MINUTES OF THE GLADES COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING ON MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 AT 6:00 P.M. IN THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING ROOM, GLADES COUNTY COURTHOUSE, MOORE HAVEN, FLORIDA The Glades County Board of County Commissioners met on Monday, April 27, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. with the following Commissioners present: Tim Stanley, Chairman Weston Pryor, Vice Chairman Donna Storter Long Paul Beck John Ahern Others present: Julie Mann Braddock, Administrative Secretary Sandra H. Brown, Clerk of Court Tiffany Patterson, Finance Director Richard Pringle, County Attorney Paul Carlisle, County Manager Stuart Whiddon, Glades County Sheriff Gail Jones, Glades County Tax Collector Steve Dobbs, Steve Dobbs Engineering Missie Barletto, AIM Engineering Matthew Howard, Johnson Engineering Anita Sauls, Glades County Clerk s Office James Hull, AIM Engineering Raoul Bataller, Hendry Glades Sunday News Bob Jones, Public Safety Director Aletris Farnam, Glades County Road Department Libby Maxwell, South Florida Water Management District Terri Anascavage, E911 Coordinator/County Manager s Office Tracy Whirls, EDC Executive Director 6 citizens Chairman Stanley called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. PRAYER Commissioner Storter Long gave the invocation. PLEDGE Vice Chairman Pryor led the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA AMENDMENTS
Chairman Stanley requested that one item be added to the County Warrants list payment of County Warrant #75910 to Wright Construction Group in the amount of $475,943.32. ON MOTION of Commissioner Beck seconded by Commissioner Ahern the Board amended the agenda. PRESENTATIONS / AWARDS Chairman Stanley introduced Libby Maxwell, Glades County s new representative from the South Florida Water Management District. PUBLIC INPUT ON AGENDA ITEMS There was none. PUBLIC HEARINGS There were none. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve payment of County Warrants. (Exhibit A) General Fund: 75791 75891 and 75910 SHIP: 1613 1614 Court Facilities Surcharge: 1049 1057 Intergovernmental Radio: 10269 Courthouse Facilities Grant: 1441 2. Approved the Minutes of the April 14, 2015 Regular Meeting. 3. Delete Kyocera Copier #3453 from Property Records. (Should be #3543) ON MOTION of Commissioner Beck seconded by Vice Chairman Pryor the Board adopted the Consent Agenda items. Attorney Pringle clarified that the amendment to the County Warrants was an addition to the Consent Agenda. BUSINESS AGENDA 4. Tax Deed Applications Gail Jones, Glades County Tax Collector, stated this was an annual item. She stated each Commissioner should have received a list of all the certificates that were mature enough for a tax deed application. She stated the County currently had 222 certificates. She explained that pursuant to statute if the current assessed value was more than 2
$5,000.00 the County had to apply for the tax deed application. She stated that as of April 21 st there were 8 certificates that were assessed over $5,000.00; however, two of those had paid leaving 6 that the County had to apply for. She stated each of these would require a title search in the amount of $100.00 for a total of $600.00. She asked the Board if they wished to apply on any of the remaining 216 certificates. She explained that a majority of these lots were located in Port LaBelle. She stated if the County applied for the tax deed on these certificates and the property did not sell at the tax deed sale it would be placed on the List of Lands available. If the property remained on that list for 3 years then the County would own the property. She stated the County would then have to maintain the property. ON MOTION of Commissioner Beck seconded by Vice Chairman Pryor the Board approved applying for Application for Tax Deed for 6 tax certificates that assessed at $5,000.00 or more per Florida Statute 197.502 in the amount of $600.00. Mrs. Jones explained that the certificates were valid for 7 years. She stated some of the Port LaBelle lots had been included in the CHL bankruptcy case and would have an additional life of 911 days. She stated the 2008 certificates that were on the list would have gone void at the end of May; however, since they were involved in the bankruptcy they would remain valid until November 27, 2017. 5. Electrical Right-of-way Easement Dedication County Manager Carlisle stated this easement would allow Glades Electric to run power from the main trunk line along the entrance to the Business Park back to a transformer for the Training Center. He stated the 20 foot easement was required in order to maintain the electrical lines. ON MOTION of Commissioner Ahern seconded by Vice Chairman Pryor the Board granted the easement requested by Glades Electric Cooperative, Inc. for the sole purpose of the intended use as described in the right-of-way easement agreement. 6. Neighborhood Revitalization Citizen Advisory Task Force Appointments County Manager Carlisle asked that the Board appoint a minimum of five individuals to review proposed plans and applications for the Neighborhood Revitalization Citizen Advisory Task Force. He stated income verification was still needed on the applicants. ON MOTION of Vice Chairman Pryor seconded by Commissioner Storter Long the Board approved the appointment of Diane Croskey, James Davidson, Aletris Farnam, 3
Eddie Hallback, Doug Manke, and Claudia McPherson to the Neighborhood Revitalization Citizen Advisory Task Force. Commissioner Beck asked if there was a maximum number of people that could be appointed to the task force. County Manager Carlisle stated the Board could appoint more if they so desired. He stated a minimum of 5 was needed and a quorum of 3 to hold a meeting. Commissioner Beck asked if the motion should reflect that the appointment was subject to verification of the individual s income and qualifications. Attorney Pringle stated he believed it was understood that the appointments were subject to the verification of certain qualifications. 7. Vertex Abandonment Agreement Attorney Pringle stated the abandonment agreement had been negotiated between Vertex, LLC and Glades County. He stated this agreement was the last step required for Vertex to be able to pull their permits. He stated this was a county code requirement. He stated part of the agreement was a bonding requirement. He stated the agreement was in place so that the County would have assurances that if the tower was abandoned it could be removed. He stated the agreement also provided that the County could require the removal of the tower in its sole discretion at the sole cost of Vertex. He stated the agreement also granted the County the authority to remove the tower itself or through an independent contractor in the event Vertex refused to remove the tower after demand was made. He stated a bond would be in place to fund the removal. He stated the agreement also included indemnification language. He stated Vertex had agreed to the revisions that were made to the agreement. ON MOTION of Commissioner Ahern seconded by Commissioner Beck the Board approved the Abandonment Agreement with Vertex and Glades County BoCC for the removal of the tower located at 1420 Rucks Dairy Road, Okeechobee, Florida (Buckhead Ridge) at such time as the tower is determined to be abandoned. 8. Glades County Training Center Third Addendum to Wright Construction Agreement County Manager Carlisle stated this would hopefully the final agreement and a Guaranteed Maximum Price would be set tonight. He introduced Fred Edman, Wright Construction, and Kevin Williams, BSSW Architects. He stated the project was under construction at risk. He stated the County had $3,500,000.00 from the State 4
Legislature and had requested additional funding in appropriations. He stated the County was currently asking for another $1,000,000.00 for this project. Attorney Pringle stated the document before the Board for review was the third addendum to Construction Agreement. He reminded the Board that this project was to be completed by June 2015. Fred Edman, President - Wright Construction Group, stated Kevin Williams, BSSW Architects, would present the final design for the project. He stated the construction documents had been completed about 30 days ago and had been issued to the subcontractors in the region. He stated they had received all of the final pricing and would be presenting several pricing options to the Board tonight. Kevin Williams, BSSW Architects, gave a brief presentation of the design plan for the facility. He stated a major component of the facility was the 30,000 square foot of warehouse space. He stated because most of the users were yet unknown, his design had given the facility as much flexibility as possible. He stated many different modes and methods of access had been provided. He the facility had been designed in a way where there were no internal columns across the warehouse. He stated a sufficient amount of vertical height had been provided. He stated the electrical systems, as well as the fire protection systems, had been designed so that it could be expanded according to use. He stated the facility had been designed with as much flexibility for potential growth as possible. He explained where the walls could be taken out and expanded. He stated the other components to the building were the educational space and administrative support area. He stated the educational space was made up of 5 different classroom spaces. He stated one was more permanent than the others. He stated the entire space would be outfitted with wireless internet access. He stated the space would also be outfitted with smart board technology. He stated there was also a more fixed computer laboratory space. He stated there would also be a student lounge space to relax with internet access. He stated there was a large meeting space that came right off of the main entry to the building. He stated there was a large open office area with several private offices around the perimeter. He stated there was also a private conference room and break room. Vice Chairman Pryor asked if there would be any electrical work done in the warehouse. Mr. Williams explained that the warehouse had been set up with a bunch of main electrical panels. He stated as the spaces were built out they could pull from the individual panels to serve the individual rooms. Chairman Stanley asked what the dimensions were on the warehouse. Mr. Williams stated the warehouse dimensions were 150 feet X 200 feet or 30,000 square feet. 5
Mr. Edman gave a brief overview of how we had gotten to where we were today on this project. He stated a lot of things on this project had to move very quickly in order to attempt completing this project by the June 30 th deadline that was initially established by the grant funding requirement. He stated the Board had approved the pre-construction contract on November 24, 2014. He stated the design had begun a few weeks prior to this approval. He stated Steve Dobbs had completed the initial civil design prior to Christmas and the initial foundation was also complete prior to Christmas. He stated his team was mobilized on the site within 45 days of Glades County authorizing the preconstruction contract for this project. He stated within 90 days of the pre-construction contract Wright Construction was starting to work on the foundations of the building. He stated within 4 months of the contract date Wright had a 100% set of design documents. He stated a lot of things had to be ordered and released at risk in hopes of meeting the June deadline. He stated Wright was now projecting an August 30 th completion date for the project. He stated this date was within 12 months of the initial advertisement of this project and only 10 months from the time Wright was awarded the project. He stated the total contract amount was approximately $5.3 million. He stated this figure included all of the design work and a $200,000.00 for owner FF & E. He stated this equated to approximately $125.00/square foot. For comparison the EOC Building had cost approximately $250.00/square foot and the Health Clinic had cost approximately $283.00/square foot. He gave some other comparisons for similar buildings. He stated Glades County was getting a state of the art intermodal training facility for $125.00/square foot. He stated the County had three options: Option 1 completing the shell and the classroom portion of the building; Option 2 completing the shell, the classroom portion, and the offices portion of the building; and Option 3 completing the shell, the classroom portion, the offices portion, and all of the additional final finishes to the building. He stated Option 1A would be that no additional funding came in for the project. He further explained the options. There was a brief discussion regarding the various options and what each would consist of. Vice Chairman Pryor clarified that if the Board chose Option 1 at $3.6 million the figure was really close to what the County had in appropriations at this point. He asked if the County could keep moving forward with the construction as other funding became available. Mr. Edman stated this was correct. Vice Chairman Pryor stated he did not want to put the County in jeopardy not knowing what funds were going to be available in the future. Attorney Pringle stated Article 4 of the third addendum specifically anticipated the future construction as additional funding becomes available. 6
Mr. Edman stated Wright Construction was making an offer to the County, assuming that at some point there would be additional funding, depending on which option the County chose. He stated Option 1 was a small deferment of Wright s fee and Option 2 was a deferment of Wright s entire fee along with a deferment of a portion of the general conditions. He stated Wright would be reimbursed when the funding became available. Vice Chairman Pryor stated these offers were greatly appreciated. Chairman Stanley questioned how long the options (prices) were good for. Mr. Edman stated he could hold the prices for 90 120 days. Commissioner Storter Long stated she would prefer Option 2 and to use the maximum length on the deferment of the contractor s fee. She stated $413,290.00 would be deferred until the County obtained the additional funding. Commissioner Beck agreed. He stated he felt there was an excellent chance that Glades County would get the additional funding through state appropriations. He stated the one cent funds could be used in the event the County did not get the additional funding from the state. County Manager Carlisle stated the County would need to figure out how they would pay the difference if the state did not come through with the additional funding. He reminded the Board that they would still have to purchase the furnishings for the building as well. He stated some of these funds could come from grants. He stated there were three options to fund the shortage 1) use one cent funds 2) use contingency/reserve funds or 3) obtain a low interest loan from Glades Electric. Ms. Brown stated there was approximately $1.1 million in the one cent fund. She cautioned the Board about depleting this fund. She stated this fund only brought in approximately $330,000.00 per year. Vice Chairman Pryor stated if the Board chose Option 1 tonight and then received the additional funding within the next month the Board could direct Wright to continue on with Option 2. He stated then the County would only be obligated for $125,000.00 instead of $472,000.00. Mr. Edman stated from a construction standpoint it would be incredibly more efficient for Wright to finish all of the interiors while they were on site now rather than to have to come back and do the work. Chairman Stanley stated he did not wish to go out on a limb for $400,000.00 that the County did not have. He stated he would prefer to stay with Option 1. 7
Commissioner Storter Long stated she felt it would be an investment. She stated she understood that the County may need to start with Option 1 and move forward with Option 2 when the funding came through. Ms. Brown asked that the Board obligate the funds that they wished to use from the one cent fund now, if that was what they wished to do. She stated the Board could always un-obligate the funds later if the state funding came through. There was a brief discussion regarding the wording of the referendum that created the Ordinance that established the one cent fund. Vice Chairman Pryor stated he was 100% behind this project; however, he did not want to strap the County down with the funding of this project when funds may be needed for other projects. County Manager Carlisle reminded the Board that they may need to spend some of the one cent funds on office renovations for the Sheriff. ON MOTION of Vice Chairman Pryor seconded by Commissioner Storter Long the Board approved the Third Addendum to the AIA Agreement with Wright Construction which approves the total project design and authorization to proceed with the construction of the Training Center project using Option 1 for the scope of work at a Guaranteed Maximum Price of $3,625,229.00; authorized amending through an additional amendment to the contract to construct Option 2 at a Guaranteed Maximum Price of $3,972,883.00 if the legislature approves additional funding in the 2015 session; and authorized the Chairman to sign. Attorney Pringle stated the Board would have to fund the $125,000.00 which may be reduced by the sales tax savings. He stated the Board could approve where these funds would come from when they knew for sure the amount needed. 9. Americas Gateway Entrance Funding County Manager Carlisle stated as part of the development for the Travel Center the County had applied for a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $1,154,967.00 to help fund some of the infrastructure. He stated this funding had been based on job creation from the Travel Center. He stated the current engineer s estimate for the project was $1,998,500.00, which included design, engineering, utilities, storm water improvements, and roadway infrastructure. He stated DOT was currently letting the contract for the turn lanes and median openings on US Hwy 27 for this project and for the Business Park. He stated the County had received a $300,000.00 grant from the Department of Economic Development and Opportunity for the engineering design. He 8
stated the County had requested $600,000.00 in appropriations for the storm water system for this project; however, these funds were not yet approved. He stated this left the County with a deficit for the project in the amount of $643,533.00. He stated if the County did not obligate in some way to fund this short fall then the County would not receive the Community Development Block Grant. He stated the County could obligate to fund this project with the understanding that we may or may not receive the $600,000.00 in State appropriations from this year s budget. He stated the County could obligate to fund this shortfall through grants, appropriations, one cent funding, or self-performed work. He stated if the County found that they would not be able to fund the project and had not spent any of the CDBG grant funds, they could cancel the contract with DEO. He stated this would give the County approximately 2 ½ months to negotiate with Duda and Loves, to find out where the appropriations were from the State, and to look at other funding opportunities to fund this shortfall. Commissioner Storter Long asked if DEO stopped this project would DOT still be putting in the turning lane. County Manager Carlisle stated DOT was obligated to put in the turning lane; however, if the County canceled the contract, DOT may cancel the funding. Commissioner Storter Long expressed concern with this being the turning lane for the new Training Center as well. Commissioner Beck stated this whole project was essentially on Lykes Bros., Inc. and Duda s property with Duda being the first in line to do something. He stated he believed that they should put some funding into this project. He stated the County had done their due diligence on this project and come up with 67.8% of the funding. He stated the remaining 32% ($643,533.00) should come from Lykes and Duda. Commissioner Storter Long stated the jobs and the fuel taxes that would be generated from the Travel Center would have a direct impact on the county s economy. Commissioner Beck stated the fuel taxes generated would amount to approximately $460,000.00 which was a significant number. He stated part of this figure was based on the speculation that the Panama Canal would be constructed. He stated the canal was now 3 years behind schedule and labor disputes continued to delay the construction. He stated logistics centers would be scattered all over the eastern seaboard. He commented on the port at Savannah, Georgia. He stated their dredging was complete and they were ready to start taking the larger ships. Commissioner Ahern stated he was in Savannah over the weekend and had watched one of the ships that Commissioner Beck was referring to. He stated these ships were very large and would not pass thru the Panama Canal. He commented on the need for Duda to put in some funding for the Americas Gateway project. He stated he realized 9
they had donated some property but felt they should contribute to the project a little more. Commissioner Storter Long asked if there was an out for Loves if the County did not move forward with the Americas Gateway project. County Manager Carlisle stated Loves contract currently stated that the funding would be in place to put in the infrastructure for the entrance way. He stated Loves had been continuously designing their project and moving forward with their project. He stated they wanted to be here. He stated the County needed an opportunity to move this project along. He stated valued engineering could help decrease the true cost of construction. He stated Loves may be able to pay for some of the infrastructure and additional funding opportunities could be available, either through appropriations, additional grants, or Duda funding. Chairman Stanley asked when the County s last day to cancel the contract would be. County Manager Carlisle stated the County would have approximately 2 2 ½ months. Chairman Stanley stated he did not feel like the tax payers should be spending money to incorporate private property. He stated he could see funding some of the project for the benefit that would be received. He agreed that the private sector should put some funding into the project. County Manager Carlisle stated he would need a letter no later than Tuesday afternoon indicating that the County was obligated to fund the short fall in the agreement. ON MOTION of Commissioner Storter Long seconded by Vice Chairman Pryor the Board approved the County s commitment to fund the remaining cost for the infrastructure to the proposed Travel Center. CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS Ms. Brown gave an update on the Operation Green Light project that her office conducted on April 18 th. She stated $13,000.00 in fines had been collected and 38 driver s license had been cleared. COUNTY ATTORNEY There was no discussion. COUNTY MANAGER & DEPARTMENT HEADS Commissioner Storter Long asked how the discussion regarding the Cypress Knee Museum had gone today at the TDC meeting. 10
County Manager Carlisle stated the TDC had voted to fund the lease for the remainder of this year through July 1 and for the following year provided that the group comes back with some progress in the management plan. He sated the lease agreement would come back to the Board for approval at the next meeting. PUBLIC INPUT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS There was none. COMMISSIONERS ITEMS AND COMMENTS Commissioner Beck stated he was selling tickets for the MHHS Scholarship Foundation. Vice Chairman Pryor thanked Wright Construction for their efforts and stated it was a great pleasure to do business with them. He thanked the County s staff for the hard work they do. Commissioner Storter Long thanked Wright Construction as well along with County staff. Commissioner Ahern agreed. He commented on the estimate that AIM Engineering came up with for the Training Center. He stated he was glad to see the County moving forward. He stated he may miss the next Board meeting due to knee replacement surgery next Monday. Chairman Stanley had no comment. County Manager Carlisle reminded Chairman Stanley that he would need to appoint a Commissioner to the Advisory Board for the Training Center Project. Vice Chairman Pryor expressed his interest in serving on the Board. Chairman Stanley appointed Vice Chairman Pryor to the Advisory Board for the Training Center Project and appointed Commissioner Beck as the alternate. Commissioner Beck stated the first Regional Transportation Planning Organization meeting would be held in Sebring day after tomorrow. Chairman Stanley stated he had attended the TDC meeting today and expressed concern with the need for more participation from the community. ADJOURN ON MOTION of Commissioner Beck seconded by Commissioner Ahern the Board adjourned the meeting. 11
There being no further discussion, Chairman Stanley adjourned the meeting at 7:38 p.m. ATTEST: Tim Stanley, Chairman Sandra H. Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court Approved: May 12, 2015 THESE MINUTES ARE NOT A VERBATIM RECORD. TAPES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN LISTENING TO THE ENTIRE MEETING. 12