The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2007 . ~r~v\~ St. Lucie County Property & Homeowners Association Meeting Doug Anderson County Administrator Wednesday, December 12, 2007 10:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 AGENDA 1. Call to Order- Commissioner Chris Craft, Chairman . Pledge of Allegiance . Self Introductions 2. Approve Minutes of November 14, 2007 3. Guest Speaker: Debra Brisson, Parks & Recreation Director Jerry Parenteau, Project Manager Central Services 4. St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office Report: Deputy Gary Gonsalves 5. Old Business 6. New Business 7. Adjournment REMINDER: The next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 9, 2008, at 10 A.M. DEe - 5 iÛO£ ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting November 14, 2007 Convened: 9:00 A.M. Adjourned: 10:10 A.M. . The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, November 14, 2007, in Conference Room 3 of the St Lucie County Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Kathy Thornton, Savanna Club HOA Walter Fauth, FortPierce South Beach Association Kit Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Franl:l Guarascio, Villas of Sandpiper Bay Craig Mundt, North Beach Association Kathleen Ivins, River Parl:l HOA Lee Dyer, Indian River Estates HOA Sonny Jamieson, Savanna Club HOA Edward Boslow, Oleander Pines HOA Don Wilson, St Lucie North HOA Richard McAfoos, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Association Also Present: Commissioner Chris Craft, Chairman Commissioner Charles Grande, District 4 Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Sheriff Ken Mascara, St Lucie County Sheriff's Office Marl:l Boston, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Debra Spivey, St Lucie CGunty Rood & Bridge Assistant Manager Beth Williams, Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute Charlotte Wollenhaupt, Oleander Pines HOA Jean Fragano, Oleander Pines HOA Tom Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Bob Simons, Mystic Pines HOA Eva O'Donnell, Aide to Commissioner Craft Stephanie Bush, St Lucie County Administration Office Property & Homeowners Meeting November 14, 2007 Page 2 ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 A.M. Commissioner Craft led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners' Representatives and the public in attendance gave self-introductions. ITEM 2 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes from the October 10,2007 meeting were unanimously approved. ITEM 3 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT: Deputy Gonsalves - There continues to be vehicle and home burglaries in LaRewood ParR and Indian River Estates. Please remember to remove valuables from your car and Reep your doors and windows locRed at your home. The crime rate is down 7% in the unincorporated areas of St Lucie County. There was discussion regarding an article in the Palm Beach Post about retrieving DNA from weapons. The St Lucie Sheriff's Office will be wrapping Christmas presents in the briefing room on December 15, 2007. ITEM 4 - COMMISSIONER CRAFT : Commissioner Craft stated County staff meets in Conference Room three every Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. Therefore, he aSRed the group if they would agree to change the meeting time to 9:30 a.m. or 10:00 a.m., in order to give staff plenty of time to have their meetings. There was a consensus to change the meeting time to 10:00 A.M. Commissioner Craft aSRed for ideas for future items to be placed on the agenda. Some suggestions were an update on the Special Needs Shelter, SFWMD and what the water shortage really means, why they continue to build and what SFWMD is doing about the water shortage, the Rural Land Stewardship Program, and the Department of Financial Services. OLD BUSINESS: There was discussion about potholes on US Highway 1 in front of Palm Grove. Dennis Bunt said he would be having a meeting with DOT. DOT is conSidering rotating and doing 24 hour shifts. ~ . Property & Homeowners Meeting November 14, 2007 Page 3 NEW BUSINESS: Beth Williams, from Lawnwood Regional Medical Center, spoRe about the outreach program the hospital now has for associations. There will be a speaRer present at Club Med in the Atlantic Ballroom on January 7, 2008 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to speaR about the January 29,2008 ballot With no further business the meeting adjourned at 10:10 A.M. Respectfully submitted, Stephanie Bush , 1 Doug Anderson County Administrator ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIA TION MEETING Wednesday, November 14, 2007 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 AGENDA {l 1. Call to Order - Commissioner Chris Craft, Chairman +:. Pledge of Allegiance .:. Self Introduction of Property and Homeowner Representatives 2. Approve Minutes of October 10, 2007 3. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Report: Deputy Gary Gonsalves 4. Commissioner Craft 5. Old Business 6. New Business 7. Adjournment Reminder: Next Meeting Date Decenber 12th, 2007 .. OCT 2 3 2007 CO. ADMIN. OFFICE , . ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting October 10,2007 Convened: 9:05 A.M. Adjourned: 10:20 A.M. The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, October 10, 2007, in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Bill Hammer, ReservejPGA Village Kathy Thornton, Savanna Club HOA Walter Fauth, Fort Pierce South Beach Association Kit Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Frank Guarascio, Villas of Sandpiper Bay Bob Bangert, Holiday pines Craig Mundt, North Beach Association Jim Lawless, Oleander pines HOA Also Present: Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman Jeff Furst, St. Lucie County Property Appraiser Henrietta McBee, F.P.L. Project Development Director Vicki Spencer, F.P.L. Energy Encounter Director Stacy Foster, F.P.L. Senior Environmental Specialist Justin Sobol, F.P.L. Senior Associate Project Development Andrew Stark, Palm Grove, HOA Lee Dyer, Indian River Estates HOA Deputy Glenn Hoffman, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Jim Reeder, Palm Beach Post Reporter Mark Boston, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Michelle Franklin, St. Lucie County Property Appraiser's Office Swendy Ariyanayagam, SLC Contractor Licensing Supervisor Don Pauley, St. Lucie County Road & Bridge Manager Dennis Murphy, Culpepper & Terpening Skeet Jernigan, Community & Economic Development Council President Charles Wilson, St. Lucie Association Leo Sarakinis, Oleander Pines, HOA Catherine Whitaker, St. Lucie County Fire District Liz'Martin, Aide to Commissioner Grande > . Property & Homeowners Meeting October 10, 2007 Page 2 ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:05 A.M. Commissioner Grande led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners' Representatives and the public in attendance gave self-introductions. ITEM 2 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion was made by Charlie Brown and seconded by Walter Fauth to approve the minutes of September 19, 2007. The motion passed unanimously. ITEM 3 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT: Deputy Hoffman - we continue to have vehicle and home burglaries. Please remember to remove valuables from your car and keep your doors and windows locked at your home. A lot of residents are afraid to call 911. Deputy Hoffman passed out a list "When to Call 911." Don't hesitate to call for assistance when you need it. ITEM 4 - PRESENTATION: F.P.& L. Wind Energy Henrietta McBee, Vickie Spencer, Stacy Foster and Justin Sobol from F.P.& L. were present to discuss alternative energy. Florida is one of the fastest growing states in the nation. Wind energy for Florida has been discussed since 2005. This would be the first project in the southeast. F.P. & L is proposing nine turbines¡ they would be mounted on steel towers; one turbine would power 225 to 300 homes¡ each turbine has its own computer and will find the best wind; the blades would span approximately 14 to 16 feet in diameter, and range between 212 and 262 feet in height¡ each turbine has 3 blades; the turbines require no fuel to operate¡ The turbines would be north of the nuclear power plant and east of A-1-A. Commissioner Grande - existing FPL property & John Brooks Park. there is a study of four or five units on the and then north of there at Frederick Douglas What impact will the turbines have on birds? Stacy Foster - we have hired a contractor and are negotiating with the Fish & Wildlife Commission on a state and federal level to do a qualitative risk assessment of species that are there. We are also meeting with Vanessa Bessey, St. Lucie County Environmental Resources .- . ' Property & Homeowners Meeting October 10, 2007 Page 3 Director this afternoon. We will delineate the wetlands, etc. We won't put the turbines where there is a large impact. Commissioner Grande - are you buying from outside of the area or from peaker plants? Henrietta they are types of field source. come up for renewables. potentially be a source. predominately Florida sources of bio mass A lot of those contracts are starting to If the geo plasma plant continues it would Bill Hammer - commented that off of Glades Cut Off Road, near the PSL Sewer Plant, a sand ridge runs through the county with an elevation of about 30 feet above sea level. The wind is constant and it might be a good area for you to consider. OLD BUSINESS: Commissioner Grande - answers to the items brought up at the end of the meeting last month were attached to the minutes you received. Bill Hammer just a reminder that the response from Growth Management and the Utility Department stated that comp plan amendments are due in January 2008 regarding the county having to show that water is available for new developments for the next twenty years. Also, that the Division of Forestry would be included in site review process. I would think that should be moved to the front of the process. It's just a simple yes or no. NEW BUSINESS: Bill Hammer - I provided copies of several pieces of information for you all today: * a poll by CNBC on what is the most important economic issue the next president should focus on? There were 694 responses, 50% said government spending. * a list "Thoughts for HOA Leaders". * a TCP article dated October 8th on gangs. Property & Homeowners Meeting October 10, 2007 Page 4 Bill Hammer - many thanks to Commissioner Grande for chairing the past year of Property & Homeowner Meetings. Commissioner Grande - it's the most enjoyable meeting in town and thank you all for attending over the past year. With no further business the meeting adjourned at 10:20 A.M. Respectfully submitted, ~.~~ . â , A'd C ., G d L1Z Martln, 1 e to ommlssloner ran e Your Money, Your Vote, Politics and Election Full Coverage- CNBC.com What is the most important economic issue the next president should focus on? * 694 responses Taxes 19".4 _ Free Trade 4%. Government Spending SO% Health Care 26% Not a Scientific Survey. Results may not total 100% due to rounding, ;.;;' Thouahts for HOA Leaders An adaptation of some thoughts from 1 ff' - century philosopher Edmund Burke for use by HOA leaders HOA's that govern effectively, grow gradually based on the community's unique network of moral and social restraints. Expanding executive power as much as possible in the name of protecting residents can be destructive. Power must always be based on published HOA rules and regulations. Some residents will put freedom at the center of their political philosophy. Some residents will put legitimate authority at the center of their political philosophy. The HOA can be viewed as a threat to freedom. HOA power, like fire, is useful when used legitimately but dangerous when not. HOA leaders must examine social cohesion alongside individual freedom. Individualism and segmentation can cause tension. Tension between groups can tear the underlying unity within the community. Using this question [Will the community fracture under the strain and be undermined by lack of social trust?] to validate ideas during the process of decision-making can be helpful. _._,~-,,---,,- ----~_._~ -----..,.- SATURDAY. OCTOBER 6, 2007 . TCPALM.COM ._-----_._~-,_.._-_.__.-.._----- --.- --- --------_._--~ _..._-~_.--_. ---- ...---.--,---.-.---. -.-- --.,,-.--. ----.--- . .. . .. t·· '..........>.... ' h t t .' .. ..."~._.- ..,." .- "'-,'" <'."..' ,- . :_ ,::: ;". ...._ ,,; J _' ".:: .....' . . J';;;~~~,;¡"~s. . 0 S op ..';;..~;;2 ¡,I" ...... "..r\I'.·!It:·&1,·:;t·~ i~h··· ,e·l-r· ,t·r·a·· ·c··k· ·'s·· "8 "" ";'6"''''0 ",'!'."" .... ". " i' .' , '. " ,.. " ' os by jIiUO,CORTEZ ~ julio,cortez@âértpps:&nn ment ó _ e ,center. walks awàYfröpfa'foM: Pierce home where the occupants were Oounty T~skForce Unit omcers confiscated guns, money and drugs. - 1 - -------....-----.- - -------~- -------,----- ------ - - -------,-",--_.__.. .---..--- ---.--.-..- ._- Treasure Coast gang activity centers on St. Lucie County BY WILL GREENLEE will.greenlee@scripps.com As gang-re..lated arrests and YO.UthVi- olence along the Treasure, Coast ease after an active summér,ne~- borhoods, pastors and police are banding together totry to, keep YOUths, . out of 1:rI?u- ble, end the allure ofthng life, and drive gang members out of the area. The efforts range from a summer and after-school program in stuart and a gang-Ieader-turned-anti-gang advocate's , work in Fort Pierce, to a móm who said her son was . confronted bY gang members' . and who is working on awaren.ess ef- forts ill Sebastian.. Evénthe Guardian An- gels, 'ân almost 3O·year-old . organization of unarmed citizens, is involved, patrolling areas of Port St. Lucie. and Fort Pierce. "We need to gear our efforts toward preven- tion, and we've got to try to reach a generation of kids before they're inundated with information that gang culture is acceptable," said Joseph Jennings, whose RAW. D.A.W.G.S. Youth Corps program in Fort Pierce tar- gets 7- to 13-year-old boys. "If we emf bring the right v3l.ue sys~mand put' the right foµndation into a ÿoung boy's life, then eventually we can raise him to be a productivei::itizen ofthecolDInunity." The August arrests in Port St. Lucie "We need to gear our efforts toward prevention ...to reach a generation of kids." -~ Joseph Jennings, R.A.W. D.A.W.G's. Youth Corps program In Fort Pierce See GANGS, page A13 A member Clf the Sf. Lucie County task Force Unit logs info,rmation about . evidence found in a home In Fort Pierce. : ,,"-- " Fort Pierce Police Department off~" Jim Grecco, right, searches the department's database as he files Information about a gang-related arrest. -2- GANGS FROM PAGE A1 of 16 suspected gang members and their associates and the shooting' death the same month of a 16-ýear,'Old boy in Hobe Sound's Banner Lake community in Martin Coun- ty, which an investigator sus- pects resulted from a rivalry between neighborhoods, point to a need for such programs, officials said. The Executive Roundtable of St. Lucie County, a group of community leaders 'that shares information about so- cial issues affecting local chil- dren, is assembling one of the ' most comprehensiv.e gaIlg41ghting efforts to date, expected . to 'be completed within tliè ne-xt few weeks. Fort Pierce Police Chief Sean Baldwin said it will encom- pass strategies for law en- forcement officials, parents, churches, schools and social service providers, and likely take 1 12 Y ment þody win to adçlÌ-éSs are those uri!:hil'lY- ing issues,which are the pov- erty, the' lack of 'parental guidarJ.ce for our kids.~' Fort Pierce appears to be ground zero for gang activity on lile Treasure Coast, With atl€!a~pggang-related homi- cides\'since . 2002' and more than>(~o, documented gang membe~,law enforcement of- ficialS said. The OkeechobeeCounty Sheriffs Office hils reported five ,gang-related killings since 2001. Sheriffs Detective Sgt. Brad Stark såidcritninal street gangs startf)(i becoming In Fort Pierce, there have been at least '18 gang-related homicides since 2002, , and the citýhas more than 400 documented gang members. a problem in 1993, They've been linked to vehicle thefts, home invasions, sexual bat- teries and homicides. The, largest of the 12 gangs has about 120 members and the smallest just six, he said. Port St.Lucie PoUce Chief John SkinIler said there are about 175 gang members in his city, which fewer than 10 gangs call home. He said the most significant issue associ- ated with Port St. Lucie gangs is intimidation, though some robberies and home inva- ,~*r~%" !~ hi esym " bigger]ss"Ues in thecommu- nity -- poverty, a "degrada-' tion ill community morals," " and ä lack of parental in- volvement. Reconnecting par- ents with their children and havi11gA1ose paren~ be legit- 'ÏI1:1.ate .'guar~iaIl£! <m,d ,~eep their children òut of ,trouble is key, Baldw:ir1. said. "It's.a deep ,issue that the Police department really isn't equipped to handle, but we èaIl serve as leaders in the coíD.ll1unity and try to educa- te people andca1l people toac- tion," Baldwin said. - 3- EFFORTS TO CURB GANGS IN ST. LUCIE COUNTY . Steve, Horton, leader of theTr~¡¡Sure9oastchapteroftreiGuardj· an Angels, said his group, whíchhas about 1Ómembers, has been active in Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce. ''We travel all the strip malls, behind the maHs ìnallthe dark areðS, all the high·crime areas, Avenue D," he said. "After we're thewetwo or three nights in a row, thega!]g activity just dissipates and they go somewhere else and we follow them there." . Fort Pierce's Police Chief Sean Baldwin has been reaching out to cliurchpastors sinCe June. ,"Fort Piercé Is not New YorkorLös A!]geles whérewe have ,a million people inourpopulatlbn," he said. ,"We have40,OOO people here. This is absolutely unacceptable thatwé're letting this happen in 01,11' community." Baldwinsaidthecliurcl1 community can playa "real role" in ad- drt¡ssingthe gang issue, noting the large number of churches in Fort Pierce. "GoMearing people don't go out on the streets and shoot people down," he said. .The Rev. James Brown, co-pastÞr attheMir;acle Prayer Temple in F0l't Pierce praised programs, but said parents need to get involved. · Joseph Jennings,a former gang leader who was shot 13 times, runs the RAW.D.A.W.G,S. Youth Corps gang-prevention program for children age 7~013in Fort Pierce. R.A. W. stands for "Radical. Responsible, Respectful And Winners," but only those in the youth corps program can know what D.A.Vi.(3,S, stands for, he said. . Port St. Lucie polÎcl9 OfflGfJ!'S and St"cLucie County sheriffs deputies te~ch Gang Resistance Education and'Training and Drug Abuse Re- sistance Education programs in schools. · St. Lucie County' sChoO! resource deputies. visit the parents of a child who appears close to joining a gang or Who is coming under a gang's influence, Sheriff Ken Mascara said. Typically the parents have no idea. ·and the deputy will schedule a counseling meeting for the family to work with social service provid- ers to get the child back on traok. · St. Lucie recently received a grant to introduoe the Kids At Hope program to a one-square mile section of Fort Pierce. The program seeks to bring everyone in the community together to stop treating Children as if they are "at risk" and instead try to draw out their nat- ural abilities and treat them as "at hope" children. GANGS BY THE NUMBERS Florida: More than 1,000 gangs, about 65,000 gang members Fort Pierce: At least 12 gangs; more than 400 gang members; at least 18 gang-related homicides since 2002 · Port St. Lucie: About 10 gangs; about 175 gang r:nembers Okeechobee County: About 12 gangs. Largest has about)20 members: smallest has about six members. Rve gang-related killings since 2001. . . Indian River County: 50 people call themselves gang members, spread over about 12 groups,... 1 . Martin Count:y:'X! organized gangs, but ,several groups on QUSP of being labeled gangs: . ..' ..... GANGS IN THE AREA Law enforcement offiçials typically declIne to reveal the .. names of gangs. not wanting to give thém attention, but an, Executive "Roundtable of St. Luçle Count~Î<report lists the . followlng,gangs.~ ttJe:m~t; CQtJlìnQ1t!¥,,r~'OJ1édJ'l ~~;af~ ,_, ,'-·c. .- _ ':,:'" _" h. ::~_."" ..._ _" __ ',._:.".. ':,," " .. ,<' -,: :':', ,\_,", ".\ : :.,' " .,;' ',ii-,'_ FORT PIERCE · Crips: Formed in los Angeles in tM late 1960s, and use blue colors for identification. . . . . . Bloods: Started in southern California fu rival Crips; have adopted the color red. '.. · latin Kings: The largest and oldest Hispanic-IBd street gang in Chi- cago. . · V Side, 13th Street, 23rä Street, Vatos lOGos. ISland Boys, 10th Street. .' . PORT ST. LUCIE . .' · Folk Nation: Not a gang, but a ioup under which gangs are aligned. · Bloods, Crips, latin Kings - ::c:Ai~:'"-f' ,. State documents and E1cæutive Round~bh; of St. Luèie County repòrt -4- -_._----~ _._---~ KIDS AT HOPE: A community effort to com- bat gang activity is set to get under way, As a result of the St. Lucie County Gang Assessment conducted for the Executive Roundtable of St, Lucie County, programs are being started to involve adults and youth in working together to keep kids from joining gangs. The county has received a grant to begin Kids at Hope in a one-mlle-square area of the county. At 7 pm. Monday, a community forum on the new program will be held at the Lincoln Park Academy auditorium at 1801 Avenue I in Fort Pierce. Parents and interested residents are encouraged to attend. Other initiatives to combat the increasing problem of gangs in the county, in Fort Pierce and Port st Lucie are expected. Monday's forum, however, is an important step for those concerned with the issue. For information on the nationally researched program, con- tact Rick Miller at 1-866-275-HOPE. ~ U.6~ ~ V~ .I. . Illegal immigrant roundup nets record number of arrests ASSOCIATED PRESS Contra Costa Times Article Launched:l0j04/2007 03:04:25 AM PDT LOS ANGELES - Federal authorities rounded up more than 1,300 illegal immigrants in Southern California during the past two weeks in what officials said Wednesday was the largest sweep of its kind. The raids targeted illegal immigrants who had criminal records, defied final deportation orders or re-entered the United States iIIegaHy, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. About 90 percent of the people taken into custody fell under those categories and included immigrants convicted of sex offenses, assaults and kidnapping, as well as suspected street gang members. "These aren't people that we want in our communities. These aren't just people looking for work.· said Jim Hayes, director of the ICE office in Los Angeles. Most of the immigrants were found at their homes, workplaces or local jails throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Nearly 600 have been returned to their native countries, officials said. Others will be prosecuted in the United States for illegal re-entry to the United States after felony deportations. The federal crime can cany as many as 20 years in prison. The illegal immigrants arrested in the sweeps represented about 30 countries, but the vast majority - more than 1,100 - were Mexican nationals. The operation by ICE fugitive operation teams resulted in 1,327 arrests, exceeding the 1,297 arrests the agency made last year in raids targeting meat processing plants in six states. There are believed to be nearly 597,000 immigrant fugitives in the United States, according to ICE. In recent years, local authorities have worked with ICE to identify thousands of illegal immigrants in county jails. Those immigrants are handed over to ICE and placed in deportation proceedings after their aiminal cases finish and they serve their prison sentences, Hayes said. Close Window Send To Printer http://www.contracostatimes.com/portletlarticle/htmllfragmentslprint_ article.jsp?articleId==708128... 10/9/2007 2S1gnun~anlJ1ego.com;> NeWS;>;:)1aIe -- l,-'L./ aITt::Stt:U ill~. ~wuUUm11111IJuö'a.uUU HU.... .I."ë>'" .I. '-1.1- ¿.. About 90 percent of detainees have criminal records By Matt Krasnowski COPlEY NEWS SERVICE October 4, 2007 LOS .ANGELES - More than l,300 illegal immigrants in five Southern California counties were arrested in the past two weeks during one of the nation's largest immigration sweeps, federal officials said yesterday. The roundup by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was "one of the largest immigration enforcement actions ICE has ever taken," said the agency's Assistant Secretary Julie Myers. The 1,327 people arrested - most already behind bars - exceeded the 1,297 illegal immigrants taken into custody at meat processing plants in six states last year during an identity theft probe. Advertisement "In this operation. we located some very dangerous aliens, including those involved in street gangs, as well as those with various criminal records that include drug trafficking. domestic violence and sexual assault." Myers said. Roughly 90 percent of the immigrants taken into custody bad criminal records. re-entered the United States illegally or resisted deportation orders, she said. About 600 have been deported in the operation that began Sept. 19. More than 500 alleged immigration vioIatnrs were at large and taken into custody in Los Angeles, Orange. Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, officials said. Nearly 800 "previouslv unidentified deportable forei~ nationals" were discovered when ICE officers searched jails in those coun~ Myers said. Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have agreements with the federal government allowing sherift's officials to check the ;mmigration status of inmates. The majority of those arrested are Mexican citizens, officials said. but the sweep found alleged immigration violators Ú'om more than 30 other countries. Myers said the sweep showed the effectiveness of the agency's Fugitive Opern:tious Program œams, which were created in 2003 to target fugitive immigrants and enforee deportation orders. The program. has rapidly expanded since its inception, and the number of arrests by ICE fugitive teams doubled in the past year. "Too often in the past those (deportation) orders were ignored and aliens who were deported found ways to slip back into the United States," Myers said. "Those days are no longer." http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/statel20071004-9999-1n4raid.html 10/9/2007 Doug Anderson County Administrator ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIA TION MEETING WednesdaYr October lOr 2007 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 AGENDA ~\~\t) / (~' 'U ~ (I (p if'" [¡ fl, ~ 1 rl rØò 1. Call to Order - Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman .:. .:. Pledge of Allegiance Self Introduction of Property and Homeowner Representatives 2. Approve Minutes of September 19r 2007 3. St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office Report: Deputy Gary Gonsalves 4. Presentation: Henrietta McBeer Florida Power & Light - Wind Energy 5. Old Business 6. New Business 7. Adjournment Reminder: Next Meeting Date November 14th, 2007 OC~ ^ '"~rn i - j LU'JI ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting September 19r2007 Convened: 9:05 A.M. Adjourned: 10:35 A.M. The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held WednesdaYr September 19r 2007r in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA Toni Trabolsir Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Bill Hammer, Reserve/PGA Village Kathy Thornton, Savanna Club HOA Walter Fauth, Fort Pierce South Beach Association Richard Gardnerr White City Improvement Club Kit Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Susan Wynne-Feldman, Sandpiper HOA Jack Ross, St. James Golf Club HOA Also Present: Commissioner Charles Grander Chairman Jeff Furst, St. Lucie County Property Appraiser Mayor Bob Benton, City of Fort Pierce Beth Williams, Director of Marketing, Lawnwood Regional Medical Center Susie Caron, Interested Citizen Larry Storms, Interested Citizen Andrew Stark, Palm Grove, HOA Dr. Michael Riordanr North Beach Association/Coral Cove Marina Lee Dyer, Indian River Estates HOA Tom Linberger, Palm Grove, HOA Jim Reeder, Palm Beach Post Reporter Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie County Sheriffrs Office Michelle Franklin, St. Lucie County Property Appraiser's Office Barbara Felton, Aide to Commissioner Lewis Charline Burgess, Aide to Commissioner Coward Eva O'Donnell, Aide to Commissioner Craft Larry Szynkowski, Growth Management Dept. Senior Planner Liz Martin, Aide to Commissioner Grande Property & Homeowners Meeting September 19, 2007 Page 2 ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:05 A.M. Commissioner Grande led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners' Representatives and the public in attendance gave self-introductions. ITEM 2 - APPROVAL OF AUGUST 8TH MINUTES: Wal ter Fauth asked for clarification. Under Item 3, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Report the South Beach C.O.P. Group was not responsible for the 1200 citations issued by the Sheriffrs Office. The C.O.P. Group works with the Sheriff's Office but they cannot issue traffic citations. A motion was made by Bill Hammer to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Walter Fauth and passed unanimously. ITEM 3 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT: Deputy Gonsalves reported that the July crime statistics are out. We continue to have a decrease of crime in the unincorporated area of the county. In July there was a 7% decrease. There has only been one month this year that crime increased. We continue to have vehicle and home burglaries and Lakewood Park is having a problem. He cautioned everyone to lock their doors and please be observant of your surroundings. Susie Caron mentioned that we have a lot of rentals in the area now. The demographics are changing and our neighbors are not as familiar to us as in the past. If there is any way that you could enhance the C.O.P. Program, it would be good. Bill Hammer commented that we are experiencing ~rental overload" and the owners of these vacant properties, in order to generate a cash flow, are not being as selective on who they place in these homes. He asked Deputy Gonsalves if he had any suggestions or action that can be taken. Deputy Gonsalves suggested writing the property owner, explain the situation and the problems the neighborhood is having and ask that it be corrected. If there is any criminal activity the Sheriffrs Office can step in. You can also work with the neighborhood Homeowners Association. The Property Appraiser's Office has an Property & Homeowners Meeting September 19, 2007 Page 3 excellent web site and you can find out who owns the property and their mailing address. ITEM 4 - PRESENTATION: Jeff Furst, St. Lucie County Property Appraiser To qualify for Homestead Exemption, you must have established legal and permanent residency in the State of Florida and have legal or equitable title to the property as of January 1 st and the property must be your permanent residence as of January 1st. Initial application should be filed in person or online between January 1st and March 1st. If you forgot to file and are eligible for homestead exemption, please contact Mr. Furst at 462-1000. With good cause, you can ~late file" and pay the late fee which is $15.00. Mr. Furst stated that after your TRIM notice is sent out, if you disagree with the valuation on your property the State gives you 25 days to file an appeal. You can go to the Property Appraiser's office and the staff will help you fill out the form. Last year there were 1700 appeals. The Value Adjustment Board hires a Special Master (an independent appraiser) to review the appeal. The increase in property taxes was discussed. Mr. Furst stated that he had suggested to the state lawmakers in 2006 the way to fix the problem was a combination of rolling back local government spending to 2000-2001 levels, by adding a penny to the state sales tax, taking school budgets off the local tax bills and putting them in the state budget. That would have offered homeowners an immediate 20% reduction in property taxes. It seems that all property appraisers support the portability issue. The ~super exemption" issue was briefly discussed and Mr. Furst asked for a show of hands if anyone supported it. No one raised their hand. Also, briefly discussed was the problem of people claiming homestead exemption that are not entitled to it. Mr. Furst stated that when he finds someone claiming homestead exemption in two states he does file against them for prior years property taxes. Data is shared between states and technology has increased tremendously. Property & Homeowners Meeting September 19, 2007 Page 4 ITEM 4 - PRESENTATION: Beth Williams, Director of Marketing for Lawnwood Regional Medical Center Lawnwood Regional Medical Center has created a Homeowner Association Outreach Program. A liaison person from the management staff of Lawnwood Regional (a Director or above) would be assigned to individual homeowner associations in St. Lucie County that would like to participate in the program. The liaison would be a resource that could be contacted by phone, e- mail or in person for homeowner association members who become patients and request a visit or assistance with hospital information. They could act as a resource for identifying and securing speakers for your meetings, answer questions regarding timely healthcare or hospital issues. If your Homeowner Association would like to participate in this Outreach programr please contact Beth Williamsr Director of Public Relations at 468-4441 or via e-mail atbeth.williams@hcahealthcare.com for more information. OLD BUSINESS: Bill Hammer asked if Growth Management had responded to the suggestion brought up last month that the State Forestry Department be made a part of the site plan review process? Commissioner Grande responded that we are still waiting for staff comments. Bill Hammer asked if staff had responded to comments from last months meeting that the State Legislature is requiring that county officials make new developments prove that water would be available for the next twenty years? Commissioner Grande responded that we are still waiting for staff comments. Kit Linberger - Would like the group to be informed if SFWM and/or the Army Corps of Engineers provides any new information on the Ten Mill Creek Reservoir problems. With no further business the meeting adjourned at 10:35 A.M. Respectfully submitted, ðf,'d~~ Liz Martin, Aide to Commissioner Grande ~ p~~~~, Page 1 of2 Liz Martin - Re: Property & Homeowners Meeting - U}fil"fif.~~0m~_¡:I]k~ìW!~ml:r:#.&.1b'iBIWWID..@mmJN_m~;i~fu~~m~J!iRili~í_J~m~¡\1ffl;'fJ~~m:m:~ß!fa;\tJ\li From: To: Date: Subject: cc: Laurie Case Martin, Liz¡ Satterlee, Mark 9/19/2007 2:48 PM Re: Property & Homeowners Meeting - Anderson, Douglas¡ McIntyre, Daniel¡ Outlaw, Faye ~~"-,-~".,,,--~--~~---~----.-~,,-,=~~,~_.,,.,---~,..,,,~..~~~-~~._,_._,~.~~.,-~,~ --,~_._._-----~,-~~,~" -_.~~---~--.---~,-~,--,,~_.,~.-,"_.- I am not sure when the requirement was actually approved, but St. Lucie County must adopt comprehensive plan amendments for this by January 12, 2008. Laurie Case Utility Director St. Lucie County Utilities Ph. (772) 462-1175 »> Liz Martin 9/19/2007 2:39 PM »> Laurie, what is the deadline? Mr. Bangert spoke as though we should have already being doing this (since it was approved in 2005). Thanks, »> Laurie Case 09/19/07 2:36 PM »> I am aware of the need to amend the camp. plan to include a 10-Year Water Supply Work Plan. Bob Nix and I spoke briefly about this item before he left, and staff attended a workshop on this topic in June sponsored by SFWMD and DCA. I have also discussed our water supply plan directly with the SFWMD Upper East Coast representative. Utilities is currently pulling this information together and will work closely with Growth Management to meet the deadline. The County has much of this information already, as we have an application into the SFWMD for a Consumptive Use Permit that would cover the County's service area water supply needs over the next twenty years. Population projections are updated every five years to take into account changes in development densities. Please call if I can assist further. Laurie Case Utility Director St. Lucie County Utilities Ph. (772) 462-1175 >>> Liz Martin 9/19/2007 1:10 PM »> Hello Everyone, At the Property & Homeowners Meeting this morning, one of the residents asked for an update on an issue that Bob Bangert brought up at last month's meeting. It's on Page # 6 of the minutes - Mr. Bangert stated that in 2005 the Legislature gave SFWM & the other Districts the right, not to control development, but that the county officials have to show that water will be available for the next twenty years for new developments. I forwarded the minutes to Robert Nix, but maybe he didn't have an opportunity to respond before he left the end of August. file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\XPgrpwise\46F14AFDS... 9/26/2007 L ~ v~ \4 K~ Page 1 ot2 Charles Grande - Fwd: RE: Ten Mile Creek Reservoir ~_¡~W<iiÆUfl4~!<!m-~'_ ~. .~ ~\'ill ItftW.M.'J)5)2,~~~í~~Æ_~~~ From: To: Date: Subject: Douglas Anderson Coward, Doug; Grande, Charles; Lewis, Paula¡ Smith, Joe 9/28/2007 7:54 AM Fwd: RE: Ten Mile Creek Reservoir FYI »> "Smith, Karen L." <klsmith@sfwmd.gov> 9/27/20074:17 PM »> Hi Mr. Merritt: The message below was forwarded to me by Don West at S1. Lucie County. I did not see your original e-mail but Don told me that you were concerned about the Ten Mile Creek project since you live in close proximity. To give you a little background, the Corps built the project and is now ready to hand it over to the local sponsor, the SFWMD, to operate. This is normal procedure for joint federal/state projects. However, after reviewing the project specifications, the District has found a punch-list of items that have not been completed and has questions concerning the original vs. as built design specifications. Considering that the project has some critical items outstanding, the SFWMD is unwilling to assume operation of the facility until these items are resolved. In response, the SFWMD and Corps agreed to hire an independent consultant to inspect the facility and return in October with a complete list of the items that need to be resolved with projected costs. As a result of the drought, there is little water in the reservoir and stormwater treatment area and therefore poses no threat to adjacent landowners. The facility is not being operated at this time, and I can assure you that the SFWMD will NOT accept or operate the facility until it meets or exceeds all of our specifications. Since this project is still owned by the Corps, if you need more information please contact their WPB office at 561-683-1577. I won't have any more information until the consultant's report is reviewed by our engineers and Governing Board, but I'd be happy to talk to you if you want to give me a call at 772-223-2600 x3602. Karen Smith Director, SFWMD MSL Service Center ~«,«.«.~~«,..«""~,..«,"__..«.u..._,..«".,._~.,,.,,~,.,,~..'~'~"_'~'~"_'''~_'~~~'_V'''«'~~_'''·~''««'«'+__'M«'"",_,,«·~,«,~+_~_,~_«~_,«,_.~__«___,,·,__"_,,_«_,__«w«.«_.«_,«,«~~,~_,_~««_.+_,_,«,.,___«~___~,«,_",«_«__'__ From: Don West [mailto:DONW@stlucieco.gov] Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 5:51 PM To: merrittjmike@hotmail.com file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\XPgrpwise\46FCB31AS... 10/2/2007 Page 2 of2. Cc: Chris Craft¡ Douglas Anderson¡ Eva O'Donnell Subject: Ten Mile Creek Reservoir Mr. Merritt: The Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District are the two lead Agencies that are constructing and operating the Ten Mile Creek Facility. No information has been shared with the local Governments about the problems that were mentioned in the recent news article. This is undoubtedly a very complex situation for the Corps, as the news article implies that the Corps has problems with the original construction that may need to be corrected. It also sounds like there may be issues with final acceptance of the work that was done by the Contractor. I would suggest that you contact Karen Smith at the SFWMD Martin Service Center, Ph: 1-800-250-4100, to obtain more information about this. Karen can provide contacts at both SFWMD and the Corps that can answer your questions. Don West SLC Public Works Ph: (772) 462-1485. file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\XPgrpwise\46FCB31AS... 10/2/2007 L~ ~'o/~¥' Liz Martin - Re: Property & Homeowners Meeting - Site Plan Review Process page 1 01 1, . ;)%G1tè'r,giìl\t%11m1¥:R~¡WM¡œ¡m~l;¡!f"Jf,¡~~~ ~~ë'iW~.f~!!¡¡iill.%fJ."&ì':t,~~~~ From: To: Date: Subject: cc: Mark Satterlee Liz Martin 10/2/2007 11 :08 AM Re: Property & Homeowners Meeting - Site Plan Review Process Peter Jones¡ Robin Meyer _"",<,,,,~.,,.,·h_.'····,·,,~~,,·,_,_~~,·,,,,,,,",~,,O'·""~"~'~~"~_,..,."""""'",~,_,,,,*_,,,_~,,,,,,,,,,",,,,,,,,,,~~,",,,,~,,~_~~~~_____^.,"~",.~~_,<~___~_~,_._",..~_,__~~,~_~_.__..,..'"""",,,"~'-"~"_"_~~M~_~'" Liz - We simply have not had an opportunity to deal with this item. However, I agree that it should be looked into and it's always good to have another set of eyes review site plans. I will forward to my incoming new Asst Director, Robin Meyer, who starts next week and have him develop a response. Sorry for the delay Mark »> Liz Martin 9/19/2007 1:56 PM »> Hello Again, At the Property & Homeowners Meeting this morning, Bill Hammer brought up another issue from last month's meeting. On Page # 6 of the minutes of August 8th - Jim Rath & Joe Spataro of the Division of Forestry answered Mr. Hammer's question asking what could be done to assist the Forestry Department in regard to developers clearing land for new developments - sometimes huge developments have a massive amount of burning to do, which affects the neighbors, etc. They both responded that if they could be part of the site plan review process they could give county staff an estimated amount of material to be disposed of - either by hauling it off or burning on site. They could work with the developer and perhaps avoid a lot of problems with neighbors, etc. The burn permits issued by the Forestry Department include a smoke impact area and sometimes includes wind restrictions if they are close to neighbors. Mr. Spataro said that most material removal is done on a 90 contract and if developers know in advance they have more material than can be burned or removed within 90 days it would avoid a lot of community problems. Charlie thought it was a great idea, the county could send them a site plan and they could provide comments before the DRC meets and the Forestry Department's comments could be made part of the DRC findings. I didn't hear from Bob Nix before he left as to what he thought about including the Forestry Department in the review process. Please let us know your comments, the homeowners are asking for an update. Thanks, file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\XPgrpwise\47022692SL... 10/2/2007 Page 2 of 2' . Could you give us an update on this - is the county making new developments prove that water will be available for the next twenty years? Thanks, file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\XPgrpwise\46F14AFDS... 9/26/2007 Doug Anderson County Administrator ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING Wednesday, September 19, 2007 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 AGENDA ~~)t1 1. Call to Order - Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman .:. Pledge of Allegiance .:. Self Introduction of Property and Homeowner Representatives 2. Approve Minutes of August 8, 2007 3. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Report: Deputy Gary Gonsalves 4. Presentation: Jeff Furst, St. Lucie County Property Appraiser 5. Old Business 6. New Business 7. Adjournment Reminder: Next Meeting Date October 10th, 2007 SEP - 5 ¿Jot ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting August 8,2007 Convened: 9:05 A.M. Adjourned: 11:35 A.M. The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, August 8, 2007, in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay John Ferrick, North Fork POA Bill Hammer, Reserve/PGA Village Kathleen Ivins, River Park HOA Bob Bangert, Holiday Pines HOA Kathy Thornton, Savanna Club HOA Craig Mundt, North Beach Association Pamela Hammer, President PORI Walter Fauth, Fort Pierce South Beach Association Also Present: Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman Deputy Glenn Huffman, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Jim Rath, Fla. Division of Forestry District Manager Joe Spataro, Fla. Division of Forestry Area Superintendent Melissa Yunas, Fla. Division of Forestry Wildfire Mitigation Mark Boston, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Vickie Cooke, SLC Adult Services Librarian Jack Southard, SLC Public Safety Director Vanessa Bessey, SLC Environmental Resources Director Don Pauley, SLC Road & Bridge Manager Swendy Ariyanayagam, St. Lucie County Contractors Licensing Liz Martin, Aide to Commissioner Grande Property & Homeowners Meeting August 8, 2007 Page 2 ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:05 A.M. Commissioner Grande led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners' Representatives and the public in attendance gave self-introductions. ITEM 2 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion was made by Bob Bangert and seconded by Bill Hammer to approve the minutes of July 18th. The motion passed unanimously. ITEM 3 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT: Deputy Huffman reported that a rash of car burglaries have occurred recently. Don't give criminals an opportunity to commit a crime. Please remove valuables from your vehicle and keep the doors locked. The National Night Out uGive Crime a Going Away Party" was August 7th. Thirteen communities throughout the County held events and they were all a huge success. The Sheriff's Office C.O.P. Program (Citizens Observation Patrol) will have a class beginning August 20th and ending August 23rd. This is a volunteer group of local residents who assist the Sheriff's Office in the unincorporated area of the County. Requirements are that you be at least twenty-one years of age, reside in St. Lucie County, pass a background check, possess a valid Florida drivers license and complete a sixteen hour training program. Please contact the Crime Prevention Office 871- 5303 if you are interested. Walter Fauth commented that he had been in the C.O.P. Program for five years and it's a great Program with a lot of varied activities and community involvement. Bob Bangert - You can increase the Sheriff's Budget if you will monitor traffic on U.S. 1 and also on I-95. It seems everyone is going much faster than the speed limit. Deputy Huffman stated that he would report it to the traffic unit. Walter Fauth said that a radar gun was made available to his C.O.P. group and they monitored traffic for several days on South Beach. Based on their log sheets the Sheriff's Office was able issue over 1200 citations. They logged a gasoline tanker going 67 mph in a 35 mph zone. Property & Homeowners Meeting August 8, 2007 Page 3 Craig Mundt - A state law went into effect recently that some of you may not be aware of. When an emergency vehicle is stopped by the side of the road you must move to the furthest lane and also drop your speed 20 mph lower than the posted speed limit. Deputy Huffman - That is correct and the Sheriff's Office will be doing some public service announcements on it. It's a Florida Traffic Law - Section 316.126, UMove Over Law." On highways with two or more lanes when approaching a law enforcement or other authorized emergency vehicle parked on the roadway with their emergency lights activated, drivers are reauired to move from the lane closest to the stopped emergency vehicle and slow to a speed that is 20 mph less than the posted speed limit. ITEM 4 - PRESENTATIONS: Florida State Department of Forestrv Present were Jim Rath, Division of Forestry District Manager, Joe Spataro, Division of Forestry Area Superintendent and Melissa Yunas, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist. Jim Rath introduced his staff and gave a brief overview of what the Division of Forestry does. Joe Spataro - Commented that burning is a natural way to dispose of landclearing material; without burning on site, more truck traffic is created on already busy roads; if you mulch the material, you create other problems such as rodents or other animals living in the piled debris; untreated mulch cannot be given away because no one wants the material near their homes due to the termites and other insects; landfill space is needed to handle the material; possible fire hazards are created with stored material; illegal dumping will greatly increase; increased disposal fee's to the developer will be passed down to the homeowner if burning is restricted. The drawback of burning, is that the smoke contributes to breathing problems and smoke on the highway can create a driving hazard. To apply for a burn permit the person or firm must call the Division of Forestry for an authorization; the person will be given a customer number which includes their address, phone number, emergency phone numbers and history of any legal action. Property & Homeowners Meeting August 8, 2007 Page 4 The landowner's information includes the Section, Range and Township of the property where the burn will occur; if the person has burned at the same location before; the type of burn - either landclearing for commercial or residential reasons; agriculture or silviculture (silviculture is the burning of land for wildlife habitat restoration and disease control); the purpose of the burn; how many acres; and how many piles to be burned. An onsite inspection prior to burning verifies the set back from the nearest occupied building that is not owned by the person doing the burning. It also verifies the number of piles or area (acres) to be burned. Residential, agriculture and silviculture burns require the set back to be 300 feet from a building and 100 feet from the road. Commercial burns require the set back to be 1,000 feet from a building and 100 feet from the road. If there are homes or businesses near the burn site, then a wind restriction may also be part of the permit requirement. There were 86 inspections conducted last year approved and 8 denied. wi th 78 being Once all of this information is entered into the computer, a map with the burn location is generated. The computer will then generate a smoke plume to show the impact zone, if it does not impact a smoke sensitive area, an authorization to burn is then issued. If there is an impacted area, wind restrictions are part of the authorization. From July 1st 2006 to June 30th 2007 there were a total of 1,247 burn permits issued for St. Lucie County by the Division of Forestry. Of those permits, 8 smoke complaints were received for authorized burns; one complaint was received for an unauthorized burn; there were no authorized burns that escaped the permitted burn area. Illegal dumping was discussed and Mr. Spataro displayed some photo's of illegal dump sites. When complaints of illegal dumping are reported, the Department of Forestry will monitor the site by airplane and take photo's and proceed with legal prosecution. Air curtain incinerators were discussed. incinerators are very effective. When used massive amounts of smoke. When used correctly the incorrectly, they produce Property & Homeowners Meeting August 8, 2007 Page 5 Pam Hammer - Stated that the buffers are inadequate and smoke impacts the quality of life and she is pushing for an ordinance from the Planning & Zoning Board to ban burning. I understand that you need to do environmental burning. But quite honestly, I don't care if a developer has to pay more to haul it away. Their burning impacts my quality of life. We are here to protect the residents that live here and their quality of life. I fully support St. Lucie County having an ordinance against burning. I have a real problem that you issue permits to contractors that have previously been found in violation. Cut them off. Don't give them a second chance. Joe Spataro - The problem is, the Florida Statute doesn't allow us to do that. If they bring the violation into compliance then we must issue another permit. I certainly don't disagree with you. Several years ago I suggested a 3 strikes and your out rule. I was told that rule would never get passed in the State of Florida. Pam Hammer - I'm disappointed that the Legislature protects people who violate the rules. Joe Spataro - Indian River County worked on an ordinance banning air curtain incinerators east of I-95 in Indian River County. The very first day they had to close their landfill at 9:00 A.M. due to the trucks that were lined up to get into the landfill. Bill Hammer It's a quality of life issue. I'd like to see absolutely no burning allowed. It's a health issue and a disaster on properties that are in the fall-out area. When the wildfires were happening in the Everglades the ash that fell on homes and automobiles in The Reserve was so thick it looked like snow. Ash fell as far away as South Hutchinson Island. The expense to property owners from the ash was enormous. It would seem the starting point would be to seek legislation to minimize the amount of landclearing for developments. Just because it's convenient to the developer to strip property bare and then plant Us ticks" afterward doesn't make sense. Joe Spataro - Contractors doing the burn are responsible for any damage incurred to homes or automobiles. They are required to carry liabili ty insurance. Contractors are not allowed to burn tires. You may see contractors place tires across a paved roadway to Uwalk" the bulldozers over a paved road to clear property on the other side but they can't burn them. Tires produce a tremendous amount of heavy black smoke. If you see anything you are concerned about in regard to a burn, please contact us and we will investigate. Property & Homeowners Meeting August 8, 2007 Page 6 Bill Hammer - Twenty years ago developers left natural areas and now the land is stripped and you don't have anything to filter the storm water runoff and you have a hard time controlling flooding. What can we do to help you? Jim Rath process. material - Possibly get us involved in the initial site plan review We can look at the site plan and estimate the quantity of to be disposed of. Commissioner Grande - That's an excellent idea. The County could send you a site plan and you could provide comments before the Design Review Committee meets and your comments could be part of the DRC findings. Jim Rath - Most of the contractors and developers have those plans on computer and they could e-mail them to us. It wouldn' t take very much time and then you would have some input on the burning that would be needed and the problems that might occur. Joe Spataro - Then we could work with these folks and know what is coming up. Most of the land clearing contractors have 90 days to clear a site. If we tell them there will be wind restrictions, that 90 day contract period might not be feasible. Prior review by us would probably save a lot of problems. Commissioner Grande - I think that is a great idea. Bob Bangert You may have fewer developers in the future. Development will start slowing down. In 2005 the Legislators gave South Florida Water Management, actually all of the Districts, the right not to control development, but the county officials have to show that water will be available for the next twenty years for a particular development. That should shut down a lot of upcoming developments. We are having a tremendous water shortage this year and it's nothing to what it could be in the near future. When people in Florida go to the kitchen faucet and nothing comes out, there will be hell to pay. Burn complaints should be called in to 863-462-5160. covered 24 hours per day. The phone is For further information please contact Joe Spataro, Area Superintendent for the Division of Forestry at (772) 778-5085. Property & Homeowners Meeting August 8, 2007 Page 7 ITEM 4 - PRESENTATIONS (continued): Librarian for St. Lucie County Vicki Cooke, Adult Services Vicki Cooke For anyone that might not have a library card it's free to County residents. You must present proof of residency. All non-county residents must pay an annual fee of $15.00 and must present proof of residency in their home county. The library offers reference services, photocopying, programs for all ages, seasonal tax assistance, public meeting rooms, computer classes, outreach services such as the bookmobile and books by mail. On the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month at 10: 00 A.M. the UGreat Expectations Book Club" meets; Every Monday is UMonday at the Movies" and it starts at 2:00 P.M.; Ms. Cooke mentioned that in August Roger Neetz, author of Another Time will have a book signing; also, Tommy Gore author of The Rainbow Chasers in the Great Florida Treasure Hunt will have a book signing. Please contact Vicki Cooke at 462-1615 for further information regarding Adult Library Services. Charlie Brown - Does anyone know what is going on in Tallahassee regarding property insurance and property taxes? Commissioner Grande - Commented that he would invite Jeff Furst, St. Lucie County Property Appraiser to be one of our guest speakers in the next month or so. Charlie Brown - Mentioned that if any of the representatives would like to receive county public information announcements bye-mail, just contact Erick Gill at 462-1791 and he will add your name to the list. You will receive an incredible amount of information to share with your community. Commissioner Grande - Reminded everyone that the September meeting will be held on the 3rd Wednesday, which will be September 19th. With no further business the meeting adjourned at 11:35 A.M. Respectfully submitted, ~~~ Li~artin Aide to Commissioner Grande Page 1 of 1 . Liz Martin - Monthly Activity Report ...,. .ìl~..Æl From: To: Date: SUbject: CC: Liz Martin Moise, Mirlande; Nell, Bill; Nix, Robert 8/8/2007 3:35 PM Monthly Activity Report douga; Outlaw, Faye ~ G', ~ At the Property & Homeowner Meeting this morning it was brought up by several residents that the report doesn't include the detailed information that it did in the past. I'm going to send you all a page from the January 2005 report so you can refer to it. They would like to see: 1. applicant's detailed information (address, phone number, etc) 2. contact/agent's detailed information (address, phone number, etc.) 3. description - detailed information (i.e. 5600 sJ. building on 2.5 acres) You will see all of this on the copy of the 2005 report I'll send over in inter-departmental mail. If you have any questions, please contact Commissioner Grande Thanks, file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\XPgrpwise\46B9E2B2SL... 8/8/2007 "" 0 hUIJ - ':J H JJr;~f "11. M~Ìlfi H' !~~~H i~f ~ ~i ~ .. , l ¡¡ ójV"~ :JV'8:;t~ NN~O_ N""" ~à5 i~¡¡~~ H~h3 N J\,}11~ s. .:.. ':';'''E'~ ~~r- :) ~~""cnä: 0'1 tnt.) "'" ts-(oJ E. 0 .-. .... en ..... ,. S ria ~ * ~ ~ g~~ .... ¡~ ~ s .a 2: " ! i ~ ;¡ ,. I ~ ~ ~o ~~ "<fi œ ~ ! [ ] ~ i!. ~. ¡ ~~N_ *iH N_~_ íhi t ] i!. ~~ d ~ I i " ~ i , " "- ~ [~ ~. ¡;:It Ii /:If)! 9' .. . ~ ~ o N - ~i H ~t ~.. ~~ t Ii :¡~t!'''E !:!:otl;.f( !I"~i ¡¡¡II! -I ~~~~~ __J!. æ U~W,. U;n¡;¡~ "'-m ö;" I '" ~ '" ~ . 1 [ g, S ~ c: ~ t i ~I ~6 t 'I' ~ ~ ! ~ ~p~1 ¡;nUl H I J ;rp~i Hfn ~p~" H~ I1í~E i' ~~ ""- "It ~Sl . :Ii ~a .,- ¡>,;!; ~l "" ~! I § n II ~~¥ ;t"~ II! cnCO! ., Z .. ," ~ !¡ ~ Si ~~I';;U ¡¡hp !~i~!j ~ ;Õ" ~:II n N" æ~ I rl ~ i ~ t"- ~p: d* .@ ] i!. ~I ~;: I ~ "- .. ~~i~i HHI ~~~¡. ~ IS - 1; ~ Ii" !P -! i~ i~ \l:¡ Q" d ~~ n 3 i f~ 1t~ n ~ ~ :II ! i "- I' l ., z '" ," ~ !i1 :¡1'§1r¡' !:! f ~ ~ ~ ¡¡iiS ~~~6S --If~ U'¡u HîSl~ .0 3 - Ii'! "- i!. ~ 0 r -!.tl ~gh ~~-i i~l" \it,,! l~ ~¡¡: ;Ëgi _or i :F ¡r~ ~! l~ ,'~ I 1ì ~ 1 -II '! ~ i!. n ~ ¡ ¡;: ! f " ¡ ~ ., z '" ," ~ !j¡ ~~HI H'D:Ii f~Jn i~ i J! ! ., z ,Iß ¡¡' J! ~ '" z .. ," ~ B õ " ~ ., z '" ," !j¡ 6 ß ; J ~ ., z '" ," i .. æ~[ ~Sl·· O¡¡1r ~t ~ hi -20 _i. H ,,:.. p g~ ~ ." ~ ~ ij '" It ~ :!I .. .. -~ i~ ~~ H H i U ~i ~ nUf ~~i~H l~iU !¡~IU IlL. ~-~ I n "1': h ~ i H ·"i::.f .9.9> ~~,.- hi ~~ii ~ ~ . j[ [~ ~~ \l~ Q:II ~~ 0" t~ ~ . Ii ¡ o . ã. 0 ~~¡ o ~~. ;§g S" 0 §H ~" i:J if·~ ~~ .0 :~ ~,'! if" i~ '6i If,' f¡1 J i ~ {f~ '.!I8 1!!3. i 18 f ; 1 [ g .. ¡ i5 I ~ I I § í I 1:fH l ~ .¡ h~~ [ UH fIt i I Ii It i ¡ ! i Ii ¡ ~ ¡ î ¡ I I I .. t¡] 8 b: i3 ;; 8 ~ 8 - ' ~ ~ ~ 8 ~ ~ f - ~ w ~;.,".' ,:c;-,,,,,,,",,.,',,,,-~>=-,--';..._-.o.';-,,,".,~-..,,..,.,=::.,.~,,,,,,,,..,,.,..,,~.,-."",""",,",''''=C~''''''''~'''==·';'~'~'~_~~__·''''''-_~~ -'< ~~~6¡'- ~'§~~q.. --I" ì --!9"~ ~ Uaf;. ~~·:<:;m ~~~U j~~Hl ~ ~ r;¡: ~~~¡¡¡~ iiw~~ h~H -:;; ;Dm\> 1; Urii -ð¡¡ ¡¡.2 ~ _1JI 3 ~8~ ::p: m« Q !P ~[ n c i! I ~ I g !¡. · ;: ~ ~~ i!:i!: ~~ U ..~ -t;¡ ~:;; ,g~ I î~ !!:!! U H i ~ ~fi h~ !~~ ¡B ~u " L § 1 .0 ~ t ~ t ~~ d tl "'.. ~b i" --&\ iH Hi t ~I L Ii !: ð 0 d§ ;;;i-i H~ ~H ;!;~ .:11" c" ;~ ~ ~ I ¡;¡'" ~~ ~ I' I~ ~ !!: .. ~ !¡ I ::~~ Ht "F;!¡: B~ t ~I t ¡ H '" · .. ~ .. [ Ii · PI ~o §~ '"~ H 1'1- !i~ ,¡¡8 0- E.-P g;;:r ~~ ~ 6 . , o ~ ,¡¡ t i I ... Doug Anderson County Administrator ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING AGENDA Wednesday, July 18, 2007 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 1. Call to Order - Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman .:. Pledge of Allegiance .:. Self Introduction of Property and Homeowner Representatives 2. Approve Minutes of June 20, 2007 3. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Report: Deputy Gary Gonsalves 4. Presentation: Mike Lannon, Superintendent of Schools 5. Old Business 6. New Business 7. Adjournment Reminder: Next Meeting Date August 8th, 2007 JUL- 6 ,- ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting June 20,2007 Convened 9:05 A.M. Adjourned: 11:00 A.M. The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, June 20, 2007, in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA Dr. Bobbi Conti, Property Owners of the Reserve Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay John Ferrick, North Fork POA Nancy Spalding, Coral Cove HOA Robin Schifilliti, PGA Village HOA Kit Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Bill Hammer, Reserve/PGA Village Arlene Goodman, White City Improvement Club Craig Mundt, North Beach Association Carole Mushier, Fort Pierce South Beach Association Kathleen Ivins, River Park HOA John Ross, St. James Golf Club HOA Also Present: Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman Sheriff Ken Mascara Commissioner Chris Craft Beth Williams, Director of Marketing Lawnwood Regional Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Dr. Michael Riordan, North Beach HOA & Coral Cove Lee Dyer, Indian River Estates HOA Andrew Stark, Palm Grove HOA Association Mark Boston, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Richard McAfoos, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Tom Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Doug Anderson, County Administrator Missy Stiadle, Exec. Assistant to the County Administrator Marie Gouin, SLC Management & Budget Director Larry Storms, Interested Citizen Liz Martin, Aide to Commissioner Grande Barbara Felton, Aide to Commissioner Lewis Eva O'Donnell, Aide to Commissioner Craft Swendy Ariyanayagam, SLC Contractors Licensing Dept. Ann Armandro, SLC Traffic Operations .. Property & Homeowners Meeting June 20, 2007 Page 2 ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:05 A.M. Commissioner Grande led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners' Representatives and the public in attendance gave self- introductions. ITEM 2 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion was made by Arlene Goodman and seconded by Bill Hammer to approve the minutes of May 9th. The motion passed unanimously. ITEM 3 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT: Deputy Gary Gonsalves reported that there was a slight increase in crime in May. He cautioned everyone to be alert, criminals are opportunist, so be sure and keep your doors, windows and automobiles locked. ITEM 4 - PRESENTATION: Doug Anderson, County Administrator Doug Anderson was present to talk to the Representative's about the County Budget for 2007-2008. The St. Lucie County annual budget is approximately $573 million. We employ 950 people and currently the budget to be presented to the County Commissioners does not include any layoffs, however, the proposed budget does include a recommendation to eliminate 25 unfilled positions. Should a property tax reform plan be approved by the State Legislature requiring deeper cuts than we have already made, we will handle those in a systematic approach, however, depending upon the severity of any future state cuts, we may have to consider layoffs. The State Legislature is talking about increasing our by the inflation rate or conswner price index. operating cost increases are much greater than 3%, fuel, utilities, insurance, etc. future budgets Our annual for example - Property & Homeowners Meeting June 20, 2007 Page 3 We are one of the fastest growing counties in the nation and our responsibilities and commitments increase accordingly. Our revenues are derived from: 32.6% property taxes; Gas taxes, tourist development tax, franchise fees, licenses & permits, half cent sales tax, fines & forfeitures and the state revenue sharing amount to 6.05%; with the remaining 61.34% coming from other revenues - enterprise funds, impact fees, interest, etc. We have over $66 million dollars in allocations going to our Constitutional Officers (Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections, Clerk of the Circuit Court), courts, legal system, inmate medical and hospital costs, medical examiner, juvenile detention center and others. We have $6.9 million going to the City of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie CRA' s. We have to fund the Health Department and New Horizons and that is almost $2 million per year; we have unfunded state mandates for medicaid nursing homes and pauper burials. Our total unfunded state constitutional mandates total $92.3 million dollars. This is 57% of your county property tax bill that we don't have any control over. Florida is ranked number 28 in taxes, we what the other 50 states pay in taxes. states in the country that doesn't have certainly don't want one. are right in the middle of Florida is one of only 7 a state income tax and we Once we receive the final property tax reform mandates and have had time to calculate the impacts to our budget, we will meet with you again. ITEM # 4 PRESENTATION: Beth Williams, Trauma Care Center Beth Williams, Director of Marketing & Public Relations for Lawnwood Regional Medical Center was present to discuss the trawna care center that will be on the ballot June 26~. Mrs. Williams stated that the trawna center is about saving lives and the proximity of getting patients to the right place in the right amount of time. Lawnwood Hospital has been in this community the community and adding services without community asking for assistance. for 30 years serving ever coming to the Property & Homeowners Meeting June 20, 2007 Page 4 Arlene Goodman - asked why didn't Lawnwood apply for grants instead of going to the taxpayers first? Ms. Williams - Actually we have met with all the elected officials in the county. We spent many hours in meetings with county staff and also talked to people in Tallahassee about funding sources. There is no sustainable funding for medical doctors for the trawna center and that is what we are asking for. What you are hearing is that Lawnwood wants $ 7.2 million dollars. What we have asked for, is for the community to support the trawna center and the language in the ballot specifically says it must be spent on medical specialists. There are two "buckets" of expense for a trawna center. You have to pay doctors to be on call. That is just a fact. There is the operational expense. We have asked for a safety net for the first three years. We have a tendency in this community to create incentives and pay out millions of dollars to get companies to come here. But, here is an institution that has been established in this community for thirty years, saying we have an opportunity to provide a higher level of medical service to the community. There will be about 15 physicians involved. Let me explain the millage issue. If the trawna care center is passed by the voters, the 1/4 mill will be levied and the funds will be transferred to the Fire District who will serve as the "Trawna Board." The Fire District can't use those funds for anything but the "trawna center." For example, if the levy yields $6.7 million the first year and the cost to fund the physicians is $5 million, then you have $1.7 million left over. Those funds would be carried over to the next year, because it can't be used for anything else. In year two, you would ratchet down the levy. It cannot be used for anything else. It cannot be higher than 1/4 mill. It's a ten year sunset for the mill levy and requires all four entities to participate (City of Fort Pierce, City of Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie Village and St. Lucie County.) It's truly this simple, it's a question - does this community want trawna services? It's an optional item and you will either vote for it or you won't. It's one of the few things you get to vote on Property & Homeowners Meeting June 20, 2007 Page 5 by line item. I see things on my tax bill that I'm not really not sure that I benefit from, but I know I would benefit from a higher level of care and more medical specialists. It's about bringing those physicians to our community, the funds will flow directly from the Fire District/Trawna Board to the physicians. Quite frankly, we don't want those public dollars coming through the hospital and for the people saying that, it's just erroneous information. Commissioner Grande - we have asked each side to tell us what they know but we really shouldn't badger them about the information put before us and we need to make the final decision ourselves. Arlene Goodman - Martin Memorial wants to put in a hospital west of the turnpike because it's growing so fast. It was in the newspaper that Lawnwood is going to fight it. Ms. Williams - Actually we aren' t. It's amazing to me. What they've done is say, we've "historically" opposed it. But I haven't spoken to a single reporter on this issue. No one, has said that we intend to fight it. Craig Mundt - to spring an election on the electorate and not allow enough time for proper debate and proper information to get out to the public has been a disservice and I hope the County Commission never does it again. Nancy Spaulding - I heard the same thing said years ago about the Children's Services Council. It's too early, people aren't here, the timing isn't right. Now, we're glad we have a Children's Services Council. With no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 11:00 A.M. Respectfully submitted, X;. o-ànCL"-~ Liz Martin Aide to Commissioner Grande ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIA TION MEETING Wednesday, June 20, 2007 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 AGENDA 1. Call to Order - Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman .:. Pledge of Allegiance .:. Self Introduction of Property and Homeowner Representatives 2. Approve Minutes of May 9, 2007 3. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Report: Deputy Gary Gonsalves 4. Presentation: Doug Anderson - RE: Budget Cuts Beth Williams - RE: Trauma Care 5. Old Business 6. New Business 7. Adjournment Reminder: Next Meeting Date July 18, 2007 I, \~ ['i - 1 2007 ... ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting May 9, 2007 Convened 9:10 A.M. Adjourned: 11:05 A.M. The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, May 9, 2007, in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA Dr. Bobbi Conti, Property OWners of the Reserv Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay John Ferrick, North Fork POA Robin Schifilliti, PGA Village HOA Kit Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Bill Hammer, Reserve/PGA Village Bob Bangert, Holiday Pines Arlene Goodman, White City Improvement Club Craig Mundt, North Beach Association Walter Fauth, Fort pierce South Beach Association Kathleen Ivins, River Park HOA ol~) ~ Also Present: Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman Deputy Lee Davis, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Lee Dyer, Indian River Estates HOA Andrew Stark, Palm Grove HOA Association Mark Boston, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Richard McAfoos, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Tom Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Faye Outlaw, Assistant County Administrator Caroline Villanueva, Lennar Homes Aimee Craig Carlson, Centex Homes Bob Raynes, Gunster Yoakley John Percy, Glatting Jackson Liz Martin, Aide to Commissioner Grande Barbara Felton, Aide to Commissioner Lewis Swendy Ariyanayagam, SLC Contractors Licensing Dept. Shane Dewitt, SLCTV Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 2 ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:10 A.M. Commissioner Grande led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners' Representatives and the public in attendance gave self-introductions. ITEM 2 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion was made by Charlie Brown and seconded by Walter Fauth to approve the minutes of April 11th. The motion passed unanimously. ITEM 3 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT: Deputy Lee Davis - Deputy Gonsalves followed up with the Sheriff regarding the question last month "could the land owner be prosecuted" when property is used for cock fighting. There have been many arrests lately in this county and surrounding counties. Deputy Davis reported that the case is still under investigation and the States Attorney will file the proper paperwork when need be on the property. ITEM 4 - PRESENTATION: Rural Lands Stewardship Program - Cloud Grove Present to give the Homes; Aimee Craig Yoakley; John Percy, presentation were Caroline Villanueva, Lennar Carlson, Centex Homes; Bob Raynes, Gunster Glatting Jackson. The Rural Lands Stewardship Program is a program to maintain economic value of rural land, control urban sprawl, protect ecosystems, promote rural economic activity and maintain viability of Florida's agricultural economy. Adams Ranch is the "sending area" for the Rural Lands Stewardship Program and consists of a 12,000 acre portion of the ranch. The ranch is located south of Orange Avenue Extension and north of Okeechobee Road. Those stewardship credits could be transferred to the "receiving area" the Cloud Grove property, which is owned by Lennar and Centex and consists of approximately 6,000 acres. --:, Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 3 That is an area approximately 3 miles by 5 miles. The property is located in the northwest area of St. Lucie County between I-95 and the Turnpike. It begins at the Indian River County line and ends south of Indrio Road. The Master Plan for Cloud Grove would consist of 12,000 residential homes, 300 hotel rooms, 1,000,000 s.f. of retail space, 1,000,000 s.f. of light industrial, a movie theater, golf course and a 140 bed hospital. Lennar - Centex purchased the Cloud Grove property in 2006 and then formed a special company called "Florida Conservancy and Development Group" to focus on stewardship. Craig Mundt - It was stated that the Adams Ranch is 16,000 acres and the sending area on the ranch is 12,000 acres. Is there not then, the possibility that the remaining 4,000 acres could be developed in the future? Bob Raynes - Yes, there is that possibility. The remaining 4,000 acres could be developed into five acre ranchette's. It doesn' t change the underlying zoning. Commissioner Grande - Before we go any further, the reality is that it would never be the five acre ranchette's. In St. Lucie County according to our Land Development Codes and Comprehensive Plan, if the Adams Ranch were to be developed, which is almost inconceivable based on the ownership, it's required that it be developed as an Agricul tural PUD. An Agricultural PUD in St. Lucie County requires a full 80% of the land to be kept as open space. The entirety of the development on Adams Ranch could only occur on a contiguous 20% of the ranch. A group named Family Lands Remembered initiated this plan. If you take the development rights off of less than 80% of the Adams Ranch, he could still develop pretty much what he could develop before, because that undeveloped portion can go through this same mul tiplication they are using to take Cloud Grove which has an entitlement of 1200 residential units and build 12,000 residential units. That's a multiple of 10 on Cloud Grove. They have chosen not to development in Indian River County. They also don't have a link to Oslo Road. Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 4 The conservation easement they are talking about is to the Department of Agriculture. If there is anybody you don't want to be the recipient of a conservation easement, it's an elected group of people that change over time. Normally, in the more reasonable conservation line it's the Nature Conservancy, it's the Audubon Society, it's people who actually assure that the easement remains in perpetuity. The Adams Ranch, if this is approved, would retain the right to build on just as much land as they do right now. You would still have the same number of roof tops on the property and in addition, we would have 12,000 more roof tops in the north county on Cloud Grove. Everyone knows residential growth does not pay for itself (the need for additional schools, law enforcement, fire protection, roadways, etc). Our taxes are increasing tremendously. If we keep land in agriculture, we all benefit. Although AG pays a smaller amount in taxes, it requires almost no services so they are a plus. If you take Cloud Grove out of agriculture, you wind up with the one land use that doesn't support itself. Indrio Road from I-95 to u.S. 1, would be devastated traffic wise. To take Kings Highway from 2 lanes to six lanes, it would cost $300 million dollars. The bill for expanding Indrio would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars due to land acquisition costs. The scale and scope of this project is so large that it takes a long time to really understand what the impacts are, what the benefits are and what the costs are. Dr. Conti - I have concerns because right now, we have thousands of vacant homes in the county. Potable water, roads, basic infrastructure, schools, etc., are major issues but there was another red flag for me and that was they show a hospital going into Cloud Grove. Who approved a new hospital for this county? Aimee Craig Carlson - Right now, we are in the DRI (Development of Regional Impact) stage and getting ready to submit the first response to the DRI. I think it's also important that everyone understand that there is a "beauty", if you will, that Cloud Grove go through the DRI process. It's reviewed by multiple agencies. We are all concerned with schools, roads, traffic, water, etc. '-\. Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 5 Commissioner Grande - In all fairness, the point about the DRI is a very good point. As a county, we're not as qualified if you will, as the Regional Planning Council to review projects of this magnitude. On the other hand, going back to the beginning of this process, the Rural Lands Stewardship Program is not required to go through a DRI process. What I might add, this was not a voluntary "we (Cloud Grove)" will go through the DRI process because it's in everyone's best interest, it was Commissioner Coward who said, something of this size should go through a DRI and to their credit, they agreed to do so, rather than fight it. Keep in mind that the DRI process doesn't come up wi th a final decision. It means that a large group of more qualified people have reviewed the project and here are our comments and recommendations and then they send it back to the county. The Regional Planning Council never stops a DRI. Their action is to send it back to the county with their comments and recommendations. Their input is priceless and incredibly valuable, but the final decision is made by the Board of County Commission. Bob Raynes - Let me ask a rhetorical question. Is everyone happy wi th the way things are going in St. Lucie County? The way development is occurring? We are talking about something that is cutting edge and are trying to stop, what we believe, is not the right way for Florida to develop. It's a long process. If you look back at the communities you come from, because most everyone is not from here, we had little towns and villages. Arlene Goodman - From this day forward, how much input will the residents of St. Lucie County have in this project? Commissioner Grande - The residents of St. Lucie County will have the same amount of input they have on any issue. This County Commission (putting myself aside) has always been as welcoming of public comment as any that I've ever seen. I don't see that changing. The group here today (Lennar-Centex) has gone overboard in voluntarily going out and speaking to the public and opening it up for discussion. The presentation you've seen today is due to a large extent to the input they have received from their outreach and they have made improvements. Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 6 Aimee Craig Carlson - Thank you and I would like to offer to everyone here, our willingness to speak to your individual homeowner association. (Ms. Carlson can be reached at 561-536-1060). Kit Linberger - You mentioned that the School Board policy is to have a zone school policy rather than a neighborhood school policy. Considering the cost of gas, is there any chance the School Board would change their policy and we could go back to the neighborhood school concept which would make a lot more sense? Amiee Craig Carlson We have very similar thinking. In conversations with the School Board representatives, it seems to make sense especially with an area that is 3 miles by 5 miles but that is a School Board decision. Arlene Goodman - What I'm hearing you say, is that kids in south Port St. Lucie could end up being bused to Cloud Grove. If we "collectively" don't start talking to the School Board and ask them to change their ideas, it won't change. John Ferrick - I'd like to ask a hypothetical question - if Cloud Grove doesn't go forward, what happens to the credits/development rights? Are they for anyone else, used elsewhere? Bob Raynes - They will still be out there, but the only way they could ever be used, would be for another property owner to come into the stewardship program. And for that to occur, they would have to go through the same process as Cloud Grove. The credits could only be sent to an approved stewardship receiving area. John Ferrick - I'm just trying to get to the point, that these credits are not set in stone for this project and they could be used elsewhere? Aimee Craig Carlson - Today, only the Adams Ranch and Cloud Grove are within the stewardship overlay and while it's certainly possible that things could change, with additional land added, there are comp plan policies that govern what the county must do in terms of visioning and additional studies before the county can expand the overlay area. Also, as we all know, a comp plan change is a year long process. · " Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 7 The other thing I would like to mention, is that all three applications are going to converge at the same public hearing: the DRI, the "sending area" for the creation of the credits - Adams Ranch; the "receiving area" transfer and location of the credits Cloud Grove; those three will all occur at the same public hearing. Dr. Bobbi Conti - If this does go through, would they create their own township? Commissioner Grande - The concept that a compact, contiguous town with a population of 30,000, that is self sustaining to the extent possible, would incorporate is likely. They will have all of the same rights that Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie have. Aimee Craig Carlson We have no intention of facilitating the incorporation of Cloud Grove, and while we agree that things could happen, one point to make is that the concern of the county is the annexation issue. Kathleen Ivins I lived in Fort Lauderdale for many, many years when the Everglades were right next to State Road 441 and now look at that area and how it has developed. Is it your contention that when (if) this town is built that it will be self-contained by jobs? You have retail space, a hospital, etc., on the master plan. Aimee Craig Carlson - The idea is that the opportunity for full- filling your shopping, entertainment and recreational needs would be within the community. There will be employment opportunities, certainly retail is one aspect of employment, it might not be necessarily be high value employment. There is also a million square feet of office and a million square feet of light industrial. So there is that opportunity to live, work and play in the same community. Kathleen Ivins - The job opportunities that usually wind up in that type of communi ty are minimum wage jobs and the housing is not affordable. Bill Hæmmer - A point I'd like to share is that we can't have an additional 30,000 people needing to be evacuated in a hurricane. You need to build storm resistant homes that are reasonably insurable. Dr. Bobbi Conti - Make it a sustainable "green" community. Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 8 Commissioner Grande thanked the group for attending and appreciated their willingness to reach out to the public for input. I would expect that we will be inviting you back in the near future when you are further into your planning cycle and more information has been provided to the county. I tease a lot but I do appreciate your coming and we look forward to seeing you again. Again, if you would like them to make a presentation to your Homeowner Association contact Aimee Craig Carlson at Centex Homes 561-536-1025 or Caroline Villanueva at Lennar Homes 561-333-4700. ITEM 4 - NEW BUSINESS: A representative asked if there were any new developments regarding the FPL Coal Plant in Glades County? Dr. Conti was asked by Commissioner Grande to give an update as she had just been in Tallahassee. Dr. Conti stated that citizen's from Glades, Lee and Henry counties went to Tallahassee to share their concerns and testify before the Public Service Commission. The Governor has said that he will do everything he can for the environment. The environmental impact to Lake Okeechobee is so great and it doesn't appear as if it will be approved. The Public Service Commission is scheduled to make their decision in June. Commissioner Grande - It's incredible that when FPL wanted to place the coal plant in St. Lucie County, people got together and made the case and demons tra ted that it shouldn't happen here. The coal plant was unanimously denied by the St. Lucie County Board of County Commission. Those same residents, on their own time and at their own expense, shared the information they had gathered with the residents of Glades, Lee and Henry counties and they have been so appreciative of the help. A representative asked about the River Park Marina, that there were a lot of rumors going around that the City of Port St. Lucie was going to take it over? Arlene Goodman - that building was built by General Development for the use of the residents that lived in that area of River Park. Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 9 It was suggested that perhaps when everything is finalized as to funding, etc., that the county hold a neighborhoodmeeting/charrette. Commissioner Grande responded that he would forward their suggestion to County Administration. Kathleen Ivins is the River Park Homeowners Representative and can be reached at 879-2276. Charlie Brown - Due to the potentially massive budget cuts the county will face from Tallahassee he suggested that we invite the County Administrator to the next meeting and have him present his budget plan based on the potential impacts. It has been in the newspapers that it could be anywhere from 20% to 40%. Commissioner Grande will get wi th Doug AnderSon and invi te him to the next meeting. Mr. Anderson will also be presenting the plan to the Citizen's Budget Advisory Committee. Walter Fauth Suggested that we have a future meeting at the Hurricane House and have a presentation on hurricane preparedness. Kit Linberger - I know the County Commission doesn't have any impact or control over the School Board budget, but I have read that school buses get one mile per gallon. With the price of gasoline going up every day, now over $3.00 per gallon, what will this do to the school budget and our school taxes? Let's invite someone from the School Board to give a presentation to us on their budget. The fact that they bus kids allover this county is adding to our tax burden. I think they should reconsider their concept. It's time the School Board starts to rethink the way they plan and let kids walk to school. Commissioner Grande - the cost of running a school transportation system is enormous and the inconvenience of the time kids spend on buses is incredible. Kit Linberger - I think going back to neighborhood schools would help alleviate a lot of the problems the school system has because the parents in that neighborhood are conversant with the teachers in that school on a regular basis. When kids go to school in their own neighborhood the parents get to know the faculty and see them regularly, not a couple times of year Property & Homeowners Meeting May 9, 2007 Page 10 at PTA/PTO Meetings. The kids feel like it is "our" school and neighborhood and damage doesn't occur. So many parents that would volunteer at the neighborhood school can't, because the kids are bused to the other end of the county. Spending two hours on a school bus each day is not working. Arlene Goodman - My grandchild lives in south Port St. Lucie near the county line. She is five years old and is being bused all the way to Kitterman Road. With no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 11:05 A.M. Respectfully submitted, £¡ ~QÅ-~ Liz~artin Aide to Commissioner Grande þ~\,\ (\ **** * * * * PROPERTY & HOMEOWNERS JUNE MEETING DATE We have rescheduled the June Property & Homeowners Monthly Meeting date. New Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 Time & Place: 9:00 A.M. in Conference Room 3 Presentation By: Doug Anderson, County Administrator 2007-2008 Budget With Best Rega rds, Commissioner Charles Grande Property & Homeowners Chair 17~! r-' r=-. ri \:,,-;;:-- 'I ~; f I": ~:'.¡.~' q ~~ r; -~ I .... :', l J .' ?~i f I L._ _J co. ADMIN. OFFICE ..-...---_.__-C:....:: REV I SED - April 5th. 2007 k2, ~ ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING Wednesday, April 11,2007 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 AGENDA P~ld/1 1. Call to Order - Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman .:. Pledge of Allegiance .:. Self Introduction of Property and Homeowner Representatives 2. Approve Minutes of March 14, 2007 3. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Report: Deputy Gary Gonsalves 4. Presentation: Trauma Care - Dr. Bobbi Conti F.D.O.T. - U.S. 1 Roadway Improvement Chlo Ann Lawrence, F.D.O.T. Project Manager Bill Kyzer, L.B.F.H. Ken Jackson, Kimley - Horn 5. Old Business 6. New Business 7. Adjournment Reminder: Next Meeting Date May 9th, 2007 (Rural Lands Stewardship Presentation) --..--.--....-............-- --,','ì C¡ ~.' (re' r¿,,:. ,cIl 'VI .\~..S "í' '¡', " í, ~,:,~l\'l_ ,[,~ ! \ . [::"1 i. ¡ ~ APR - 5 2007 C(/ .? .'",'" ("\C~!C:E .. ~A. ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING AGENDA Wednesday, March 14, 2006 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 1. Call to Order - Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman .:. Pledge of Allegiance .:. Self Introduction of Property and Homeowner Representatives 2. Approval of Minutes of February 21, 2007 3. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Report: Deputy Gary Gonsalves 4. Presentation: Jack Southard & Heather Young RE: Pet Licensing 5. Old Business . Request that Charlie's Dodge only have a left or a right turn lane on U.S.1, while road construction is underway 6. New Business 7. Adjournment Reminder: Next Meeting Date April 11th 1 2007 I'~ i.·~..'.( '::ccc(ë'S'; ~7r-~OY1'7 ..i;...'.. : !,\-'.~.-:.:::L t . _ UJ MAR 0 ~ ?n07 I~ ----- ~ ' CO. ADMIN. OFFICE .. " ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting February 21, 2007 Convened 9:05 A.M. Adjourned: 11 :00 A.M. The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, February 21,2007, in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Sonny Jamieson, Savanna Club HOA Walter Fauth, South Beach Association Edward Mcintosh, Nettles Island Bob Ashley, Indian River Drive Freeholders Craig Mundt, North Beach Association Diane Shaw, Bel-Aire Estates Robin Schifilliti, PGA Village HOA Kit Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Also Present: Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman Doug Anderson, County Administrator Marie Gouin, Management & Budget Director Liz Martin, Aide to Commissioner Grande Barbara Felton, Aide to Commissioner Lewis Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Andrew Stark, Palm Grove Association Chris Counsellor, St. Lucie County Code Enforcement/River Park Don Pauley, Road & Bridge Manager Mark Boston, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Larry Storm, Interested Resident Jim Reeder, Palm Beach Post .. Property & Homeowners Association Meeting February 21, 2007 Page 2 ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:05 A.M. Commissioner Grande led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners' Representatives and the public in attendance gave self-introductions. ITEM 2 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion was made by Walter Fauth to approve the minutes of January 10, 2007. The motion was seconded by Charlie Brown and carried unanimously. ITEM 3 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT: Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office encouraged everyone to attend the 2007 St. Lucie County Fair. He also corrected the crime statistics he had given at last month's meeting. He had said there was an increase in crime in 2006 and there wasn't. It was actually a decrease of 4% in crime, in comparison to the 2005 report. However, there was an increase in burglaries in 2006. The Sheriff's Office has a new program on the government channel called "AII points Bulletin", which gives you a behind the scenes look at the Sheriff's Office Operation and crime prevention tips. It's a very interesting program. ITEM 4 - PRESENTATIONS: Commissioner Grande introduced Doug Anderson, County Administrator who will give an update on what the property tax proposals by Governor Crist will be to the residents of St. Lucie County. Doug Anderson introduced Marie Gouin, St. Lucie County's Director of Management and Budget who had prepared a summary which she and Doug Anderson reviewed with the Representatives. Also, these impacts will not affect the School Board or Water Management Districts, only cities and counties. The proposal could be on the ballot by December of this year. The county wide property value is $24,412,809,790.00. A one percent increase in taxable value is equivalent to $244,128,098.00. St. Lucie County's millage rate is currently 6.7512 mills. The Governor has proposed the following: · Double the homestead exemption from $25,000.00 to $50,000.00 for city and county ad valorem taxes. Also, remember, the state already has an additional $25,000.00 in homestead exemption for the elderly and low income residents for a possible total of $75,000.00 homestead exemption. · Exempt from property tax the first $25,000.00 of tangible personal property for a business. · Limit assessed value increases of all non-homestead property to the lower of 3% or the consumer price index. · Allow statewide portability of the Save our Homes Benefit. Property & Homeowners Meeting February 21, 2007 Page 3 Mrs. Gouin gave some examples of the impact that each proposal would be: . Double the Homestead Exemption from $25,000.00 to $50,000.00. The estimated impact to St. Lucie County would be $11.1 million dollars. This equates to .4566 mills or $45.66 per $1 00,000.00 oftaxable value to makeup the tax revenue lost as a result of this proposal. . Exempt Property taxes on the first $25,000.00 of tangible personal property on a business: There are currently 8,536 tangible business accounts in St. Lucie County, not including mobile home attachments or household goods. Of these, 6,124 have a current value of less than $25,000.00 with current taxable value of approximately $34,000,000.00. If the $25,000.00 exemption is added to each of the remaining 2,412 accounts the county has an estimated exemption of $94.3 million dollars. The estimated impact to St. Lucie County is $636,638 in lost revenue. Small businesses are required to file a TPP (Tangible Personal Property) form each year and would still have the responsibility and cost of preparing this report, even though the TPP would be exempt. · Limit assessed value increases of all non-homestead property to the lower of 3% or the consumer price index, which is done on homestead property: · Based on St. Lucie County's final taxable value of $24,412,809,790.00 for tax year 2006, a 1 % increase in taxable value is equivalent to $244,128,098.00. Actual taxable value for tax year 2006 was $24.4 billion. The loss in taxable value would have amounted to approximately $4.7 billion dollars. At the current countywide millage rate of $6.7512, this would equate to a revenue loss of $31.6 million dollars. · Allow Statewide Portability of the Save our Home Benefit:\ This proposal would allow the Save our Homes assessment differential to be transferred by the owner of one homestead property to another homestead property of the owner. There is no definitive study available that outlines the impacts of the portability proposal. There is a study in draft form entitled Florida's Property Tax Structure by the Florida Department off Revenue. The report notes that there is some shortcoming to this methodology, but at this point that is the only report that had studied the portability issue. Total Summary of the above four proposals: If the above four proposals are approved, it would have the following affect on St. Lucie County tax revenues: 1. Double Homestead Exemption 2. Tangible Personal Property Exemption 3. Limited value increased on non-homestead property 4. Allow statewide portability $11.1 million dollars $ .6 million dollars $31.6 million dollars $ not determined Estimated lost revenue of the first 3 proposals $ 43.3 million dollars Property & Homeowners Meeting February 21, 2007 Page 4 A loss of $43,3 million dollars in revenue to the St. Lucie County budget would be catastrophic and would require that all county services and budget allocations be evaluated. Mr. Anderson stated that he had called an emergency meeting of the Citizen's Budget Committee for tomorrow morning at 7:30 A.M to present the same information he and Mrs. Gouin had just discussed with the Property & Homeowners Representatives. Also, a meeting will be held at the LR.C.C. Kight Center tomorrow night for the Legislative Delegation to receive public comment on the proposals. Black History Month/History Makers: Commissioner Grande stated that the Board of County Commission had presented resolutions yesterday to Queen Towsend, Samuel Gaines, Havert Fenn and Charles Hayling, Jr., honoring them for being Black History Makers. Walter Fauth told the representatives about a dinner at the Pelican Yacht Club on February 22nd. It's $45.00 per person. A letter signed by Commissioner Alexander, Jack Cahill, Larry Lee Jr., and Delores Hogan Johnson giving information about the honorees and the dinner was passed our to the representatives. ITEM 5 - OLD BUSINESS - Updates Requested at January Meeting: 1. North County MSBU Proiect The St. Lucie County Utility Department is in the process of reviewing the construction costs for the project and hope to have estimated costs by the end of February. Ballots will be mailed to the residents after construction costs are determined. Again, hopefully by the end of February. Please contact Laurie Case, Utility Manager for further information 462-1846. 2. U. S. 1 Roadwav Improvements & Hotel: F.D.O.T. U.S. 1 Roadwav Improvements - Per Mike Powley, County Engineer (462-1667): The project is on track for completion in October 2008. At the south end, traffic is being pushed to the outside of the right-of-way and work is on-going in the middle area. F.D.O.T. is presently placing drainage structures and pipe in the median, between Rio Mar and Brazilian Court (Kitterman Road area). From Kitterman Road to Midway Road, traffic has been diverted to the western half of the right-of-way, while the eastern half is completely rebuilt. At the conclusion of this effort, traffic will be flipped and work will commence on the western half. The three retention areas are still under construction. Property & Homeowners Meeting February 21, 2007 Page 5 Hotel _ St. Lucie Oaks Commercial (the applicant) is proposing an 88 room hotel MMthe rear of the property and adjacent to the residential area owned by ~hem. A restaurant and office space building will be located along U.S. 1. Planning & Zoning is scheduled to hear the proposal on January 18th. Pr~vi~ed that date is accurate, it should come before the Board of County CommiSSion the latter part of February. This is a Preliminary PUD approval request. (Growth Management Department Planner, Lisa Wargo 462-1580). 3. Burnim:l/Chippina of land debris - Per Environmental Department To require and enforce chipping instead of burning for land clearing would require an ordinance by the Board of County Commission. Burning permits are obtained through the Division of Forestry and the Fire District. (Please contact Vanessa Bessey, Environmental Department Manager at 462-2528 for further information). 4. Plantation Manor Mobile Home Park - a question was asked after the January Meeting, if the county was aware of any plans the owner of Plantation Manor Mobile Home Park has for his property. In a phone call to Matt Margatta, City of Fort Pierce Planning Department (460- 2200) we were informed that "the residents should stay in contact with the owner of Plantation Manor. As of January 23rd, the City of Fort Pierce had not received any site plan, permit requests, etc., for the property. ITEM 6 - NEW BUSINESS Kit Linberger, a resident of Palm Grove, wanted to discuss the F.D.O.T. U.S. 1 roadway improvement project. She stated that when the residents exit Palm Grove they are only allowed to make a right turn onto U.S. 1 (going north). However, across the street is the Charlie's Dodge Dealership and they can turn either left or right turn. Something must be done so that they can also only make a left or a right turn only before an accident occurs. Don Pauley, Road & Bridge Manager stated that it's a state project but that he would follow up on it and relay the residents concern. Craig Mundt _ Suggested that Growth Management develop an "absolute" check list for these massive projects that are coming into the county. A check list that indicates what the county needs will be due to the impact of these massive projects - acreage for school property, fire stations, sidewalks, drainage, parks, number of homes, turn lanes, etc. He would also like to see the county pursue year round tourism (aquariums, etc.) to increase our revenue. He would like to see a group put together to research this. Property & Homeowners Meeting February 21, 2007 Page 6 Commissioner Grande _ If it's a really good project and would pass on it's own merit, then we need to change our operating philosophy. If you read our Comp Plan and Land Development Codes, everyone understands the concept of zoning. If you look at the Future Land Use and the Future Land Use says this is the maximum we have in our long range, zoning is what the current entitlement is. The zoning belongs to the owner. I believe the right to build a house is a tangible asset and all of the TDR's (Transfers of Development Rights) that have been tried are there because the rights that go along with the land are tangible assets and can be traded just like stocks and bonds. What that leads to, if we would change our operating philosophy so that when someone buys property zoned for 1 unit per acre and then they come in and want 4 units per acre, what we have always done is give him the ok if we think the plan is a good one. What I would really like to see us do, if the plan is a really, really good one and would pass on its own merit _ then we charge them. Those increased density rights are not an entitlement of the property owner, they are owned by all of us collectively that live in this County. If we're going to give them to somebody, then we should get value for them. If someone comes in and wants to build a thousand homes, after buying the cheap land zoned for 100 homes and now wants a 1,000 homes, we (the entire County) should benefit from it. Create an income stream to off-set the ad valorem tax base. I would like to have people start thinking along those lines. There has to be some imaginative way to pay the county's bills, instead of by the people who are getting killed by property insurance and taxes. With no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 11 :00 A.M. Respectfully submitted, £¡ J!\~ Liz ~rtin Aide to Commissioner Grande t ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING Wednesday, February 21, 2007 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 3 Doug Anderson County Administrator AGENDA 1. Call to Order - Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman .:. Pledge of Allegiance .:. Self Introduction of Property and Homeowner Representatives 3. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Report ~~ç ),/) 2. Approval of January 10, 2007 Minutes 4. Old Business .:. Update on North County MSBU .:. U.S. 1 Roadway Improvements & proposed hotel on U.S. 1 near Rio Mar .:. Chipping vs burning of land debris for new development 5. New Business .:. Jack Cahill, Black History Month/History Makers 6. Adjournment Reminder. Our next Meeting will be held March 14th ¡: I ~:~!fJ~1 CO. ADMIN. OFFICE ¡. I ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting January 10, 2007 Convened 9:05 A.M. Adjourned: 10:40 A.M. The meeting ofthe Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, January 10,2007, in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay Sonny Jamieson, Savanna Club HOA Barbara Daume', Villages of Lake Lucie Jack Cahill, South Beach Association Bill Hammer, Property Owners of the Reserve/PGA Village Christi Mollet, Indian River Drive Freeholders Craig Mundt, North Beach Association Diane Shaw, Bel-Aire Estates Robin Schifilliti, PGA Village HOA Rita Nulany, Plantation Manor Mobile Home Park HOA Dr. Bobbi Conti, Property Owners of the Reserve Kit Linberger, Palm Grove HOA Also Present: Commissioner Charles Grande, Chairman Mayor Bob Benton, City of Fort Pierce Vickie Williams, Florida Department of Financial Services Liz Martin, Aide to Commissioner Grande Barbara Felton, Aide to Commissioner Lewis Kathy Thornton, Savanna Club HOA Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Joe Toth, Villages of Lake Lucie Carol Mushier, South Beach Association Swendy Ariyanayagam, St. Lucie County Contractor Licensing Mark Fowler, St. Lucie County Code Enforcement/Indian River Estates Carl Brome, St. Lucie County Code Enforcement/Lakewood Park Chris Counsellor, St. Lucie County Code Enforcement/River Park Dennis Bunt, St. Lucie County Code Department Supervisor Mark Boston, Florida Alliance of Retired Americans Fred Cook, I nterested Resident Stan Widing, Plantation Manor Mobile Home Park HOA Mark Boston, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Larry Storm, Interested Resident Barbara Miller, St. Lucie County Road & Bridge Department Doug Barker, Palm Grove HOA Marion La Riviere, Palm Grove HOA .' Property & Homeowners Association Meeting January 10, 2007 Page 2 ITEM 1 - CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 9:05 A.M. Commissioner Grande 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 NOVEMBER 8,2006 Bill Hammer made a motion to approve the minutes of December 13, 2006. Charlie Brown seconded the motion and the approval carried unanimously. ITEM 3 - ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S REPORT Deputy Gary Gonsalves addressed the group about a check scam currently operating. He urged everyone to report any suspicious phone calls or mail requesting financial information to the Sheriff's Office. Fraudulent companies are sending checks to local residents, asking them to deposit the checks and then wire cash to a distant city. The checks, of course are bogus and the resident is responsible and must return the money to their bank. There is also a group operating out of South Florida stealing purses from vehicles at gas stations. This is occurring in our county and the surrounding counties. The cars are left unlocked while the gas is being pumped and the purse is stolen from the passenger side of the vehicle. It usually occurs in less than 15 seconds and the women are unaware of it until they get back in their vehicle. Please keep your car doors locked and always be alert. Deputy Gonsalves also reported on the 2006 Major Crime Report statistics. A slight increase in crime has occurred in the unincorporated area. These statistics are reported to the FBI. The report is on-line and it can be viewed by community and zone. The largest crime rate increase was in the area of the Weed & Seed Program. This program works to reduce crime by the presence of increased law enforcement. With more arrests being made, it then increases the crime rate statistics for the area. The clearing rate for criminal cases is around 47 percent. The international average is around 50%. With the increase in population the crime rate increases proportionately. Mayor Benton thanked Sheriff Mascara for partnering with the City of Fort Pierce in the Weed & Seed Program. The lowest homicide rate in 20 years was reported in Fort Pierce last year. ITEM 4 - PRESENTATION: Vickie Williams, Consumer Outreach Coordinatorforthe Florida Department of Financial Services gave a presentation regarding insurance. My Safe Florida Home is a program designed to protect Floridians and their homes. The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes has reviewed this program and reported that in excess of 14,000 free home inspections were done throughout the state. To get into the program you must be a Floridian and own property that is homesteaded and the ¡ Property & Homeowners Association Meeting January 10, 2007 Page 3 property must be worth less than $500,000. Matching grants are available, up to $5,000, to help pay for hurricane resistant improvements recommended as a result of the home inspection. You can save a great deal of money on your yearly property insurance premium with hurricane resistant improvements such as shutters, roof improvements, impact resistant windows, upgrading garage doors, etc. Mobile homes and manufactured home insurance was discussed. Insured value and depreciation was discussed, because as a general rule mobile home values decrease rather than increase. Mobile homes are licensed as a vehicle. Discussion was held on hurricane claims and Ms. Williams office can advise you on protecting yourself from predatory lending, deceptive loan practices, identity theft, automobile insurance, property insurance, etc. The Department of Financial Services offers free community outreach programs on a variety of topics to help residents make sound financial decisions and avoid becoming a victim of insurance or financial fraud. Insurance fraud and insurance scams can inflate yearly premiums as much as 30% on auto, homeowners and other types of insurance. This is a major issue affecting all property owners and Ms. Williams can be reached at 561-640-6712 and she would be happy to make a presentation to your Homeowners Association geared toward your particular circumstance. You may also contact her via e-mail atVICTORIA.WILLlAMS(cì)FLDFS.COM ITEM 5 - OLD BUSINESS Glades Cut-off Road drop off at the entrance to PGA Village: The repair was completed on September 27th. Any repairs on or along PGA Village is the responsibility of the City of Port St. Lucie. Bill Hammer stated that the entire length of Glades Cut-off Road needs to be repaved. ITEM 6 - NEW BUSINESS Next Months Meeting Date - Cancel or reschedule the February 14th Meeting: Charlie Brown made a motion to reschedule the February Meeting date to February 21 st. The Commissioners will be in Washington February 14th, 15th and 16th. The motion was seconded by Sonny Jamieson. The motion passed unanimously. Jack Cahill - This group has a great deal of strength if we utilize it and work together as a group. We all need each others help and should combine our strength. Diane Shaw Stated that Commissioner Craft spoke in the North County last November and said the MSBU Water information and ballots would be mailed out in February. She would like an update on the issue and wondered if that is still an accurate time frame? .' Property & Homeowners Association Meeting January 10, 2007 Page 4 Bill Hammer - The small advertising signs you see throughout the county are a blight. Dennis Bunt responded that they are illegal and are pulled up every day. A recent sweep was conducted and 350 signs were picked up. His department can only address the signs in the unincorporated area. Please contact Code Enforcement (462- 1625) if you see any. Mr. Hammer feels the penalty should be severe enough and the fines high enough to pay for the cost of taking the violators to court and shutting them down. Dr. Bobbi Conti - The FPL Coal Plant that was defeated in St. Lucie County unanimously last year is not a dead issue. FPL is trying to place the plant in Glades County on the berm of Lake Okeechobee. The residents of that County need your support to defeat it. It was suggested that they contact their State Representatives. Dr. Conti said that if passed in Glades County, our County would still suffer, because the trains hauling the coal would still come through St. Lucie County and she urged everyone to stay on top of the issue. Kit Linberger - Wanted an update on the U. S. 1 roadway improvements, between Rio Mar and Midway Road, when the project will be completed, etc. Also, she read in the newspaper that a hotel is going to be built on the west side of U.S. 1 near Rio Mar and she would like information on that. Bill Hammer - Suggested that this group form a contact list for issues so that the representatives can share it with their communities. A list of names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses, so that if you are interested in an issue you would know who to contact. Dr. Bobbie Conti - Questioned the burning of land debris for new developments instead of chipping it. The burning is polluting the air. Commissioner Grande said he would check on it. Mr. Hammer commented that if it's within 1,000 feet of a residence they can put in restrictions based on the direction of the wind. We're having ash fallout on cars and in swimming pools. Dr. Conti said that individual citizens had taken the issue to the attorney but it hasn't been brought forth to require chipping. Craig Mundt - Reminded everyone that Party in the Park will be held January 20th at the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park. Also, on the same day, the Geoplasma Workshop has been scheduled by the Board of County Commission. This is an issue that everyone needs to stay on top of. The emission from the proposed FPL Coal Plant was quite controversial and we don't know what the emission from the Geoplasma Plant will be. The question has been asked, what are the emissions and the only answer that has been forthcoming has been, it will meet EPA standards. The FPL Coal Plant said their Coal Plant would meet EPA standards as well. So, until those numbers are available and there is an in-depth analysis on what they are telling us, I would encourage everyone to pay close attention. Commissioner Grande - We should find out what the potential problems are. I couldn't agree more. Even though, the comment about the FPL Coal Plant meeting EPA standards, what we need to realize is, the EPA standards for coal fired electrical generation plants are different than the EPA Standards for a nuclear power plant or a gas fired generation plant, so the fact that we say it "meets EPA standards doesn't mean it's clean, it means it may be relatively clean for that particular process or that Property & Homeowners Meeting January 10, 2007 Page 5 particular fuel. I don't think anyone seriously believes that if you burn coal, it's not going to affect the lives of children. I don't think there is an industry standard for this kind of process, because it doesn't exist in numbers anywhere else. Rather than go faster, we need to go slower, because we are breaking new ground. We are the "experimenter" if you will, everything that we've seen on paper, says it's a great process. Whenever that happens, there's always the question, if it's a great process, why isn't it already someplace else? We need to make sure of all of the answers. Dr. Conti - Everyone needs to do their own research, but what I've found is that the temperature of the geoplasma arc is hotter than the surface of the sun. Secondly, what is up and running around the world, that technology is being used on certain types of trash, not everything you throw in your trash. So, the concern now is.......because of all the plastics and everything else you throw in your trash, what are those by-products? It's my understanding that the plant they went to see in Japan is not the type of plant that would be placed here. I've been in touch with scientists around the state with experience in incineration dating back to 1985. I'm continuing to do research. With no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 11 :05 AM. Respectfully submitted, ~,,~~~ Liz ðartin