County Administrator budget bond rating jail update and legislature
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The county’s agenda for Board of County Commissioners, Jun 7, 2022
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The county’s minutes for Board of County Commissioners, Jun 7, 2022
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What was said
Machine transcription of 33m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 83% of 148 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
Yes ma'am. Sorry. Just minded a quick text. A couple of things.
Firefighters may well you may want to are we gonna talk about our budget increase?
No ma'am.
Okay.
We we're setting up one on one meetings with y'all to to walk you through w where we are. We're not final with that yet, so those will happen probably in a couple weeks. Okay. So um but that said that that what you saw in your preliminary discussions with respect to fire rescue is is in the budget. The question is w i what else can we do? So we're working through Some some of those issues. A couple things, I'll start with a couple short things and then turn it over to our annual
government relations team to talk about the session now that the governor has finally addressed the budget. First off, um some positive news. Um we got a re-rating on our bond rating for the HACSIP sales tax uh revenue bonds that are going out. So we actually got an increase from double A. to double eight plus, which probably will save us over four hundred thousand dollars over the term of those bonds. And that's good going forward. Again, tells you what kind of fiscal stewards the board has been of of the of the general fund specifically, because that's
half sales tax in the general fund, so that's that's positive.
And that's pretty much the best a government would
want, right? That's about as best as you want right there. I mean there are triple A out there, but but that you're setting aside money and you're you're you're kinda tying your hands to a certain extent past that. So um Quick jail update, uh Commissioner mentioned the tour uh in a in a visit that happened on Monday, I believe. Uh you approved the resolution today, which should help expedite our ORI number. Uh in fact our Pasco Sheriff's Office is also helping expedite that through their contacts with FDLE. Um We have a draft interlocal
that we're reviewing internally, um so taking stuff. From the Sheriff's Office through our outside counsel. They prepared a draft in a local. We are reviewing that internally before we kick it back over to the sheriff's office. And then, of course, all the individual department efforts continue. You heard the update from the clerk of where they are with respect to the audit. And we are trying to make sure that we bogey enough in this current budget to be able to capture the costs that we think will be out there when we take the jail over on or about the first of October. The first of October
is kind of an important date because that's when all the benefits are set in place for the year, and so that makes it pretty that's the easiest date to do the transition from an employee employer relationship. So that's that we're still targeting targeting that date. mainly to for the benefit of the employees. So so that's where we are on that. Uh told you about the bond rating increase and with that I will turn it over to Ralph uh Lair and Sean Foster uh as they kinda update you on the I know y you know we we we got
some positive results out of the budget, so I think we want to focus on some of the positive today and and carry on with that. So with that, Ralph Done?
Good morning. Ralph Lear, Intergovernmental Affairs Officer. Uh we do have our um Tallahassee lobby team, uh Sunrise Consulting here. We got Sean and Andrew here. Uh before I come on up, but before I I turn it over to them, they do have a presentation. I'm gonna quickly go through and uh revisit some of the items I've already talked to you about now that the budget has been signed, what Pasco County as a whole got um some of our losses, um, and then I'll turn it over to them. Um So
as we know the budget, you know the governor did sign the budget last week and and uh yielded the uh the veto pin uh on our priority issues um we did have our Ridge Road extension uh $14 million vetoed. Uh we did receive Pasco County Green Key drainage improvements for two million dollars, so that was good to see. Um we did uh have two additional items uh Uh on our list of um activities that were vetoed, the sports training uh youth tournament complex
were 35 million. And the Pioneer Road uh intersection project for five million dollars, actually four point nine We did receive uh Lucuchi and Industrial Area Right of Wrovements for $5.9 million. Uh and then as a whole, what did our county get? Pasco County Fair Association got $2.5 million to do a barn replacement. Pasco County Housing Authority received $700,000 for a 77-unit affordable housing for veterans
that will be over on Massachusetts Avenue in New Port Richey. Pasco Schools had a project with uh Moffat Cancer Center, a partnership. Unfortunately that was vetoed for $7.1 million. Uh the Sheriff's Office had two projects. One of their items was vetoed for their Office, Community Outreach and Engagement Initiative for $150,000. But they did receive $3.2 million for a Center for Recovery of Endangered
and Missing Persons. Uh our municipalities this year. Um East Side came through and put in several projects. Um so I always like to highlight uh our municipalities. Dade City got two projects. Morningside Drive extension. Glad we're see uh we see that they can finally get that done for nine million dollars. Uh and then uh they received four point two million dollars for a five-point intersection roundabout which will be over on Meridian
St. Joe Road 52. Um they did
get one who got that money?
Dade City. Dade City.
Nice.
Yeah.
Actually it was on for two years out. But the money was brought forward so it can happen now. Great.
Um they did get a veto. Uh Dade City uh had a thirty nine point seven million dollar project to do a replacement of their wastewater treatment plant and a relocation. Um San Antonio received two projects, $600,000 for stormwater management project and a $900,000 for a sewer extension project. Um they did get one veto for five hundred thousand. They were looking for money to uh harden their city hall, their uh historic
fire station. City of Zephyrhills was our big winner in our uh community. Um they had three projects in, three projects stayed in. They received three point five milyen dollars for uh Cossack Road and Fort King Road, sewer main and water main extension. They received $6.6 million to make airport improvements. Big one for our county. And they received $1.9 million to have an extension
into the new National Guard off of South Avenue.
And a couple of more. Saint Leo University did have a couple of uh two items vetoed uh but they uh received fifteen million dollars to do a multipurpose arena complex. Maybe we can see some uh Graduations there in the future. I don't know. So we don't have to get out of the data. That's on their campus, that's correct.
And um additionally um Moffat Cancer uh Center. Uh received a hundred and six million dollars uh for uh their infrastructure uh on their uh park. However, they did receive one uh Big loss and that was a twenty million dollar recurring for thirty years, which would have paid out to about uh six hundred million over time uh that they were gonna use for uh the
building of the a hospital. And other than that, I mean I've shared with you uh the other items uh but I just really wanted again just share uh some highlights and I will turn it over to Sean.
I'll just follow up on the $20 million that was vetoed on Moffat. I know some of you had some some really major concerns, and I would too, talking about the bond rating, and congratulations on seeing that getting uh increased. But I do want to emphasize they also got twenty million dollars, twenty-three million dollars last year by a bill that passed uh by Senator Hooper and and of course with the support of Senator Simpson. That added to the sales tax for the cigarettes. So they all did just get twenty-three. Million dollars a year through that sales tax. Now, an extra 20 would have been very helpful, obviously, in that bonding over another 30
years. But I just wanted to emphasize that because I want to give the legislature credit. Over all the projects you mentioned, there were four hundred and thirty-three projects vetoed statewide. Just let that set up. Four hundred and thirty-three projects. That is huge. Three point one billion dollars. Uh not any county uh went without or any school. board any city uh without having projects you know vetoed. And I looked at it, Hernando was treated similarly similarly, Citrus County also, Lake County. So those around you had similar where some items
went through, but every one of them had some vetoes. So Andrew, as you all met Andrew Callow last year, he'll be helping me here. If you want to put the computer down here, we'll start and we'll get get through this very quickly. I also Like to just start off real quick to kind of go over the session. Because session looked like it was so traumatic. Session looked like it was always on fire that the House and the Senate were fighting and that the legislators were fighting, the Democrats and Republicans. But out of 3,735 bills, 285 passed. 7.6%. That
was the regular. But what you're going to see on the next slide, real quick, here, is that you'll there was this. perception I saw you that everything was just really on fire because it was the uh a couple of the bills. But only in less than seven bills, this only out of less than seven bills out of those thirty seven hundred were really did not pass with a bipartisan support. It's pretty intriguing when you think about it at the end that only seven percent either did not pass unanimously or with bipa bipartisan support. So it wasn't as divisive as we
read and we think and we see in the newspapers. Uh $112 billion budget you see the three point one billion dollars. Uh every year I come before you say this is the largest bill that we've ever seen with the legislature that will continue it. This is continue to be. Uh what I wanted to give you real quick on why this next bullet point is so important. No no sorry, go back one more. The twelve point three. So in January the revenue estimating conference had just revised their expectations for the remainder of the fiscal year,
and February was still up twelve percent more than what they had just revised in January. So meaning three hundred million dollars came in in sales tax revenue than what they had even projected in January, and that's continued. We've had almost over six billion dollars added to the budget in this fiscal fiscal year than was expected. That's a huge amount. Six billion dollars. We put what you didn't see as much in the in the budget, and we didn't talk about is 5 billion went into already
in reserves. Out of that 112 down to 109, 5 billion was already projected to go into the reserves. Some of the big items I'll just peruse real quick here: 2.3 billion for Everglaze Restoration, 5.38% state employee tax increase. There was a creation of the sixth district but uh in in law but of course the funding was was was vetoed so that'll be interesting how that's that's handled next. So
I I I don't know if commissioners, if any of y'all saw they created a sixth district court of appeals, and we've historically had five district court of appeals, just to follow up on what Sean said a little bit, they did cut the budget to fund a new courthouse in Pinellas County. Um that's because the way the policy works, the new sixth district court of appeals doesn't actually take effect until January one. They won't be able to break ground on a facility until late next year. So they don't really need the money this year from from my understanding, I do expect that funding to come back next year. Um another thing
I'll sorry that I'll touch on is this one hundred million dollars in Hometown Hero a Hometown Hero Housing Program. I don't know if any of y'all saw the legislature put in um a hundred million dollar grant program not grant loan program to give zero percent loans to first responders who are buying their first house. So they will now be eligible to apply to the Florida Development Florida Housing Finance Corp, can't say it correctly, which is the state's housing funding arm. They'll be able to apply for a zero percent loan to use as a down payment when purchasing
their house. So that's a really cool thing that was added. First time down. Yeah. Hmm.
Excellent.
Um I don't have to tell you anything. We already talked about the Moffitt Research Park. That is just gonna have huge implications not just for Pasco County but for you know Central Florida, South Florida here for us. We already talked about some of the funding that already went through. The State College Fire Academy is a uh would be huge for your firefighters also for the training. Before they would have to go to um Lake County, Hillsboro to facilitate their training at Pasco Hinter State College because they didn't have their own facility so they had to look at different uh facilities in other counties. They uh received
five point four million dollars to have their own fire academy and um that'll be huge here for Pasco because they're also bringing other services from other counties or participate in that that academy we've already been told. Uh we'll go we're not gonna go through all these, Ralph. I think you kind of said everything on those, the two million for Green Key. Lakoucci was huge, obviously five point nine million dollars.
What a nice trail.
I know. Very thought
of the name right there. Look at the landscape between the trail and the river. I can't believe it. How did they
do that? Yes sir.
Previous slide, did we get that name right?
Oh Lord, if it if I Drinky?
Oh
my apologies.
Mariano does start with a N.
I I do set while while we're on the slide I wouldn't While while we're while we are on the slide and and my apologies for my foup pas here on the on the member, um I do want to point out as many of y'all may know this is more for staff, uh this money won't be available until July one and then you'll have to enter into a grant agreement with the specific department that has the money. So you really won't see the money for you know thirty to sixty days from the right.
A question on this, is this a cooperative funding program with SWIPMU?
Why it not be
a little bit more than that? It's not.
It's not?
Straight grand.
This one goes through D P they m do they have to do matching wrong which one? I don't
know.
Okay.
And you asked
that because
we do crop recording.
This was a big one. Uh it was pretty controversial obviously uh this year. Uh some of the commissioners I've spoken to you about this already, and it's interesting how some of this is gonna play out. Um it's gonna establish a process by which a business owner can recover losses caused by new ordinance passed by local governments, uh must demonstrate a fifteen percent loss. Um then of course prevailing businesses can be awarded costs and attorney. Yeah. Did you want to say something about this real quick that we've uh No, I'll and again we can stop and we'll provide an
information to um The staff and everything else that that you'll need. A big one here, uh residents will no longer have to uh do it in the manner they've done before to write to prune, trim, and remove trees, the men's statute, so that local governments may not inhibit a property owner's rights to prune, trim, or remove trees. This is an issue that's been before the legislature you know the past couple of years. They did a a uh small revision last year and then this extends it.
And what they added this year was allowing um the local government can't deny if it poses an unacceptable risk. That's the new language that was added.
So question on that?
Yes ma'am.
Um but if our ordinance requires a you
know
a tree canopy if or trees they have to put another tree back in?
No. Now currently so if a tree is struck by lightning.
I don't believe you have it in your it's not in statute. I don't believe you have it in your ordinance that it has to be replaced currently.
Yeah well w no we require communities to put the have a tree in the front or the back or whatever. And if they take it out they gotta put it back in. I mean I agree if there's a damaged tree or whatever, but They can take it out but
they would have to replace it? Is that
if our rules say they the neighborhood requires trees, then surely they need to put it back in.
Yeah. That would be
bad Yeah, there's a there's a this legislation was going after the individual lot owners ability, not the development community's abil ability to do
So as me as a homeowner, if my tree is struck by lightning, I I did not see that in this bill. You don't have
to get a permit to take it it out.
Correct. But I didn't I
didn't see anything.
So there there would be two provisions. One I'd have to go reflect back to your county ordinance. I don't know what that says. Uh and but two, a a homeowners association can also have it h you know Could have that in there that they would have to replace the tree. The statute does not have it that they have to replace the tree.
I was just gonna say real quick, this is real this whole bill was as uh in regards to a a case in Miami-Dade County. After the hurricane, all the trees were damaged. There was a palm tree in someone's front yard that when they were going around collecting the d debris, he removed that tree and the county fined him uh and this was two days after the hurricane and and so he w went ahead and removed the tree even though it wasn't damaged uh and the county fined him.
Well no I I I understand that some governments may go overboard on what you're allowed to do in touching a tree. But if if but but you shouldn't be able to just Stick your finger at the county. Um ordinance. as far as requirements. I'll get
with the county attorney's office.
Thank you.
I'll do this one and let's do the next one the next one. Oh sorry. We're hoping the the firefighters would stay for this and I was just talking to uh Mr. Gadd uh the Hoint uh House Joint Resolution One. Uh again, this is gonna be an extra benefit uh for our law enforcement correctional authors, classroom teachers, as you see here. It'll be on the ballot to add an extra fifty thousand dollar homestead exemption for all those that are listed on here, and that will be on the ballot in November. That is coming up pretty exciting.
And and there's a cap on that. Um they won't be able to claim it there's a there's a value or how the a range of a value where a house has to be between um I think I can't remember the exact number, like a hundred thousand to one hundred fifty thousand or somewhere if their house is worth three hundred thousand dollars, their house may not actually qualify based on the race language.
Is that while they're employed or is that in perpetuity?
know off the top of my head I'll have to do some research and get back to you on that. Good question. I will find out. Okay.
Commissioner, I think they have to revalidate that. Yeah. Okay. They have to be employed. It's not forpetuity. Okay. They have to be employed, right? Yes, they have to be employed and they have to revalidate so the property appraisers are gonna have to set up a system that they don't have today to deal with that.
Yeah.
So, last one, we've been talking about this for many, many years. Legal notices have been around almost for 20 years. They uh implemented some law last year. They don't believe they went far enough. Uh the newspaper industry actually lobbied against some of these changes. Interesting note, if I give you the the capital impact, $250 million savings to cities, school boards, and counties statewide. $250 million on posting legal notices. It does change and implement some of it on how other cities they
could do it through their website. There was some language in there and we can I'm I'm sure your your attorney's office was already familiar with this, but if they need more information and analysis on the bill, uh I think this was a long time coming. So Next one.
Go ahead. Um I know Pasco County does not necessarily have a law enforcement um uh arm themselves. You have your constitutionally elected sheriff, but I've been notifying local governments as part of our presentation. House Bill three that passed allows law enforcement agencies to recruit from out of state or recruit persons in state who have never been in the profession and there's a fund that's set up that allows them to provide a one-time bonus up to, I believe, five thousand dollars for newly employed officers. I'm not sure if this applies to corrections all officers, but it sounds like Like what the
county
was gonna ask
Yeah, what the county's transition, I'll find out and that could be a uh bonus that you guys may be able to tap into, but That's important. I know that the bonus will come from the FDLE, um, not through but I'll find out. I'll find out for you. Oh and then the next one. Um regulation of smoking by municipalities. This was a uh a big deal this year, a big win-for-home rule. This allows local governments to restrict smoking within the boundaries of any public beach or park within your jurisdictional limit. I know a lot of local governments
were looking for that and um it's a great flexibility tool for you. Um the exception of course is for an unfiltered cigar. Um they protected Sean and I to ensure we could still have our cigars on the beach. I'm just kidding. Um so that will be an exception by which you you won't be able to restrict that. The last slide is there's a lot of bills that did not pass, as we saw at the beginning of this presentation, you know, 93% of the bills didn't pass. But this one in particular I want to bring up to the board. Um this is the sovereign immunity bill and
I'm sure you saw some of this in um do you have a question?
Madam Chair. Does that include parks?
Yes, that cigarettes.
I wish it was at intersections.
Intersection stoplights. Um but yet is it is not just beaches. It is mini uh well I've some of you were municipal but county parks as well. So you will be able to restrict smoking at parks.
I did bring kids to on Mother's Day to the beach and they were literally smoking and throwing their cigarette butts into the water.
Would you like
to go ahead
and enter a motion to make this effective July one? No more
uh no more
smoking in the parks. Dump. I did not recommend that. All right. Um
I did say something to them even though it wasn't an effect yet.
So the the last bill I wanted to bring up is I'm sure y'all know the state has a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, which means you guys are liable for an accident. You only owe up to, you know, two hundred thousand dollars per person, three hundred thousand dollars for each incident in the aggregate. Um there was some talks a bill that was not talks, there was a bill introduced to move this to one million dollars per person with an unlimited amount in the aggregate. So what let's say what that what does that look like for Pasco County? Pasco County, a county truck hits a car, it kills
two people. you are now on the hook for one million dollars per life and an additional um any other punitive damages that could be held against the county. Um the aggregate Um damages that are set against the county is unlimited. So through the legislative process, they negotiated that. They ended up settling on $400,000 per person, $600,000 per incident, aggregate incident. The bill ultimately died, but I do expect the bill to come back. And I just think it's very important
that you know all administering boards, such as yourselves, know about the changes that they are trying to potentially push through and what that'll affect on your risk management and your insurance practices. But I do expect that to come back.
And as you know, when it pierces those amounts, it becomes claims bills. We've seen the same claim bills sometimes around literally for almost two decades, telling you how long some of those claims bills get filed year after year up there in Tallahassee. So uh I just want to leave with that and say thank you first of all for for coming to Tallahassee. I want to tell you thank you for the time that you met, not just with our legislative delegation, but with individual chairs. Even Representative Mariano, right? We got to meet uh and and many others in there and it was very helpful. Uh your coordination with your team with Ralph and
your administration is is second to none. Uh we get information back from you and the even the attorney's office when we need to know what some of the implementations are and how they impact uh the county. So just want to thank you you and your staff for the quick turnaround.
Don't leave.
Yes ma'am.
Because I'm bringing something up that I need you here for. my items but we're s and and so we're gonna keep moving. Any any questions? Quick question. Okay.
So Sean, uh County Line Road didn't get funded. Oh yeah. However, interesting enough, it was just like the week before, maybe two weeks before, we got a call from F D. O T saying To work with Hernando County, start designing the road.
Correct. So that's kind of a good sign. It it's a very good sign. I have had conversations. Number one, let me just say to you, there's a a real big first of all, it
was
a huge amount, one of the largest amounts for a DOT project that was in uh the budget. It did not go through the actual process. Everybody we always say that you know that it was in Sprinkle, so that was one of the reasons it was in Sprinkle. I've already had conversations, Commissioner, with Hernando County. Uh they are making it a priority and we'll and want to move forward. Um they don't know if they can fund it at the fifty million dollar level. There are some lower numbers that are that are being mentioned. So uh I know you guys were having some conversations and that's great news to be hearing from F D OT then.
Well Mrs. W would would maybe it happen. I mean keep in mind it was in Senator Simpson district as well as Blazik Milliarde's district. Correct. Blaze State Senate been endorsed by the governor. Do you think maybe they would just put more money into DOT's budget to be able to take care of it so that we don't have to come out of pocket with money,
just kinda put it part of our work plan? I I am I am very much expecting that to be quite honest. You now are going to have a state senator from Hernando County. You are now going to have a state rep from Hernando County. They haven't had their own state rep um for over twelve years since Representative Schenck was from there. Um so now that you're gonna have two of those and each in there I I could see that becoming a priority for Hernando County and the legislative delegation.
I was gonna add, so when you brought up could it be put into the DOT's work plan? No. Anything that was vetoed this year cannot be rebuilt back in into the work plan. For another year. So it has to you have to wait a year. Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. So e even if it was just put as a sprinkle? Because I I thought was separate funding different than the other way.
Because it was uh it shows up as a veto item and could not be built back in into the work.
Would they be able to do it at a different not the same project but a they called it a different phase? Possible. Possible. Now the Senate can, right? But the House cannot, even the Senate? Right. The Senate could do it, but the House could not. So that's how it happened this time. The Senate put in the fifty million, the House did not, so we would have to go back and do it through the Senate.
Okay. Okay. Good questions. County Attorney.
B I'm only gonna say this because of the amount of public comment you got this morning, but the school board's referendum, um that particular type of re referendum, the decision regarding placement is ministerial, it's not it's not discretionary. You didn't have a choice, it had to go on the ballot. I know you left it on the consent agenda, but I think for the viewing Yeah. And the bill takes effect on October first,
it is not in effect now, so you can't rely on legislation that was passed this session. So you had no choice but to Honor the school board's wishes and put it on the primary election. Thank you.
Which is why we did we did okay now we're to to me. So Sean. Yes, I hear it. Um just Um you know I got some tapes of the Hernando County Board meeting the last the last one we had. I haven't watched this one, but I I um you know I have friends on that commission and I'm just concerned about um per What may you know I'd I'd like things to
be better. I I don't it's not from us, but if there's something we need to do to be better neighbors with Hernando County. You know, when things started getting acrimonial with our cities, we started having city, you know, workshops And You know, I I just Wonder if what we can do to um put out a hand to say we want to work with our neighbors um better. Going forward, what do you have any suggestions?
I I do. Actually Andrew and I actually went back and watched the whole video because I had heard about that and wanted to kind of see h what the what the interaction was. Uh I I have spoke to a few of you, but I would I would say I think one that the major major issue was talking about the interim What's it what's it called? Interlocal agreement that you all have on providing the the sewer services uh was the major point of conversation. But when we went back and listened to it, a lot of it had to do with building and and and paving of of of uh
the county line road. Um their sentiment, again I didn't think it came out the most professional and I had already so I contacted the assistant county administrator the next day to also to have that same same question, uh, Commissioner. And uh I agree with you. I think m you know, maybe a a time to have uh a workshop, some type of interlocal meetings with them. You know, they have a sentiment that we haven't been really interested in in doing anything with County Line Road. The sentiment that came out Dan with them if again watch it was that, you know, we were putting the burden for growth in that area
on on our side on them. Um and I would say, you know, it was a a unanimous vote to stop that agreement. And um And I said and and but I do believe there is some opportunities. I don't know if you've already talked to Jeff Rogers or or Toby Phillips. I have
not.
Yeah, so I don't
we have talked to the staff.
Yeah, I want I I think um some a workshop or me and the administrator or the acting administrator meets with their administration and their chair or s something so that Um things are a little smoother. Commissioner Oriana.
Thank you, Madam Chairman the previous week uh Carmen Kisker, our MPO director, and I met with uh Jeff Rogers and Bob Esp their MPO director. So we had a good conversation about going forward. It was before the veto happened, so we were talking about what to do, how to how to make it go. I don't think relationships bad. I think what happened years ago is we had it on the M MPO list to get that road done. They decided they didn't want to get the road done. They were going to focus on the intersections. Now it was only about three or four years ago I
went up to Heritage Pines to watch their presentation about all the money they got for County Line Road and how Pasco County did not. And I had to defend us by saying, look, you guys didn't want to build the road, you just wanted to build intersections. You went to the small county branch. which we couldn't go after and that's how they got the money. I congratulated them for doing a good job on that. And I still do. But right now to build the road we do need to work together and I think there's I don't think it's a very negative thing with
us. It's just like they're growing like I told you up above. They need the capacity that they were going to try to allow us to have. Well why would they short sell their people when they need their own capacity. That's why we've got to stand up and take care of ourselves if we're going to make this thing develop. So I appreciate what they've done. I respect what they've done. I understand why they did it. And that's why I wanted to bring up again about why County Love was Important that we've got to find a way to do the infrastructure on our own before that road gets built.
It's more than the road. Um I don't and I don't know why. It's on economic development, it's on career source. They don't want to be in career source with us apparently. They want to leave us and go be with Citrus. and Sumter. So I just think we should work on Relationship building.
On my conversation that I had with them a little bit yesterday, I think there's the opp opportunity. I think the communication needs to, you know, open up, whether it's chairman to chair chairwoman, uh or it's county administrator, county administrator. Um but uh on on the other side though, all I've heard on the other side is that they have in their view that it's been Pasco County that has opposed being part of the the conversation with County Line Roads. So it'd be interesting for them to to sit down and really have that dialogue with you.
You know, we have had, or at least I have had, such road envy of Hernando County. Because all their roads are Massive, right? They got all that money when McKeithan was uh up there at DOT and they've had six-lane uh urban roads for decades before they when they had a hundred thousand people living there. So You know, come on. So anyway. Let's let's open that dialogue. And that that's really all I had. So Um