Landscape ordinance and tree mitigation fund

45:45Cool. Sounds like you got direction. Anything else, Mr. Bayes, on this item? Not on that item. Okay. Okay, great. So that does it for a regular agenda. And we're gonna move on to Miscellaneous and I will start with Commissioner Oakley.

46:05Okay. Um I I guess I got a question for the other commissioners. It seems like in my district, um, I have some issues come up about our landscape ordinance. And the fact of it is when you take a small business and going through covet and everything that they're doing, they're trying to um this particular one business trying to Fix an outside area for people to be able to wait 'cause that's a very small restaurant. And

46:36Um with that addition putting a new roof on it. I guess it's triggered and maybe Mr. Sherman could answer this, it's triggered But they have to upgrade all their uh landscaping? And for a small business like I'm talking about It seems like the cost of upgrading their landscape is just very, very expensive. And makes it prohibitive from them to be able to you know, clean up their business and uh to help

47:07themselves. Um I has any of the other members found out that The landscape ordinance is affected some of these businesses then it It's too extreme. I think it's right for some businesses. What's your old mom and pop and those those type businesses? A lot of times those lots are very small and there's hardly room for that type of landscape. So I'm not saying they don't do anything but It

47:37just seems like an over bombed landscape. So

47:42Commissioner Oakley.

47:43Oh so Commissioner Starkey, hold on one second, Mr. I got two hands up here, so I'm sorry. Um Sally wanted to go ahead and I have Commissioner Mariano, then I'll be able to get to you give me one second. I'll wait. You you should wait? Okay, I'll go to Commissioner Mariano and then Commissioner Starkey and then we'll go to Sally.

47:59I was I was going to say I agree with Commissioner Oakley as far as that is causing a problem. Uh up and down nineteen smaller lots trying to retrofit something. I think it's really hurt redevelopment up along nineteen. Um Uh you know, I I think if we Try to work with them more, like maybe we take those you know, tree mitigation funds money we have and and and give them an incentive to go do it. not make 'em change the park and not make make 'em do everything but help them. improve the property, I think it would be a much better approach to go. So maybe we

48:29could tweak it. We we want to make everything look good 100 percent for it, but do we want to cause a burden to really affect that business Should it really be tied to a roof? I'd say no. Commissioner Starkey?

48:43Um, you know, I like Commissioner Mariano's idea of maybe helping them more. Um, but we don't you know, we don't know the facts here. I wanna make sure first of all that um they know that right off the bat there's ten thousand dollars that we can help them with their landscaping Commissioner Oakley. Um but but let's look and see if um there's some way that we can even offer more because we don't want it to be a disincentive and not let these businesses expand, but we also

49:13don't want to keep um them in the the the style that we had back in the seventies and prior to that where you could put put your building, pave the whole parking lot and put in no landscaping. That that doesn't help the county either. So I think I think we should find a way that we can help these guys.

49:31Yeah, that's Thank you for that. But it's it's not the fact of not doing any It's the fact that it seems to be an overabundance of landscape where you got such a small plot. There's basically almost no room for it. So and I think Ms. Sherman is working with this group that I'm talking about. now and she's you're gonna be sitting back down with them I think, aren't you? Uh Ms. Sherman.

49:56Unfortunately, Commissioner, I was just I just received an email that they canceled the meeting that we had set up because I'm sure if given if given the opportunity, we would have been able to assist them in some way, but unfortunately they removed themselves from the process.

50:13Okay. Um All right. I'll reach out to them. And uh suggest that we have that meeting. They're maybe they're thinking that it's It's not gonna change anything from the first pre app meeting they had. And so I'll I'll I'll reach out to them and then give you a call about it. So

50:31I'll forward their email to you. Okay. Mr.

50:33Biles.

50:35Yes, sir. The as we were talking about the you know, the landscaping reimbursement out of the tree fund, you know, it's capped at ten thousand dollars. We could look at increasing the cap. I I think that cap's been there for a while, so inflation happens to landscaping like everything else, that's one thing we could go back and look at and

50:52in excess of a million dollars in that fund and so we could look at maybe bumping that cap up to cover s uh some more of these costs if you want.

51:01You know, when you take in consideration a mom and pop restaurant If if that landscaping was gonna cost some forty or fifty thousand dollars They're forever trying to m earn that money just to stay open. And so many of them are having a hard time now, so We probably need to look at look at that, but I will reach out to 'em and talk to them some more. Uh because they probably have Felt like it would not to expand or not to have this area out. They have no place for people to weigh. It's a

51:31small business. They have no place for people if the restaurants got full capacity. then they can't there's no place to wait. So that's part of why they were gonna do this. like a porch or something out in front of it so people have a place to sit down and wait to have breakfast. So Or or lunch, wherever it might be. But I'll reach back out to them. They're in Dayton City. So

51:54Commission Commissioner Weightman

51:57Thank you, Chairman. Um Commissioner Oakley, I can think of two um projects in my district alone over the last two years we made exceptions and matched Um with the tree mitigation fund that was over 10,000. The board was okay with it. It makes sense. You know, and I know I can remember Commissioner Mariano bringing this up in the past about what triggers it as far as the 50% rule. I I disagree with that. I think if you're not adding to the to the square footage, you know, it shouldn't necessarily trigger it. And that's one of the reasons we we match these folks with

52:27the funding. I know we've got the f the fund. I like the idea of maybe maybe it's a little bit more than a little bit Adding to it or not? uh you know, we probably need to look at that. But but I agree with you. It it's it's tough for these businesses and um not only now but over the last several years and we need to do everything we can to help them expand, move, you know, hire more people and so forth. So And I'm familiar with what you're talking about. I was actually out there yesterday, so um and we did have to wait and it would be nice for them to have something. That's a great local business

52:57that It's been there for a long time and uh you know, so we definitely

53:01need to support 'em, so

53:04Seems like it's some these businesses right now, some of 'em are closing down. They just can't make it. So It's it's a shame, so

53:12Mr.

53:12Mariano? Uh

53:13Good.

53:14No, I'm I'm glad you brought it up, Commissioner Oakley. And and I like the idea, Mr. Miles, about increasing the number. I think it's great as we as we're talking this through. I think one thing we should take a look at, just as you mentioned Commissioner Oakley about They're not making it. Right now I think we're set up as a re reimbursement fund. It might be something where we can set it up where Have it d have the work done, prove it's been done, and get a check and maybe they can work out a a terms with their person who's doing the work for them.

53:42get reimbursed thereafter. Rat rather than having The business have to pay the money up front. And then get the money back. A lot of them probably can't float that. So if we can work that situation where we're gonna w allot the money once the work's been done and they they can then pay their people after they get reimbursed from the county. Mm and I think most of your landscaping companies will probably be be comfortable to work that way. So we just gotta be flexible.

54:04So I we have time today. So I think this might be a good time, Mr. Biles or or Mr. Chairman, one of you um explain just in case the public is watching. Um How what's the criteria for this tree medication fund to apply And if we have and I guess the other question would be if we have approximately a million dollars in that account now. How much was spent last year and when was the last time somebody actually

54:34applied

54:37for funding. I think you do we we y'all approved a reimbursement not too long ago. I don't remember what meeting it was on.

54:45But

54:48I I don't know off the top of my head the process they go through to get it approved. Uh I I think some of these questions though we're gonna have to go do research and bring back to you answers. Sounds like it makes sense to look at increasing the cap. Sounds like there's a we need to think about how do we make streamline the process to get to approval quicker, uh and some other things. So

55:08Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah, bringing that back to the next meeting, that'd be great.

55:12Yeah, if we could have those questions answered then, you know, we can we can have maybe a discussion on criteria. It might be good to have just a c a quick little rundown. Yeah. For the publics. Yeah, best interest. Yeah. Alright. Anything else, sir?