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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 09-29-2006St. Lucie County Unified Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) Steering Committee Meeting Minutes September 29, 2006 Attendants: Larry Nadeau, Chair, City of PSL Nick Mimms, Vice -Chair, City of Fort Pierce Bill Hoeffner, Saint Lucie County David Thompson, Saint Lucie County Sheriffs Office Danita Morgan, City of Fort Pierce James Moses, SLC Health Department Bette Holeva, SLC Health Department Richard Walker, Saint Lucie Medical Center Walter Fauth, Fort Pierce SBA Roberta Breene, St. Lucie County Gary Perdew, SLC Fire District Rogelio Gonzelez, COA Community Transit Alane Sisilli, City of PSL Jane LaBombard, NSLRWCD & FPFWCD Marty Sanders, Saint Lucie County Schools Dennis Armstrong, LBFH Desma Alexander, SLC School Board Brian Blizzard, SLC Fire District Christa Razem, City of Fort Pierce Betty Bradwell, SLC Weed & Seed (10:30) Norciss Plummer, SLC Weed & Seed (10:30) Olive Wedderburn, American Red Cross (10:30) Twelve of Twenty -Four organizations composing the Steering Committee were represented at the beginning of the meeting. Meeting Announcement: An email was sent to known members of the Steering Committee. Public notice was posted at the Press Table in the St. Lucie County Administration Building. The agenda was posted on the Board of County Commissioners' calendar on the St. Lucie County website. 1. July Meeting Minutes: A quorum did not exist at the beginning of the meeting, but was reached after some members arrived late. After a quorum was reached, the July minutes were approved after a motion by Mr. Walker and a second by Mr. Mimms. 2. Adding New Members: At a past meeting, a motion was passed to add the Sheriff's Office and the Public Safety Department as voting members of the Steering Committee. Mr. Hoeffner reported that the County Attorney informed him that, to add new members, the Local Mitigation Strategy would have to be amended. The amendment would have to be approved by each of the governing boards of the County and the three cities. Mr. Hoeffner noted there may be additional changes to be made to the LMS in the near future both in regard to membership of the Steering Committee and project scoring procedures. Therefore, a recommendation was made that the Committee wait to amend the LMS until a number of changes can be made at the same time. LMS Steering Committee Meeting September 29, 2006 Page 2 3. Quorum: Since the last meeting, Mr. Hoeffner consulted with the County Attorney regarding the definition of a quorum since this is not well delineated in the LMS. He reported he was advised that, in instances where a quorum is not defined, it is to be a majority of the members of the organization. The LMS lists 24 members. Therefore, the attendance of 13 members is required to have a quorum. A discussion was held about deleting some agencies that have not been attending to make a smaller group and ease quorum problems. It was agreed that Mr. Hoeffner would send a letter to those agencies that have not been attending, invite them to attend, and advise them that their organization my be removed from LMS membership if they fail to attend. This issue will be discussed again at the next meeting. 4. Schedule of November and December Meetings: It was decided to cancel the November and December meetings. 5. Additional HMGP Funding for Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne Projects: Mr. Nadeau asked if anyone had received award letters. He spoke with Hank Erickson at DCA the day before this meeting and some money has come back from other communities so there will be some funds available for redistribution. Port St. Lucie was notified that their projects would be funded. He thinks a new distribution list would be approved September 29th and should be received next week. He suggested the members call their coordinator. 6. Hurricane Wilma HMGP Applications: Mr. Hoeffner asked if anyone submitted an HMGP application under the Hurricane Wilma cycle. It was reported that no applications were submitted. Mr. Hoeffner and Ms. Breene explained how many more details were required on the new forms. Mr. Nimms also had the same experience. Mr. Nadeau suggested the Committee draft a letter. A discussion was held regarding alternative funding sources for the LMS projects. 7. Project Updates: Mr. Hoeffner thanked the members for the updates. He was able to reduce the list by 10-12. Mr. Hoeffner asked for information he needed to complete the annual report. Now that the projects are updated he would like to use the list to set priorities. 8. New Projects: Three new projects were brought to the meeting. Mr. Hoeffner recommended the Committee wait until a different scoring system is approved to score the projects. 9. Proposal to Change Project Scoring: Mr. Hoeffner expressed an opinion that he believes the current system of project scoring is flawed because it awards the highest number of points to projects that address multiple goals and/or multiple hazards. As an example, he pointed out that a project addressing the two lowest goals would score higher than one addressing the highest goal which currently is to reduce the loss of life and property. Likewise in the area of hazards, a project addressing two of the lowest hazards (extreme temperature and military ordnance) would score higher than one addressing the highest priority (hurricane). He recommended the awarding of ten points to projects addressing multiple goals and multiple hazards be deleted. Other changes were also recommended. A discussion was held regarding various recommended changes. Mr. Sanders suggested members send comments to Mr. LMS Steering Committee Meeting September 29, 2006 Page 3 Hoeffner after he sends the suggested scoring system to them electronically. The issue will be discussed again at the next meeting. 10. Election of Officers Mr. Nadeau was reelected as Chairman and Mr. Nimms was reelected as Vice-chairman. 11. Announcements: Mr. Hoeffner asked if the group would be interested in having the Board of Realtors' lobbyist for homeowner's insurance issues as a speaker. Mr. Nadeau asked the group to invite or suggest other speakers as well. Mr. Fauth recommended that members check their homeowner's insurance policies to make certain they are up to date and provide adequate coverage at reasonable rates. He noted he was able to reduce his premiums significantly by updating his policy and making certain it accurately reflected his circumstances. Ms. Razem announced that HB7121, facility hardening for shelters, is being reopened and they want more applications. They will be ranked in December by the State and then passed to HMGP. Ms. Razem advised that FEMA has announced a large grant, available to the Gulf States, for pilot ideas on how to handle individual assistance such as trailers. There is $400,000,000 in funding is available. Ms. Razem will send the information to Mr. Hoeffner for distribution to LMS members. Ms. Wedderburn informed the group that I.N.T.A.C.T. is a group of nonprofits. They are working with people who need housing because of the 2004 hurricanes. 12. Adjournment: Mr. Nadeau adjourned the meeting at 11:20 a.m THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE FRIDAY OCTOBER 27, 2006, 9:30-11:30 a.m. CONFERENCE ROOM #3 OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, 2300 VIRGINIA AVENUE, FORT PIERCE. Respectfully Submitted: Brenda Marlin