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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTCCLG.2025.06.4.Meeting.MinutesRegular Meeting — June 6, 2025 St. Lucie County Roger Poitras Administration Annex Third floor conference Room 3 Zoom was also available. ftll00jr0 Council Members Present David Pickett, City of Port St. Lucie, (Chair) Bradley Goodbread, Okeechobee County (Vice Chairman) Dowling Watford, City of Okeechobee (Treasurer) Melisa Jahner, Okeechobee School Board Debbie Hawley, St. Lucie County School Board Terri Barenborg, Indian River School Board John Cotugno, City of Vero Beach Campbell Rich, City of Stuart J. Blake Capps, Martin County Commission James Clasby, St. Lucie County Commission Vinny Barile, Town of Sewalls Point, via Zoom Kevin Docherty, Town of Ocean Breeze Bob McPartlan, City of Sebastian Arnold Gaines, City of Fort Pierce (Via Zoom and arrived at 10:20 am) Inocencia Hernandez, City of Fellsmere, (arrived at 11:00 am) Members Not Present Vinny Barile, Town of Sewalls Point Ingrid Van Hekken, St. Lucie Village, (Secretary) Angelina Perez, Village of Indiantown Marsha Powers, Martin County School Board Others Present Mitch Kloorfain, Career Source Patricia Christensen, TCRLC and FLC Terry Ann Paulo, TC Regional Planning Council Chloe Angelini, Sen. Rick Scott Leg. Aide Jim Cannon, St. John's Water Mgmt. District Sherry McCorkle, S. Florida Water Mgmt. District Present on Zoom Greg Langowski, Sen. Moody's Legislative Aide Terresa Brewer. Aide to Laura Moss Daryl Loar 1. CALL TO ORDER Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments — Minutes of the Meeting of March 5, 2025 Page 1 of 4 Chair Pickett called the meeting to order at 10:05 AM. 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. 4. CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS Chairman Pickett welcomed everyone. He didn't have any comments. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Pickett called for a motion to accept the Meeting Minutes from May. Ms. Hawley made a motion to approve; Mr. Goodbread seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 6. APPROVAL OF TREASURER'S REPORT Mr. Watford gave the Treasurers report for May. Several Membership dues payments were received. Mr. Goodbread made a motion to accept the May Treasurer's Report; Mr. Clasby seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 7. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Mayor Rich reported the City hired a full-time Environmental Attorney. They will work on water projects and land preservation. Ms. Barenborg noted the drowning of a high school senior just before graduation in India River County and the importance of children and adults getting swimming lessons and learning how to deal with rip tides. Mr. Docherty reported Ocean Breeze hired Dan Hudson as their new Town Manager. He previously worked for Martin County and the city of Stuart. Also, the owner of the Publix Plaza requested their parcel be subdivided into three separate parcels. Mr. Capp asked if SB 180 had been signed by the Governor. There was brief discussion on what that bill will do to Comp Plans. Mr. Clasby asked if other jurisdictions had received their evaluation notices from the Property Appraiser. He also mentioned St. Lucie County's Attorney; Dan McIntyre will retire in August after 40 years. Mr. Pickett announced the City would hold its annual Hurricane Expo on June 7 and is sponsored by WPBF. 8. PROGRAM PRESENTATION Ms. Sherry McCorkle, Government Affairs Representative for the South Florida Water Management District, gave a short presentation on the District and what it controls and doesn't control. She said many calls for assistance with street flooding come to them and people need to call 911. They are putting additional efforts into educating people on what they do, and what people should do regarding flooding. She also mentioned she would love to set up a tour for the members. The major purpose of SFWMD is to control the water in the lakes, canals and reservoirs. Mr. Jim Cannon interjected that the St John's system is old and being retrofitted. He also said they receive many calls for wildlife which need to go to Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments — Minutes of the Meeting of March 5, 2025 Page 2 of 4 During Discussion Mr. Rich mentioned with the cuts to NOAA, the counties and cities won't have time or accuracy in predicting storms. It is going to be difficult with these changes. 9. LEGISLATIVE MATTERS Mr. Capp asked if SB 180 had been signed. There was discussion about ramifications of the bill to local governments upon signing by the Governor. The bill was waiting for his signature. 10. NEW BUSINESS A. None 11. COMMITTEE REPORTS a. Treasure Coast Regional League of Cities/Florida League of Cities (TCRLC & FLC) Ms. Christensen announced that the Florida League of Cities will hold its Annual Conference in Orlando in August. Information will be out soon for registration. b. Florida Associations of Counties (FAC) No report was given. c. Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) Ms. Barenborg reported that school districts will meet for a conference, and she has been appointed to be Advocacy Chair. She also reported that school district grades in Indian River County are increasing. Ms. Hawley reported St. Lucie County student grades are also increasing. A final report will be out in July. Mr. Capp reported that student population is down in Martin County, due to the charter school. Ms. Barenborg said the same was occurring in Indian River County. It wasn't a problem in St. Lucie or Okeechobee Counties. d. Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council Terri Ann Paulo reported there was an upcoming Regional Resiliency series beginning on June 4. There was also funding available online at TCRPC, where the % cent sales tax was being leveraged. e. CareerSource Research Coast Mr. Kloorfain. Reported the unemployment rate was between 3.7 and 4.2 percent within the four counties. There was also a Job Fair coming up in Vero Beach sponsored by Untied Against Poverty. More information is available on their Career Source website. The CareerSource Comprehensive Center will open in July. f. South Florida Water Management District and St. John's River Water Management District No further information 12. OLD BUSINESS Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments — Minutes of the Meeting of March 5, 2025 Page 3 of 4 a. Continued Discussion the Implementation of a Scholarship for TCCLG There was different alternatives discussed but the Board chose to establish a $500 per county fund for use for schools. The motion was made by Mr. Watford, seconded by Mr. Barenborg. Motion passed unanimously. In further discussion it was the consensus to appoint a committee to do further research and come back with recommendations. The makeup of the committee will be the four school board members on TCCLG Board. Mr. Gaines also volunteered for the committee. It was also the consensus that Ms. Barenborg would chair the committee. 13. ADJOURNMENT As business before the Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments has concluded, Chairman Pickett adjourned the meeting at 11:46 AM. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Christensen, recording Secretary. Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments — Minutes of the Meeting of March 5, 2025 Page 4 of 4