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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02-15-2010 TCERDA Treasure Coast Education, Research and Development Authority TCERDA Board of Directors Minutes of Meeting February 15, 2010 Convened: 9:00 a.m. Adjourned: 10:50 a.m. The meeting of the Treasure Coast Education, Research and Development Authority (TCERDA) was held Monday, February 15, 2010, in Room 219, University of Florida Indian River Research and Education Center, 2199 South Rock Road, Fort Pierce, Florida. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dr. Kathleen A. McGinn, Chair Jose Farinos, Vice Chair Hoyt C. “Pat” Murphy, Jr., Secretary and Treasurer Jane Bachelor Tom Perona Travis Murphy Dr. Peter Stoffella Stefan Matthes, P.E. Mike Adams MEMBERS ABSENT: Dr. Joseph C. Joyce ALSO PRESENT: Ben DeVries, Executive Director, Treasure Coast Research Park Commissioner Doug Coward, BOCC Liaison Heather Young, Assistant County Attorney Robert I. “Rim” MacLaren, II, General Counsel A. CALL TO ORDER Dr. Kathleen McGinn called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. B. WELCOME MEMBERS AND GUESTS Dr. McGinn welcomed the members and other attendees. C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Dr. McGinn requested a motion for approval of the January 15, 2010 TCERDA Board minutes. A motion th was made by Mr. Jose Farinos and seconded by Mr. Travis Murphy for approval of the January 15 minutes. The motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote. - 1 - D. TREASURER’S REPORT Mr. Pat Murphy provided the Board with the February Treasurer’s Report. A motion was made by Mr. Matthes and seconded by Dr. Peter Stoffella 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 including the following items for discussion among the Board members: ? Status of an Interlocal Agreement with the City of Fort Pierce, Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA), St. Lucie County and TCERDA for utilities at the Park – at the January TCERDA Board meeting, the Board agreed to a 10-year moratorium beginning with the CO of each tenant. The attorney for the City of Fort Pierce wants a specific date of when the 10-year period starts. ? Conveyance of the 60-acre parcel for the School Site and impact of Cattle Lease – at the January TCERDA Board meeting, the Board approved the 60-acre site for the School Board. On February rd 23, at a St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners’ meeting, an agenda is scheduled for staff to go forward with the transfer to the School District. There would be a 90-day due diligence period for the School Board and IFAS. The goal is to finalize the transfer by June 2010. The cattle lease would be addressed during the 90-day period. F. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. DeVries gave the Board an update on the following items for discussion among the Board members: ? TCRP Billboards – Moseley Advertising will install two billboards on the Florida Turnpike (1 northbound, 1 southbound), including artwork and production cost, for six months, at a cost of $4,286.30, to promote the new website, www.treasurecoastresearchpark.com. The artwork was sent to Charlotte Lombard, Tourism Manager, to review and take to the Ms. Lowery, Assistant County Administrator. The new website should be ‘live’ by the end of the month. This expenditure is part of the marketing budget which was approved at a previous TCERDA meeting. ? TC Corridor Association – Harry Zucker is the President of the Treasure Coast Corridor Association, which meets monthly. The TC Research Park is an Associate Member for designing their graphics. We will put their available land on the Park’s website in a collaborative effort. The Park is not competing with the Corridor Association. The Association is commercial, retail, industrial, and residential. The Park has a 50-60% research component. ? EDC – Mr. DeVries provided an update of the TC Corridor Association and the Florida Parks Network to Larry Pelton, President, Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County. ? RFQ – Neighborhood Charrette – Henry Iler of Iler Planning was awarded the RFQ for the Neighborhood Charrette RFQ. Mark Satterlee is negotiating the contract for the Charrette. Discussion ensued among the Board members in regards to land use and connectivity of the Park to the St. Lucie County International Airport. ? RFQ – Consultants / Backbone – The Kimley-Horn team was awarded the RFQ for the Park’s Backbone Design. Mr. DeVries stated we are in the process of getting the scope and fees and gave an overview of the consultant’s handout to the Board. He explained that although the other submittals were good, this team came up with a mosaic of site plan alternatives and took stormwater, traffic, and parking into consideration. The Kimley-Horn team should be under contract within the next 30 days. ? Artesian Well – A local plumber (Triple K Plumbing) is currently making the necessary repairs to the 8” and 4” flow wells. - 2 - ? League of Women Voters / Guest Speaker – Mr. DeVries is the guest speaker at tonight’s League of Women Voters’ meeting. He will provide the group with an overview of the Park. ? Upcoming Travel – February 16-17 is the Florida Parks Network (FPN) meeting in Orlando. There are eight affiliated o parks in the state. February 23-26 is an AURP meeting with the Federal Legislative Delegation in Washington DC. o Mr. DeVries will also meet with Greg Burns, our Federal Lobbyist and the Delegation’s staff to promote the park to secure future funding. March 9-11 is the Treasure Coast Legislative Conference in Tallahassee. Commissioner Coward o stated the State Legislative Delegation has a special session regarding high-speed rail funding and suggests we request St. Lucie County be incorporated into the station location design for future planning. March 25– UF will be hosting “A Celebration of Innovation Showcase 2010”in Gainesville. o ? Party in the Park / Conservation Alliance – The TCRP was invited to participate in the Party in the Park, hosted by the Conservation Alliance. Materials about the park and the XE3 event were distributed. ? Wiki Sites – New Wiki sites have been started for the XE3 Event, and the FPN. The website addresses are: http://xeee.pbworks.com and http://flpn.pbworks.com. ? XE3 Event Update – There are 15 Tech Tour sites. The intent is to excite the students about the future of science and technology. FPL donated $10,000 toward this event. There will be a reception st Friday night, May 21, at the Research Park. The karts will be on display in Room 219 and each of the eight participating schools will have space for a display of how the kart was put together with their alternative energy. The students’ karts and presentation will be judged for the People’s Choice nd Award. The students are very excited about this event. Saturday, May 22, there will be an expo area, food, entertainment, a 5K race/walk and the students’ go kart race. The City of Fort Pierce agreed to sponsor the 5K race/walk. Mr. Perona provided the Board members an update on the 5K race/walk. Mr. DeVries stated Scripps Newspapers contributed $5,000 of in-kind services for ads about the event. If possible, he would like a stipend raised for the teachers ($500/ea x 8 teachers = $4,000). Ms. Bachelor stated this event is a great opportunity to tie research to education. Discussion ensued among the Board members. Mr. DeVries suggested the elected officials take part in the Tech Tours with the students. ? Meetings Update – Mr. DeVries provided a Park update to each BOCC member, the School Board members and Senator Negron. ? Soil Update – 18,000 cubic yards of fill have been delivered to the Park. The fill material was donated by the City of Fort Pierce. The construction company is donating the hauling. There will be no cost to us for the delivery. G. CHAIR’S REPORT Dr. McGinn provided the Board with a report on the following items for discussion among the Board members: ? ‘Shovel Ready’ Timeline – Mr. DeVries provided the projected timeline to the City of Fort Pierce at th their February 5 Strategic Planning Workshop. Permitting through the Army Corp and SFWMD are critical in meeting the timeline. Discussion ensued among the Board members. ? Marketing the Park – Mr. DeVries stated the need for marketing funds was critical to draw tenants to the Park and explained to the Board members that involvement with the Treasure Coast Corridor Association, the Florida Parks Network, and the XE3 Event, enables him to leverage marketing of the Park. Attending trade shows also takes funding. - 3 - H. COMMITTEE REPORTS Dr. McGinn suggested the TCERDA Board meet quarterly and proposed 3 new Sustainability Committees meet on a monthly basis. As a refinement of the Board’s work, she explained the proposed committees would be open to suggestions and provide feedback on various issues. The meetings are subject to the Sunshine Laws and require 48 hours public notice. The three sustainable committees and 12 action teams consist of: ? Sustainability - Community Committee TCRP Advisory Council o Research, Science o Teacher and Student Engagement o Legislative Agenda and FL Parks Network o Volunteer Recruitment o ? Sustainability - Environment Committee Land Use, Design and Roadways o Site and Building Construction o Utilities, Entitlements and Permitting o ? Sustainability - Economic Committee EDC, Corridor Association, Chamber o Advertising, Communications, PR o Intellectual Property, Incubator and Staff o Venture Capital and Grants o Discussion ensued among the Board members as to whether the TCERDA Board meetings should be quarterly or monthly, as well as the reporting structure and decision making of the committees, action teams, the Executive Committee, etc. Mr. DeVries suggested the TCERDA Board meetings be held every other month. Commissioner Coward stated he was supportive of the proposed committees. Dr. McGinn will work with Mr. DeVries to schedule TCERDA Board meetings. She requested the Board members let Mr. DeVries know if the proposed dates work for the action teams. Discussion ensued regarding the action teams and Sustainability Committees. Mr. MacLaren informed the Board members that only TCERDA Board meetings have to be published in Florida Administrative Weekly, all meetings are subject to the Sunshine Laws, and have to be publicly noticed locally. Mr. Farinos suggested the Board members take the proposed committees/teams sheet home to review while Dr. McGinn restructures the schedule with Mr. DeVries. I. NEW BUSINESS The Board members discussed the for discussion among the Board members Letter of Confidentiality and Credit Report forms and commented on the new TCRP Newsletter, Wavelength. J. ANNOUNCEMENTS Commissioner Coward informed the Board members of budget updates. He stated they already cut $200 million from the budget. However, the one-time money is running out. Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-2011 can be balanced. However, FY 2011-2012 is looming. It is crunch time; there are state-wide mandates. The Energy Renewable Portfolio Standard will probably pass which would be good for clean energy business. - 4 - K. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Bachelor welcomed Mr. Adams to the TCERDA Board. Upon no further announcements or discussion, Dr. McGinn requested the meeting be adjourned. It was moved by Mr. Farinos and seconded by Dr. Stoffella to adjourn the meeting at 10:50 a.m. The motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote and Dr. McGinn adjourned the meeting. Minutes submitted by: Anne Bowers The next TCERDA Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. in Room #219 - 5 -