Miscellaneous business Commissioner Oakley interim County Administrator

1:12:20Okay. Um we are now to miscellaneous business. Commissioner Oakley.

1:12:26Okay. Um we haven't spoke to this on uh Any of the issues far as uh an interim or a person since Mr. Biles has announced that he's leaving in I think the end of July or but it'll be around for August, September, somewhere in there. But uh We've uh I've had interviews with both uh Michael Kabbalah and also Eric. Uh I can tell you this, I like Both

1:12:57gentlemen have both been here uh eight years and they've both been doing great jobs in their departments that they're at. So But with that being said I tend to think and I'm I'm talking out loud because I haven't spoken to any commissioners about it. It's the only place we've been so I've been talking to myself most of the time I guess but Uh the fact is, I think it'd be best that we either name one of these gentlemen

1:13:27the interim at this time or County Administrator, either one, but could be interim and then possibly but this is a very important time in for Pasco County in our budget. For our citizens. and for him to go through that budget process. with Mr. Bowles while he's still here will be uh great value for the future. And so at that I would like to propose that we uh choose uh Michael Kabbalah to be the interim

1:13:58and that's that's my voice but that's my motion also and

1:14:02I I respect that very much but we don't have all our commissioners here. So I I kind of feel that this is an important discussion and we shouldn't wait till all five of us are here. So I would maybe move this discussion to the next board meeting. Commissioner Mariano?

1:14:19If the timing wasn't so critical, I would agree. But right now they're gonna they're in the midst of these meetings right now. Um you know, in in you know, I I met with both of them as well. Um both could do the job, no question about it. And um I I th I think really with all we've got going on the jail the jail coming under our purview, et cetera. We've got so m so many things going that we really can't afford to skip a beat. I think he could you know, Mike would do a a good job stepping right in, right off the bat and

1:14:50then understand what's coming the budget, make these recommendations like we're looking for what we can do with County Line Road. I've got some other projects that I wanted Dave to hang around and to go talk about a little bit more too. So with all that's going on, I think we need to Best make the move now. And initially I wasn't maybe gonna go that way, but in conversations I've had and seeing things evolve right now, I think it is a good idea.

1:15:11Um we actually need a second for discussion.

1:15:13I will second the motion. Okay, thank you.

1:15:15Okay. What was the motion? Well he made a motion to appoint Mike Karbala. Mike Karbala's uh and the County Attorney told me you shut him down without a second. So I'm correcting myself.

1:15:25So I would

1:15:28I would be okay to wait until June twenty first till everyone's here and then have them either present or meet with us discussing the interim position.

1:15:37See I don't know if Mike's had an opportunity to um Interview anyone 'cause he's been sick, so Uh just some respect to to him. I just thought we should wait two more weeks. I mean I'm

1:15:50Well, I understand that, but the fact of it is time is the essence. Um It it's a good move and it's the right move I think for for this board to move forward and and start putting Mike in that position to to learn and and become a very good administrator. So I just think it's the right time. But you

1:16:13so you don't think we should have a full board? To make that matter, I think that's a good thing.

1:16:21Maybe I can come up with some kind of compromise. I I think I understand where the board wants to go. So if you'd like to wait on a actual vote until the twenty first when when Commissioner Oakley be here. I can take direction and if you want to give me direction to start including someone in some of my meetings, I can take that direction. Then you can wait until all five of you are here to have a final actual vote. I'm good with

1:16:44that. Agreed.

1:16:46Okay. That I I I So

1:16:47So I gotta change my motion to read that uh he will start acting as an interim on Well and just provide me

1:16:56direction to

1:16:56include

1:16:57him in some of my in in some of the meetings where he he belongs

1:17:00to We've taken a vote back. Okay.

1:17:03Okay. And then uh and I'm I'm fine with that with Mr. Karbala working with you to uh until we make that vote. Yes we've got Okay, so that's three board members up here giving you direct. And that'll look you'll join in or

1:17:19that's fine. Okay. And then we'll vote on the other thing.

1:17:28That's a good idea.

1:17:30Not on consent.

1:17:32On Thursday took a uh tour ride on a bus with uh a lot of individuals in the area about the northeast rural area and Lacucci and part of that area and we we toured like through Lacucci and went all the way up into uh Hernando County and into Highway 50 and then to 98 and back to Trilby. And in in in that time um David Lambert was with us and he

1:18:02works for WREC. He was expressing that industrial properties right across the border from from Pasco County and that warehouse space and all was available for people there and toward Ridge Manor and then back over toward Um fifty and seventy five back in that area. But they run against our border, so I would want to do all we can to keep those kind of warehouses, those kind of jobs coming into Pasco County. and providing for

1:18:32the citizens of Pasco County rather than go over into Hernanna County and and try to work hard to To be uh in Pasco County and businesses and providing jobs for our people and then eventually we'll have workforce housing and things of this and building up the Lacucci. that'll be stronger and we had a consultant with us that's uh looking at the area of Lakouche Dentrelby and uh that area and then I spoke to my vision of Northeast Rural with

1:19:03uh spacious land, uh large lots, some clustering of homes in areas like communities and all part of that is being a part of that Prop down there that I think Some of the northeast rule were in favor of uh two and a half acres being rural, but There's roughly three thousand acres so out there on the old Trilby Road going back toward Blanton. that I would not want to see all of it in checker box, little two and a half acre lots all

1:19:33out through there. My view for that is very much open and very much very pretty, very nice, different than V OPH, different from Connected City. but uh be something that uh the Evans family would be proud of and and Pasco County can be proud of in that area. So that's what we were visiting and touring and on Thursday and uh I thought it was a very good very good tour to see that. So

1:19:59Our our county is so diverse. It's

1:20:01Oh it is. It's We have two histories. And it's got a east side and we got a west side.

1:20:07Beautiful rolling hills and the coastline. We've got beautiful county.

1:20:10So we wanna keep that. We wanna keep that charm in in that part of our county and I think it'll work out real good. So Uh that's all.

1:20:19Okay. Uh Commissioner Uh Fitzpatrick. Thank you.

1:20:26Well it was honored to speak at Athenian Academy's eighth grade graduation. Congratulations to all of our seniors and all of our students that graduate and Moved on to the next grade level. And I would just like to mention on Area Agency of Aging, Pasco Pinellas, Pinellas, Pasco. Um They have asked me to sit on the finance board, so I'm very excited about that and I got to attend my first meeting last week. In addition I got to learn about

1:20:58all the services that all the extra funding that they have right now. So if anybody knows anyone that is a client of theirs and they need a walker or wheelchair or a ramp or any additional accessories, they do have help with that. They also have help with utilities and the utility bills up to a certain amount. So that's very exciting to hear that they do have funding. It does need to be spent by a specific date. So again if you know anyone that needs it, please let me

1:21:28know.

1:21:31Next I will So earlier today um Pastor Angelo had mentioned and brought up the ten acres that is in Moon Lake. And I feel it's very important to share with the board. In March of two thousand and twelve the county deeded its interest in tract A of Moon Lake Estates Unit Ten to Mana Mission Inc. after the prior nonprofit deeded the property back to the county. The deed provided that there was

1:22:00Uh Dadee provided that there were the use they were going to use the property for community services free of charge to the Moon Lake community, including but not limiting limited to medical a medical clinic, recreational activities, counseling, addiction mentoring, job placement, anger management, parenting English as a second language, a premarital class is within a five year period. Only minimal activity seems to be occurring on the property, and the property appears to have set up a couple picnic benches to

1:22:30try to qualify for recreational activities listed in the deed, which I don't believe was the board's original intent. I would like to move that the county attorney's office be requested to review the matter and provide a recommendation on what steps to take. take next to recover the property because we do have other people that are willing to move forward and provide services back to the Moon Lake community and I think it's very important that we have activities for our youth in that area.

1:22:56Yeah, I I think we'd need to put those ten eight. That was a motion. Yeah, so is there a second?

1:23:01My motion. Second.

1:23:03Thank you. Is there a second?

1:23:05Second.

1:23:05Commissioner Mariano. Okay. Uh under discussion? Do you need to say something, Jenny Attorney? Are you good with the motion?

1:23:11I'm good with the motion.

1:23:14This will likely result in if if we'll do the analysis. We've we've done some early analysis on this anyway. Um it We'll likely have to do a declaratory judgment action um if that's the wishes of the board, but uh let me Um spiritos is out of the office right now. Let me put together an agenda package to bring back to the board about our recommendation moving forward

1:23:45if that's that's what the board wishes to do.

1:23:47All right. Um all in favor of the motion? Aye. Opposed. Good. I'd like to see good things happening out there. Okay,

1:23:56um two more uh items. I don't know if you have the photos. So we had a push in ceremony for fire rescue two thirty. It was placed into service on May thirtieth and we just had the push in ceremony this month. It's very exciting to continuously add new ambulances which we need to continue to move forward adding additional ambulances. This ambulance actually accommodates four firefighters or four It seats four

1:24:26people in the cab. It has a state of art four hundred thousand dollar truck with a hundred and fifty thousand dollars of technology and life-saving equipment. It was a year-long project between the Pasco County Fire Rescue Leadership and the manufacturer. So thank you everyone. You guys did a great job. Um They w we were looking to help alleviate some of the calls on at station thirty. But station um fire rescue two thirty has had four hundred calls

1:24:56in addition to the other rescue that was already placed there. It didn't technically alleviate that station, but it did alleviate some of the surrounding areas. The surrounding fire stations. Um the countywide utilization rate was 30% and we would like to see it at 30% or less. So when this fire sta rescue was placed into service, it reduced the utilization rate to 28%, which is great, but we still have

1:25:26other fire rescues that are over the utilization rate, so I would like to continuously see additional fire rescues be placed. into service to help alleviate the other fire stations. I did have a handout

1:25:46It was brought to my attention and it was very concerning to me. And it was brought mentioned in C ten today. Our firefighters and really all of our first responders are heroes. They put their lives on the line for us and our community every day. I was upset learning about the specific lawsuit regarding benefits to the firefighters facing a dire um cancer diagnosis. Um I take this very seriously and I think I gave away my no, it's

1:26:16right here. So The Florida statute one twelve eighteen sixteen basically states if a firefighter is diagnosed with a cancer, one of the twenty-one cancers on a list Then they are entitled to specific benefits, including not limited to their health care and any out-of-pocket deductible reimbursements, in addition to a one-time cash payout for the initial cancer diagnosis. And if it is held true that they

1:26:46were diagnosed with invasive skin cancer, then I feel they should be moving forward and there shouldn't be any hold up in the system. So I find it concerning that We're not giving out the benefits that the Florida Statute states, especially when they put their lives on the line for us every day. So I just want all the commissioners to be aware.

1:27:10Since we talk about that issue, the the case wasn't uh they uh

1:27:15You know, we normally talk about litigation, not here. So I was just gonna move on.

1:27:22I'll

1:27:22I'll

1:27:22ask the

1:27:23attorney to take care of this. Madam Chairman M Commissioner Fitzpatrick. Um so C ten was our quarterly report to you of what lawsuits have been Filed against the county. Uh the Hammond lawsuit was one of those that came in in this quarter. Um it has been referred to outside council. Outside council thinks it is defensible. if the board wishes to have a litigation assessment meeting

1:27:53on this particular litigation, it is early in the case, but I will be happy to bring Um Outside council in to do that. that litigation assessment meeting with you all. Um but at this point I have no Um it would only be litigation strategies. I have no no settlement negotiations that that have been undertaken in this case.

1:28:20I would like to move forward with that meeting that you just suggested. I think it's gonna cost more to defend this and they put their lives on the line first.

1:28:29Be careful what you're saying.

1:28:31Okay.

1:28:33Okay. We'll do a quick uh once you have a litigation assessment meeting for us.

1:28:39Do you want i if the board wishes I'll I will try and I will try and uh coordinate a date with outside council um for the twenty first meeting if he's available. If not, we'll push it on to your July meeting.

1:28:51Is there anything else? Thank you. That's it. Mr. Mariano.

1:28:55Um got a couple of things. David, if you would.

1:29:01You know seeing the project just come through today without the jobs, it's gonna create over and Commissioner Oakley's district.

1:29:09Um over on Hicks Road, uh New York Avenue, um there's a project for the hundred and sixty acres coming up. And I would like to just give David an extra push to kind of work with us to come back with a plan as we're already working in discussion there's a meeting coming up on Thursday to work with these guys to do something about let's let's go find a way to put infrastructure in place that's needed. Shady Hills Plant is like right there. Uh the roadway extension for that vision road, Hicks Road, that's been on our plan for many years is

1:29:39is in play. It's important to them as well. So David, whatever incentives you can think of for them as well to come forward would be great. Um And I'd also Um like to take a look at uh on Old Dixie Highway. There's a place where there was it's not even officially a bridge because the span wasn't wide enough when they sh lowered the bridge down. But there's about two hundred homes behind it that can't get out by boat and it would be almost direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. Um

1:30:10so there's two hundred lots out there that minimal boats are out there because unless you're at low tide, you can't get out unless you're ducking down. Um I would like to just like we just talked about Dun at Lakchi to go take this area as a district, see what it would cost, and I think I've already got estimates of And we'll see if we can shorten the numbers up. It's about a million dollars to do the study to go design the bridge and another four million to build it. But it was one of those infrastructure projects I thought would be good for the county to put in for

1:30:40the penny. But I'd like David to kinda take a look at it and bring some ideas back with us to how this could work the same type of way at Lakie because You know, our coast is a jewel and when you got that opportunity it's right there to get to the Gulf of Mexico so easily that we should be able to take a look at it. Yeah. So if board's comfortable with that, we'll keep on working on that. Okay. Um it's at Old Dixie Highway, uh just south of New York Avenue, north of Hudson there's a a flattened out bridge. It

1:31:10used to have a nice peak to it, but they shortened it out years ago. And it was hard for me to find that You know, when the bridge replacement was done because they don't even consider it a bridge because of the span, but it's a very connectable waterway with all those homes that are built with canals, that would be a great benefit. So yeah, if you would all take a look at it, that would be great. Uh matter of fact, as we keep on working in Rogers Park, if anybody hasn't been to Horandama County to look at it, when we talk about Hudson Beach, which could which could come up to a an unsolicited RFP again, or we just go

1:31:41Could be some great things to do on the coast. Um Another thing I saw last night on um Bay News Nine there was an article We're If I didn't get the name of the county I didn't uh save the tape, but It showed where Calling in to nine one one. They would have a doctor available for Teledoc that if they thought they could look and talk with Um The doctor could talk to the patient. They could decide

1:32:11whether they need to have an ambulance go out or not, or they could just treat right away. This county's done it. Um I want to get more details too. We can pull it up, but I think it's something another option to go take a look at that may work. Um kind of keep keep you in mind to that. Um Last thing, uh talk with the sheriff as we talked yesterday, we're talk talking about the homeless situation. And I know we've had this policy of homeless first. But a couple of years ago at a coalition meeting I'd

1:32:41asked to find out where these people were coming from. Number one I would find out if there are residents. I want to take care of 'em. If they're coming in being busting from somewhere else or told to come to Pasco County, uh if there's a way to get back home if they want to go home. Then let's get him home. Uh the Sheriff likes that plan. Our staff isn't comfortable with it, but I think is not with it. They wanna they wanna take care of the people that are here, period, wha however they got there. They don't care, they just want to take care. I wanna say we should be taking

1:33:11care of our own. I don't want anybody because if it they can keep on shipping people to us, they're gonna keep on shipping people to us. I wanna address that issue. Um they dropped those questions from the point in time survey a couple of years ago after doing it just like once. Um I want to see that we work with the sheriff and kind of Look at all the avenues we can.

1:33:33And if we're providing specific services specific services and I know we Kathy, we discussed um new ideas coming in and I don't know when you were gonna present them, so

1:33:49It will be great that we can provide all of these services and I'm looking forward to being able to help the homeless and house the homeless and by the way the seventy-four-year-old lady that was discussed previously, she is in permanent stable housing, so I'm very excited about that. But like I said, it's great that we're providing these services, but we have to be careful. that not if we provide such great services and everyone comes here, are we gonna be able to continue to provide those services? So we do need to provide the services to our Pasco County

1:34:20residents. So I do agree with keeping that question and then making sure Specific people are not blessing them here.

1:34:28Yeah, and when when you look at San Francisco that was told to be a great navigational center from years ago, and the word got out how great that place was. And you saw what the disaster has turned out to be in that area. Their most successful part of the program was bringing people back to where they came from. So I just want to make sure we keep all options open, find out where they're coming from and look at that as well. Because the sheriff's gonna be coming pretty strong for that area. He's already let the coalition know that these things are gonna be start happening. So he's gonna start taking care of it because the crime rate's up, the image is

1:34:58bad, um and by the way I think between Code and the Sheriff's Office that pan handling ordinance of the right-of-way safety ordinance is working very well to minimize any danger out there. And that's all I have. Thank you.

1:35:12Thank you. Um commission no, County Administrator.