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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTCCLG.2025.09.03.Meeting.MinutesRegular Meeting — September 3, 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, (Chairman) 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, (via Zoom, left at 10:27) Vinny Barile, Town of Sewalls Point, (via Zoom) Brian Foley, Indian River Shores, Campbell Rich, City of Stuart J. Blake Capps, Martin County Commission James Clasby, St. Lucie County Commission Kevin Docherty, Town of Ocean Breeze Ed Dodd, City of Sebastian, (Alternate) Arnold Gaines, City of Fort Pierce (Via Zoom and arrived at 10:20 am) Inocencia Hernandez, City of Fellsmere Marsha Powers, Martin County School Board, (via Zoom) Council Members Not Present John Cotugno, City of Vero Beach Ingrid Van Hekken, St. Lucie Village, (Secretary) Angelina Perez, Village of Indiantown Laura Moss, Indian River County Others Present Mitch Kloorfain, Career Source Patricia Christensen, TCRLC and FLC Jim Cannon, St. John's Water Mgmt. District, (via Zoom) Sherry McCorkle, S. Florida Water Mgmt. District Terresa Brewer. Aide to Laura Moss Daryl Loar Greg Langowski, Sen. Moody's Legislative Aide 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Pickett called the meeting to order at 10:09 AM. 2. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments — Minutes of the Meeting of March 5, 2025 Page 1 of 4 Mr. Watford led the invocation and Chairman Pickett led The Pledge of Allegiance. 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 July 2025. Mr. Watford made a motion to approve; Mr. Goodbread seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF TREASURER'S REPORT Mr. Watford gave the Treasurers report for July and August 2025. Several Membership dues payments were received, as well as payment by TCRLC for the BBQ. Mr. Foley made a motion to accept the August Treasurer's Report; Mr. Goodbread seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Foley reported that Jet Blue is coming to Vero Beach Airport in early December and will fly two flights per week. Mr. Clasby also mentioned that St. Lucie County was working on their airport with improvements and hopes for some updates soon. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Mr. Dockerty reported that Ocean Breeze recently lost their former Council President, Ken DeAngelis. Mr. Clasby reported that he attended the County Association Policy Committee Meeting. He mentioned SB 180 is being reviewed by the Urban Affairs Committee. They are also looking at amendments to the Live Local Bill. He inquired if there are any cities or counties that are joining in the lawsuit on SB 180. Mr. Rich said Stuart was joining the lawsuit. St. Lucie Cunty discussed joining. Mr. Capp inquired on the House Select Committee reviewing Tax Break Options. 8. PROGRAM PRESENTATION Ms. Sherry McKorkle gave a presentation on South Florida Water Management District, explaining what they manage and what they don't manage. There are 16 counties in Florida that they oversee. She explained the hierarchy along with issues that SFWMD deals with. Her PowerPoint presentation is available upon request. 9. LEGISLATIVE MATTERS There was further discussion on the House Select Committee and the topics that the committee is covering during their meetings. The next committee meeting dates are September 22nd and 23rd in Tallahassee. 10. NEW BUSINESS A. None Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments — Minutes of the Meeting of March 5, 2025 Page 2 of 4 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 Policy Committee meeting will be held starting on September 261h in Orlando. b. Florida Associations of Counties (FAC) No report was given. c. Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) Ms. Hawley reported that St. Lucie County is one of six counties not seeing a decline in enrollment. Mr. Capp mentioned Martin was seeing a decline. Ms. Hawley said many counties were seeing enrollment decline. She also mentioned that St. Lucie School District just opened a new High School and will open a new K-8 in 2026, as well as see Westwood reopen in late 2026. There was a brief discussion on speeding cameras being installed in certain school zones in the future. The Florida School Board Assoc. is working on the legislative platform for the upcoming Legislative session. A member inquired if the dismantling of the Department of Education was having any impact. Ms. Hawley replied in the affirmative stating that Title 1 money was cut by $22 million in St. Lucie County. The State is also slow at releasing funds. Ms. Jahner reported a new High School is under construction in Okeechobee and will be complete in 2026. She said they have seen little impact on Federal Funding. d. Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council No report e. CareerSource Research Coast Mr. Kloorfain. Reported the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent within the four counties. There was also a Job Fair coming in Port St. Lucie with over 1000 people in attendance which is a jump from last year when they had 600 attendees. The Indian River and Martin County offices are officially closed. But the new office opened on Okeechobee Rd. They see between 45 to 85 walk-ins per date. They are looking at satellite offices in Martin and Indian River Counties. 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 Presentation given by Sherry McKorckle earlier in the meeting. g. St. John's River Water Management District Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments — Minutes of the Meeting of March 5, 2025 Page 3 of 4 Mr. Cannon was present via Zoom. He concurred with all Ms. McCorkle reported. 12. OLD BUSINESS a. Continued Discussion the Implementation of a Scholarship for TCCLG There was nothing to report as the committee hasn't met as of yet. They are trying to meet before the next Board meeting. b. TCCLG Audit Mr. Foley reported that the audit was conducted in July in Okeechobee and that Ms. Van Hekken and he met with Mr. Watford. Everything is in order. 13. ADJOURNMENT As business before the Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments has concluded, Chairman Pickett adjourned the meeting at 11:10 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