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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 07-12-2006Doug Anderson County Administrator ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING Wednesday July 12, 2006 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 AGENDA 1.) Call to Order - Commissioner Paula A. Lewis, Chairman ❖ Pledge of Allegiance ❖ Self Introduction of Property and Homeowners Representatives and Public Attendees 2.) Approval of Minutes of June 14, 2006 3.) St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Report: Sergeant Richard Ziarkowski 4.) Speaker: Jack Southard, St. Lucie County Public Safety Director-EOC and Tom Christopher, Radiological Planner-EOC 5.) Old Business a. Pump House in Palm Grove b. Project on Indian River Drive 6.) New Business Next month's topic and speaker - August 9, 2006 Mark Godwin, Criminal Justice Coordinator 7.) Adjournment ,11 ll_ - '12006 ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting June 14, 2006 Convened: 9:00 a.m. Adjourned: 10:34 a.m. This meeting of the Property and Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in Conference Room #3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Annex Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida 34982. MEMBERS PRESENT: Kathleen Ivins, River Park HOA Kit Linberger, Palm Grove Christi Mollet, Indian River Dr. Freeholders Charles Grande, Presidents Council of Hutchinson Island Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates Frank Guarascio, Villas of Sandpiper Dr. Madeleine Warns, PGA Village Homeowners Assoc. Richard McAfoos, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Associations Sherwood Soles, Parks Edge POA Walter Fauth, FPSBA Betty Bradwell, Sheraton Homeowners Association ALSO PRESENT: Commissioner Paula Lewis, District 3 Barbara Felton, Aide to Commissioner Lewis Liz Martin, Aide to Commissioner Hutchinson Dina Prestridge, Recording Secretary Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie Co. Sheriff's Office Andy Stark, Palm Grove Emily Grande, St. Lucie Conservation Alliance Toni Trabolsi, COSBA/Villas Sandpipper Dr. Bobbie Conti, Property Owners of The Reserve John Ferrick, North Fork Property Owners Lois LaGrega, Savanna Club Ann Centrone, Savanna Club Tom Linberger, Palm Grove Celie M. Payne, Resident Mark Boston, Florida Lions Assoc. for Retired Americans Larry Storms, Resident Leo Cordeiro, Solid Waste Director Ron Roberts, Assistant Solid Waste Director Property & Homeowners Association June 14, 2006 Page 2 ITEM 1 — CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. Commissioner Lewis led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners' representatives and the public in attendance gave self -introductions. ITEM 2 — APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MAY 10, 2006 Mr. Charlie Brown moved to approve the minutes of May 10, 2006. Mr. Charles Grande seconded the motion and the approval carried unanimously by voice vote. ITEM 3 — ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT Deputy Gonsalves spoke to the members about the article in The Tribune on Sunday 11, 2006 regarding the Citizens Observation Patrol. A video for C.O.P. recruitment has been put together and will be aired on the Government Access Channel. Mr. Bill Hammer asked if The Reserve's would be available for this program. Deputy Gonsalves said the County is divided into districts so a district patrol car can enter into The Reserves. A Neighborhood Watch could be established or if interested, training can be provided for The Reserve's patrol unit. Ms. Christi Mollet spoke to the members about patrolling and how the program has changed benefiting the community. Deputy Gonsalves said there are gated communities that do patrol. Mr. Walter Fauth noted that there is a Marine C.O.P and a Parks C.O.P. that is not district related. Commissioner Lewis thanked Deputy Gonsalves for attending in Sergeant Z's place. ITEM 4 — GUEST SPEAKER: LEO CORDEIRO, SOLID WASTE DIRECTOR AND RON ROBERTS, ASSISTANT SOLID WASTE DIRECTOR SPEAK ABOUT GEO PLASMA Mr. Leo Cordeiro introduced himself and explained the life of the landfill and the research Mr. Cordeiro and Mr. Roberts have done to extend the life of the landfill. Mr. Cordeiro said the Geo Plasma is the answer to the landfill problems. There is 2,000 tons of garbage that comes through the landfill a day. In three years when the Geo Plasma system is operational, the landfill will be processing 2,500 tons of garbage a day as well as 1,000 tons from the hill. In 16 —18 years the hill will be flat. A short 9-minute video was presented. The video presented the process of breaking down solid waste that produces electricity and a type of sand material that can be used in asphalt and to make pavers. The different companies involved with the Geo Plasma and how they help construct the Geo Plasma. Property & Homeowners Association June 14, 2006 Page 3 There was a handout referencing the process of plasma gasification systems. Mr. Cordeiro discussed the ability to sell energy to Tropicana and the use of the power lines that are on the landfill property to sell the power to the electric companies. Mr. Cordeiro also discussed the Board of County Commissioners decision to approve the negotiation with Geo Plasma to construct, own and operate the facility on County property. There will be two buildings, one for the destruction of the waste through plasma arc system, the other building will be to generate the power. Mr. Sherwood Soles asked if the recycling needs to be increased. Mr. Cordeiro said the recycling would not be affected. The goal is to get rid of the municipal solid waste, recycling would still be going on. All construction and demolition and solid waste will be sent to the plasma arc. Mr. Bill Hammer suggested talking with Georgia Tech to suggest a satellite lab here. He asked if sludge would be able to be disposed of in the plasma arc system. Mr. Cordeiro said it will take sludge and sludge does produce a lot of energy. Mr. Ron Roberts said there is a plan to have Georgia Tech come to the county. Ms. Kit Linberger asked the time frame for this project. Mr. Cordeiro said it would take about 4-6 months to create a contract. The contract will then be brought back to the board for approval. It will take 24 — 36 months to construct the facility once the contract is approved. Mr. Mark Boston asked if it would take garbage from other counties or just St. Lucie. Mr. Cordeiro said all garbage coming in from the County and remove 1,000 tons of garbage from the hill will be the main concentration of garbage to be disposed of. It will take approximately 18 years to completely mine and remove the hill. Ms. Ann Centrone asked what the downside is. Mr. Cordeiro said the only downside they have found was the funding, but they have been able to locate a funding source. The other downside would be not educating the public. Dr. Bobbie Conti asked if the video is available to show to groups. Mr. Roberts said there would be a public relations firm hired by Geo Plasma that will be going to all the community groups to present and speak about the plasma arc system. Mr. Grande asked for more information about the financing. Property & Homeowners Association June 14, 2006 Page 4 Mr. Cordeiro said the revenue from the power and the slag, or the sand like sediment that is produced, has to work for the company. The revenue will have to pay for itself, but the company has asked for a portion of the tipping fees. Mr. Grande asked if the company is already asking for tipping fees are they saying the revenue generated may not be enough to pay for the facility. Mr. Cordeiro said it may or may not be. It is unknown yet. Mr. Larry Storms asked if this was a sole source bid. Mr. Cordeiro said it was not. Two people submitted, one was the Geo Plasma, and the other was a consulting firm. He visited the plant and was able to see the facility in operation and generate electricity. Mr. Storms asked if this is a viable company. Mr. Cordeiro said yes it is. Ms. Linberger asked what type of qualifications would be needed for this facility. Mr. Cordeiro said the company would employ 60 people; we will still have our staff to maintain the property. Commissioner Lewis asked if this was for construction or maintenance. Mr. Cordeiro said it is for both. The company will be responsible for the employment. Mr. Hammer asked how the energy needed to create the plant would come into play. Mr. Cordeiro said to initially start the facility energy would be needed. Once it is running, it can produce the energy to supply itself. Mr. Hammer asked if it would be feasible to use it for land clearing to keep the pollutants down. Mr. Cordeiro said land clearing debris, construction, municipal solid waste, and sludge will be used in this system. Mr. Hammer suggested having a public meeting in the Commission Chambers. Commissioner Lewis said the company would be speaking with Florida Power & Light. The people on the video will be here for the construction of the facility. She spoke about how the sand like material would be used in road construction, recycling would not be affected, and how this system is safe for the environment. Mr. Cordeiro said Japan was not receptive to use the electricity. The plant takes the energy produced and cools it to produce steam to use as electricity. Property & Homeowners Association June 14, 2006 Page 5 Mr. Grande asked about a stack. There will be a stack on the generation plant. The emissions coming from that stack will be 10 times less than a natural gas fired generation plant. When the gas leaves the plasma vessel, it will be scrubbed removing the bad. The bad then gets processed through the plasma vessel again. Mr. Hammer said it sounds like this could eliminate the rock mining need, and create an artificial reef. Dr. Conti asked if this is the first in the world. Mr. Cordeiro said Japan has a 300-ton facility that started 3 years ago, and have found new options. Dr. Conti asked if the County would receive an award for pioneering this technology. Mr. Cordeiro said the vessel they visited was a 300-ton vessel, 60 feet tall. The one the County is going to have is a 500-ton vessel per day vessel and there will be 7 of them. There is a 500-ton vessel that is used to melt engine blocks only but it is the same concept. Mr. Grande asked if an impact study would be conducted. Commissioner Lewis said the CDM will be conducting an impact study and are looking into the process. She supports this and the company is taking the risk for this project. Mr. Hammer would like the County to think about this project. This is an incredible opportunity and we need to capitalize on this and not give this away. Commissioner Lewis said she is hopeful that other counties will follow, but the drawback is the price. We need to work with someone that is willing to work with us to achieve this goal. Ms. Linberger asked if this facility could be a Treasure Coast facility charging other counties to use it. Commissioner Lewis said probably not within the next 20 years. She said she is hopeful that other counties will look at this. Dr. Conti asked about the bail process used at the Landfill. Mr. Cordeiro explained the bailing process. He said the garbage is compacted into cubes that are then placed on the hill. This allows for more space that gives the hill more life. Dr. Conti asked if this is why trash is visible in Indian River County Property & Homeowners Association June 14, 2006 Page 6 Mr. Cordeiro said there are rules they have to follow. The garbage must be covered and the gas must be sucked out of the hill. That gas is sold to Tropicana. By keeping the gas vacuumed out there is no odor unless it rains. Mr. Boston asked if burning trash was looked into. Mr. Cordeiro said it was but Palm Beach Counties tipping fee was $90 a ton and ours is $30 a ton. They reduce their garbage by 80%, 20% is ash and is sent to the landfill. It pollutes the air. The cost is roughly $400 million. This would cause the garbage bill to triple in price. Mr. Roberts has spent many hours researching this project. Commissioner Lewis thanked Mr. Cordeiro and Mr. Roberts for coming in. If anyone has any questions, please contact Solid Waste or any of the Commissioners. ITEM 5 — OLD BUSINESS Commissioner Lewis wanted to let the members know the hurricane shelter location numbers are wrong. She will contact WPBF to inform them of the mistake. Commissioner Lewis discussed some old business. She passed out a copy of an email from Mike Powley, County Engineer answering questions. The streetlights on US #1 are still not repaired by FDOT and to voice your concerns of this please call 465-7396. The special needs shelter will go into construction around January 2007 and will be completed by August 2008. Dan McCarty Middle School will still be used as a special needs shelter again this year. The Civic Center is being removed and will be used as parking space temporarily. Once the Space Needs Study is complete later this year, discussion will begin on what will be placed in that area permanently. Midway Road widening timeframe for the Turnpike to 25th Street is under design and estimate construction in early 2007 depending on funding. Midway Road widening from 25th Street to US #1 is presently being evaluated for widening through the federal process. The work on that will conclude 2007, and construction could begin around 2010. No information was given regarding the gas station on the corner of Midway Road and US #1. Mr. Powley will let us know when he is able to obtain more information about the gas station. Anita Neal gave Commissioner Lewis information regarding chemical checking in old groves. The groves are not checked unless the owner chooses to do so. It is a costly test and a reason is needed to check. Mr. John Ferrick said the gas station will open but he was unsure of when. There is reconstruction of the store going on right now. ITEM 6 — NEW BUSINESS Commissioner Lewis asked if there is any new business. Mr. Grande discussed the Port owner who has submitted an application for an operation that everyone is against. The County and City of Fort Pierce has sent letters of opposition to the State. On August 1, 2006 the application will be heard in front of the Board of Trustees. The Board has received input from the governments. It is still going Property & Homeowners Association June 14, 2006 Page 7 forward for decision. One of the things he has been told is to have people attend that public meeting. People have rented buses and will leave the night before to go to Tallahassee. There is a handout with contract numbers if anyone is interested. You will need to pay for food and hotel. Commissioner Lewis said an email could be sent as well if unable to attend the meeting. Mr. Grande said everyone is against this proposal and it needs to be stopped. Mr. Walt Fauth asked what exactly Mr. Bell is trying to do. Mr. Grande said he would like to put a cargo operation at Berth 4. Limited cargo is allowed at Berth 1, but the other Berth's are for the renewal of Fort Pierce. He is trying to get the State to cancel out the City and County's Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Lewis said when Mr. Bell came to announce his intentions to import produce from the Bahamas. Mr. Anderson and Mr. McIntyre came around asking the Commissioners if they agreed with Mr. Bell's application. She suggests sending the Governor an email or letter if people are unable to attend this meeting. Commissioner Lewis asked for the date of the trip. Mr. Grande said they would be leaving July 31st, stay the night in a hotel, and be at the meeting on August 1st at 9:00 a.m. After the meeting they will come back. Ms. Linberger asked if Commissioner Lewis knew the timeframe for permits. Commissioner Lewis said she was unsure. She did ask Mr. Grim about the permits being behind and Mr. Grim said the permits are not behind. Ms. Linberger said her community is trying to rebuild a pump house. She was told by the contract that the permit was at the County. Commissioner Lewis asked who the permit was under and she would check it out. Ms. Linberger said it could be under Villa Nova (contractor) or Palm Grove. Commissioner Lewis said she would look into it and get back with her if she needs more information. She has noticed that some contractors are telling people that the County is holding up permits when this is not true. Some contractors are backed up with contracts. Mr. Grande has noticed that contractors have not filed for a permit or received the permit but is not ready to work on that particular property yet. Ms. Christi Mollet asked Commissioner Lewis if she could help her figure out what 3 red stakes in front of her home on Indian River Drive (between Midway Road and Savanna Road). There is some type of writing on it and it has a round yellow thing in the middle. There are 3 or 4 more sets of these stakes that end at the City power lines. She is concerned with them. Property & Homeowners Association June 14, 2006 Page 8 Commissioner Lewis asked which side of the road they were on. Ms. Mollet said they were on the river side of her property. Commissioner Lewis said she would check with the County Attorney. She then asked if there are several and if they stopped at the City line. Ms. Mollet said yes. They go from her house, which is 3431, and there are 3 or 4 more sets that stops at the City line. There are not any south of her. Mr. Grande said to check with the Environmental department. Ms. Mollet said it is a small area. Commissioner Lewis said it sounds like power lines in that area. She will check to see what this could mean and will get back with Ms. Mollet. Commissioner Lewis informed the group that the Board has approved 13 new deputies to the jail. Repairs need to be made to the jail and some of the inmates need to be moved to Pod B temporarily until the repairs are made. The vote was 4-1 and the County will be holding the funds for the Sheriff until the new deputies are hired. The inmate population seems to have stayed the same and has not gone up. Next month Jack Southard, Public Safety Director will be the guest speaker. ITEM 7 — ADJOURNMENT Having no further business to discuss, Commissioner Lewis thanked the group for their attendance, and adjoined the meeting at 10:34 a.m. THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2006 AT 9:00 A.M. IN CONFERENCE ROOM 3 OF THE ADMINISTRATION ANNEX BUILDING AT 2300 VIRGINIA AVENUE, FORT PIERCE. Respectfully Submitted: Dina Prestridge, Recording Secretary