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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTCCLG.2025.02.05.Meeting.Minutes Regular Meeting February 5, 2025 St. Lucie County Roger Poitras Administration Annex Third floor conference Room 3 Zoom was also available MINUTES Council Members Present David Pickett, City of Port St. Lucie (Chairman) Bradley Goodbread, Okeechobee County (Vice Chairman) Dowling Watford, City of Okeechobee (Treasurer) Ingrid Van Hekken, Town of St. Lucie Village, (Secretary) Campbell Rich, City of Stuart Debbie Hawley, St. Lucie County School Board Bob McPartlan, City of Sebastian Brian Foley, Town of Indian River Shores James Clasby, St. Lucie County Commission Blake Capps, Martin County Commission Vinny Barile, Town of Sewalls Point Kevin Docherty, Town of Ocean Breeze Arnold Gaines, City of Fort Pierce Marsha Powers, Martin School Board Terry Baronborg, Indian River School Board (via Zoom) Members Not Present Angelina Perez, Village of Indiantown Inocencia Hernadez, City of Fellsmere Laura Moss, Indian River County Commission John Cotugno, City of Vero Beach Others Present Patricia Christensen, TCRLC and FLC Mitch Kloorfain, Career Source Sherry McCorkle, South Florida Water Management Wes McCurry, St. Lucie EDC Katie McKnight, St Lucie EDC Sarah Powers, Martin BOCC George Ciaschi, Town of Ocean Breeze 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Pickett called the meeting to order at 10:05 AM. Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments Minutes of the Meeting of January 3, 2024 Page 1 of 4 2. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mr. Watford led the invocation and Chairman Pickett led The Pledge of Allegiance. 3. INTRODUCTIONS Self-introduction by Board members and guests. Ms. Christensen mentioned there will be a new member beginning soon. Okeechobee School Board appointed Melisa Jahner to represent their Board. 4. Chairman Pickett welcomed the everyone. He mentioned he was working on a legislative policy where electric vehicles would be charged a fee in place of the gas tax that users of electric vehicles dont pay. He mentioned it was a Priority of Florida League of Cities and there would be additional discussion later on the agenda about other legislative matters. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Pickett called for a motion to accept the Meeting Minutes from January. Mr. Watford made a motion to approve, Mr. Goodbread seconded. Motion carried. 6. APPROVAL OF Mr. Watford gave the Treasurers report for January. Ms. Powers made a motion to accept the January Treasurers Report, Mr. Foley seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 7. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Mr. Goodbread reported the Okeechobee Music Fest will not occur in 2025 by will return in 2026. Mr. Watford reported that the Okeechobee Fair would take place in February. Also, the Battle of Okeecobee will take ndrd place on February 22 and 23. Mr. Clasby report the St Lucie County Fair will begin at the end of February. Mr. Dockerty reported the St. Pattys Day Parade will be on March 16. He also spoke about Sun Communities signing a stipulation agreement. Ocean Breeze now has 711 registered voters. Mr. Pickett report that PSL will have a St. Day Festival, but it will be much smaller this year. Mr. Rich attended the Everglades Conference. It addressed dumping water and restoring the health of the everglades. He suggested that this be a topic for a future speaker. The keynote waste Paul Gray from Audubon. thth Mr. Gaines reported that there would be a Highwayman Festival on February 15. Moores Creek, 8 St and Ave. D. 8. PROGRAM PRESENTATION Wes McCurry and Katie McKnight from the St. Lucie County Economic Development Council gave a presentation on the Economic Climate of St. Lucie County. 9. LEGISLATIVE MATTERS Ms. Powers remarked that Rep. Overdorf sponsored a bill to legalize bump stocks for guns. Ms. Hawley mentioned that there is a bill to repeal the School start times bill from last legislative session. Ms. Christensen mentioned a number of bills for preemption were coming forward including the Sovereign Immunity bill and Affordable Housing bill. Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments Minutes of the Meeting of January 3, 2024 Page 2 of 4 10. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion to Determine the Goals for TCCLG Chairman Pickett requested a letter of support for the FLC Priorities, especially relative to Electric Vehicles and adding a new fee for roads, not collected from Electric Vehicle owners. It would be a Gas Tax Alternative. Mr. Watford raised concern about unfunded mandates and other bills all governments are affected by. He also suggested the TCCLG support the Rural and Family Land Program and Forever Florida Program. Mr. Gaines suggested a letter be sent to support the FLC Priorities. Mr. Capp spoke about the Martic County Bill 4077 which addressed Inmate Medical for Martin County inmates. Mr. Watford made a motion to authorize a letter be sent to the delegation from TCCLG supporting the Florida League of Cities Priorities, the Issues the School Board supports and the Association of Counties, legislative platform and Martin County Bill 4077. Ms. Hawley seconded the motion. Motion carried. 11. COMMITTEE REPORTS a. Treasure Coast Regional League of Cities/Florida League of Cities (TCRLC & FLC) th Ms. Christensen announced the upcoming Treasure Coast Regional League would hold an Ethics Class on April 24 from 9:30 to 2 PM. Florida League of Cities Legislative Action Days is March 24-26. b. Florida Associations of Counties (FAC) No report was given. c. Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) No report was given. d. CareerSource Research Coast Mr. Kloorfain reported the unemployment rate dropped ½%. The workforce dropped, and there were less job seekers and less employers. e. South Florida Water Management District Sherry McCorkle introduced herself as the new representative from SFWMD. She covers Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast. There is an opening for another representative to cover Palm Beach. She will cover the Treasure Coast. 12. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Clasby asked if any other counties were having issues with condo eviction due to the inspections and maintenance issues. Indian River and Martin Counties have 4 floor limits, and dont have current issues. Mr. Barile asked if there could be a discussion about adding a Scholarship to the TCCLG. It was agreed to add it to next agenda for discussion. Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments Minutes of the Meeting of January 3, 2024 Page 3 of 4 13. ADJOURNMENT As business before the Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments has concluded, Chairman Pickett adjourned the meeting at 12:15 PM. Lunch was served. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Christensen, recording Secretary. Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments Minutes of the Meeting of January 3, 2024 Page 4 of 4