hire graduations, sponsorship signings, and promotional

ceremonies; the presence of the Board at these celebrations does not go unnoticed; the first

time he met Commissioner Adkinson was at their chili cook-off, she was warm and engaging,

and his people were instantly enamored; Commissioner Delaney is a permanent fixture at the

negotiations for over one year, she dove headfirst in their culture, and labeled them as her

firefighters; this brought tremendous pride for the employees, knowing that she held them in

such regard; and Commissioners Goodson and Altman fought the fight for them at the State

level for years, and their support of cancer presumption and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

(PTSD) benefits which creates tremendous benefits for their trade. He added, their support of

the Florida Retirement System (FRS) at the State level ensured some form of postretirement

benefits for all firefighter and for that they are grateful; unfortunately, he stands before the

Board today at what seems like Groundhog Day, from four years ago when BCFR’s revenue

sources were last explored; no one on the Board were sitting as a Commissioner at the time

that the fire assessment was amended; however, over the past few months, the Board has

been briefed on its shortcoming and burdened with fixing it; and record inflation and competitive

job market made the last fire assessment increase inadequate, what was sold as a seven-year

plan was ineffective after one or two years. He stated they have experienced soaring prices,

supply chain delays for the capital products that their trade is relying upon, to provide

life-saving services for the residents; furthermore, the additional personnel positions that were

allocated to BCFR sit unfilled; the administrative team has become incredibly creative with

overcoming some of these obstacles, but they are still coming up short with capital

replacement, Capital Improvement Projects (CIP), infrastructure enhancements, and most

importantly, staffing; the staffing issues continue to plague the organization and is approaching

a breaking point, that has already resulted in service level cuts for the residents; and he

suspects that those service level cuts will continue and soon Insurance Services Office (ISO)

ratings could soon be affected by the difficult decisions that Fire Chief Voltaire will have make.

He continued to say the competitive job market is a double-edged sword; the great country sits

one full point under the nations historical unemployment rates; however, this competitive job

market means that employees have the options to sell their services to the highest bidder;

though, it is acknowledged that Brevard County will likely never be the highest bidder, they

continue to strive for the mean; he acknowledges the relationship between policymaker and

constituent, as it relates to taxes is intimate and a sensitive one; the Board is elected to ensure

that the core functions of government, being infrastructure and public safety are met; the

people expects the Board to be good stewards of their tax dollars while showing them some

form of Return on Investment (ROI); he thinks it goes without saying which fire assessment

option will fix the issues; there is only one option that will provide a real fix for the personnel

issues; and the rest will result in wet band-aid fixes, not dissimilar to the options chosen four

years ago. He mentioned if a wet band-aid is chosen, it will peel inside of two years, and

perpetuate the glaring issues that they are aimed to fix; he expressed his thanks for the Board’s

consideration; his prayers will be with the Board as it navigates this difficult road; and as

always, he is available for questions now, or at the Board’s earliest convenience.

Dr. Robert Ford expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to speak in front of the Board

today; he stated for those who do not know him, his name is Bobby Ford; he was born and

raised in this community; he grew up in West Melbourne; he left the area after high school; he

made his way back here after his emergency medicine residency to serve his community; and

now he is proud to be the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Medical Director for BCFR. He

stated EMS is a backbone of the community, it provides timely and life-saving care to

individuals in their most vulnerable moments; their mission is to ensure that every resident

receives the highest standard of care, regardless of the circumstances; this has been his

mission, ever since his mother, who was a nurse for 37 years, lost her life just six hours after

walking into a local emergency department; in EMS, they can change a trajectory of people’s

lives before they ever reach the hospital; and it ensures they get the care needed in a timely

fashion. He continued to say that in the last few years, EMS has been working to improve this

care for the citizens; one of the key areas made remarkable strides is in the management of

sepsis; sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body responsds to an

infection, by causing its damage to tissues and organs; prompt recognition and treatment are

crucial in improving outcomes; and one study showed the mortality rate increased by 7.5

percent for each hour and delay in antibiotic administration. He mentioned EMS has

implemented advanced protocols for early detection of sepsis; now the paramedics are trained

to recognize subtle signs and symptoms of sepsis, allowing for quicker diagnosis and

intervention; using state-of-the-art equipment, EMS can measure vital signs that indicate the

presence of sepsis before ever reaching the hospital; EMS’s sepsis care bundles, which

include the administration of intravenous fluids and in vasopressors, are designed to stabilize

patients en route to the hospital; and they now give those life-saving antibiotics in the field,

avoiding any delays in administration at the hospital. He added beyond sepsis care, EMS

service has embraced several other advancements to enhance the care of patients; it has

upgraded its cardiac protocols, incorporating the latest guidelines for the management of acute

coronary syndromes, and cardiac arrest; the paramedics are equipped with the advanced

cardiac monitors and defibrillators enabling them to provide high quality care in the field. He

stated he personally has performed something called double sequential defibrillation on

someone with refractory Ventricular Fibrillation (Vfib), with using two defibrillators with the

paramedics; the 50-year old, who otherwise would have ended up dead, walked out of the

hospital after receiving their stent; and he will move forward because it looks like he is running

out of time.

Chairman Feltner advised the Board will yield him another minute.

Mr. Ford expressed his thanks. He continued to say EMS has a few units that he has

personally trained to use the Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS); POCUS will be the future of

EMS care and the paramedics are currently using it to enhance the care of trauma patients,

they can see if someone has blood in their abdomen from trauma, or a pneumothorax, or a

collapsed lung, and able to early alert the trauma center, and some deliver whole blood in the

field; they can deliver a medication called Tranexamic acid, which helps to slow the bleeding

early; they can physically tell if a heart is beating, in cardiac arrest, or if there is fluid around the

heart that is constricting its function; everyone knows the effect the opioid epidemic has had in

the community; and many friends and family members have died from the disease. He

mentioned the paramedics for BCFR, not only deliver immediate life-saving NARCAN in the

field, but they now are delivering Buprenorphine; this drug is revolutionizing the care of opioid

use disorder and helping to get rid of withdrawals, and getting patients in the mindset of

recovery with less chance of overdosing, again, once on the medication; and they then can

help these patients get directly to an addiction treatment facility, rather than going to an

emergency department only to be discharged, and overdose again. He asked if he could

continue to speak, a little bit more, because this is the important part.

Chairman Feltner responded the Board agrees it is important.

Mr. Ford stated these are just a few of the examples of the high-quality care BCFR paramedics

and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) deliver to the patients; recently, EMS has been

dealing with the closure of Rockledge’s hospital, which has been a pivotal place in the

community to provide emergency care; he is also the Medical Director of the Emergency Room

(ER) Department there and he will be working his last shift in the ER tonight; as a team at

BCFR, it has been resilient; the paramedics have been responding to the need; they now have

a longer distance to travel to bring patients to the ER that are fuller than ever; they have

worked together to reinvent the 9-1-1 system, to be sure the Advanced Life Support Units are

available in their area to provide care for the community; they will be creating a system that is

more efficient and aligns the care with the needs of the patient; the EMS services are

committed to providing exceptional care through innovation, collaboration, and dedication; the

advancements of sepsis care and other critical care areas are a testament to the unwavering

commitment to the health and well-being of the community; and they will continue to strive for

excellence, ensuring that every resident receives the best possible care they need, when they

need it most. He pointed out he has friends, people who he and his sisters went to high school

with, even family who are paramedics here, and he is proud of the care and direction they are

heading.

Sandra Sullivan stated she has always said that the burden should not be just put on the

people which seems the emphasis on the presentations by the County; she showed a chart and

the options presented in the Agenda Item Two (B) is 37 percent increase; she currently pays

$279.57 and this would increase it to $383.01 for a single-family dwelling; staff did a

comparable analysis on 10 counties; and that amount would put Brevard County, just under

Lake County, which is the highest at $415. She mentioned the problem is, that is not going to

solve the Board’s problems because in 2021, there was a 33 percent increase, and it was badly

needed; in 2022, there was a cost of growth for $620,000, by 2025, that was predicted to be

$30 million, at the beginning of this year the Board was projecting $43.5 million, and more

recently $68 million; and she asked what will it be next year. She continued to say in 2021,

when the Board did the fire assessment, it was primarily to bring their wages up to be

comparable with surrounding counties, and it failed to do that because of the cost of growth,

which is not being dealt with; when she looks at the County’s Request for Proposals (RFP)

online, the County is quick to push it through, like it gave a person a week’s notice to bid on

going out for about $70,000 to go out and advertise this assessment, which is needed; the

impact fee is just sitting there, the Board could have accelerated that and moved it up, but it

keeps dragging its feet; and personally, she just thinks the Board is going to continue dragging

its feet on this. She stated the meeting for the selection committee is on August 28, and it had

waited nearly a month for that; but it was darn sure fast at RFP timeperiod for one week and

turnaround quick on the selection committee. She stated $7 million was lost because of a

dumb selection committee and selecting a vendor, who has a history of being hacked, and the

County was hacked and it lost a ton of money on ambulance losses; she then did a records

request for that and the County obstructed providing those records, and it still has not provided

it; there is a lot of areas for the Board to find money; ultimately, the Board cannot put this on

the people because it is not going to fix the cost of growth; and while she supports this

assessment of 37 percent, the Board has got to be smarter than this.

Ken Appling stated he would like to address Fire Chief Voltaire; he wanted to tell him he

appreciates everything he does for the firefighters, because he is sure that he does not hear it

enough; he knows that he does a lot of stuff outward and does a lot of stuff behind closed

doors, that the firefighters do not get to see; he knows, deep down, that everything Fire Chief

Voltaire does is for the betterment of the firefighters; he is sure that he does not hear that

enough; and he expressed his thanks from one brother to another brother. He stated it is an

amazing job that he does and yet, here he is nervous just to talk to the Board; he apologized

for that, as he is not a public speaker; the only thing he has is being a Special Operations

Lieutenant with BCFR; he has been doing this for 23 and one-half years; according to the base

pay, if the Board looks at pay rates, with his Special Operations incentive, which is quite

minimal, and has been the same for 30 years; he would be the second highest paid Lieutenant

in Brevard County on paper; and now, obviously these guys work a ton of overtime because

they have to; even with 1,200 hours of overtime in 2024, that equates to about 50 extra days at

work; he and his wife, and four children, they qualify for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

benefits through the County; and that means he gets free cheese and milk, and that kind of

stuff for his family. He mentioned that does not seem like that should make sense being the

second highest paid, on paper, as a Lieutenant in BCFR; also, as a recipient of the cancer

benefit that some of the Board had pulled for through the State, because of the minimal and

kind of not great medical benefits that the Board also provides them, he has looked at having to

come out-of-pocket for $3,000 of his own money to get the process started to have the cancer

removed; he wishes that could be made better; he did receive some funds, but because he

lives paycheck to paycheck, sadly, it was difficult to come up with some of that money, and

there were some choices that had to be made; he does not know how the Board does it going

forward; he does not know how to answer that; but if there is a way, he would appreciate it.

Commissioner Delaney asked to have her slide put up for the public. She expressed

appreciation to Fire Chief Voltaire for reading out all of the options, including the one she had

put up; one of the speakers talked about this, it is not just about the right now, this is about

planning for the future; and she would like to make a motion to propose, not to exceed 75

percent.

Chairman Feltner inquired which option is that.

Commissioner Delaney responded she does not think that that has anything to do with, that

stuff really has to do with negotiations. She stated she is just talking about a percentage to go

forward; this is just, not to exceed, and it does not mean the Board is picking this amount; it

does mean, that this letter that goes out to public, the Board is committing to them to not

exceed that 75 percent; and this is totally 100 percent still up for discussion between the Board

after it gets a ton of public input. She continued to say that she feels like the Board needs to

leave the opportunity open to see what the community believes that the people should get paid

the way that they should be and taking care of the equipment, the buildings, and everything for

long-term planning; she really feels like the County needs to catch up and not have to come

back to the Board for huge increases every couple of years; if the Board reassess every time it

does a contract, for instance, it could only be single digit increases if getting to the right place;

and she was hoping to leave it as open as possible to be able to include the most amount of

citizen input, and leave all of the options on the table.

Commissioner Adkinson stated she thinks that it is important that everybody understands this is

not just about the residents feeling it; this is about when a person goes out to dinner and about

going to a daycare, this fire assessment is not just for the residents; and it will be touching

them in their pocket, in many different ways.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, and Altman

Nay: Goodson, Adkinson, and Feltner

Commissioner Delaney stated she would like to make another motion, not to exceed 50

percent.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, and Altman

Nay: Goodson, Adkinson, and Feltner

Commissioner Delaney remarked this is sad.

Chairman Feltner asked what the rate is that the Board does not want to exceed.

Commissioner Goodson remarked 37.

Commissioner Adkinson stated she was just going to say that it is, she means if in any other

part of their lives they talked about a 75 or 50 percent increase, the Board is talking about

something that is generally unacceptable; it is unfortunate that that is where they are; but she

thinks the Board has to have something more modest as a place to start from.

Commissioner Delaney inquired if with the 37 percent, would it be the will of the Board to also

rollup the Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU).

Chairman Feltner expressed his appreciation for her bringing that up; he stated that is going to

happen at the hearing in July at the budget hearing; there is two parts to this, there is a fire

assessment fee that has this longer, drawn-out process, and then there is the millage question

that the Board will face in July; the Board has not gotten there yet with the millage, that is going

to happen this summer; and the Board is just on the fire fee now. He added that he thinks it is

fair to say that there will be increases in both.

Commissioner Delaney stated of course; when she made her original motion she never was

suggesting a 75 percent increase, she was just trying to have it as open as possible so that all

of the options were still on the table, for the Board to have a discussion as a community as

what the priorities are, and what people are willing to do…

Chairman Feltner stated he wants to tell Commissioner Delaney what he thinks is interesting

about that, as far as the process is concerned; the Board is talking about letters going out to

taxpayers saying that the Board is considering a fire assessment increase, not to exceed 75

percent; he is not sure that the end result of that would paint an accurate picture, if considering

that a poll; and he asked Fire Chief Voltaire if it is going to be treated like a survey, by

compiling those results, and bringing them back to the Board which that is going to influence

the decision making by the Board of the increase it adopts.

Fire Chief Voltaire responded BCFR will compile the information if the Board wants the result of

what it gets after the month; and will absolutely report it.

Mr. Wallace stated they will compile that data and bring it back as for, against, or neutral that

will be categorized.

Commissioner Delaney remarked along with two public hearings though. She stated the Board

is in such a crisis; she says that word because Commissioner Adkinson said that word, the

magistrate said that word, and the Fire Chief said that word; and she reiterated the Board is in

a crisis with 91 vacancies.

Chairman Feltner stated the Board is in part one and then have part two, which is the millage

question; if the Board is asking the voters or making them aware that the Board is considering

a 37 percent increase; and he asked if he is correct, for option 2b. He stated that he thinks the

results back from the survey, which is his belief that the community will be much more

amenable to that…

Commissioner Delaney interrupted that she could put this into perspective; this is the stuff that

the County put together for the Board and is not her information; an 1,800 to 2,200 square feet

is about the average house, which the Board is talking for $14 per month with a 50 percent

increase; she feels like the Chairman is speaking to a 75 percent increase; the 75 percent

increase that is listed in the Agenda package too; even if it were that much, it is a $21 increase

for the average sized home in Brevard County; to have BCFR and EMS show up to a house, or

not, she thinks the people are willing to spend under $50 a month to make sure that when their

kid ends up in a pool, or if grandma does not wake up or when these things happen, she thinks

people are willing to pay for these services; and characterizing it as this massive increase, is

just unfair when they are talking about $21 a month.

Commissioner Adkinson stated she thinks that is the point though, the Board is not just talking

about $21 a month; it is going to affect him or her when dealing with every business their lives

touch; every single business, whether it is the daycare, it is the restaurant, and it is where

groceries are bought; and it is not just $21 a month

Chairman Feltner stated the Board is talking about the average cost per single-family residents,

and he asked in general terms, what the cost is for any commercial on fire assessment fee,

and how would it be able to get…

Commissioner Delaney pointed out that she has that right in front of her; it is for 5,000 to 9,000

square feet is $50 a month; and that is for a 75 percent raise.

Chairman Feltner stated okay.

Commissioner Delaney remarked $54; she cannot imagine that would increase, maybe one

dollar or two per person; if using a daycare a dollar or two; if going to a fast-food restaurant,

they are talking 2,000 to 3,500 square feet and is $42 per month; and the Board is talking

about public safety. She mentioned the Board just watched the whole room clear out of

people; if they do not think that Palm Beach is watching this, that Destin is watching this, and

that Miami is watching this; Brevard employees are some of the best-trained people in the

country; they want Brevard’s people; and the Board just gave them to them.

Commissioner Altman inquired for procedural purposes, is the Board on a motion for 2b.

Chairman Feltner responded the Board has not had a motion on that.

Commissioner Altman stated okay, he will wait for a motion.

Chairman Feltner asked if he wanted to make a motion on that.

Commissioner Altman replied he is going to hear from the others; he supported the 4c; but he

thinks it is probably…

Chairman Feltner asked what the pleasure of the Board is.

Commissioner Adkinson stated she would like to make a motion to accept option 2b, which is

the largest increase that the County suggested.

Commissioner Altman stated he will second that.

Commissioner Delaney asked for a Point of Clarification. She stated accepting the 37 percent,

does not put the Board into the 2B option; and she asked if that is correct, meaning the pay

scale does not lock the Board into certain, particular raises for the County people.

Mr. Abbate replied it absolutely does not.

Commission Delaney remarked she just want to put that out there.

Mr. Abbate continued to say as she has heard, there is multiple components; the Board has not

discussed at all the General Fund impact, which is part of that sheet, but also, what

Commissioner Delaney was referencing is there is the opportunity with the MSTU; now there is

going to be a general component to that as well, because it is a 55/45 split; staff has tried to

give the Board that in the chart; those are discussions that the Board can have; and depending

on what the Board is willing to do, there is some significant dollars that are available in the

MSTU going forward.

Commissioner Altman asked if he may have debate.

Chairman Feltner responded affirmatively.

Commissioner Altman expressed his appreciation to the Board; he stated the significance of

this cannot be underestimated; he knows, because he supported a higher amount; 75 percent

is a lot, but he feels it was necessary; the 37 percent is significant and is meaningful as well; he

agrees with the Chairman, that he was concerned about the survey, and sometimes one has to

be careful for what is asked for; and he or she might get it because that might create a

backlash that might make it more difficult for the Board to achieve some other revenue

sources. He mentioned one thing the Board has not talked about is the amazing staff the

County has and that they are working diligently and finding a revenue mix, a way of raising

revenue in a diversified and dispersed way; there are other options out there, not just property

taxes but other fees and some things that the cities are using; there is a lot of tools out there;

he is open to using all of those tools; this is not an ending, but is a beginning; and it is not

necessarily a bad approach either, because by having a diversity of revenue sources is easier

for the public, and easier to sell. He expressed appreciation for this motion and he supports it

wholeheartedly; he stated he thinks this is a significant beginning of a long and challenging task

that the Board really makes up for past actions, that sort of kicked the can down the road; he

knows a lot folks are upset and he understands, but he would not be too upset because this is

just the beginning and it is a significant beginning, something he thinks that not even prior

Commissions agreed to do; and he appreciates the motion, courage, insight, and commitment

in trying to solve this problem. He stated he is optimistic as the Board moves forward, it is

going to be able to fill in those holes that are obstructing the Board, and that it can move

forward; and he thinks it is a good step.

Commissioner Delaney stated she wanted to put out there that the rollup for the MSTU, just for

any public safety officers out there who are listening, that gets the County to a place where

work-life balance can be adjusted, and there still is hope for good things to come.

The Board tentatively adopted Option 2B, a Fire Assessment not to exceed 37 percent.

Result: ADOPTED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Thad Altman

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

Chairman Feltner advised that the Board needs to do three things; and it needs to vote on

action two, which is to send the notice to the property owners.

The Board approved a Fire Assessment Notice to property owners.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Kim Adkinson

Seconder: Katie Delaney

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

Chairman Feltner advised the Board it needs a motion to set the public hearing date for final

approval of the fire assessment at the regularly scheduled Board meeting on May 20 at 9:00

a.m.

The Board approved a public hearing for final approval of the proposed fire assessment at the

May 20, 2025, Board meeting.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Kim Adkinson

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

J.3. Workshop to discuss 2024 Evaluation and Appraisal (EAR) Update and Area of

Critical State Concern (ACSC)

Commissioner Delaney stated she was hoping to get Board support on a workshop to discuss

the 2024 EAR and ACSC; before being on the Board, the last Board suggested a workshop

about this; she recently had many people reaching out about some of the changes and some of

the language in the draft; she feels like there was not an opportunity as a Board to go through

that with the public; she would love to do that; there is some debate on some shall and some

should, and different things; and she brought forward four dates if the Board is interested on

May 14, 15, 26, and 27 at 5:00 p.m. She continued to say this is something that she

understands that there could not be substantial changes; she feels if the County is going to do

this thing, it should be done right and made the best that it could be; and she would love to

hear if anybody has any support for that.

Robert Logsdon stated he is present representing the Barrier Islands Preservation and

Protection Association (BIPPA); he is present to specifically ask the Board to endorse a motion

to include BIPPA, Thousand Friends of Florida, Sea Turtle Conservancy, and other

non-government agencies in a workshop that BBIPA could possibly bring the agenda to the

workshop, to include staff, Planning and Zoning, the County Attorney, and Commissioners who

feel they need to be there; and his reason for asking this, is back in 2022, the State delegates

for the district came to Brevard and BIPPA went to the meeting, asking for its support in helping

to protect the Brevard Barrier Island Area, which is now referred to as a BBIA or the Area of

Critical State Concern (ACSC). He continued to say the delegates, including Commissioner

Altman, responded by saying, “What can we do to help you”.; the result was the Brevard

County ACSC; BIPPA had a major part in the conception of that and it would like to be included

in the drafting of the policy more than it had been involved in; BIPPA is just asking for

participation; he would certainly like for the Board to present a motion where BIPPA could be

included in a small workshop; BIPPA is a stakeholder; and it would like to be heard preferably

in late May, if the Board does make a motion.

Commissioner Goodson inquired if he was denied being at their meetings or voicing his

concerns.

Mr. Logsdon responded no. He stated he does not think BIPPA had been denied; but he just

thinks it has not been invited.

Commissioner Goodson asked if he thinks there would be more clout if BIPPA were on it.

Mr. Logsdon replied that is not correct.

Commissioner Goodson asked what he would do if on it.

Mr. Logsdon responded he thinks BIPPA’s input needs to be relayed to the planning of this

policy; it was through BIPPA’s efforts that brought it forward with the guiding principles and so

forth; it was through its effort, and BIPPA feels it has additional input; and it would just like to

participate in it.

Commissioner Goodson inquired what is it he does not like that they have done.

Mr. Logsdon replied there are protections for trees, which a previous speaker spoke about;

there are additions in it where there are additions to density restrictions and so forth, or Future

Land Use (FLU) element references in the draft proposal that BIPPA opposes; BIPPA thinks

that they are already in the FLU element of the Comprehensive Plan; BIPPA sees no reason to

add FLU references into the existing, or the future draft; it is just BIPPA not seeing it as being

necessary; and that is why BIPPA would like to be able to participate, because it does not have

a vehicle to have this discussion with the people who are putting it together, and this workshop

would be that vehicle.

Commissioner Goodson stated okay. He asked Mr. Logsdon to stay right there; and he asked

Billy Prasad, Planning and Development Director, if not true, or if he did understand correctly

that if this plan is messed with now, it could affect funding from the State.

Mr. Prasad responded that is true. He stated if the Board were to make substantial with which

the Board finds not to be in compliance, that the State can withhold funding.

Commissioner Goodson remarked with that being said, he inquired when the next official

meeting is to allow BIPPA to take part in.

Mr. Prasad replied it is on track right now to have this go before the Local Planning Agency

(LPA) board on June 13.

Commissioner Goodson advised that is the plan that had been already approved, correct.

Mr. Prasad responded the plan that has been transmitted, staff has made adaptations since

then, including, based on BIPPA comments, and that would come forward for the next LPA

meeting.

Commissioner Goodson stated his question is when is it going to be up again; and what year

for him to rewrite the whole plan.

Mr. Prasad replied the next year is in seven years, but the Board can choose.

Commissioner Goodson stated okay; and without affecting the funding from the State.

Mr. Prasad advised that is correct.

Commissioner Delaney remarked if she could chime in.

Mr. Logsdon stated he thinks there is a good product out there right now; BIPPA is not asking

to change the entire policy by any means; and BIPPA wants an excellent, good policy, and it

just thinks that it has input that could help identify a better product.

Commissioner Delaney stated she would be happy to include these groups as the speaker had

said; this came from them; BIPPA went to the State Legislature; this was their idea; they

brought it forward; these people are the experts; and she is more than happy to include them in

this process. She asked Mr. Prasad if they have an extension for a 60-days.

Mr. Prasad responded yes, the Florida Department of Commerce approved a 60-day extension.

Commissioner Delaney inquired if the changes, unless they are substantial, would not affect

the funding.

Mr. Prasad replied correct. He stated two things have to be done and they have to respond to

the State’s comments that was included in the Objections, Recommendations, and Comments

(ORC) report; and assuming staff does that and does not make substantial changes, the

County has that freedom to make non-substantial changes.

Commissioner Delaney stated but they do not say what substantial changes are; so there is no

definition; the County has to see what they say and on top of that, some of the changes that

the State suggested that came out of some of the suggestions of the people in these groups

have not been implemented; if the State is saying to turn some of the should's to shall's, she

thinks that it is; this is not a knock on any of them and she does not think that the Board

members are complete experts on this topic of the ACSC, except for maybe Commissioner

Altman because he was involved, but these people are the experts and she would love to hear

their input on this; and she thinks it is important that the Board gets this right the first time.

Commissioner Altman stated he knows Commissioner Adkinson is dedicated and committed to

this issue; he appreciates her concern; he would like to hear from her; and get a briefing on

where she is going, because she is working it hard.

Commissioner Adkinson expressed her thanks; she stated prior to getting elected she went to

the South Beach and had several hundred residents show up; she held up the summary of all

of their comments; she was there and Commissioner Altman was there; staff took all of those

comments and put it into a document; when she finally got elected, BIPPA came to her office

with all of its specific concerns, and they redlined each one of those concerns; as she

understood it, was given to staff, and Mr. Prasad and his staff, went through every single one,

and addressed it; she had it back in her hands and she had BIPPA back in her office as a

group when the two were there, agreed, and she believes Mr. Shantis even said this is a great

document but there are a couple of things that need to be addressed; but in general, this is

amazing and is so proud of what staff did. She stated she understands that it needs to be

tweaked; her concern is if it takes too long and they end up messing things up, that a bigger

problems could be created for the Board and the County; Mr. Prasad has assured her; and she

asked for him to correct her if she is wrong, that some of the concerns that she still has about

the document, they can still be addressed after this thing gets adopted.

Mr. Prasad responded absolutely, the Board has the freedom to change its Comprehensive

Plan.

Commissioner Adkinson noted she will bring those back.

Mr. Prasad replied yes.

Chairman Feltner advised the Board it still has a couple of cards; and it is starting to sound like

the Board is in debate.

Commissioner Altman stated it feeds right into that question; he had been briefed by staff and

is impressed with their knowledge; from what he understands and to build on what

Commissioner Adkinson said, they might be better off, and he is happy to hear she is

committed to those changes; that is wonderful news; from what he is hearing from a technical,

legal, and implementation points of views, and a relationship with the State, it probably would

be better to do those at a later time; and he inquired if that is what he is hearing.

Mr. Prasad responded if the Board is considering substantial changes, for example, removing

the FLU part of the BBIA element, then yes, because right now there would not be the

protection of having the State come back to make comments. He stated the State would

simply find them being in noncompliance if it had a problem with it.

Commissioner Altman asked about the landscape part of it and for example, if they were to

implement a tree-clearing ordinance, is that considered substantial.

Mr. Prasad replied the ordinance aspect of this is is once the Board approves the

Comprehensive Plan, staff has to focus on the ordinance aspects of this, within one year; that

is kind of the next phase of this, once staff completes the Comprehensive Plan aspect; some

staff has begun drafting it, but are in preliminary stages of that; at that point staff will be

seeking complete Board input; and the Board has the freedom to direct staff to make any

ordinance changes it chooses, whether or not it is a should or a shall in the Comprehensive

Plan.

Mary Sphar stated today she is representing the Sierra Club Turtle Coast Group; the group has

not been involved in this process before, except for reviewing quite a bit of documentation; first,

with regard to the south barrier island ACSC, the group believes that there is a wonderful

opportunity to protect an important environmentally sensitive area of the County; in spite of the

debate that is starting here, it is an unusual situation with this barrier island amendment;

instead of one group wanting a targeted amendment for the south barrier island and another

group not wanting it; and virtually, everyone agrees with a concept of an adequate amendment.

She stated it should be energizing to work together on this Comprehensive Plan amendment

since everyone shares the same overall goal, effectively addressing the environmental

challenges of the south barrier island; and everyone ought to be thankful about this common

goal and gladly embrace the time-consuming task of evaluating numerous well-intentioned

suggestions in order to identify those suggestions which will really solve and prevent problems.

She went on to say now she has some thoughts regarding the barrier and the EAR

amendments; it is a fact, that writing Comprehensive Plan language is not an easy task;

whatever else staff and the consultants do, they do not want their proposed language to make

things worse; caution and careful study of proposed changes is in order; staff has now received

an extension, so the County will have until September to adopt the amendment, taking some of

the time pressure off all concerned; Sierra Club believes that the barrier island amendment as

currently proposed, needs more work if it is to be the very best product produced, without

substantial changes because it is known and familiar with the State process. She advised the

EAR amendment also needs improvement; a workshop would be very helpful in reaching the

goal of excellence; more ideas that are constructive needs heard from the Commissioners and

from the public; these ideas are heard in May at a workshop, staff will have time to carefully

consider them; and the Sierra Club urges the Board to vote yes on holding a workshop for the

ACSC amendment and the EAR amendment.

Sandra Sullivan stated she also was involved with this; she wants to just say thanks to

Commissioner Altman, the representative who supported this Bill; the 1000 Friends of Florida

wrote the legislation and the Sea Turtle Conservancy is greatly supporting this; she thinks the

bottom-line issue is the process, which the vote was taken under Board Reports by the

previous District 3 Commissioner without public comment; and funded with a said number that

was not a number. She added they continued using Bonnie C. Landry & Associates, for this

process when the State came and did the ACSC; this is the first ACSC in 45 years; this is such

a big deal; they go to Planning and Zoning (P&Z) with the changes and P&Z voted to remove

the key element, which is the loopholes that are in there for increasing density and intensity

use; and that is the bottom-line crux of the issue, because the ACSC, the whole purpose of it is

to limit density increases because of the size sensitivity of this environment for the Sea Turtles

and for evacuation is very problematic. She stated as she showed her phone, a survey done at

the meeting that was hosted by Bonnie Landry, the consultant that was hired, and the very top

of the graph is density; that is the number one concern of the residents down there and what

they deal with; there are some egregious, on steroid changes coming to Live Local, that are

also going to be impactful; the Board knows that it cannot control that; she urged the Board to

have a workshop, invite the stakeholders to the table because the other Commissioners here,

went and passed that to P&Z board, the Board’s board, but the P&Z rejected these density

increases in that language; this Board ignored the will of the P&Z board by not taking their

recommendations; and she was present and spoke, but other stakeholders spoke and said that

the changes that were being sent to the State were a violation of State law, under the ACSC.

She stated given those concerns that were put on public record; the thing to do now, as a new

Board, is listen to the will of the people; listen to the law because there is some allegations that

some violations are in place; and have a workshop by coming to the table and getting this

done, and resolving this, because lives could be lost down there; but there is also the

environmental concerns, that is a very sensitive environment. She added Brevard has the

largest Loggerhead nesting in the world now, because Oman was destroyed.

Commissioner Altman stated he has a question for staff, because Ms. Sullivan makes a very

good point; and he would love staff to comment on the density issue, in terms of the submittal.

Mr. Prasad replied the version transmitted and currently in existence, expressly prohibits

density increases in the area.

Ms. Sullivan asked if the exception was put in there for when changing to a Planned Unit

Development (PUD) and can get an increase in density; and say, that language was removed

after this Commission voted for it, it went to the State, and Mr. Prasad has since amended that.

She stated no answer.

Chairman Feltner advised Mr. Prasad to answer.

Mr. Prasad advised he thinks there is a distinction that needs to be made between a zoning

change and a land use change; what it prohibits is residential density designations from being

increased, for example, from Residential 1 to Residential 4, and the like; the PUD issue is

separate and there is a current version being looked at that has some language that has no

new PUDs would get a density bonus; he thinks there has been some confusion there, staff

has tried to split it as best as it can for the few people who already have existing PUDs that get

to keep their land rights that they have today, but no new PUDs would get a density bonus.

Commissioner Altman stated no one cares for this more than he does; he loves BIPPA and he

thinks the County needs more BIPPAs because they are wonderful; he thinks staff is doing a

remarkable job, as well as Commissioner Adkinson, tracking this issue; he did the Bill and,

unfortunately there had to be an amendment on the Bill, right at the end to get it passed; Ms.

Sullivan and the Sierra Club are right, this was huge and it was the first ACSC in 45 years; the

amendment had to be put on right at the end, that said the County would not be depriving any

landowner of any existing development rights; he thinks with the PUD, it has Mr. Prasad

walking a fine line; they do not want to violate the law because the whole thing could be thrown

out; and he thinks that was kind-of factored in, right.

Mr. Prasad remarked absolutely, the line he is trying to walk, yes.

Commissioner Adkinson stated she is certainly not against a workshop, but she does not know

that this is the right time for it; she thinks that it would be when the Board starts to address the

Land Development Regulations (LDRs) and text amendment changes, and things like that; that

is when she thinks it can be useful; but, right now, she kind-of feels like it would be spinning

their wheels, because the County is not going to make any substantial changes to this thing

because it gets it in trouble.

Chairman Feltner stated there might just be an order of operations situation here where the

County needs to send this now to prevent the County from having problems with the State,

potential funding, et cetera, but possibly could be…

Commissioner Delaney remarked they have until September and it is almost June.

Chairman Feltner advised they are not in June, so…

Commissioner Delaney interrupted by saying when she had spoken to staff about this; she

asked Mr. Prasad to chime in on this, too; she reiterated when she had spoken to staff about

this, they said that this would be the best time, because then it would give them June to make

the changes that were suggested and directed from the workshop; and that would give staff

plenty of time before that September deadline, if she is remembering correctly.

Mr. Prasad advised if the Board wishes to have a workshop, the earlier the better because staff

needs time to make whatever comes out of that workshop to make those implementations.

Chairman Feltner stated he thinks there is dilemma here, risking having a problem with the

State or have a workshop; it can be sent and not have a problem with the State; the Board can

have a workshop, make changes, and then potentially having a problem with the State; and he

asked if that is the choice before the Board.

Mr. Prasad responded affirmatively; and he advised staff cannot make substantial changes

without risk.

Commissioner Delaney remarked but the Board can make non-substantial changes without

risk; and she asked if she was right.

Chairman Feltner replied the Board will not know that until the State tells the County what it

thinks is substantial or not.

Mr. Prasad explained there is certain tweaks that have been made, but there is a gray area

there; and some of the changes that is being talked about, even public comment today are

clearly over that line.

Commissioner Delaney asked how does the County make the changes from the shoulds to the

shalls, that were suggested by the State going along with the BIPPA suggestions.

Mr. Prasad replied that was included in the ORC letter, as a comment to consider what was in

the BIPPA recommendations, and the County had the freedom there.

Commissioner Delaney stated right, but if the people who established this whole thing and then

the State says to make the should's shall's; she would think that that would… She mentioned

her issue is the Comprehensive Plan, which is basically the Bible for development in Brevard’s

community, it is the law; the gray is where it runs into problems; and if the County could shore

some things up to have protections for its community, why not have those.

Chairman Feltner asked what the pleasure of the Board is.

Commissioner Delaney inquired if there is any Board support for a workshop.

Chairman Feltner stated he thinks from with what he is hearing there is consensus of not at this

time.

Commissioner Delaney stated okay; and she asked if there is anything that the County could

do like bringing up an agenda item or something at a meeting, that would address some of

those concerns before it gets sent back to the State for final approval.

Mr. Prasad responded there are multiple avenues; and one is the LPA meeting. He stated he

would like to make a correction when he said June 13 before, it is June 16; of course, it is going

to come back to the Board for adoption; at that meeting, which the Board moved the meeting

today, and the projection will be July 17 because the County has that 60-day extension; and

there will be some time to implement any changes the Board directs staff to make.

Commissioner Delaney commented that she remembers sitting in the audience hearing there

will be time to talk about this when it comes before the Board; time after time, the people see

no changes made and things just pass-through; and she hopes that all just stays in the

forefront of their minds as the County moves forward with this.

The Board discusses conducting a workshop to hear public comment on the 2024 EAR and

ACSC amendments that were returned with comments from the State on January 21, 2025, but

took no action.

J.4. Collective Bargaining Executive Session - (IAFF Negotiations)

Commissioner Delaney stated she is requesting Board support for an executive session, in

regards to collective bargaining; she believes that there is a significant hardship that Brevard

County Fire Rescue (BCFR) is dealing with, with the closure of Rockledge Regional Hospital;

from what she was told from staff, there are some things that the Board could do to help slow

the bleeding a little bit within its ranks; she would really love the ability to talk about that and

see what the Board can do for the people who have been loyal to the community, and have

stayed in the community as it is working through these negotiations; she would also read some

things that the magistrate said in his response to the Board; and she read aloud, “This unit

substantially lags behind the average pay of comparable employers. In either case, one could

expect current high levels of turnover to increase. At the same time, the negotiations for a new

contract remained unsolved. It appears that staffing levels barely satisfy legally mandated

minimums. And, if units were to receive what they viewed as a bad contract, turnover would be

expected to continue if not accelerate. If pay disparities are not to be addressed now. This

was March 9. The wage gap will only continue to grow making subsequent efforts to address

the disparities even more difficult later. I’m not taking sides, only pointing out what I see to be

obvious.” She went on to say now this person is somebody who, both sides have agreed upon;

this is not somebody who is biased in either direction; this is somebody who heard both sides of

the story and said there is a problem here; and she feels the Board needs to see if there is

something it can do for BCFR right now, while continuing on with the impasse process.

Sandra Sullivan stated she is going to be blunt; when people were campaigning, the number

one issue that was being discussed was the public safety of BCFR; it was in a crisis then and is

a concern of critical service failure; everyone is seeing where this is going; she just wonders

what the agenda is, that is being played out by the County; and she asked what the agenda is,

that is going to come to light. She went on to say while people were campaigning, the

message was as soon as he or she got elected, there was going to be a contract for the

firefighters; that was in November, which now is five months later; what should happen today is,

the Board should go into executive session, and talk about this; there needs to be a contract for

them; she is seeing the posts already online; the County is going to have a mass exodus of

people and if it thinks it is up the fucking creek right now with Rockledge Hospital closing today;

she asked where does it think it is going to be in a couple of weeks from now; and she stated

the Board needs to wake the fuck up.

Commissioner Goodson remarked the Board does not have to take this.

Ms. Sullivan pointed out she is allowed to say that under her constitutional right; if they do not

believe her, go look up the Moms for Liberty lawsuit; she is going to put this clearly…

Commissioner Delaney and Commissioner Adkinson felt this to be very disrespectful.

Ms. Sullivan continued to say government was created for public safety and infrastructure that

is the purpose of government; the Board is purposely endangering lives; these people are

talking at groups and talking about the ramifications of what is going on; lives are going to be

lost; and the Board’s lack of action is liability for the County and it needs to wake up.

Commissioner Goodson remarked government was created for her to come down here and talk

to the Board this way; and he thanked her.

Ms. Sullivan had an outburst from the audience stating then act like a grownup.

Commissioner Goodson advised her to go outside somewhere and play in the traffic.

Chairman Feltner advised the Board it is still on the Item.

Commissioner Goodson stated he just does not understand what the Board is going to gain, by

going upstairs again when the magistrate still has to rule; the Board is trying its best to fund it

with the fire assessment, with raising the Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) funding, and to

hear the same thing again; and he asked what purpose does it serve.

Chairman Feltner asked when the magistrate gives the final word to the Board.

Frank Abbate, County Manager, responded it should be within 30 days. He stated the briefs

were due yesterday; and he believes statutorily the magistrate has 30 days, if he is correct.

Chairman Feltner stated the Board could have a closed-door meeting before the June break

with the magistrate decision.

Mr. Abbate stated the decision process is, once the decision is made by the magistrate, both

parties will have the opportunity to determine whether or not, they accept the magistrate’s

decisions; and if both parties accept the magistrate’s recommendations, then both would go

before the union for a vote, and come before the Board for a vote.

Chairman Feltner asked when the Board would make the decision whether it accepts.

Mr. Abbate replied the Board does not, that is done at staff level; staff then brings it to the

Board for a vote; if the union accepts, and ratifies it, it would come back to the Board for a vote;

he believes it depends how quickly the magistrate renders this decision, because the Board

has a break during June, and it would have to come back for a special meeting; a more difficult

process would be if either party does not accept the magistrate’s decision, then the Board

enters into a Cone of Silence where it is not allowed to speak to anyone, either on the

County-side or the union-side, or anyone in the bargaining unit; and there is a cone of silence

because the Board will play a different role at that point.

Chairman Feltner remarked there would be an impasse hearing.

Mr. Abbate continued to say it will come to a public hearing and the Board would make the

decision, as to what it would impose for the one-year period; and that one-year period would

end September 30, 2025.

Commissioner Delaney asked if she could answer Commissioner Goodson’s question. She

stated from what she understands, there is $7.6 million right now, that was planned to be spent

on a contract, if one was ratified back in October; what the Board could talk about is a

memorandum of understanding, a road to give the people who have stayed here during this

difficult time, the STEP raises that they have foregone while going through these proceedings;

there are still things the Board can do to alleviate some of the bleeding right now, especially

after the earlier conversations with the assessment; people are unhappy; and she feels like if

the Board does not do something to show its people that the Board values them, then the

County will not have a BCFR department by July.

Commissioner Goodson asked Mr. Abbate to explain to him that they could have had that

increase months ago.

Mr. Abbate replied they were offered a significant increase, they knew it back in December,

including retroactive pay; they had chosen not to; and the County has never walked away from

the impasse, that has always been the union’s decision, which they have a right to do.

Chairman Feltner stated he wanted to clarify something on that point; he asked if that deal is

still effectively on the table; and if they could take that at any time.

Mr. Abbate responded the County has never refused to negotiate; and the County has been

there every time, early, and even been accused of negotiating too quickly because they were

not prepared.

Chairman Feltner inquired if that would be a one-year deal right now.

Mr. Abbate replied it could be a one-year, it could have been a three-year; but in December,

those things were done at mediation and there was talk…

Commissioner Delaney interrupted by saying, with all due respect, she is sorry to interrupt, but

there has been substantial changes since that time; the County has the closure of a major

hospital; there are more vacancies now and the job looks completely different today than it did

two months ago; she understands there is a lot of history, feelings, and battling it out on both

sides; but what she is hoping for the Board to do is look where it is today, and see what it can

do to help the heroes who are in the community, as it makes its way through this process.

Chairman Feltner inquired if she has some indication that X, Y, and Z done today would be

acceptable.

Commissioner Delany replied she would assume that if…

Chairman Feltner advised he does not assume anything; and he is asking if there is something

the Board is not aware of that, they would…

Commissioner Delaney responded not more than anybody else does watching social media,

the news, or anything else.

Chairman Feltner pointed out that he does not consider social media to be a good source of

anything; and if the Board is going to have a closed-door meeting today to discuss some

specifics, he asked if the Board has specifics to discuss.

Commissioner Delaney responded yes.

Commissioner Altman stated this may sound strange, but it is sort of, how he feels, the Board

has come so far in this direction and has invested so much time and energy, both the union,

the special magistrate, the County, and the County Attorney; he is kind of curious what the

magistrate comes up with; he would like to see what the recommendation is; he thinks that is

why the County has this process into law, so if the Board goes into any sort of executive

session, the intent would be to try to work out an agreement prior to the special magistrate

giving the recommendation, which the Board has tried and tired, and tried; he does not think

that is going to happen; he is at a point now, for the Board to see what the magistrate, an

independent third-party objective source, that is going to be interesting; and he asked when

that is going to come out.

Mr. Abbate replied he believes it should come within 30 days.

Commissioner Delaney remarked July is longer than 30 days. She stated the Board would not

have an opportunity to make a change for the people until July.

Chairman Feltner mentioned that is what he is trying to get to, Mr. Abbate. He asked if the

Board gets it on May 26 and the week…

Commissioner Delaney interrupted by asking what the earliest date is that the Board could

make a change for these people.

Mr. Abbate responded the County has always been open to negotiation. He stated all they

have to say is that they want to negotiate; and the County would be at the table, it has never

walked away.

Commissioner Delaney remarked from the magistrate is what she is asking what the earliest

date is.

Mr. Abbate reiterated the County has never walked away.

Commissioner Delaney repeated from the magistrate is what she is asking and what the

earliest date is.

Mr. Abbate advised he cannot tell her what the earliest date would be, because he does not

know when; the process was extended at the request of the union attorney for 10 days; that

period expired yesterday; both parties submitted their briefs yesterday; he believes the

magistrate has 30 days after the submission of the briefs to render the recommendation; and it

should be provided to both, the County and the union. He went on to say the earliest time

would be after the magistrate has given both that and both parties respond to what those

recommendations are; they would have to be reviewed by both parties and then they would

have to make a decision; he does not have on the top of his head how many days that is, that

each party has; and he asked Melissa Powers, Human Resources Director, if she knows.

Ms. Powers responded from the audience by saying possibly shorter.

Mr. Abbate stated it might be 15 days, so either party would have to review what the magistrate

recommended, then decide if to accept or not; if it were accepted, then the union would go for a

ratification vote, and that would take a little bit of time; and then it would come back to the

Board for a final vote, if not, then staff would set up the hearing where the Board would impose

what it wanted to impose as the contract.

Chairman Feltner advised the Board has a regular meeting on May 20 and it is possible the

County could have the decision.

Commissioner Delaney remarked no.

Mr. Abbate reiterated it is a recommendation and then both parties would have 15 days,

depending how quickly they were ready to respond; if the magistrate gave the recommendation

within two weeks, it could still be done, but they would have the 15 days; he just does not know,

because he believes the magistrate is from out of State; and he does not know how quickly the

County should expect that decision.

Chairman Feltner asked what if the Board brings this issue up again on May 20, there is a

meeting anyway; and if the Board has the magistrate’s decision in its hands at that time, it

could then decide to have a closed-door meeting to discuss the results of that, and at least be

armed with that information.

Commissioner Delaney asked if there are things that the Board could do that could get the

people paid today; and the Board could continue with the negotiation process.

Chairman Feltner informed Commissioner Delaney that the Board does not have the ability to

impose; and he asked if he is…

Commissioner Delaney interrupted by saying she is talking about a memorandum of

understanding.

Mr. Abbate advised that would be negotiations; as he said, the County is available today if they

wanted to negotiate; they just have to tell the County they want to negotiate; and the County

has not walked away.

Commissioner Altman stated he does not have a problem with an executive session; the Board

probably could have had one by now, as being discussed, and is probably more appropriate if

the Board continues talking about this; and he does not have a problem if the Board wants to

go into executive session.

Chairman Feltner advised he is not opposed; he thinks it is hard for the Board to figure things

out before having what their brief is and what the Board’s brief is, and from the information it is

going to get from the magistrate; he asked to have short Board reports so the Board can get to

it; and he asked if that is a fair trade.

The Board approved scheduling an Executive Session on April 22, 2025, after conclusion of the

Board meeting to discuss IAFF negotiations.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Katie Delaney

Seconder: Thad Altman

Ayes: Delaney, Adkinson, Feltner, and Altman

Nay: Goodson

J.5. Approval, Re: Each Commissioner can appropriate up to $20,000 for two TDC

events.

Commissioner Goodson stated he wants to give $5,000 to NKF Surf Contest, Space Coast Art

Festival, Space Coast Pride, and Surfside Playhouse, as far as the culture alliance money.

Chairman Feltner advised the original request was two events, but that is his prerogative; and

there are two speaker’s cards.

Ruth Kaufhold stated she sent an email to every Commissioner through the TDC last night; she

hopes they got it, if not, she provided copies for the Board; it is a quite lengthy email and she is

not going to read it all; she is going to try and give the Board an idea of what it is walking into if

it decides to give money to Space Coast Pride; Commissioner Goodson had an opposition to

language spoken earlier, yet he wants to give money to Space Coast Pride which is hypocritical

in her mind; and she would like to play for the Board what the plan is from people who are

associated with this organization.

Morris Richardson, County Attorney, advised that any video or audio those are supposed to, by

Board Policy, be submitted in advance so staff can make sure that it complies with regulations.

Chairman Feltner stated that is before broadcasting to the public that is why the Board has that.

Commissioner Adkinson asked if she could paraphrase it.

Chairman Feltner replied she could, they just need…

Ms. Kaufhold remarked this organization is coming for the children; this organization is already

funded by many organizations in Brevard County, so they do not have to answer to the

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) crap; the DEI crap has already been addressed by the

Governor, by the President, and by many other people; there is no need for this type of cancer

in the community to be given taxpayer money, or any sort of monies at all that comes from the

Commission; she does not see any benefit to this; and it is tourism. She pointed out the Board

wants to advertise to the United States and to the world, that tourism is entertaining Space

Coast Pride, LGBTQ, transgenderism, and all the Board would say when giving that money to

them is that it supports that; that is what the Board is inviting; that is what it is going to be

bringing to this County; and it is not needed here.

Bill Hartwig stated as the Board knows everyone is a taxpayer; he loves this country he is a

Veteran, honorably discharged; he had a strong urge to serve his country; he is proud to say

that he is a grandson and son of a city firefighter in Rochester, New York; his concern is where

his tax dollars are going, both Federally and locally; he has a grave concern for America’s

tomorrow; the kids are America’s tomorrow; he asked if the Board wanted this pride stuff going

to these kids, he does not, that is his tax dollars, and he does not like it because he is a

taxpayer and he is telling the Board now, that he does not like that; the moral fabric is the kids

and they got to look out for the kids; and he reiterated America’s tomorrow are the kids. He

stated if any member of the Board voted on this, shame on them because he does not have to

stand here and tell the Board the direction the country is going; it is in a mess; he applauds the

Board for the job it is doing because it gets everything from everybody from everywhere; please

do not fund this crap, do not do it, there are firemen and cops, and he could go on and on of

the things that have happened in this country and everyone knows that; his wife funded the

Rochester Police Department in her job and they got defunded, and she funded them; the

County is headed in the wrong direction; and he urged the Board, no more of this trans crap, it

is destroying the country, he believes in the Constitution, he served his country and it irritates

him greatly, that there is government systems funding this crap. He mentioned during the

Biden administration when they had their gay day on the lawn of the White House or the Easter

Bunny and transvestites, if the Board supports that stuff, shame on it; look at the videos; if the

Board funded some of this in the past, look at the videos with those little ones; and no, that is

sick so please do its best for the country and the kids.

Commissioner Goodson commented those people are taxpayers, just as they are; they are not

required to go to this function or even asked to attend; they pay taxes; he does not like the

venue; he does not attend; by the same token, he asked if they have anyone in their family that

could be of a different venue, maybe they do, maybe they do not, but are they going to

persecute them and all the Board hears about is ‘we the people’; and those are the people and

until they do something wrong in Melbourne, that they get arrested for or they do something

wrong, he is going to give them the same funny money that they would give possibly to a

German parade, that wants to take the Jewish people back to Germany. He added that is all

he has to say, if the Board does not want to vote for it, do not vote for it; but be prepared, do

not let him hear ‘we the people’, again.

Commissioner Delaney stated she is opposed to giving tax dollars to Space Coast Pride; the

things that she has seen put out there, that go on at this event is not what she would consider a

family-friendly event; when these cultural dollars were put out to be spent, it was supposed to

be for things that everybody could go to; and she does not think that that fits within what is

being looked at.

The Board discussed District 2 appropriating $20,000 for TDC events, but took no action.

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

public comment sections.)

Tim Bobanic, Supervisor of Elections, extended his gratitude to the men and women of Brevard

County Fire Rescue, in Melbourne, and the Forest Service; he stated last Wednesday, April 16,

there was a major brushfire that came up, right against the Election Support Center (ESC),

which had millions of dollars of voting equipment; he and his Chief Deputy were in Orlando at a

user meeting conference, and got the call from his Warehouse Manager who expressed

concerns; Fire Chief, Patrick Voltaire, was great to work with, and he kept in close contact;

Chief Voltaire was on-site with him as the fire approached, it got within 20 feet of the ESC; he

commended all of the hard work done and he noted they did an amazing job, and they continue

to as there are flare-ups; and even now they are still getting smoke out of that area.

L.7. Commissioner and Chairman Rob Feltner, Commissioner District 4, Board Report

Chairman Feltner stated he has two things that is kind of a segue way into the Supervisor of

Elections; they had a discussion the other day and he suggested the need for alternates to the

Canvassing Board; there is a regular member and an alternate, but it is hard to meet at all; and

he would like for the Board to designate his or her Chief of Staff, to be alternates for the

Canvassing Board. He asked Morris Richardson, County Attorney, if there is any issue with

that.

Mr. Richardson responded that he does not believe so; and he knows, that was done before for

the Canvassing Board.

Chairman Feltner pointed out that Danielle Stern, Chief of Staff, District 5, has done it many

times; and the board meets almost daily for 10 days or so during the election period. He asked

for Tim Bobanic, Supervisor of Elections, to come up and explain the dilemma to the Board.

Mr. Bobanic responded certainly. He stated the Canvassing Board schedule is published on

the www.votebrevard.gov website; it is not every day, but it starts with a number of meetings

with logic and accuracy test and ends through the post-election audit; he assured the Board

that the meetings for this year are short for Commissioner Delaney and Commissioner

Goodson, or the alternates, and sometimes they are in and out in an hour; this is not like the

regular election cycle; the most important criteria for whoever is designated cannot be an active

participant in any campaign, on any kind of host committee, or fundraiser openly endorsing a

candidate; and those are what ends up disqualifying a number Commissioners, unfortunately.

He added he is all in support and the only stipulation is per State law, that anybody serving on

the Canvassing Board and it can be any elector in Brevard County; and having the Chief of

Staff’s is a wonderful idea, they would just have to take the mandatory signature matching

training, and watch a Canvassing Board workshop video.

Chairman Feltner stated he thinks Ms. Stern has been through that.

Mr. Bobanic remarked Ms. Stern is wonderful.

The Board appointed each District’s Chief of Staff as alternates to the Canvassing Board.

Mr. Bobanic reminded the Board that every individual does have to take the training, because

he has to have a certificate on file for each individual.

Chairman Feltner advised the Board would make them available for training. He mentioned

having another update from earlier that he is going to read what Representative Tyler Sirois

wrote and sent to him; he read aloud, “Orlando Health has agreed in writing to one, fund $10

million in assistance to Space Coast Health Foundation, two, demolish the building at their

expense, and three, give the property back to the City of Rockledge.”; and he advised the

Board to call Representative Sirois for any other updates on that.

Result: APPROVED

Mover: Thad Altman

Seconder: Katie Delaney

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

L.3. Commissioner Katie Delaney, District 1, Board Report

Commissioner Delaney stated she did have a report, but due to time, she is going to forego