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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet 10.17.2023SUSTAINABILITY DISTRICT AGENDA ST. LUCIE COUNTY Regular Meeting Tuesday, October 17, 2023 9:00 AM St. Lucie County Commission Chambers 2300 Virginia Avenue 3rd Floor of Roger Poitras Building Fort Pierce, FL 34982 BOARD MEMBERS District No. 3, Chair LINDA BARTZ District No. 4, Vice-Chair JAMIE FOWLER District No. 1 CHRIS DZADOVSKY District No. 2 LARRY LEET District No. 5 CATHY TOWNSEND Mission Statement St. Lucie Works to deliver superior service that enhances our quality of life *Final on 10/11 Page 1 of 10 Regular Meeting Tuesday, October 17, 2023 9:00 AM 2 | P a g e WELCOME All meetings are televised. All meetings provided with wireless internet access for public convenience. Please turn off all cell phones and pagers prior to entering the commission chambers. Please mute the volume on all laptops and PDAs while in use in the commission chambers. GENERAL RULES AND PROCEDURES – Attached is the agenda, which will determine the order of business conducted at today’s Board meeting. INVOCATION-PLEDGE – To bring order and decorum to its meeting, the Board begins its meetings with an invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Participation is voluntary. CONSENT AGENDA – These items are considered routine and are enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Commissioner so requests. REGULAR AGENDA – Proclamations, Presentations, Public Hearings, and Department requests are items, which the Commission will discuss individually, usually in the order listed on the agenda. PUBLIC HEARINGS – These items are usually heard on the first Tuesdays at 6 p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible. However, if a public hearing is scheduled for a meeting on the third Tuesday, which begins at 9 a.m., then public hearings will be heard at 9 a.m. or as soon thereafter as possible. These time designations are intended to indicate that an item will not be addressed prior to the listed time. The Chair will open each public hearing and asks anyone wishing to speak to come forward, one at a time. Comments will be limited to five minutes, and must be pertinent to the agenda item being considered by the Board. As a general rule, when issues are scheduled before the Commission under department request or public hearing, the order of presentation is: (1) County staff presents the details of the Board item (2) Commissioners comment (3) if a public hearing, the Chair will ask for public comment, (4) further discussion and action by the Board. ADDRESSING THE COMMISSION – Please state your name and address, speaking clearly into the microphone. If you have backup material, please have eight copies ready for distribution. NON-AGENDA ITEMS – These items are presented by an individual Commissioner or staff as necessary at the conclusion of the printed agenda. PUBLIC COMMENT – Time is allotted at the beginning of each meeting for general public comment. Please limit comments to three minutes. Comments may pertain to any matter related to the Board’s duties as the County’s governing body. Comments in support or opposition to candidates for public office are not pertinent to the Board’s duties. This includes any speaker identifying himself or herself as a candidate for public office. DECORUM – Please be respectful of others’ opinions. MEETINGS – All Board meetings are open to the public and are held on the first Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m. and on the third Tuesdays at 9 a.m., unless otherwise advertised. Meetings are held in the County Commission Chambers in the Roger Poitras Administration Annex at 2300 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce, Fla. 34982. The Board schedules additional workshops throughout the year necessary to accomplish their goals and commitments. Notice is provided of these workshops. Anyone with a disability requiring accommodation to attend this meeting should contact the St. Lucie County Human Resources Department at 772-462-1456, HumanResources@stlucieco.org or TDD 772-462-1428 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Page 2 of 10 Regular Meeting Tuesday, October 17, 2023 9:00 AM 3 | P a g e 1.CALL TO ORDER 2.GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT 3.PUBLIC HEARINGS A.PUBLIC WORKS 1.Energy Special Assessment District Staff recommends Board adoption of the special assessment notice of intent resolution for the Energy Special Assessment District. 4.MOTION TO ADJOURN Page 3 of 10 3.A.1. 2023-61996 DATE: 10/17/2023 AGENDA REQUEST TO: Sustainability District PRESENTED BY: Barbara Guettler, MSBU Coordinator SUBMITTED BY: Public Works SUBJECT: Energy Special Assessment District BACKGROUND: One of the funding methods available for capital improvements and essential services is through non-ad valorem special assessments levied on specially-benefited properties within the special assessment district and collected using the uniform method pursuant to Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes. In order to preserve this collection option, it is necessary for the Board to adopt a resolution expressing its intent to use the uniform method commencing in November, 2024. The resolution must be considered at a duly advertised public hearing held prior to January 1, 2024. The resolution does not in any way obligate the County to levy special assessments; rather, it simply preserves the County’s option to use the uniform method of collection if special assessments are levied. The Board has created the Energy Special Assessment District to provide energy conservation and renewable energy improvements to the parcels within the proposed boundary. PREVIOUS ACTION: N/A FINANCIAL IMPACT: N/A RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends Board adoption of the special assessment notice of intent resolution for the Energy Special Assessment District. COMMISSION ACTION: RESULT: MOVER: None SECONDER: None Page 4 of 10 AYES: None NAYS: None EXCUSED: None Coordination/Signatures Date: October 02, 2023 Patrick Dayan, Public Works Director Date: October 04, 2023 Daniel McIntyre, County Attorney Date: October 09, 2023 Mayte Santamaria, Deputy County Administrator Page 5 of 10 Page 1 of 5 RESOLUTION NO. 2023- A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY SUSTAINABILITY DISTRICT STATING ITS INTENT TO USE THE UNIFORM METHOD OF COLLECTING NON-AD VALOREM SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS LEVIED WITHIN THE ENERGY SPECIAL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT; DESCRIBING THE AREA SUBJECT TO THE ASSESSMENT; STATING A NEED FOR THE LEVY; PROVIDING FOR MAILING THE RESOLUTION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, St. Lucie County, Florida (the "County") created the St. Lucie County Sustainability District (the "District") for purposes of offering an energy financing program throughout the County pursuant to which the District may impose non-ad valorem assessments against real property, with the consent of the owners of such property, to finance the acquisition and construction of energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, wind resistance and sustainability improvements (the "Improvements"); and WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of the District (the "Board"), as the governing body of the District, intends to use the uniform method for collecting such non-ad valorem special assessments to fund the cost of the Improvements as authorized by Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes because this method will allow the special assessments to be collected annually commencing in November 2024, in the same manner as provided for ad valorem taxes; and WHEREAS, on October 17, 2023, the Board held a duly advertised public hearing to consider the adoption of this resolution, proof of publication of this hearing is attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit "A". Page 6 of 10 Page 2 of 5 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the St. Lucie County Sustainability District, Florida, as follows: Section 1: Commencing with the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year and with the ad valorem tax bills issued in November 2024, the Board intends to use the uniform method of collecting non-ad valorem assessments authorized in Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes for collecting non-ad valorem assessments levied within the District to fund the cost of the Improvements. A description of the boundaries of the real property within the District and subject to the levy is attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit "B". The non-ad valorem assessments levied by the District are annual assessments that will continue from year to year until discontinued by the District. Section 2: The Board hereby determines that the levy of the assessments is necessary to fund the cost of the Improvements. Section 3: Upon adoption, the County Attorney or his designee is hereby directed to send a copy of this resolution by United States mail to the Florida Department of Revenue, the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser and the St. Lucie County Tax Collector. Section 4: This Resolution shall be effective upon adoption. Page 7 of 10 Page 3 of 5 After motion and second, the vote on this Resolution was as follows: Linda Bartz, Chair Jamie Fowler, Vice Chair Chris Dzadovsky, Commissioner Cathy Townsend, Commissioner Larry Leet, Commissioner PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 17th day of October, 2023 ATTEST: ST. LUCIE COUNTY SUSTAINABILITY DISTRICT ______________________________ By:_____________________________ Deputy Clerk Chair APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: ________________________________ County Attorney Page 8 of 10 Page 4 of 5 EXHIBIT A PROOF OF PUBLICATION Page 9 of 10 Page 5 of 5 EXHIBIT B DESCRIPTION: ST. LUCIE COUNTY SUSTAINABILITY DISTRICT The boundaries of the St. Lucie County Sustainability District are coterminous with the boundaries of St. Lucie County which are described as follows: Beginning on the eastern boundary of the State of Florida at a point where the north section line of section thirteen, township thirty-seven south, range forty-one east, produced easterly, would intersect the same; thence westerly on the north line of said section and other sections to the northwest corner of section eighteen, township thirty-seven south, range forty-one east; thence south on the range line between ranges forty and forty-one east, to the township line between townships thirty-seven and thirty-eight south; thence west on the said township line to the range line dividing ranges thirty-six and thirty-seven east; thence north on said range line, concurrent with the east boundary of Okeechobee County, to the northwest corner of township thirty-four south, range thirty-seven east; thence east on the township line dividing townships thirty-three and thirty-four south, to the Atlantic Ocean; thence continuing easterly to the eastern boundary of the State of Florida; thence southerly along said east boundary, including the waters of the Atlantic Ocean within the jurisdiction of the State of Florida, to the place of beginning. 12/30/2009 Page 10 of 10