HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10-22-2008
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St. Lucie County Board of Adjustment
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St. Lucie County Administration Building Commission Chambers
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October 22, 2008
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9:30 a.m.
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CALL TO ORDER
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Chairman Mr. Ron Harris called the meeting to order at 9:30 A.M.
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ROLL CALL
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Ron Harris ..................................Chairman
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Bob Bangert.................................Vice Chairman
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Diane Andrews............................Board Member
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Richard Pancoast........................Board Member
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MEMBER ABSENT:
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Buddy Emerson...........................Board Member
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OTHERS PRESENT
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Robin Meyer……...........................Assistant Director, Growth Management
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Jeffrey Johnson...........................Senior Planner
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Christopher Lestrange.................Code Compliance Manager
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Katherine Mackenzie-Smith.........Assistant County Attorney
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Veronica Torres ..........................Senior Staff Assistant
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Agenda Item #1 – Minutes
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Approval of the Minutes of Regular Meeting of August 27, 2008
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Mrs. Andrews motioned approval of the minutes; Mr. Pancoast seconded.
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The motion carried 4-0.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Agenda Item # 4 - Florida Tire Recycling, Inc. APP-920081521will be switched with
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Agenda Item #2 - Tedd Francis Ridsdale – BA-820081515.
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Page 1 of 12
Agenda Item # 4, Florida Tire Recycling, Inc. APP-920081521
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Ms. Katherine Mackenzie-Smith, Assistant County Attorney stated that there have been
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some questions about exactly what the County Attorney role is during this board. She
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has explained it to each board member but wanted it on the record with the public also.
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During this meeting they are advising the board, staff is unrepresented during this
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meeting and that is the County Attorney’s position during the Board of Adjustment
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meeting.
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Ms. Pendarvis stated that Mr. Chris Lestrange would be presenting.
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Ms. Mackenzie-Smith asked if the Chairman wanted staff to go ahead and present, she
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commented that there was an outstanding Motion for Continuance and Motion to
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Intervene and did the Board want to hear those first.
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Mr. Harris commented that he thought he would like to hear those first but wanted to
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know if this had to be opened for public comment.
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Ms. Mackenzie-Smith stated that it would have to be opened.
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Mr. Harris stated it would be opened for public comment and then have comments from
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Mr. Lestrange.
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Public Comment
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Ms. Cynthia G. Angelos on behalf of Allied International also known as Chem-Tex
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Supply Corp. they are the property owner of the matter at issue. They have filed a
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Motion to Intervene as well as a Motion of Continuance this morning.
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Mr. Melville is the attorney for Appellant; they have discussed both motions and she did
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not want to speak for him but it is her understanding that he does not have an objection
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to the Motion to Intervene, which she would ask the Board to rule on this morning. After
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that time if the Board could take up the Motion for Continuance.
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She has written a letter and filed an Affidavit with regard to the basis of the motion and
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would be happy to review with the Board if that is necessary.
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Mr. Melville stated he is an attorney locally and represents the Appellant, Florida Tire
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Recycling Inc. as Ms. Angelos stated. Florida Tire does not object to the Motion to
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Intervene on behalf of her client or the Motion for Continuance. It is their understanding
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that the matter would be continued to the next regularly scheduled meeting, which he
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believes, is November 26, 2008. They are a perfectly comfortable with that.
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Hearing no further comments in favor or in opposition to the petition, Chairman
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Harris closed the public portion of the meeting.
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Page 2 of 12
Ms. Katherine Mackenzie-Smith stated the Motion to Intervene is first, the Board does
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not have to formally do it but since they have filed a formal motion she would
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recommend that the Board go ahead and do it.
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Mr. Bangert stated that the Board does have to remember that he was not certain the
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Board would meet on November 26 since that is the day before Thanksgiving and some
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people may be out of town.
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Mr. Bangert stated he agreed to move for a continuance of this until the next regular
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meeting.
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Mrs. Andrews made motion to approve the Motion to Intervene.
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Mr. Pancoast seconded.
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Motion to Intervene passed unanimously.
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Mr. Harris inquired if the Board should now make a Motion to Continue.
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Ms. Mackenzie-Smith stated that was correct.
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Mrs. Andrews asked if the Board has to continue to a date certain how does the Board
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do that in this motion if they are not certain about November 26.
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Mr. Harris stated that was a good question and asked the Board members their
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availability.
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Mr. Bangert will not be available, Mrs. Andrews, Mr. Pancoast and Mr. Harris expect to
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be available.
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Mr. Harris inquired if that was enough.
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Ms. Mackenzie stated that the Board needed three.
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Mrs. Andrews made motion to approve the Motion to Continue until November 26, 2008
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at 9:30 a.m.
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Mr. Pancoast seconded the motion.
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Motion passed 4-0
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Page 3 of 12
Public Hearing Tedd Francis Ridsdale
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October 22, 2008 BA-820081515
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Mr. Harris stated that brings the Board back to Item #2, Tedd Francis Ridsdale. There
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was a problem with advertising. The sign was not posted properly so this item will not
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be opened for general public comment or staff comments. Mr. Harris addressed the
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County Attorney if that was correct.
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Ms. Mackenzie-Smith stated it was not properly before the Board at this time and that
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was correct.
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Page 4 of 12
PUBLIC HEARING Florida Power & Light Company
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October 22, 2008 APP-920081521
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Mr. Robin Meyer, Assistant Director of Growth Management stated the request before
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the Board is a
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Florida Power & Light Company
petition of for a Variance from the Provisions
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of Section 7.04.01(A) (Table 7-10), of the St. Lucie County Land Development Code to allow a
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maximum building height of just under 47 feet which is 7 feet greater than the allowable 40 feet
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maximum building height allowed in the (U) Utilities Zoning District.
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The location of this property is 6501 South Ocean Drive, the Zoning is Utility, Future Land Use
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is T/U (Transportation/Utility), parcel size is 591.70 acres.
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The proposed use is a 92,000 square foot consolidated maintenance building. This building is
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proposed to replace a number of buildings destroyed during the 2004/2005 hurricanes.
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The surrounding zoning is HIRD (Hutchinson Island Residential District) to the east and south,
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RS-4 (Residential Single-Family 4 du/ac) to the north, and CPUB (Conservation-Public) and
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Indian River Lagoon to the west.
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The right of way on South Ocean Drive is 60 feet. With regards to the requested variance to
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make sure they were asking for the proper height he asked that the Building and Zoning division
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review their application and review the requested necessary variance. They have provided the
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applicant and staff with the actual height. It is actually 6 feet 11 ½ inches and they are asking
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for 7 feet, just to round it off and make it a little simpler.
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With regards to the actual application and request, this is a very unique site; it is a large site the
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surrounding property owners cannot see what is going on. The existing buildings because of
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the nature of the nuclear plant most of them are actually larger than the requested building
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height of this structure; it will blend in with those. The building is almost 800 feet from the
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roadway; there is simply no reason in staff’s analysis to deny this request. Staff is
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recommending approval.
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Diane Andrews inquired if the older buildings were being torn down afterwards or
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are they just replacing them.
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Mr. Meyer stated that he thought that applicant had better answer that, it is his
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understanding what they had done was built a number of temporary type structures to
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replace and cover up the equipment they need to cover up. All those will be taken off
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the site and replaced with this structure.
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Mr. Bob Bangert inquired if the wind turbines have been approved down there.
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Mr. Robin Meyer stated they had not and that is a separate process.
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Mr. Bangert commented they would be a lot taller.
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Mr. Meyer stated they would be about six times taller.
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Page 5 of 12
PUBLIC COMMENT
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Ms. Amy Brunjes from External Affairs at Florida Power & Light and she has many of
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her colleagues with her, Nick Blount who is her partner in External Affairs, Rich
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Gibbons, the Project Manager on this project, Michael Tammarow, the Environmental
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Attorney, Scott Busa, from the Corporate Real Estate Office and Dennis Murphy the
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Senior Project Manager from Culpepper & Terpening.
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As Mr. Meyer said they were before the Board in regard to their request for a minimal
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height variance for their new maintenance building at their St. Lucie Plant. This building
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will not change anything operationally at the plant but it will replace as Mr. Meyer has
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said a number of smaller maintenance facilities that were damaged during the storms of
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2004 and 2005.
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They have currently been using fabric structures to perform maintenance to the plant,
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temporary structures. The new building will allow them to perform maintenance and
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repairs much more quickly and efficiently. As he said it will be 92,000 square feet and it
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is inside the secure protected area of the plant and will be constructed of pre-cased
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concrete flooring and wall panels that will be designed to withstand a Category 4 storm.
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When complete the building will be home for mechanical and electrical maintenance,
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instrument and control maintenance as well as allow a space for meetings, programs
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and planning.
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They have been working with the St. Lucie Building Department for awhile now and they
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are ready to pull building permits, so she hopes that the variance will be granted and
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she will answer any additional questions that the Board might have.
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Mr. Dennis Murphy stated he is from Culpepper & Terpening and they are the ones who
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prepared the application on behalf of Florida Power and Light Company for the
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requested variance. He believes Mr. Meyer’s comments were fairly on point and
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addressed all the primary issues. The Board has heard their prior presentation as to
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exactly what they are doing through here. He believes that the Board has received a
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copy of the application book itself and it is fairly self explanatory to all that was in there
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and yes they did take the liberty of an extra ½ inch rounding if you will in the application,
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they could work around that if they need to.
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Without going through all the details and all the information, he will address any
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questions the Board has on the structure application, the point he thinks that needs to
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be emphasized is the fact that the proposed building is in fact located in the near center
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of the existing power plant facilities at Hutchinson Island. There are buildings
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immediately to the north that are actually a little bit taller than them and it is included in
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the packets, he also has a graphic that he can show the Board if they want to see it
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again. Their building is consistent with all the other heights that are out there and he
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does have one image that he did want to put up for the Board to see.
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Page 6 of 12
Photo shown was taken from A1A looking in toward the property site. The obvious two
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buildings to the right are the containment buildings and the building in the center is the
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existing four story office building. In the center is the existing four story administration
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building that was constructed in the 1990’s behind that is a very large gantry crane that
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is part of the plant operation itself and the proposed building would be going on the
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south side of that office building.
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If you look at the image you will see that the shaded building, the darker grey building is
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the proposed construction and the building behind it is the 4 story office building that
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was shown on the imagery. This building is actually lower than that one; when you see
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it from the road it will be a much lower profile and basically you won’t even know it is
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there.
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They have outlined the reasons in their application why they feel that this variance is
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necessary. The county staff report through their specific findings agrees with those
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general conclusions and they would request that the Board approve their requested
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variance for a height waiver. There was a question asked about wind, this is in no way
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related to the wind turbine project; these are two totally separate issues. The wind is a
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separate entity, this is tied into plant operations itself, the existing operations out there.
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In answer to the question Mrs. Andrews asked about the fate of the other buildings out
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there; will they be removed. Their life cycle as temporary fabric structures basically has
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been exceeded and in time they will be removed.
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Mrs. Diane Andrews wanted to ask another question. This is 47 feet above flood
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elevation, what is the flood elevation.
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Mr. Ron Harris said the base flood elevation is 7, this is in AE Zone, minimum floor
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would have to be 7 or above and it looks like the minimum floor would be 11 something,
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so they are well above flood.
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Mr. Dennis Murphy stated the purpose is to make sure that they are well above flood,
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well above surge and above everything because as we noted in a critical facility they
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want to keep this thing operational.
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Mrs. Andrews asked how tall will the actual building be.
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Mr. Murphy stated above grade it will be 47, no.
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Mr. Bangert commented 46 feet 11 ½ inches.
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Mr. Harris stated that they were going to round to 47 feet.
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Mrs. Andrews stated backup says above flood elevation, what is above grade.
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Page 7 of 12
Mr. Murphy stated grade will fluctuate a little based on the drawings but not by more
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than a foot or two. The lowest number is probably above grade, about and he was
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ballparking this about 55 feet or 56 feet give or take a foot because there is a give for
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the flood elevation issue. Primary point is though visually it is lower than the other
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structures.
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Mr. Edmund LaPlume stated he was speaking to oppose the building of a 55 foot
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height. We are not supposed to go more than 4 stories or 40 feet. He does not know
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what this is all about. What have you been dreaming about? You have a rule, a law
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and a regulation all of you have submitted to. What are you changing for? So we can
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get a better view, our tourist. You are working on A1A spending millions of dollars to
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make a nice view for the tourist, now you are ready to make buildings or a cement city
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for the tourist.
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They have spoken about a hurricane that took place 4 years ago and now they come
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before you because they want to put up a new building and remove the ones that were
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damaged. What happened in 4 years they didn’t remove the damage. What are they
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are going to store in this place? These kinds of boards that you are running are now
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starting to worry a lot of people.
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First of all somewhere back last year he read where they are going to start to store the
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used rods from the atomic energy plant, they are going to store them on this property.
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He did not know if it is regulated by this Board or not but it is getting scary. He can see
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everything they are doing over there that is going to include taller buildings, 55 feet high
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all of a sudden, from 40 to 55.
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He wanted to know the gentlemen’s name on the staff that said they approve of it.
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Mr. Robin Meyer responded giving his name.
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Mr. LaPlume asked if they have investigated all of this and approve higher buildings,
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was that correct.
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Mr. Meyer stated that was correct.
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Mr. LaPlume commented nice going. Wanted to know if he runs for office.
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Mr. Meyer stated he did not.
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Mr. LaPlume stated that was probably a good reason. He was there opposing all of this
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and he wanted everyone on the Board to particularly realize that and he was not
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speaking just for himself, he talked to his neighbors and they feel the same way. This is
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not the only complaint they were going to get or opposition to it. Why can’t they build a
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building 40 feet high, what are they going to store in there that is so high. Think about
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it, you are taxpayers like he is. It is just not in your neighborhood that is the difference.
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Page 8 of 12
Mr. Harris thanked Mr. LaPlume for his comments and wanted to know if FP&L wanted
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to comment on the gentlemen who made a statement about storing the rods on site,
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wanted to get that matter cleared up.
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Mr. Murphy stated that this particular storage building for all the information that they
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have been given and from everything they know is in no way associated with any kind of
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field storage. This is mechanical operations, this is plant operations, it is not in any way
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associated with field storage and he really can’t go beyond that because that is not a
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part of this particular application. He knows nothing else about that.
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Mr. Bob Bangert asked Mr. Murphy how high are the power plants.
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Mr. Murphy stated the top of the domes are about 230 feet give or take a foot or two.
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Hearing no further comments in favor or in opposition to the petition, Chairman
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Harris closed the public portion of the meeting.
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Mrs. Diane Andrews stated she wanted to make a comment, this Board is not the
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County, and they are volunteer citizens just like the gentlemen who spoke. The Code
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was addressed, the code of 40 feet. The Code also allows a 120% variance, so this
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would be within code if they should grant it.
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Mr. Harris thanked Mrs. Andrews and stated she was correct.
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Mr. Bob Bangert made motion to approve.
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In light of the evidence that was given by staff as far as the variance by FPL he moves
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the Board approve the variance. The reasons that staff presented just makes it very
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conforming especially when there are two buildings right next door that are over 200
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feet. He sees no problem with this one. Also the size of Ft. Pierce property at that
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place is pretty extensive.
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Mr. Harris commented he would like to add that it would have no major impact to traffic
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issues on State Road A1A and he does not believe considering the location of the
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structure being shielded by taller structures that it would diminish any property values in
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the area.
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Mr. Bangert approves the addition.
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Mr. Pancoast seconded the motion.
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Motion passed unanimously.
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Page 9 of 12
Public Hearing
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October 22, 2008
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Other Business
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Mr. Ron Harris stated that the Board had a memo that was delivered to the Board from
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the Growth Management Director informing the Board about how the Minutes will be
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kept due to the downsizing of staff. He knows that some of the Board members have
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issues with this and would like to discuss them so the Board can make suggestions.
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Mrs. Andrews stated that first she would like to say that the Board will really miss
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Veronica.
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Mr. Harris said he would second that.
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Mr. Pancoast stated maybe they could just hire Veronica to come back for one
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Wednesday a month for a couple of hours.
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Mrs. Andrews stated that since the Board is the last stop before Circuit Court she feels it
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is very important that there is an accurate record of what goes on. Most of their
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variances to give a foot or two for a screen enclosure or something is very minor but
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occasionally they have some variances that are controversial but especially with the
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appeals. She feels that they should be video taped, not necessarily broadcast them but
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video tape them so that at some future date a court reporter can make a court
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transcription. They have been told by court reporters that they can do that from a video
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tape so that it is available in the future.
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Mr. Richard Pancoast stated he agreed with Mrs. Andrews, the only thing he would say
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is that he has not made up his mind what the solution would be but it is obvious that
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there are cases in which they need to have accurate minutes whether they are recorded
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and in some cases people actually bring court reporters in with them. He thinks it
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behooves the County to have their own record of these things.
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Mr. Robin Meyer stated all these meetings are recorded and so there is a permanent
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recording of all the meetings.
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Mrs. Andrews commented that you can’t make a court reporter transcribe from an audio
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recording.
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Mr. Robin Meyer stated that the verbatim minutes are from the recording because there
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is no way Veronica can do them. That is what takes so much time.
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Mrs. Andrews stated that is because she knows the voices. You get some strange
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court reporter, she does not know who is who.
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Page 10 of 12
Mr. Meyer stated he understood, but they do not have the resources. To be honest they
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have just been told not long ago that the County is going to have to come up with
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another $7.5 million in deficit so they are going to lose more resources.
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Mrs. Andrews wanted to know what additional resources would you need, you already
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have TV people here, why can’t they just turn on the camera.
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Mr. Meyer stated that he would check with the television and see if they can record it
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but it is his understanding that they have talked with them in the past and there is a cost
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for having them do that and we do not have that in our budget.
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Mrs. Diane Andrews stated that then she did not think they are given proper support.
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Mr. Meyer stated that all the other Boards and Committees including the Board of
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County Commissioners and Planning and Zoning get recordings and summary Minutes.
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Mrs. Andrews commented that they are video taped.
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Mr. Meyer stated he understood but a recording is legal for any proceeding.
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Mr. Richard Pancoast inquired if the County is then going to continue to record. He
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read into this that there would be nobody sitting in Veronica’s chair.
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Mr. Robin Meyer stated that they are training Michelle to make sure that they have the
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recording. They absolutely have to do that.
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Mr. Pancoast commented what they are losing is actually.
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Mr. Meyer interjected saying actually someone transcribing the recording into written
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Minutes takes a tremendous amount of staff time and they do not have the resources.
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He does apologize, everybody in the County is tightening their belts and they are going
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to have to tighten them more.
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Mr. Richard Pancoast stated that he is on the Citizen’s Budget and he knows exactly
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what he was talking about.
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Mr. Bangert stated he had no problem as long as it is recorded.
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Mr. Pancoast stated as long as there is a recording he will withdraw his objection. He
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does not particularly need the Minutes. If he is at the hearing he remembers what they
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said, and he knows that is not perfect. If there is an electronic recording and if there
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was need to go back and see at some specific time they could do that if they needed to.
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Mr. Robin Meyer did apologize but there is nothing they can do about it. They were
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going to have to cut two positions, Veronica and another staff member decided to retire
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Page 11 of 12
and saved the department from actually cutting positions. They cut them that way
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rather than having to pick somebody.
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Mr. Bangert commented that what they will do is all offer their pay that they get for their
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services on the Board of Adjustment so they can have it.
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Mr. Ron Harris had a question about the recording; will the Board have access to it
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since they are getting abbreviated Minutes to review and how clear is that recording?
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Mr. Robin Meyer stated that actually all the recordings that they do now are on line and
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accessible by the public.
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Mr. Harris asked to confirm that all audio can be assessed, they are clear, and we can
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understand them.
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Mrs. Andrews stated that she just did not see why they can’t turn on a camera. It is
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there and it is not taking anybody.
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Mr. Robin Meyer interjected that he would definitely check into that and at the next
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meeting he will report back to the Board.
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Mr. Ron Harris stated the Board would appreciate that, he did know that abbreviated
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Minutes for P & Z and for the BOCC and other Boards are done. He really thinks that
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recording this considering what happens after the Board of Adjustment maybe possibly
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the right thing to do. After the Board of Adjustment it is strictly court, after P & Z is the
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BOCC and he was not down playing the P & Z, don’t get him wrong, they serve a very
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good function, they are an excellent Board but they are right on the edge of the legal
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matter. The Board of Adjustment is Quasi Judicial but if you can’t afford it, you can’t
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afford it. If Mr. Meyer could look into it he was sure it would make the other Board
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Members happy. He could not speak for Chief Emerson because he was not in
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attendance. He understands the circumstances with the funding at the County as well
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Mr. Meyer stated he would definitely do that and report back to the Board.
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Mr. Richard Pancoast stated that it might be something where they decide if they didn’t
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record with the video every meeting perhaps if they have a review or something that
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maybe more intense, something on that order they might record. Record something
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that they really felt they needed.
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Mr. Harris confirmed that Mr. Pancoast was suggesting that the Board hearings be
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recorded on an as needed basis, like appeals.
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Mr. Robin Meyer commented that would be an option and he would check on it and
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report back to the Board.
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Adjourned 10:05 a.m.
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