Board reports on Tax Watch and county issues

1:09:36So have we covered everything other than

1:09:39Messing on his business.

1:09:41Didn't good old business.

1:09:45We'll go to hold business for now until the time gets right for the next one, is which is at eleven

1:09:57Yes.

1:09:58Okay. We'll wait on. All right. Seth, ordinary business?

1:10:03Yes. So Commissioner Starkey follows Water Tax Watch pretty closely. And their 2023 And look. So report came out. There's a pile of information in here.

1:10:25And I was curious, since we're having more robust budget conversations, I guess quarterly now as we're going through, on page, was it twenty-four, twenty-three? Twenty one, twenty one.

1:10:40Mm-hmm.

1:10:51That was forty one. Yeah, just go up forty one.

1:10:59Per capita total county revenue.

1:11:01No, we want expenditures.

1:11:07Just down a couple pages from

1:11:09this is a this is a really fascinating um publication.

1:11:13So anyway, yeah, so Pasco so when we're look going through and we're looking at expenditures, Pasco's ranked twenty-three on expenditures. And we have a big old budget, and you know, for me, I'm very measured on on our you know the way we tax our our citizens and wants versus needs. So obviously seeing this, it just made me curious as to what what are we doing in our expenditures that makes Pasco twenty th 23

1:11:43of 67 capital. counties. And there's other information in there. I think it'd be if we can identify what what's the driver to to how it ranks Pasco, I think that'd be create some fine dialogue as we go through as we go through our budget process. So interesting report I know Commissioner Starkey references tax watch quite often and just thought to bring that to everybody's attention that we're 22 and and spending money so curious

1:12:14to see what all what all we're getting bang for a buck out of out of that number. So that's pretty much it for me today.

1:12:22Okay.

1:12:25Um Ms. Darkey.

1:12:27I'm busy looking at Florida Tax Watches latest publication. Alright, I I have some photos. Um I was driving up nineteen the other day and uh Tw twice it was my heart just dropped that bit we're still having businesses do this and I just I don't know how we we've got to really pump up our education. So this is this is a place where I go to buy bait. Um I went there uh s Saturday

1:12:57to get um bait from my grandson to fish and this is What they did to their trees. And it just, you know, trying to clean up holiday and and make it a much more attractive place for businesses and residents. And we're always getting slammed on. No one cares about holiday. And to watch a business do something like this is really frustrating. So um I know I know this is not legal and I b our

1:13:28our code uh enforcement. is on this now, but it's gonna take years for this to come back.

1:13:37And never mind that their hedge is is just non existent. Um next picture.

1:13:46Um oh so here's what the Win Dixie used to look like. Um and now they just chopped off the whole all the top of it so you can see that billboard on someone else's property. Um, this doesn't look nearly as bad from this view as when you're coming up 19. Um the same thing happened on Little Road. We caught the company that was cutting the bill the trees down so you could see the billboard. um and they got fined tens of thousands of dollars. for all all the our trees.

1:14:16They're on our public right away. And they cut 'em down to see a billboard on private property. So, um Again, I I don't know if it's education, just um what it is, but we just have to find a way to um To let our businesses know it's not okay to be doing this. Um

1:14:40Ms. Chairman? Yes. Just to add, look looking at that right there though, this reminds me of when with Lacucci from years ago. Went through and uh the other utility as well went through and cut the power cut around the power lines so they didn't grow up to it. Well we may want to look at I think we did make some changes that you wouldn't put any more oak trees right underneath the power line.

1:15:00Yeah well that's not the power line. The power line's up much higher. That is a um like a telephone line or something. It's not the it's not this was not done for the power lines. It looks like that on this picture. This was So you could see that billboard. That's another reason why I hate billfors. Um okay, uh next picture. Um, okay, this is right across from the county building. Um We pass an ordinance on

1:15:30the feather banners and I just want to remind our code officers that They're not you're not allowed to have as many as you want. You're only you're allowed one. Um and so I just wanna just remind everyone that Mm-hmm. that uh we we did take care of that. It's just still pro prolific all around the county. Um next I wanna talk about the Trinity Pumps and I brought this up a number of times. We have um We have

1:16:00these pumps on Little Road. In front of Uh one's in front of Thousand Oaks and there's one on the other side kind of by gener I think it's Generations Church. It might be Hope United Methodist Church. I've asked for us to do something that looks nicer than having that pump, which uh is you know it's it's very unsightly along the side of the road. I want to suggest, someone said they want well They'll surround it with chain link

1:16:31vents. No. That that's not un that's just as unsightly as as the pump. So can't we make something like these? Um um privacy screens that just give it a little more class than having a pump. Frankly I worry about vandalism on a pump like that, so Uh I just think we could do better. And we should do better. Okay. Um Uh la uh well I have two more things uh three more things, sorry.

1:17:01Um Uh I learned this weekend that once a month the Encloat Lighthouse is open. Uh it's on the first weekend of every month. It stops in May. I mean the May will be the last. They stop in the summer because it's too hot to climb the tower in the summer. And then it picks back up in the fall. But that's us on the top of the tower there. My husband, my grandson, and uh Katie's boy and my daughter and another friend. 120 steps. Um but

1:17:32it's a beautiful view up there and I and it it's just a great uh um A nice thing to go to go see this lighthouse. Actually thirty five years ago when it was um all rusted out and steps were missing and um we used to go up there and have picnics at the very top all the time. My husband and I got engaged uh about a hundred yards from the bottom of that uh lighthouse. So I actually am taking those CEOs that on the On the my next tour,

1:18:02that's one of our stops. Our last stop is to uh go visit the Enclove Lighthouse. Um Okay. Uh wanted to talk and remind everybody that We we made a commitment to our citizens about um buying up our private utilities. And there was a time when we had a plan and I don't know what that plan is anymore. We purchased two. We uh what was the first one that we got? It was

1:18:31Jasmine Lakes, Home Terrace.

1:18:33Okay, Jas that one. Then the next one we got was Lindrick. Um we got help from the legislature and help from with the ARPA funds to buy that. Um I think the next one is Matt Hatter.

1:18:45Yes. And then the last one is

1:18:47Aloha. And I and I'm not saying we gotta, you know, do it now. I'm just saying what is our plan? Because I I'm always out there talking to people and especially the Aloha people, 'cause that's a lot of my district, not water's so bad. Um and the rates are so high that we s do we just need to be able to articulate a plan. Did you wanna say something on that?

1:19:05I was gonna I gonna say as far as the order as far as we in which in which we took them, um Aloha would be first.

1:19:12No, I think it's the biggest one, so they said it would be last because it'll have the most impact.

1:19:16Aloha the Aloha system carries the most debt and and would be the largest impact back to the county. So you would want to probably tackle that one last just just because of the complexities involved. The consolidated system The Mad Hatter system. It's actually a system that's experiencing growth, and it would make sense to be your next acquisition target. Utilities is doing an efficiency study right now, and they'll be handling uh rates for for next year as well. That would be the time to to really look at officially

1:19:47making making a move on that system.

1:19:49Yeah,

1:19:49I mean I mean those people have suffered for a long time.

1:19:51Yeah, well, I that's why I want to make sure that we have a plan. Because all of a sudden I don't think we have a plan. Um I had a meeting with citizens who live in um Uh gosh, off of Seven Springs Boulevard, Nature's Hideaway and some of the communities in there. Um there there's a charter school going in and they're concerned about the traffic and we've so I was you know zooming in like I do on my pad, the map around it and looking and there is a wastewater uh or a water treatment facility that

1:20:21is Aloha's right behind there. And so I I asked our utilities department what what would the law you know, when we buy Aloha, what are we gonna do with those their old facilities? They said, Well we'd probably close it down. So so there's another funding source And I just wonder, um, when we bought Lindrick, was there any property that came with it and can we Can we um put it out there on the market and use that money to help go towards the next one? And and how many properties

1:20:51does a Loa have maybe around? So, you know, may maybe there's I know that's gonna be small, but we should at least look at that as part of the funding opportunity. But I feel like we need to have a plan. I'm buying these guys out. Um lastly, um I wanted to talk to you about the Anclote River Park and I want to send this letter down to you guys. Um we sent this out in December and you know we've had citizens come here and talk to us

1:21:22about their fears of change at the park. So um and I get it and I understand it and we haven't been able to discuss it. Um because we've been going through some Um revisions to the plan. and some clarification of what I think the county and what we all may want to see out there versus what was submitted. Uh So this is a letter that went out to um Mr. Overton. And

1:21:52um it states in here that it it's really uh our intention to have a much more Thoughtfully designed and sized. um restaurant than what was presented to us. And you know, the Anklet River Park is a jewel. And I we used to go there for soccer picnics when my older kids were were uh young. Um Now we we did we used to rent it from Duke, but a number of years ago we bought it. We bought it from Duke

1:22:23plus the other part that we weren't utilizing and they weren't utilizing. And the the reason the county bought it was for boater access. So that is part of the main function of that park. Um and our intention is to improve the boater access, improve the beach. Um And and and um On a Saturday morning it's it's a pretty much a mess out there with all the boaters trying to get out. They line up really, really early in the morning and

1:22:53there's even been fist bites and trouble out there. So we want to um Make the park work better, bring the new part that we bought into the plan, but keep it as much as possible in its natural state. So there's more to be discussed on this in the future. I just wanted you to know that the county is not in anticipating

1:23:24a four forty thousand square foot anything. When I saw that plan it took my breath away. That is not the intent of our improvements to the park and more more to come later, that's enough.

1:23:38Okay.

1:23:42Mr. Marone or Mr. Bradford?

1:23:49Um

1:23:54What is it?

1:23:55He has nothing.

1:23:56Okay. Thank you. Mr. Mariano? Thank you, sir.