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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 01-13-2010 ST LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of January 13, 2010 Meeting Convened: 10 am Adjourned: 11.00 am The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, January 13, 2010 in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Annex, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce. Members Present: Jean Fragano, Oleander Pines Barb Jennett, Oleander Pines Paul Jennett, Oleander Pines Walter Fauth, Fort Pierce South Beach Aris Atoa, Lake Forest Pointe Tony Roach, Lake Forest Pointe Bill Hammer, Reserve/PGA John Ferrick, North Fork Diane Andrews, Queens Cove Mark Boston, Association of Retired Americans Bob Bangert, Holiday Pines Charlotte Wollenhaupt, Oleander Pines Also Present: Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky, Chairman Terri Ann Palumbo, Executive Aide to Commissioner Dzadovsky St Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara Deputy Gary Gonsalves, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Tangie Jennings, Rep. Rader’s Office Eva O’Donnell, Executive Aide to Commissioner Chris Craft Sherry McCorkle, Congressman Tom Rooney’s Office Frannie Hutchinson Ethel Rowland Erick Gill, St Lucie County PIO Beth Ryder, St Lucie County Community Services Stefanie Myers, St Lucie County Community Services Michael Brillhart, St Lucie County Economic/Strategic Development Director Linda Ogle, US Census Jana Eschbach, Lawnwood/St Lucie Medical Center Rodney Smith, Lawnwood CEO Gary Cantrell, St. Lucie Medical Center CEO Al Rivett ITEM #1 – CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order. Commissioner Dzadovsky wished everyone a Happy New Year and then led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. ITEM #2 – APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Dzadovsky asked for a motion for approval of the December 9, 2009 minutes. Approval was moved and seconded and passed unanimously by a voice vote. ITEM #3 – ST LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF’S REPORT Sheriff Mascara said he wanted to give a report on the state of affairs of the Sheriff’s Office in 2009. 2009 saw the conclusion of the turnpike murders with the trial coming to end in April. All were found guilty, 2 sentenced to death. The Sheriff’s Office is continuing to hit hard on violent gangs in Fort Pierce, th and they target the hierarchy of one gang every summer. In 2008 they did the 13 Street Gang – nine members of the hierarchy were arrested and sentenced. Last year the Sheriff’s Office knocked off the hierarchy of the ZoTown Gang, a violent Haitian gang that plagued Fort Pierce. They are not up for trial yet. With the partnership of the BOCC, they continue to have School Resource Officers (SROs) in schools. One SRO is shared among 3 elementary schools in the County, there is one SRO in every middle school and 2 SROs in every high school. Sheriff Mascara stated the SRO program is a priority. The Police and Fire Games are coming back this year. They generated a lot of traffic and bed usage and income for county last year. The Sheriff’s Office got a $200,000 Department of Justice grant to upgrade their range. They also sought grant money to upgrade weapons, and in two weeks all deputies will have new weapons systems – new generation 45 caliber Glocks, all done at no expense to taxpayers. In 2009, inmates did 46,000 hours of community service work on Sheriff’s, County and public buildings. At $10 per hour, that comes out to a half million dollars saved by taxpayers. Violent crime is significantly down. Crimes that are up are scams – email, telephone, lottery scams, which happen every day in St Lucie County. Another new scam is someone telling you that you won a car – they send a title and a delivery date. They ask you to send sales tax and delivery funds in advance. Metal thefts, particularly copper thefts, are still increasing at vacant homes. A Crimestopper tip solved a case of drug addicts ripping off copper in vacant homes. Prescription drug abuse is a continuing problem, with Oxycontin as the #1 problem. Last year Oxycontin overdose deaths increased. In jail, Oxycontin abusers brought in on drug charges are a burden to jail and medical staff. A lot of them end up in hospital. There were no murders in 2009. In 2008 there was one murder. Overall crime in St Lucie County is down 10.5%. Crimes of opportunity remain rampant. The Sheriff urged all to please lock things up, especially in this economy. Jail population continues to go down. Last year the Sheriff’s Office had 5% less arrests than in 2008. Overall there was a 10% decline of arrestees brought to jail. In 2008 the jail population was 1700, this morning it was 1253. Sheriff Mascara attributes that to the declining population in the county. There are less transients, and the ones who came to make a fast buck have left the area. Mr. Hammer asked about SROs, suggesting that students who can’t cope be moved out of regular classrooms. Also, regarding the medical costs for jail: the per-prisoner charge is higher in St Lucie County than in Indian River and Martin Counties. He urged the Sheriff’s Office to work with Lawnwood to bring costs into line if possible. Sheriff Mascara said there are three alternative schools in St Lucie County where students who can’t function in structured school go. They have deputies at each of those schools. Hospital costs: the Sheriff’s Office’s goal is to have the Medicaid rate charged to inmates. This year it is a legislative priority that sheriffs and the League of Counties have taken on throughout the state. A member stated that particularly on 95 or Route 1, cars go too fast, but he rarely sees anyone pulled over. Sheriff Mascara responded that they receive no income from traffic tickets. County doesn’t receive funding. Last year they wrote 7,000 tickets. Ethel Rowland asked if the Oxycodone deaths are accidental Sheriff Mascara responded that if you take it the way it’s prescribed, deaths from Oxycontin/Oxycodone are rare. Abusers take a pill and crush it, or cook it and inject it, or snort it, and then they die. So it’s accidental because they are not taking the drug the way they should. Commissioner Dzadovsky introduced Deputy Gonsalves. Deputy Gonsalves reported that out of 26 categories of crime, one pops out – burglaries. Forced entry burglaries are down, attempted forced entries are down. Unforced entries into unlocked cars and homes went up 29.5% . He urged the members to put blurbs in their newsletters about keeping cars and homes locked. 772-871-5303 is the number to call if someone is going away and wants a deputy to go by a home or business to check it. A homeowner has to just call and give the deputy info on where they’ll be, how to reach them while they’re away and out of town. This program has been successful. Mr. Roach asked whether deputies do background checks when they stop someone. Deputy Gonsalves responded that deputies will check licenses and see if person has an active warrant Mr. Roach asked if that was standard operating procedure for all Sheriffs? Does that cross over to Fort Pierce police and other police agencies within the County? Deputy Gonsalves said that nothing written in policy that says a deputy or other police officer HAS to do it, but it’s common practice. Mr. Roach asked about the procedure if someone has no identification. Deputy Gonsalves said that deputies can get info from person, question them and can pull up the Jail- View database from on the laptop in the officer’s car. They can run licenses and criminal history, and it will show up on the laptop. Mr. Roach asked if that was accessible to Port St Lucie police. Deputy Gonsalves said yes. All laptops are the same. A member asked how many homes and vehicles were represented in the 29% increase. Deputy Gonsalves said that in 2008 there were 129 burglaries, and in 2009 there were 167. John Ferrick asked about the new driver license renewals, and raised concerns about revealing one’s identity and address. Deputy Gonsalves and Sheriff Mascara discussed the new regulations and procedures in terms of proof of identification that has to be submitted and the possible risks involved. ITEM 4 – ST LUCIE COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT REPORT Due to an all-day Fire District strategic planning session, Fire District personnel were unavailable to give a report. ITEM #5A GUEST SPEAKERS – Linda Ogle, US Census Bureau / Stefanie Myers, St Lucie County Community Services / Erick Gill, St Lucie County Public Information Officer Linda Ogle is the manager of census bureau for the 2010 census. She stated that she wanted to ask HOAs for assistance. The census questionnaires will be mailed in mid-March to every resident. There are only 10 questions, and the questionnaire doesn’t ask for one's Social Security number or any very personal info. Ms. Ogle asked the HOA representatives to pass the message in their communities that the census is safe and confidential. It is used for statistical purposes, to add or subtract numbers of representatives in the House, etc. If the area residents don’t respond, the area won't get the funding it needs. The states share $ 425 billion a year of funding. The only way we get our fair share is by sending in the completed questionnaires. Gated communities are hard to enumerate – that’s why questionnaires must be mailed, or residents will be called, or they will get permission to enter. People coming to doors will have IDs. If a resident fills out and mails in the questionnaire, there won’t be a visit. If the Census Bureau does NOT receive a completed questionnaire from a resident, they have to come three times to home until they make contact with the resident and get the answers to the 10 questions. Ms. Ogle asked for people within community to help recruit from every neighborhood. Census workers will have a badge, US Census Bureau bags, and signs in car windows. Ms. Ogle also asked HOAs to put up the Census Bureau's job hunt poster for anyone looking for a little extra work – they need enumerators, who will be paid $14.25/hour. She also told the members about a job fair coming up the following week at Fenn center. Mr. Hammer said there would be concern about volunteers talking about info they got from neighbors. Ms. Ogle clarified that she was asking for community volunteers just to spread the word to encourage residents to fill out questionnaires – Census workers will be only going door to door if they don’t receive completed questionnaires in the mail. She was asking for help in spreading the word that the census is safe and confidential, not asking for residents to actually bring the census forms around. Answering a question from a member, Ms. Ogle said the minimum age for a census worker was 18. Erick Gill said if HOAs need graphics about the census for their newsletters, they can contact him or Stefanie Myers. Mr. Gill gave out his email address, and also said he could make a video available if HOAs wanted to show it at their meetings or air it on their community stations. In response to another question, Ms. Ogle stated that college students are counted in their dorms. Stefanie Myers said that where someone eats and sleeps most of the time is the answer that should be given on a census form – so if a family has a child in college in a dorm, that child would be counted at the college, not as living in the parents' home. Erick Gill, in response to a question about the County website, stated that the County had to switch servers when it changed to the Outlook system, but the website works as a 'dot gov' or a 'dot org'. He also informed the members that the public computers in libraries would be down for maintenance over the holiday weekend, and that there may be intermittent outages on the County website through weekend. Michael Brillhart stated that in the 2000 census, the County didn’t get the response they’d hoped for. They really want to get a 75% or higher rate of return. The difference between 75% and what they got in 2000 for responses could make the difference in federal dollars for which St Lucie County could be eligible. It’s critical to get those who didn’t respond to fill out the questionnaire. Stefanie Myers said there was only a 63% return in 2000. She also stated that Michael Brillhart and Beth Rider are the co-chairs of the County Census Committee, and that she and Erick Gill back them up as much as possible. They are trying to reach out to every organization in St Lucie County to spread the word about getting the questionnaires filled out. She indicated flyers, banners and other materials placed on the table for people to take to help get the word out. There will be “Be Counted” sites for people to submit questionnaires in person, as well. Also there will be Questionnaire Assistance Centers to help people complete questionnaires – they will be staffed with bilingual individuals. Mr. Roach suggested that they should also advertise questions that will NOT be asked. He stated that ID badges can be duplicated, and people may be nervous about scam artists posing as census workers. Stefanie Myers confirmed that the county will be doing a press release on that as the census date gets closer. Linda Ogle said there will be a national media campaign about the questionnaires. Beth Ryder said she’s started telling everyone at any meeting she attends about the census and how important it is, and encouraged the members to do the same. Stefanie said that if any HOAs would like a presentation at one of their meetings, the Census will do its best to make a presentation. Mr. Hammer commented that the VITA sites and tax aid sites would be a great place for census. Stefanie said that the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites are for people getting their taxes prepared as long as they make less than $40,000 per year. The EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) has a whole other level due to "Making Work Pay" from the federal program – people can get up to $ 5,600 back on their returns. She indicated a flyer listing all the sties in St Lucie County, and added that people can call 211 for more information. Erick said he’d put out flyers from the extension office for HOAs to put out in clubhouses, etc. regarding wildlife and whom to contact for proper removal and relocation. ITEM #5B GUEST SPEAKERS – Jana Eschbach Lawnwood and St Lucie Medical Center Media & Community Relations Director, Sarsi (Medical Center ER Head Nurse), Brenda Dupree (Lawnwood Chief Nursing Officer), Rodney Smith (Lawnwood CEO), Gary Cantrell (St Lucie Medical Center CEO) Jana Eschbach introduced herself and said this is a very exciting time for health care in St Lucie County right now. We can care for ourselves, and don’t always need to be flown to other counties. She handed out flashing lights to be used when walking as Mr. Rodney Smith began his presentation. Mr. Rodney Smith, CEO, said he's been at Lawnwood a year and a half. The trauma center began as a provisional center on May 1st of 2009, and it will go through its final state inspection in March 2010. The state initially estimated they would treat about 1,400 trauma patients a year. Mr. Smith's team had projected 600. They are somewhere in between the two numbers right now on an annualized basis. They treat trauma patients from St. Lucie, Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee counties. They do not do pediatric trauma but if a trauma patient comes in younger than 16 years old, they stabilize them and what they need to do to care for them, then transport them to Miami Children's Hospital or another facility that would be appropriate based on their age. The next closest trauma centers are Holmes Regional or St Mary’s. Lawnwood is the only one in this geographical area, and it covers about 30 miles north and 30 miles south as well as 60 miles west of here. About 30 new physicians, trauma-related, have been added in the last 12 months. Mr. Gary Cantrell, CEO of St Lucie Medical Center, introduced himself and said he's lived here since 1995. He worked at Lawnwood for 4 years, then went to the St. Lucie Medical Center in 1998. At that time, the Medical Center had 150 beds. Today they have 229. They just finished renovation and added 35 additional beds designated for the orthopedic and spine Institute. They do about 2000 surgical procedures a year that are orthopedically-related. They have very good patient accommodations and patient outcomes. About 12 orthopedic and spine surgeons are on staff. They recently added two th operating rooms. They are opening a dedicated oncology unit at the hospital on Jan 19. They employ about 950 staff including physicians and their staffs. They opened up their recent office in St Lucie West, the Heart and Family Health Institute, that is employed by them. They are looking at other locations to expand their practice, as well. Jana handed out ER cards to the members and encouraged them to fill them out and keep them with them at all times. Brenda Dupree is the chief nursing officer at the newly expanded ER at Lawnwood. She has been part of the St Lucie County medical system for 10 years. She came to Lawnwood from Delray Medical and Trauma Center in Palm Beach County. Since January of last year they have done more than 6,000 hours of education for staff, from ER to OR to ICU to other areas. Guidelines require extensive training for nurses and physicians working in trauma centers. Mark Boston asked if hospitals all connected by computers, in case a patient is moved from one hospital system to another. Mr. Cantrell said no. There is a federal initiative now being worked on so that info can be passed back and forth across the United States but it’s not active. Lawnwood can share data across its own facilities, but not with a hospital that might be in New York, for instance. The government does have that as a priority, to expand info systems among the different facilities. The hospitals would still be required to verify medications, etc. in person. Mr. Boston asked how long will it be before the whole US or even the State of Florida is completely on such a system. Mr. Cantrell stated that medication administration records for inpatient care is probably best in the country at Lawnwood. No one else has duplicated all its features yet. It is tremendously expensive. They are eventually going to be totally on electronic record as are many other medical systems. Mr. Roach commented that on the emergency cards they were just given, he can see someone listing prescription drugs on there, but it doesn’t ask anywhere if the person takes blood thinners like aspirin or vitamin E or something that’s not prescription. Mr. Smith stated that it is important and should be listed, even for herbal supplements that could interact with other medications. He also noted that trauma care professionals wouldn’t rely strictly on the card for information. Ms. Dupree said that one of first things that ER physicians or trauma surgeons would ask is if a patient takes blood thinner s- one of first things they ask are things that people don’t think about such as herbal supplements. She added that everyone should have this information in their purse or wallet. Mr. Hammer said that in case of emergency, many people put ICE in front of one of the contacts in their cell phone. He also complimented Lawnwood on the improvements in their service. He said he is still concerned about limiting choice in proximity to where he lives and would encourage Lawnwood to not pursue legal actions. Mr. Smith – he said they looked for need for facilities in St Lucie West. He said Martin Memorial has done a good job with the freestanding emergency department in that area but that they close their emergency room and Martin South hospital on the weekends. He said he felt there's not enough population in St. Lucie West to support another hospital. They have 341 beds there, and are adding 24 more ICU beds. They will have over 60 intensive care beds when they get finished with their expansion. They feel that there’s not a need right now for additional hospital beds in terms of a freestanding hospital in that area. They are continuing to appeal the lawsuit. Mr. Hammer said he was disappointed to hear that. Frannie Hutchinson asked if there is a specific area where fire rescue or hospital workers would look for one's emergency info if one is in a wreck, and asked if it's better to have that information in one's car. Ms. Dupree said the card is most often where the patient is, and that ER nurses look in wallets and purses. They need to know allergies and major medications of a patient. Mr. Cantrell added that regular EMS patients are treated differently than trauma patients. They sometimes get trauma patients in with no ID – they treat them as John or Jane Doe trauma patients until they get info on the person. Ms. Eschbach said regarding the building of a hospital in Tradition, they know it’s been contentious. She stated that although they are always cast as a for-profit venture, Lawnwood alone provided over $ 130 million in free health care in 2009. The significant cost of investing in community is comprised of many things. It’s been highly politicized but the bottom line is that their physicians and nurses are some of the best in the country. St Lucie Medical Center was just recognized as being in the top 5% of nursing. Lawnwood is continuously ranked one of the top 50 hospitals in the country. They have some of the best outcomes in cardiac care in the country. They invest in the newest technology, best doctors and best staff. As for the freestanding emergency room in St Lucie West, she said she wants members to understand the difference between an emergency clinic and an emergency room. There have been cases where patients have gone to the freestanding clinic in St Lucie West and had to be transported from the clinic to their facility, which is a complete hospital. There is an innate danger in having to be transported – you want a hospital behind the ER. They are very concerned about the difference between a clinic and an ER in a hospital. Mr. Smith gave two examples of patients who went to freestanding ERs and ended up having to have emergency surgery in a hospital after being told to go home by the freestanding ER. He said if you’re a cardiac patient with chest pain, you need to be in a cath lab with a stent within less than 90 minutes. Sarsi, the charge nurse at St Lucie Medical Center, said wait times for cardiac patients have been reduced down to from 5 to 15 minutes. If you come in with chest pain you are given a bed immediately. You are to have an EKG within 10 minutes. They know right then if someone's having a heart attack. Most people are transferred out within 20 minutes from walking in the front door. If you come in in an ambulance you are diagnosed on a stretcher and then sent to Lawnwood Medical Center and straight to the cath lab. Mr. Smith said they make sure they take care of a patient within 5 to 10 minutes. He said regular patients aren’t experiencing increased offload times due to the trauma center. Commissioner Dzadovsky thanked all for being at the meeting and for the information. Jana Eschbach offered tours of the trauma center or new oncology wing to HOA members. She indicated additional materials at back of the room for members to take with them, and said she would arrange Lawnwood/Medical Center personnel to come to the HOAs to make presentations if requested. (Some conversation was then unintelligible on tape due to cross-talk) Walter Fauth talked about Smart Card information – the technology was there 20 years ago to keep track of changes in medication, etc. ITEM #6 OLD BUSINESS Commissioner asked if there was any old business to discuss. There was none. ITEM #7 NEW BUSINESS Commissioner Dzadovsky asked if there was new business to discuss. Diane Andrews said they Queens Cove had problems collecting tax assessments due to foreclosures. They can’t assess easements such as FPL or Comcast, or common areas, or any piece of property that’s exempt from government taxation. They now have a member in Queens Cove who draws 100% service- connected disability, despite the fact that he mows his own lawn, etc. He pays no taxes to the County, and the amount of his exemption is the amount of the assessment on his house. Ms. Andrews got a call from his wife saying she doesn’t think they have to pay the Queens Cove assessment. She said she wanted to bring this up because it will affect a lot more people than just those living in Queens Cove. Their attorneys from Becker and Poliakoff are working on it and she will give the membership an update. Commissioner Dzadovsky asked if the members were interested in touring the new Public Safety Complex near IRSC for the March meeting. The membership said they would like to do so. The meeting was then adjourned. Respectfully submitted by Terri Ann Palumbo, Executive Aide to Commissioner Dzadovsky