HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 06-11-2008
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
Minutes of Meeting
June 11, 2008
Convened: 10:03 A.M. Adjourned: 11:11 A.M.
The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday,
June 11, 2008, in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration
Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida.
Members Present:
Craig Mundt, North Beach Association
Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay HOA
Walter Fauth, Fort Pierce South Beach Association
Charlie Brown, Indian River Estates HOA
Bill Hammer, Reserve PGA HOA
Kathleen Ivins, River Park HOA
Andrew Stark, Palm Grove HOA
Don Wilson, St. Lucie North HOA
Also Present:
Commissioner Chris Craft, Chairman
Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
Linda Bollman, Indian River Estates
Alice Schmitz, Portofino Shores
Henry Schmitz, Portofino Shores
Susie Caron, Indrio Road Resident
Faith Litvack, Candidate Circuit Judge
Brad Culverhouse, Planning & Zoning and Historical Commission Member
Swendy Ariyanayagam, St. Lucie County Code Compliance
Melissa Brubaker, St. Lucie County Code Enforcement
Lynn Swartzel, St. Lucie County Code Enforcement
Jack Southard, St. Lucie County Public Safety Director
Tom Christopher, St. Lucie County Emergency Management Coordinator
Tom Daly, St. Lucie County Radiological Planner
Eva O’Donnell, Aide to Commissioner Craft
Stephanie Bush, St. Lucie County Administration Office
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June 11, 2008
Page 2
ITEM 1 – CALL TO ORDER :
The meeting was called to order at 10:03 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 May 14, 2008 meeting were unanimously approved.
ITEM 3 – ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF’S REPORT :
Deputy Gonsalves – There continues to be an increase in crime, particularly theft
of metal. Deputies are working on a County ordinance that would mirror the
state statute that governs the way pawnshops do business.
People are still falling victim to the “Secret Shoppers” scam. These scams
typically originate outside of the United States. If you receive anything
suspicious in the mail, shred it.
There are people soliciting door to door in Lakewood Park. Door to door
solicitors have to have a peddlers license. The dominant description is one white
male and one black male. The black male approaches the home with some type
of gift and says he has a business opening up in Lakewood Park and they want
to go into the home. If you see these individuals, please call the Sheriff’s
Department and they will come out and try to locate them.
Bill Hammer asked if fireworks would be allowed this year. Deputy Gonsalves
said when they receive calls they respond and usually seize the fireworks. The
Sheriff’s Department has more of a problem with people shooting off guns.
Walter Fauth reminded everyone of National Night Out against crime, which is
August 5, 2008. You can go to www.nationalnightout.org/nno to register.
ITEM 4 – JACK SOUTHARD & TOM CHRISTOPHER, PUBLIC SAFETY :
There are several divisions that fall under Public Safety such as the Division of
Emergency Management, Radiological Emergency Planning, Animal Control and
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June 11, 2008
Page 3
Marine Safety. This will be the last year Public Safety will utilize the Rock Road
Emergency Operations Facility.
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) provides a coordinating point for
effective management in disaster response and recovery from the municipal level
to State and Federal. The EOC has many emergency condition capabilities such
as Protection Factor 10 construction, emergency power for the entire facility, a
30-day supply of fuel, backup water supply, showers, laundry equipment and a
kitchen.
The County, Region or State activates the EOC upon a State of Emergency
Declaration. All counties have Statewide Manual Aid Agreements. The State of
Florida is divided into seven regions; St. Lucie County is within region five.
There are nine counties within our region. St. Lucie County has 17 emergency
support functions, which mirrors the States.
The category of the storm, coastal bathometry, location of landfall and the speed
of forward movement all determine the severity of the storm. Certain areas at
risk are the Barrier Islands, manufactured/mobile homes sites and mainland
surge areas based on the approaching storms forecast.
Hurricane Preparations-
Between January and April, the Public Safety Department prepares for hurricane
season by updating the Hurricane Manual, reviewing the fuel strategy capability,
coordinating the points of distribution and disaster recovery centers and the
Special Needs Oversight Committee will reconvene. Starting this hurricane
season, all trucks hauling supplies to impacted areas will be satellite tracked.
During the month of May, all County and Municipal agencies must have their
hurricane plan distributed, review inventory of critical items, maintain minimum
supply levels, check the availability and location of rental equipment, all needed
agreements should be approved and in place, review the operational status of
heavy equipment and ensure the availability, review the operation of two-way
radios and review the Hurricane Manual procedures with supervisory personnel.
During hurricane season, which is between June and November, the Public
Safety Department ensures the EOC maintains activation readiness, they track all
weather systems in the North Atlantic Basin and Gulf of Mexico and they advise
key personnel/agencies on the storm’s status.
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June 11, 2008
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There are two hurricane information lines that air daily press conferences. The
County is on WQCS 88.9 FM at 8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. The City of
Port St. Lucie is on WPSL 1590 AM at 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. For
planning and storm information online, you can visit www.stlucieco.gov/eoc. For
public information such as situation reports, up-to-date and accurate information
for media, evacuees and the public, go to www.stlucieco.gov.
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Plan-
72-48 Hours Prior:
Central Services starts protecting all County buildings and property. The Public
Safety Director draws up an action timeline and coordinates beach closings and
evacuation timing with Martin County, Indian River County, Palm Beach County
and Okeechobee County. There are also several conference calls and meetings
taking place as well as situation reports being issued.
48 Hours Prior:
All County departments finish securing outdoor loose items, top-off vehicles and
equipment with fuel, employees will be informed as to their roll prior to and after
the storm, leave requests for essential personnel will be cancelled, and in-house
procedures will be implemented where needed. The Public Safety Department
continues to participate in conference calls, complete the storm assessment,
update County, Municipal and Volunteer agencies on the storm’s status. They
will partially activate the EOC, activate the Hurricane Information lines, perform
Special Needs call-out to confirm transport needs, and recommend early
evacuation of residents planning on leaving the area.
36-24 Hours Prior:
The Public Safety Department will fully activate the EOC. The County
Administrator assumes incident command, conducts status briefings with EOC
staff, begins scheduled press briefings and finalizes coordination of closings of
County, Municipal governmental agencies and public schools. The Public Safety
Director will review the storm response assessment, confirm the evacuation level
and coordinate shelter openings with the School Board, Red Cross and the
Health Department.
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June 11, 2008
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24 Hours Prior:
The State of Florida deploys State Response Team members and ANG
representatives to the EOC. The Public Safety Department declares Local State
of Emergency, calls out Special Needs confirming pick-up time at 24-18 hours,
issues evacuation orders at 10-14 hours, opens shelters at 10-14 hours and
begins transporting Special Needs at 10-14 hours.
FirstCall will notify you of a mandatory evacuation. You must register if your
phone number is unlisted, you use a cell phone as a house phone or another
company other than AT&T services you. You can register online at
www.firstcall.net select “Unlisted number registration” or call (800) 653-9232.
Post Storm-
First Available Light:
The essential personnel will report for duty. The St. Lucie County Fire District
will begin search and rescue and begin clearing calls on hold. The Law
Enforcement, Fire District, School District, Health Department, Code Compliance
and Property Appraiser will begin damage assessment. The Public Safety
Director, County Administrator and emergency personnel will confirm the
distribution points for supplies. County, Municipal and FPL Utilities provide
damage assessment of facilities and assist in identifying areas of downed power
and broken water lines. County and City Public Works departments assist in
search and rescue, open emergency routes and preserve roadways, secure
hazardous areas, clear traveled portions of roadways, respond to urgent debris
removal request from the Public Safety Director, provide damage assessments of
Public Works facilities, and coordinate mutual aid assistance through EOC
representatives.
6 Hours Post:
The County Administrator will continue scheduled press conferences. The
County Administrator and the Public Safety Director will send a situation report
with the initial damage assessment to the State. They will update the County
Commissioners and Constitutional Officers and they will continue daily
conference calls with City Managers and State and Federal Officials.
72 Hours Post:
County and Municipal agencies assume POD operations and coordinate with
FEMA Public Damage Assessment Team upon their arrival. The Health
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June 11, 2008
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Department and the Red Cross begin relocating evacuees to long-term shelter
locations.
Bill Hammer asked if the County could work with FPL and Comcast to make their
services more reliable in the event of a hurricane. Jack Southard stated he has
an upcoming meeting with Comcast and will get a letter to the committee once
he has met with them.
Samuel Gaines will be the Special Needs Shelter for this hurricane season. The
old EOC building off of Rock Road will be turned over to the St. Lucie County
Information Technology Department. Approximately January 2009, everything
will move to the new EOC building, which is being built at the fairgrounds. The
walls are currently going up and should be completed by the end of December.
The current EOC building is 7,500 square feet and was completed in 1986. The
new EOC building will be 27,285 square feet.
ITEM 5 – OLD BUSINESS :
Commissioner Craft stated FDOT would email updates to the Homeowners
Associations regarding the US Highway 1 construction. If you do not have an
email address the updates will be attached to the minutes.
FDOT removed the “No Turn on Red” sign from the Prima Vista Boulevard
intersection for safety issues. Until the intersection is straightened out, the sign
will not be put back up.
Ulrich Road does not have drainage; therefore, chip seal is not an option. More
clarification was needed for the signal at Rio Mar; Commissioner Craft will follow
up on the timing of the traffic light.
ITEM 6 – NEW BUSINESS :
Bill Hammer asked for an overview on what is being planned and prioritized for
the 2008-2009 budgets. Commissioner Craft stated the County has several
million dollars carried forward. Each of those is a different fund that is already
budgeted. The monies carried forward are a General Fund and a Fine &
Forfeiture Fund. The County used part of the funds to balance this year’s budget
and the other part to balance next years budget. He believes the County is
down to a $12 million or $13 million gap that still needs to be closed. There are
jobs being lost because of this due to a hiring freeze and a future layoff. The
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June 11, 2008
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Budget Workshop begins July 7, 2008. County governments are affected by
CRA’s. The County writes a check to the City of Port St. Lucie and the City of
Fort Pierce for CRA’s out of their general fund. The County is also responsible
for every constitutional office and making sure they have adequate funding for
their departments. The County also funds certain things within the court system.
County government has a lot more unfunded mandates than City government.
There was a discussion regarding the upkeep of private property. Commissioner
Craft stated the City of Port St. Lucie passed a nuisance ordinance with the
ability to go onto private property and cut the grass. The County can only do
that if there is a public safety issue. The City has the ability to put that on their
tax bill at the end of the year, the County does not. The County can only lien
the property.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:11 A.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephanie Bush