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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOCC TCERDA JM 092016Agenda - CopyAnyone with a disability requiring accommodation to attend this meeting should contact Ben Devries, Director of TCERDA (772) 467-3107, at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting. Please silence your cellphones during the meeting. ST. LUCIE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND TREASURE COAST EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ANNUAL MEETING Tuesday, September 20, 2016 @ 3:00 p.m. Treasure Coast Research Park, in the UF/IRREC Building, 2199 S. Rock Road, Fort Pierce, FL., 34945 AGENDA A. CALL TO ORDER o Kim Johnson, BOCC Chair o Mike Adams, TCERDA Chair B. TCERDA/ RESEARCH PARK UPDATE C. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS D. ADJOURNMENT - 1 - TCERDA Treasure Coast Education, Research and Development Authority TCERDA and BOCC Minutes of Joint Meeting September 10, 2015 Convened: 3:06 p.m. Adjourned: 4:28 p.m. The joint meeting of the Treasure Coast Education, Research and Development Authority (TCERDA) and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) was held Thursday, September 10, 2015, at the University of Florida Indian River Research and Education Center, 2199 South Rock Road, Fort Pierce, Florida. TCERDA MEMBERS PRESENT: Mike Adams, Chair Hoyt C. “Pat” Murphy, Jr., Treasurer Travis Murphy, Secretary Jose Farinos Kevin Heinicka Peter Stoffella TCERDA MEMBERS ABSENT Erik Melville, Vice Chair Jane Bachelor Kathleen A. McGinn BOCC MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioner Kim Johnson, Vice Chair Commissioner Frannie Hutchinson Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky Commissioner Tod Mowery BOCC MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Paula Lewis, Chair ALSO PRESENT: Ben DeVries, Executive Director, Treasure Coast Research Park Tom Perona, Liaison, City of Fort Pierce Commissioner Greg Oravec, Liaison, City of Port St. Lucie Mayor Mark Satterlee, Deputy County Administrator Daniel S. McIntyre, County Attorney Heather Young, Assistant County Attorney Sue Korunow, St. Lucie County Recording Clerk Marty Sanders, Ex-Officio Board Member A. CALL TO ORDER – K. Johnson/ M. Adams Introductions were made by the members of both Boards. Commissioner Johnson welcomed all and called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m. then turned the meeting over to Mike Adams, TCERDA Chair. Mr. Adams thanked those in attendance for participating in the meeting. - 2 - I. ACTION ITEMS The first order of business was to review minutes from the September 25th, 2014 Joint BOCC/TCERDA Board Meeting. There were no questions or comments from the Board and Mr. Adams called for the moti on to approve the minutes. The second order of business was the review of the Treasurer's Report. After discussion noted in the vote, there were no questions or comments from the Board and Mr. Adams called for the motion to approve the Treasurer’s report. 1. Motion to: Motion to Approve September 25, 2014 Minutes of Joint BOCC/TCERDA Annual Meeting 2. Motion to: Motion to Approve the TCERDA Treasurer's Report Pat Murphy presented the Treasurer's Report noting a duplication of account #546300 -Grounds Maintenance expense in the amount of $9,000.00. This changed the final balance available from $1,065.42 to $10,065.42 leaving the agency below budget for the year. It was moved by Commissioner Dzadovsky; seconded by Travis Murphy, to approve the budget per the discussion held, and; upon roll call, motion carried unanimously. B. TCERDA/ RESEARCH PARK UPDATE – B. DeVries Ben DeVries provided a presentation on the TCERDA/Research Park Update to the Boards noting the strategic plan’s three focus areas - "Food, Energy and Water". Mr. DeVries noted TCERDA was implementing a new website which should be completed in the next month. He reviewed the Park Lessee Map stating that TCERDA has ground leases on 497 acres. All land is publicly owned land so whatever is built on the land will in perpetuity remain as the taxpayers publicly owned property and will ultimately be returned to the taxpayers at the end of all leases. He spoke about the improvements to the Treasure Coast Research Park and the long term plans for expansion extending Graham Road to Rock Road and Exploration Parkway from Pruitt Research to Picos Rd. The Phase I site plan is currently approved and ready to go. The Kings Highway Improvement project is now fully funded. RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Jose Farinos, TCERDA Board Member SECONDER: Frannie Hutchinson, District No. 4 AYES: Adams, Murphy, Heinicka, Murphy, Stoffella, Farinos, DeVries, Johnson, Dzadovsky, Hutchinson RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Chris Dzadovsky, District No. 1 SECONDER: Travis E. Murphy, TCERDA Board Member AYES: Adams, Murphy, Heinicka, Murphy, Stoffella, Farinos, DeVries, Johnson, Dzadovsky, Hutchinson - 3 - Completion of Kings Highway’s expansion to four lanes, currently in the right of way acquisition stage, is expected to commence in 2017 with completion in 2020. These improvements will greatly improve road access to t he Park. Mr. DeVries then reviewed each of the strategic plan’s focus ar eas:  FOOD - Sunshine Kitchen: Funding has been secured for the Sunshine Kitchen Food Business Incubator (SKFBI). The focus will be to build on the people and agricultural resources in St. Lucie County to expand value added food products. The strategic goal of the SKFBI is to bridge the gap between the Treasure Coast’s regional production and consumption. There is over $680 Million expended on production in the Treasure Coast food shed; of that most is exported at wholesale and the public buys $1.4 Billion at retail. Staff feels if they can get 15% of that food shed into retail sales it would create up to 6,000 or 7,000 new jobs. He reviewed the building rendering and site location with the possibility of building a second phase.  ENERGY - Farm to Fly: Citrus Greening is having far reaching impacts on over 5,000 square miles of citrus groves within the State of Florida. DeVries provided further statistics on the issue, which is the main driver for TCERDA’s efforts to expand advanced biofuel feedstock crop cultivation and processing to employ fallow citrus land. This was an outgrowth of TCERDA's outreach efforts to the Treasure Coast agriculture community. A group called Th e Fallow Fields comprised of the region’s large growers, local researchers, UF and USDA staff as well as various regional governmental agencies asked "what kind of crops could they find?" The results, after searching all over the country, were to grow suga r beets, sweet sorghum, energy cane and sweet potato as potential biofuel crops. The goal of Farm to Fly is to create an the advanced biofuel feedstock supply chain in the region. Scientists stated the potential for advance drop-in fuels on 500,000 acres, with four season rotation, could be 25 million tons of harvest annually. ABF cultivation and processing could yield 550 Million gallons of 105 octane Ethanol at a cost per gallon of $2.50 and would equal $1.37 Billion for 100,000 new regional jobs. In 2014, TCERDA and UF IFAS s taff secured a $750,000 grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) ago to examine which sugar crop cultivars show the most promise. To follow up the FDAC study, TCERDA secured a $97,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant in cooperation with CAAFI (Commercial Advanced Aviation Fuel Initiative (CAAFI) which is funded by the FAA and A4A (Airlines for America) which is the nation’s leading commercial aviation trade group. TCERDA is the first Farm to Fly project in the State to sponsor ABF sugar to jet fuel research. New Federal and International agencies will require the commercial aviation industry to limit carbon emission growth by 2020. If airlines hope to double flights/seats capacity, they must cut their CO2 emissions. TCERDA believes it can be a leader in this research space.  WATER - Water Farming: Florida’s farmers use 50 million gallons of diesel annually at a cost of $200 million. Over the last several years, TCERDA engaged University of Florida IFAS engineering students in two design competitions with the challenge: "We have plenty of water, but the water isn't where we want it, when we want it, and its heavy and expensive to move. Can we save Florida’s fresh water supply while conserving energy cost effectively?” The students came up with some remarkable findings which they feel are viable alternatives for fallow acres. TCERDA took their designs (which can be viewed on the TCERDA website) to the State and asked for $4 Million for water farming. This year, the Florida DEP committed $10 Million to three demonstration Water Farming projects in the region at Evan's Properties; Spur Land & Cattle/Bull Hammock; and Caulkins Citrus Company. Commissioner Dzadovsky asked if TCERDA has moved forward with the county Planning Department regard ing - 4 - discussions on the future of refining the biofuels and adjusting the County's Comprehensive Plan. If they are going to move in that direction, plant 500 acres of sugar beets or one of the other mentioned plants, refining it in the same location and leaving the money in the county would be the opportune thing to do. Mr. DeVries and Assistant County Administrator Mark Satterlee confirmed that the next step will involve starting the process with the St. Lucie County Planning Department. Commissioner Dzadovsky wanted staff to make sure they are ahead of the process so when it comes time to process the beets they don't have to ship them to another refinery out of state and lose a portion of the profits. Mr. DeVries assured Commissioner Dzadovsky those talks have started and will move forward as the project is solidified over the project’s 2-5 year timeline. Commissioner Dzadovsky asked what challenges to the Lagoon they foresee with the project regarding issues with increased amount of fertilizer, water, issues with the sugar industry and trying to keep the fields at a certain hydrology. Pete Stoffella stated they would see the same issues faced with any vegetable crop, pest management and finding the best agronomics. The advantage is there is less care needed for the beets than peppers or tomatoes so they can focus mainly on the agronomics side. Mr. DeVries noted the beets will be grown in a pivot system which utilizes the linear irrigation systems and ‘precision agriculture’ techniques to minimize waste and environmental impacts. This system places only the amount of pesticide and fertilizer needed for that particular time on the crop with the goal of utilizing the lat est technology with less waste of chemicals. Next he spoke about recapturing septic tank sludge and using it as a fertilizer for the ABF feedstock crops. Since the crops are not for human consumption, this may be an excellent way to reclaim and recycle the excess nutrients causing havoc in our regional waterways. Travis Murphy noted in comparison to corn, the beet produces 4 times the amount of energy. The breeding program will also continue to improve that production level. Mr. DeVries spoke about the hybridization program and how those involved feel they can increase the size of the beet by 30% and the sugar content from 15% to 20% almost doubling the sugar yield. Commissioner Hutchinson asked if staff had any idea when a test plot would be used to look at the issues mentioned above and whether or not the beet will really grow in the Treasure Coast Research Center. Mr. DeVries confirmed they are currently growing the ABF Feedstock crops in the park. They are very prolific and there are over 100 acres across the State of Florida currently in cultivation. This is part of the $700,000 grant received and they are already half-way through the grant to test the agronomy. The success of Dr. Bowman’s studies has triggered the interest of multiple parties around the nation. Commissioner Hutchinson encouraged Mr. DeVries to invite the media out to the site to ensure they are able to get this most important information out to the public. She feels it would be very beneficial to share the progress made to date on the project. Commissioner Johnson agreed on the importance of getting the word out there to the public in hopes of engaging other agencies through a Letter of Intent and forming partnerships. - 5 - TCERDA Funding Plans: Mr. DeVries provided a review of TCERDA’s two-year outside agency funding goal of $2.5 Million. Current initiatives include: 1. FUNDING SOURCES $992,000 FUNDED/$3,267,000 TOTAL - U.S. Department of Commerce EDA $895,000 - SKFPBI construction - USDA Rural development RBDG $97,000 - Farm to Fly 2.0 Feasibility Study - Florida Legislature FY16/17 $2,000,000 - SKFPBI funding - USDA Rural Development RBDG FY16/17 $275,000 - SKFPBI equipment 2. LAND PROSPECTS 110 ACRES; $3,240,000 CURRENT LOI/$4,380,000 TOTAL - Project AgCarbon 31 acres $1,440,000 - Project Green Energy 30 acres $1,350,000 - Project Broadband 3 acres $ 450,000 - Project Splash 20 acres $1,140,000 C. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS A copy of the present LOI's was handed out to the Board and reviewed and returned at the end of the review due to confidentiality issues. Mayor Greg Oravec asked what the next milestone in the ABF Processing Facility LOI's 5 year plan was, who is responsible for that milestone and when the Feasibility Study will be completed. Mr. DeVries stated the next step is completion of the USDA RBDG funded ABF Supply Chain Feasibility Study. TCERDA is currently waiting for the USDA contract to be signed by St. Lucie County. This study will take approximately one year. Commissioner Hutchinson asked if there was anything members can do to assist with moving the contract forward. Mr. DeVries noted either he or his assistant call the USDA offices for a status update regul arly. At last contact, USDA, via email, stated they are finalizing the contract and plan to pay TCERDA a visit so all parties can sign the contract. Commissioner Perona emphasized the importance of moving quickly to acquire the funds before others agencies do the same. Commissioner Dzadovsky offered the availability of the County's Legislative Delegate if needed. He also asked if there were concerns about competing against the sugar industry. Mr. Adams explained they have approached representatives in th e sugar industry indirectly and they have stated they have no conflict with TCERDA moving forward with the project. There are ways to separate the two sugars and TCERDA's sugar will be tagged as biofuel therefore not a competitor. Mr. DeVries feels there is a pathway for the project and all the stakeholders want to find the solution. He feels confident TCERDA is going to find that solution. - 6 - Commissioner Johnson asked what the timeline for processing the product was. Mr. Stofella noted it's a matter of th e growers not wanting to grow anything unless they are going to be paid. He doesn't feel there is an issue with growing at a profit. He feels the limiting factor is going to be getting it processed onsite. Until we can demonstrate the proximity to where you can truck the crop, no one is going to move forward with the first phase. Mr. DeVries stated TCERDA and CAAFI staff, Rich Altman, had met with DOE, EPA, FAA and USDA representatives regarding the questions asked and the first step is the feasibility study which USDA is funding. Commissioner Hutchinson suggested the Boards meet again in six months to discuss the progress of the study help prepare for what is happening with the project and how the Legislative schedule could impact its progress. Mr. DeVries stated June would most likely be the best time for the meeting. This would enable members to prepare their Delegation to lobby for assistance on the projects. All those who have seen the presentation on the project have been supportive and very interested in its progress. All the Commissioners communicated their thanks to the TCERDA Board for their hard work and drive in seeing it through. Mr. Adams thanked all for their comments and input. He also recognized Marty Sanders who was in attendance. Commissioner Perona expressed his appreciation towards the County for continuing to place a priority on TCERDA Park in spite of the economic climate. Mr. Murphy brought up the need to find a way to make grapefruit sections available for marketing. He talked about bringing back robotic technology to meet the need. Mr. DeVries suggested they offer a $1,500 Challenge Grant to students asking them to come up with the technology to make a way to process grapefruit sections for the retail market. He stated he would walk the grant around at the school to see if there was interest. D. ADJOURNMENT– K. Johnson/ M. Adams There being no further business to be brought before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. Minutes submitted by: Sue Korunow, Clerk to the Board and Regina Rose McCants, Grants Writers for TCERDA The next TCERDA and BOCC Joint Meeting is to be determined for 2016