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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 05.15.2015T. COUNTY L111C1E F L O R l D A BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ST LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA Joint Meeting May 15, 2015 Convened: 2:09 PM Adjourned: 5:11 PM Attendee Na L Status Arrived Tod Mowery District No. 2 Present 2:00 PM Frannie Hutchinson District No. 4 Present 2:00 PM Paula A. Lewis District No. 3, Chair Present 2:00 PM Kim Johnson District No. 5, Vice -Chair Present 2:00 PM Chris Dzadovsky District No. 1 Present 2:00 PM Linda Hudson Mayor Present 2:00 PM Rufus J. Alexander District No. 1 Present 2:00 PM Reginald B. Sessions District No. 1 Present 2:00 PM Edward W. Becht District No. 2 Present 2:00 PM Thomas K. Perona District No. 2 Present 2:00 PM Howard Tipton County Administrator Present 2:00 PM Robert G. Adolphe PE Deputy County Administrator Present 2:00 PM Daniel S. McIntyre County Attorney Present 2:00 PM Edward Matthews Parks, Recreation & Facilities Director Present 2:00 PM Don West Public Works Director Present 2:00 PM Laurie Waldie Utility Director Present 2:00 PM Leslie Olson Planning Manager Present 2:00 PM Sue Korunow Clerk to the Board Present 2:00 PM 1. Representative Larry Lee, Jr. - Opening Comments - State Perspective Representative Larry Lee, Jr. Thanked everyone for coming together stating it is time the City, County and State began to work together. He spoke about the tours he had taken with Commissioner Johnson and Mayor Hudson as well as the County Attorney and other tours which had really gotten him excited about the opportunities in front of the group at this time. He stated it was now time for Generated 61112015 1:45 PM Joint Meeting Friday, May 15, 2015 2:00 PM everyone to do some forward thinking and encouraged all to continue to work together to move things forward with the development of the Port. Commissioner Becht recognized members of the Bell family, private land owners of property at the Port and Indian River Terminal as members of the private sector who we wanted to make sure to bring into the group and conversations being held. Representative Lee introduced the Executive Director of the Department of Economic Opportunity Jesse Panuccio who previously served as the General Council to Governor Scott where he managed the legal affairs and staff of the Governor's office and helped direct and coordinate litigation, legal policy across state agencies, advised the Governor on over 80 judicial nominations and served as the Governor's Chief Ethics Officer. Representative Lee noted he received Mr. Panuccio's commitment for the two of them to bring several department heads to the area to help show the group possibilities for the area and perhaps assist in making "big things" happen. Mr. Pannuccio spoke about the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and it's resources within the state while offering assistance wherever possible. He spoke on Governor Scott's advocacy for the Ports over the last few years as shown by the Legislature and record funding stating they will most likely see that funding continue into the future. The DEO feels infrastructure is incredibly important, local and state commitment to building such infrastructure is one of the main building blocks of the economy. If the community has it's ports and roadways ready to keep pace with the growth rate he feels the community will be well situated for the future. It was clarified by Mayor Hudson that it is incumbent upon local officials to agree on a plan, once that plan has been decided, that is when the State officials can step in and offer assistance. Mr. Pannuccio confirmed that comment, stating it is imperative the State have a willing and initiating partner at the local level. Once local communities have that set up and decide they want to go in a certain direction, Commissions are cooperating, the citizens are behind them; that is when the State can step in and provide the resources. When that occurs the State knows the investment will be worth while, there is support for the effort and they will see returns over time. Several of the Commissioners spoke on the amazing aspects of Port Canaveral with all it's wonderful attributes yet it does not have the same infrastructure Fort Pierce has such as the rail. The fact that Port Canaveral is currently looking to spend $100,000,000 to create access through the Indian River Lagoon to the Port shows how important it is. They felt the County Administrator's willingness to bring the Port's former Director to look at the Fort Pierces' Port and give us ideas has been extremely exciting and helpful. 2 1 P a g E Joint Meeting Friday, May 15, 2015 2:00 PM 2. Global Opportunities for Florida Seaports - Doug Wheeler, Florida Port Council, President & CEO Florida Port Council President and CEO Doug Wheeler provided a presentation and background information on the Florida Seaports. He reviewed who the Florida Ports Council is and what they do in relationship to the seaports. He showed a system of 15 public seaports along both Coasts; reviewed how they differed in nearly every aspect, including location, sized, scope, cargos, trading partners and governance structures; then noted what they have in common being the generation of economic activity which benefits economies on the local, regional, state and national levels. Those benefits translate in the form of jobs, tax revenues and just the overall economic activity coming from the ports which becomes a catalyst for economic development. Mr. Wheeler provided an overview of the types of products which travel through these ports, the key markets for Florida's seaports and the economic impact of the seaports while provided statistics regarding investments, jobs, taxes and high paying jobs in seaport positions. He discussed the importance of access to major roadways and railways then recognized how significant the cruise industry is to the seaports and provided statistics regarding 2014 cruise industry jobs which are up 7.65% from 2012 with over $7.3 billion in direct purchases in Florida. He reviewed the different ports throughout the state noting some of their strong points and weak points. He then reviewed the global and national opportunities for the ports relaying possible options for the future of St. Lucie County. He encouraged the Board and City Commission to investigate possibilities of creating a major port at the Fisherman's Wharf area. He pointed out some obstacles but stated they are willing to assist where possible in the process. Discussion regarding funding, repairs, dredging and comparative information for Fort Pierces' Port ensued. Mr. Wheeler stated he would be happy to provide the group with a copy of the Tax Watch Report to the Public Works Director for information and review, noting it was also available on the Florida Port Council's website. His information shed a clear understanding on the obstacle private ownership of property located at the Port could create. There are some ways to work around this but clearly the best scenario is to have the property owned by the local government entities. RESULT: ITEM DISCUSSED 3. Port of Fort Pierce Master Plan Amendments - Don West, Public Works Director After a brief discussion by Public Works Director who noted all members present had previously had the opportunity to review the presentation and materials included in the agenda package, Mr. West asked the Members of the Board and City Commission if they would like to discuss the item further or review the presentation again. Members of the Board and City of Fort Pierce Commission 31 e Joint Meeting Friday, May 15, 2015 2:00 PM agreed this would not be necessary, noting there was a consensus and all were prepared to move the item forward to their respective Boards and Committees and to go through the Public Hearing and approval processes. A brief recess was taken at this time. RESULT: ITEM DISCUSSED 4. Fisherman's Wharf Conceptual Plan - Rick Ferrin, Transystems & Lauren Rand, Florida Department of Transportation At 3:56 p.m. the meeting was called to order. Florida Department of Transportation representative Lauren Rand provided an overview of why the study was done and introduced the commissioned agency who conducted the study, Transystems, Project Manager Rick Ferrin who discussed the process in-depth as follows: The study was divided into two phases: Phase 1 - Interviews with Stakeholders - Site Reconnaissance - Geotechnical Data Gathering - Infrastructure Design (bulkhead, surface treatment and site drainage) - Estimates of Probable Development Costs for Options 1, 2 and 3 Phase 2 - Development and weighting of Evaluation Factors - Qualitative Evaluation and Analysis of each Evaluation Factor for Options 1, 2 and 3 - Quantification of the Qualitative Evaluations - Conclusions and Recommended Development Option He provided layouts of the three options and listed the "Most Probable and Viable uses of Fisherman's Wharf Area as Determined from the Master Plan and Recent Stakeholder Interviews" as follows. - The maintenance and improvement of the existing boat ramps and parking for cars/trucks and trailers east of Indian River Drive - Improvement and extension of the existing "T" dock for berthing pleasure craft - Development of a fueling facility on the "T" dock - Along -side berthing for larger yachts - Development of a permanent berth at the western end of the basin's north bulkhead for the historical USCG cutter, a ferry, small cruise ship service, or casino boat with proximate parking for visitors or passengers - Sport fishing and boat supply retail - Trailered boat storage - Restaurant(s) - Rail -served cargo operations for barges or smaller "island" cargo carriers 4 1 P a g e Joint Meeting Friday, May 15, 2015 2:00 PM He provided a comparative evaluation of probable development costs as shown below: Development Option Probable Cost of Option 1 $3,385,420 2 $7,259,752 3 $12,991,346 Note: The estimates of probably costs of development for each option include the costs of infrastructure development, dredging and, where applicable in Options 2 and 3, an estimate of the cost of successful private property acquisitions by the Port. After discussing the evaluation factors and conclusions drawn from the Study the recommendation from Transystems to the Group was Option 2 which includes paving, drainage and bulk heading along the Indian River. This option requires the purchase of the two River Marina properties which come out to approximately .44 acres and the conversion of the last 250 feet of Fisherman's Wharf Road. At this time Representative Lee made a public disclosure regarding Option 3 stating he had a partnership with Joey Miller regarding one of the properties involved in this option. Commissioner Becht asked if there was any way to have the State fund a more creative way to deal with stormwater so the property so close to the waterfront could be used for further development in the future instead of stormwater drainage. Director of Public Works responded stating at this time there was a contract which had been awarded for the 2nd Street Project. He recommended since the project was already under contract they let it move forward and the road be completed. Once completed, they could explore a future project to convert it into a wet well of some sort and pump it to another location or explore a project to divert it to another location. It was agreed to move forward with applying for grant funding for building bulk heads this cycle. Since bulk heads are included in each of the three proposed Options, until a final decision had been made on which option they would move forward with at least they will have moved forward with, applying for a funding source for this portion of the project. 5 1 P a g e Joint Meeting Friday, May 15, 2015 2:00 PM RESULT: ITEM DISCUSSED 5. Benefits of a Partnership for the Development of the Port — Fort Pierce City Commission Mayor Hudson offered to enter into an Interlocal Agreement with the County to act as a partnership and take the Port forward from this day forth. Questions were raised on how the City of Port St. Lucie and other property owners can be incorporated into the conversations taking place and it was agreed they should come to the table and be part of the discussions as they develop. Commissioner Dzadovsky outlined the following as a possible plan for moving forward; 1.) Move forward with an Interlocal that all can agree to on the properties already owned by the City and County, 2.) Build the improvements to show they are serious about working together under the Interlocal and making those improvements happen, 3.) Show the seriousness of the effort and 4.) Continue to bring in other Stakeholders so in time when we show these improvements and opportunities the community will understand they are serious and move into a governance process. Once the improvements are made we can hire an Executive Director because that is when the revenue will come in to pay the salary, we have to show the public success first. Commissioner Lewis felt strongly that they need to establish the Interlocal first before moving towards creating a position to manage the Port. Commissioner Sessions felt strongly that they need to have someone in place to concentrate solely on this particular project. He does not feel they can afford to miss the opportunities; they need to have a group of people who are centered towards obtaining the funds, marketing skills and lobbying. He feels this is one of the only economic opportunities available and does not want to miss it. Commissioner Dzadovsky again summarized as follows: 1.) Lets focus on what we can control today - an Interlocal Agreement, 2.) Choose one of the 3 Options to move forward on, 3.) Show success, 4.) Get buy in from the public. City Manager Bradshaw noted they also need to remember the funding mechanisms. Commissioner Hutchinson said one of the common denominators are the projects which have been done and the infrastructure that was put in; the utilities, the roads and the rail which are the key developmental components to any port in the State of Florida. After further discussion it was agreed that both parties had agreed to work towards putting an Interlocal Agreement into place. The first item she stated 6 1 P a g e Joint Meeting Friday, May 15, 2015 2:00 PM they agreed to was both parties agree to allocate staff time towards the process of working on the Port development. Agree to discuss allocation of funds for further purchase of land. County Administrator spoke on the items both parties can build on and what the steps they can move forward with. Commissioner Lewis summarized by asking staff to go through the discussion held in the meeting today and come up with an Interlocal agreement both parties can agree to individually since no formal action can be taken at this time. They have agreed to allocate staff time; Agreed to examine funding opportunities to acquire property jointly; looking at putting the Free Trade Zone at the Port; Commissioner Hutchinson made the comment that what is needed to make the Port a success is "Love, Care and Repair, they've got a jewel now it's time to start taking care if it and repairing what's already there in hopes they can bring more with just that." There was a consensus that the project needed to move forward and not be delayed as the time for making things happen is now. Representative Lee stated he wanted to commend the group for their efforts. He was proud to see how both entities were working together and beginning to think like a community. Moving forward they would like to have Port St. Lucie be engaged in the process whenever possible as well. He feels St. Lucie's time has come and great things are about to happen. At this time it was decided the group would hold another meeting sometime during the month of October once they had time to look at their individual calendars and relay the information to each other. 6. Governance of the Port — Fort Pierce City Commission This item was discussed with Item 5. At this time there will be no changes to the current governance of the Port. This item will be addressed at a later date. 7. Establishment of Port Executive Director Position — Fort Pierce City Commission This item was discussed with Item 5. It was decided at that time to delay the establishment of a Port Executive Director Position until the Interlocal Agreement is in place and revenue generating actions are taking place to support the position. Until such time, it was agreed both parties would allot staff time and, when necessary, hire consultants for specific projects which require expertise above and beyond the scope of staff's abilities in their particular fields. 7 1 P a g e Joint Meeting Friday, May 15, 2015 2:00 PM III. MOTION TO ADJOURN NOTICE: All Proceedings before this Board are electronically recorded. Any person who decides to appeal any action taken by the Board at these meetings will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made. Upon the request of any party to the proceedings, individuals testifying during a hearing will be sworn in. Any party to the proceedings will be granted the opportunity to cross-examine any individual testifying during a hearing upon request. Anyone with a disability requiring accommodation to attend this meeting should contact the St. Lucie County Safety & Risk Manager at (772) 462-1783 or TDD (772) 462-1428 at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting. 8 1 P a g e