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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 01-15-2010 TCERDA Treasure Coast Education, Research and Development Authority TCERDA Board of Directors Minutes of Meeting January 15, 2010 Convened: 1:45 p.m. Adjourned: 3:35 p.m. The meeting of the Treasure Coast Education, Research and Development Authority (TCERDA) was held Friday, January 15, 2010, in Room 219 West, University of Florida Indian River Research and Education Center, 2199 South Rock Road, Fort Pierce, Florida. MEMBERS PRESENT: Jane Bachelor, Chair Jose Farinos, Vice Chair Dr. Kathleen A. McGinn, Secretary and Treasurer Tom Perona Hoyt C. “Pat” Murphy, Jr. Dr. Peter Stoffella Stefan Matthes, P.E. O.R. “Rick” Minton, Jr. MEMBERS ABSENT: Dr. Joseph C. Joyce Travis Murphy Commissioner Doug Coward, BOCC Liaison (scheduling conflict) ALSO PRESENT: Ben DeVries, Executive Director, Treasure Coast Research Park Heather Young, Assistant County Attorney Robert I. “Rim” MacLaren, II, General Counsel Mike Adams, Adams Ranch Kathryn Hensley, School Board Member Derrick Dukes, Suffolk Construction Adnan Alghita, Adnan Investment & Development, Inc. Jackie Bylsma, Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County A. CALL TO ORDER Ms. Jane Bachelor called the meeting to order at 1:45 p.m. B. WELCOME MEMBERS AND GUESTS Ms. Bachelor welcomed the Board members back and wished the members and guests a happy New Year. - 1 - C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Bachelor asked the Board if they had any changes or additions to the minutes. Mr. MacLaren suggested one change: MEETING SUSPENDED changed to AGENDA SUSPENDED. Ms. Bachelor requested a motion for approval of the December 14, 2009 TCERDA Board minutes as amended. A motion was made by Mr. Pat Murphy and seconded by Dr. Peter Stoffella for approval of the th December 14 minutes as amended. The motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote. D. TREASURER’S REPORT Dr. McGinn stated there was no activity in the TCERDA account. Also attached to her report is the County budget report to date. Dr. McGinn needs clarification on the gaming revenue and will report back to the Board. A motion was made by Mr. Matthes and seconded by Mr. Perona for approval of the Treasurer’s Report. The motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote. E. LEGAL UPDATE Mr. Rim MacLaren gave the Board an update on the following items open for discussion among the Board members: ? County and City of Fort Pierce status of a Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA) Interlocal Agreement for utilities at the Park. Mr. MacLaren has not heard any feedback from either entity. Ms. Young stated she was not sure when the BOCC planned to discuss it. ? Conveyance of the 60-acre parcel for the School Site; the legal description and sketch has been forwarded to the County Attorney’s office for execution. Mr. DeVries stated Marty Sanders requested a letter be sent from the County confirming acceptance of the specified parcel for the school site, at which point, the School District will conduct their due diligence and TCERDA terminates their lease with the County on that site. ? R-O-W Agreement – road construction, water/sewer, Kings Development, LLC, remains in discussion. ? Sublease provision – the Master Sublease was distributed at the previous meeting and must be submitted to the County as one of the criteria of the lease. The CDI Committee recommends the TCERDA Board submit to the County for approval of acceptance of the sublease. A motion was made by Mr. Perona and seconded by Mr. Farinos for approval of submitting the sublease to the County for their acceptance. The motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote. ? UF/IFAS Weather Site is a concluded and completed item. They agree to abandon and vacate the site upon sufficient funding and time. In order to effectuate, $120,000 funding is required and 180 days to relocate the experiment. F. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. DeVries gave the Board an update on the following items open for discussion among the Board members: ? Clean fill material – The Park is receiving clean fill material thanks to the City of Fort Pierce. They offered the Park approximately 25,000 cubic yards of free fill material with an estimated value of $150,000-$200,000. There may be a slight cost incurred for the transporting of the material. He explained that the contractor for the City has agreed to haul the material up to 4 miles from the project site as part of the project cost. The Park is approximately 2 miles past the 4 mile limit; therefore, the contractor has requested assistance from the County (trucks and drivers) to help move all the truckloads of fill to the Research Park. TCERDA may have to pay the cost of hauling the fill the additional 2 miles, resulting in a cost of approximately $5,000-10,000. Kimley-Horn - 2 - conducted geotechnical studies and found the fill material to be good. Mr. DeVries stated the City of Port St. Lucie also has free fill material, approximately one million cubic yards, with an estimated value of $2-3 million, for the Park. The fill is free if the Park arranges the hauling. In recent budget talks, it was determined the County may not have the necessary funds available at this time to accept the fill from the City of Port St. Lucie. Mr. DeVries had a conversation with Don West, Public Works Director, regarding the use of County trucks and drivers to assist in the hauling and offset the transportation cost for the additional two miles to the Park from the City of Fort Pierce’s project. A motion was made by Mr. Perona recommending to the Authority that Mr. DeVries be authorized to expend an amount not-to-exceed $9,999 for hauling the fill from the City of Fort Pierce the additional 2 miles, if necessary. Mr. DeVries explained the funds would be taken from the County Capital Budget established for costs associated with Park infrastructure. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pat Murphy and the motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote. ? Meetings with Deans at IFAS – Mr. DeVries stated Dr. Joyce had the IFAS Deans brainstorm to identify opportunities ‘from farm to pork’. The plan is to work with graduate students to help bring business to the Research Park. Microbiology and biology is on the cutting edge, which is very encouraging. ? FRNSTP – In meetings with the representatives of the eight research parks in the association, the group is working to identify national and international opportunities. They will develop a legislative program, provide presentations and work with the international delegations as well as the state and federal delegation to secure funding to market the Parks. ? North/South corridor link at Exploration Parkway – Meetings were held with County staff regarding the push for Jenkins and Rock Road to be a major north/south corridor, which could save $100,000 by changing from 6 lanes to 4 lanes on the Kings Highway improvement project ? County lobbying efforts – The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met to discuss lobbying efforts. The Park became the number one priority for water and sanitary (infrastructure) for federal stimulus dollars, while others proposed dredging, etc. Commissioner Grande stated there was unanimous support for the Park and directed staff not to jeopardize Park funding with other issues. ? Update on one-on-one meetings with the Fort Pierce City Commissioners – Mr. DeVries and Ms. Bachelor met with each City of Fort Pierce Commissioner regarding the utility issue at the Park. The Commission is supportive of a deferral of annexation. Ms. Bachelor stated that they are very fortunate to have the support of the City of Fort Pierce and that the relationship they have worked on for quite some time is beginning to show some results. Mr. Perona stated he will give brief mention of the Park at the City’s meetings during Public Comment to raise public awareness of the Park. ? Moving revenue from County budget – Mr. DeVries is working toward moving funds from the Capital Budget to the Operating Budget for marketing. ? Treasure Coast Research Corridor – An effort is being made to provide updates to the members. The plan is to promote the Park and to leverage the marketing budget by teaming up with the Corridor Association. ? XE3 Event – There are 23 members in the Organizing Committee. Honda and Toyota will provide hybrid vehicles for demo at the event. Mr. Matthes agreed to help mentor. The go kart race will be 1/8 mile. There will be 12-15 facilities participating in the XE3 tour, based on how many students are signed up for the program. The teachers and students are very excited about the XE3 Event. There will be a 5K walk/run for the adults and an XE3 conference. Mr. DeVries spoke - 3 - to Marta (of the TC Corridor group). She is working on a presentation with world class scientists for an adult program on green energy, rainforests, etc. FPL is the event’s top sponsor with a donation of $10,000. Scripps agreed to a $4,975 in-kind donation for newspaper ads. Other donations include the Wal-Mart Distribution Center with a contribution of $500. As a thank you, there will be a reception for teachers, volunteers, sponsors, and dignitaries on Friday from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm sponsored by Marriott. The tech tours and adult presentation will take place on stnd Friday, May 21 and the go kart race will take place on Saturday, May 22. Students were given the go kart plus an allowance of $750 to build an alternative engine and up to $250 raised by students for incidentals. Judging of the race will be in thirds for performance, appearance, and creativity. This is a good event to get the community involved. Mr. Perona gave an update on the 5K path. He said they must make certain it is a certified course. Mr. DeVries stated he appreciates all of Mr. Perona’s help and thought it would be great if they City of Fort Pierce would contribute $400 toward the event and also have a booth. ? The new website – Mr. DeVries requested the Board provide an updated bio for the new website th and to dress for Board photos on February 15, immediately following the TCERDA Board meeting. ? Kings Highway/Research Parkway – The Treasure Coast Research Corridor members have proposed renaming a section of Kings Highway to Research Parkway. ? Digital Monument Sign – Three agencies will contribute a 1/3 each toward the cost of the sign; USDA, IFAS, and the TCERDA with a maximum contribution of $18,000 each. The Authority requested three bids in compliance with County policy, will contract with the vendor and invoice IFAS and USDA. Dr. McGinn asked what the estimated time of completion would be. It would take at least a month to get the funds in the account. There would be discussions with the techs regarding the LED/digital screen display software/hardware, etc., taking approximately 60-120 st days. Mr. DeVries stated the goal was May 1. The Board previously authorized the original estimate of $45,000. The newest estimate is $55,000. Mr. DeVries will bring this back to the Board for authorization when he has a better idea of the total cost. G. CHAIR’S REPORT Ms. Bachelor gave the Board an update on the following items open for discussion among the Board members: ? The new website – Ms. Bachelor stated Stacy is doing a great job and asked the Board members to provide an updated bio in the next two weeks. She said Mr. DeVries is doing an excellent job and she needs cooperation from the Board to get photos on the website. ? Lyceum – It was decided in the CDI Committee meeting not to go forward with this item. H. COMMITTEE REPORTS ? Marketing Committee – Dr. McGinn briefed the Board on the newsletter, building an email contact list and the marketing budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. She stated the Marketing Committee recommends the TCERDA Board authorize spending $61,000 for marketing, subject to the transfer of $45,000 from the Capital Budget (Jai Alai/gaming revenue) to the Operating Budget (currently $16,000 for marketing). It was moved by Dr. Stoffella and seconded by Mr. Perona for further discussion. ? FRNSTP – The group is working on publication and advertisement of all the Research Parks. Mr. DeVries distributed a copy of the Innovation Park handout to the Board and explained the grant - 4 - program. By voice vote, the Board unanimously consented to exploring the opportunity for matching grant funds. (Dr. Joyce excused himself from the Board meeting at 2:50 pm) ? Flow well leak – The flow well on the northeast quadrant on Picos Road needs to be repaired. The CDI Committee recommends the TCERDA Board authorize an amount, not-to-exceed $5,000 to repair the leak. It was moved by Dr. McGinn for the Board to authorize an amount not-to- exceed $5,000 to make the necessary repairs. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pat Murphy for discussion. Mr. Matthes asked if the well can be capped and abandoned and if so, recommends abandoning and plugging the well properly. Discussion ensued among the Board members weighing option of capping or repairing, as well as the estimated cost. Dr. Stoffella motioned to amend Dr. McGinn’s motion, and recommends the Board approve reviewing and repairing the well in the most cost-effective method, with an amount not-to-exceed $5,000. The amended motion was seconded by Mr. Pat Murphy. The motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote. ? Congratulations to Dr. McGinn for her reappointment to the TCERDA Board for a 4-year term. ? This is Mr. Minton’s last meeting. His term expires at the end of the month. Ms. Bachelor thanked him for his service on the Board and for lending his expertise. He was on the founding st Board and became the 1 Board Chair, serving on the Board for six years. He also served on the CDI Committee since its inception. Ms. Bachelor’s thanks were followed by applause from the Board. Mr. Minton thanked the Board and stated he decided to stay on the Board long enough to see the Park become a reality and he is very confident with the new Board that they will make it happen. ? Welcome new Board member, Mike Adams – Mr. Adams is taking the place of Mr. Minton. Ms. Bachelor said she looks forward to working with him and to having his expertise on the Board. ? The Nominating Committee met and this will be Ms. Bachelor’s last meeting as Chair. She will still remain on the TCERDA Board. Ms. Bachelor was presented an opportunity in addition to lecturing. She praised the Board and gave an overview of their accomplishments. Dr. Stoffella stated he appreciates her service and thanked Ms. Bachelor, explaining to the Board that she was tasked with developing a new major for UF; an undergraduate program accessible anywhere in Florida (B.S. degree). As the Chair of the Nominating Committee, Dr. Stoffella made the following nominations: Dr. Kathleen McGinn, Chair; Mr. Jose Farinos, Vice Chair; and Mr. Pat Murphy, Secretary/Treasurer. It was moved by Mr. Stef Matthes and seconded by Mr. Tom Perona to accept the nominations, which carried unanimously by voice vote. I.NEW BUSINESS ? Interlocal Agreement – Ms. Heather Young informed the Board of a meeting she had with Ms. Faye Outlaw in regards to Mr. DeVries being the equivalent of a County dept. director for budgetary issues, it was decided to just continue the way things are going and not proceed with the change. J. ANNOUNCEMENTS ? XE3 Tech Tours and Adult Presentation on May 21-22, 2010 – Board members, please mark your calendars. Dr. McGinn requested the Board members provide alternative dates for the February meeting. ? Ms. Bachelor will be participating in Leadership 28, an economic development day on Thursday, ? April 8, 2010, which conflicts with the TCERDA Board meeting. - 5 - ? The Board of County Commissioners’ Informal Meeting regarding Annexation is tentatively th scheduled for January 26 at 1:30 pm. Mr. DeVries will confirm the date and time. ? A presentation to the former TCERDA Board members will be held at a night BOCC meeting. The ndth first and third Tuesday of the month are night BOCC meetings. February 2 and 16 are both night meetings. Anne will coordinate. K. ADJOURNMENT Upon no further announcements or discussion, Ms. Jane Bachelor requested the meeting be adjourned. It was moved by Mr. Farinos and seconded by Mr. Perona to adjourn the meeting at 3:35 p.m. The motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote and Ms. Bachelor adjourned the meeting. Minutes submitted by: Anne Bowers The next TCERDA Board meeting is scheduled for February 15, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. in Room #219 - 6 -