Reported by:
MARY ALLEN
NEEL
Registered Professional Reporter
ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS,
INC.
100 SALEM
COURT
TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA
32301
(850)878-2221
.
2
APPEARANCES:
Representing the Florida Cabinet:
JEB
BUSH
Governor
CHARLES H.
BRONSON
Commissioner of Agriculture
CHARLIE
CRIST
Attorney General
TOM
GALLAGHER
Chief Financial Officer
* * *
.
3
I N D E X
DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE
(Presented by Ben Watkins)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
5
2
Approved
5
3
Approved
6
4
Approved
6
5
Approved
6
FINANCIAL SERVICES
COMMISSION
OFFICE OF FINANCIAL
REGULATION
(Presented by Don Saxon)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
8
2
Approved
9
3
Accepted
11
FLORIDA LAND AND WATER ADJUDICATORY
COMMISSION
(Presented by Barbara Leighty)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
12
2
Approved
12
3
Approved
12
POWER PLANT SITING BOARD
(Presented by Colleen Castille)
1
Approved
13
2
Approved
13
.
4
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT TRUST
FUND
(Presented by Colleen Castille)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Deferred
14
2
Deferred
14
3
Withdrawn
16
4
Withdrawn
16
5
Approved
17
6
Approved
18
7
Deferred
18
8
Approved
50
STATE BOARD OF
ADMINISTRATION
(Presented by Coleman Stipanovich)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
52
2
Approved
52
3
Approved
52
4
Accepted
53
CERTIFICATE OF
REPORTER
54
.
5
1
P R O C E E D I N G S
2
GOVERNOR BUSH: The next Cabinet meeting -- no
3 resolutions
today. The next Cabinet meeting is
4 Tuesday, August
24th, where I'm sure we'll have all
5 sorts of
resolutions.
6
Division of Bond Finance.
7
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes.
8
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
9
GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion and a second.
10 Without
objection, Item 1 passes.
11
MR. WATKINS: Item number 2 is a resolution
12 authorizing the
issuance of $473,500,000 in PECO
13 bonds and
authorizing the competitive sale of $200
14 million of that
authorization.
15
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Motion on 2.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: Second.
17
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
18 objection, the
item passes.
19
MR. WATKINS: Item number 3 is a resolution
20 authorizing the
issuance of up to $12-1/2 million in
21 parking
facility revenue bonds for the University of
22 South
Florida.
23
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 3.
24
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
25
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
.
6
1 objection, the
motion passes.
2
MR. WATKINS: Item number 4 is a resolution
3 authorizing the
issuance of up to $36-1/2 million of
4 housing facility
revenue bonds for Florida
5 International
University.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 4.
7
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
8
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
9
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
10 objection, the
motion passes.
11
MR. WATKINS: And item number 5 is a report of
12 award on the
competitive sale of $300 million of
13 right-of-way
acquisition and bridge construction
14 bonds.
The bonds were awarded to the low bidder at
15 a true interest
cost of 4.73 percent.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 5.
17
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
18
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
19 objection, the
item passes.
20
What's the Fed going to do today?
21
MR. WATKINS: The conventional wisdom has them
22 moving a
quarter point.
23
GOVERNOR BUSH: Up?
24
MR. WATKINS: Up. But that being said, the
25 employment
numbers last week came in weaker than
.
7
1 expected, and so
rates come down. So it has been a
2 random walk this
summer, but rates are still
3 extraordinarily
attractive on a long-term basis.
4
GOVERNOR BUSH: Ben, have you had a chance to
5 visit with my
office regarding -- this is an
6 off-Cabinet
subject, but I don't get to see you
7 often -- on the
Everglades, the Water Management
8 District
proposal?
9
MR. WATKINS: Yes, sir, I have, and I'm
10 available at
your convenience to discuss that.
11
GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay. Thank you.
12
MR. WATKINS: Just let me know.
13
GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
8
1
GOVERNOR BUSH: Office of Financial
2
Regulation. Mr. Saxon, good morning.
3
MR. SAXON: Good morning, Governor. And allow
4 me to
congratulate you on the marriage of your son.
5 Wish you all the
best.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: Many grandchildren.
7
GOVERNOR BUSH: Exactly. Is there a motion on
8 Item 1?
9
(Laughter.)
10
GOVERNOR BUSH: Yes. On the many grandchildren
11 part or the --
is there a motion?
12
CFO GALLAGHER: He didn't do one yet, did you?
13
GOVERNOR BUSH: Well, we're ready to.
14
MR. SAXON: Not yet. Adoption of the
15 amendments to
Rules 3C-560.103 --
16
GOVERNOR BUSH: No motion on the minutes.
17
MR. SAXON: 3C-560.707.
18
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 1.
19
MR. SAXON: 3C-560.805, 3C-560.902, 3C-560.903,
20 3C-560.904, and
3C-560.908, Florida Administrative
21 Code.
22
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
23
CFO GALLAGHER: There's a motion and a second.
24 Without
objection, the item passes.
25
MR. SAXON: Second, the adoption of repeal to
.
9
1 Rule 3E-301.005,
Florida Administrative Code.
2
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 2.
3
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
4
GOVERNOR BUSH: Motion and a second. Without
5 objection, the
item passes.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion to receive the
7 quarterly
report.
8
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
9
GOVERNOR BUSH: Would you like to comment on
10 the quarterly
report?
11
MR. SAXON: Yes, I could, sir, if you would
12 like. I
would like to tell you that in all of our
13 functional
areas, we seem to be doing very well as
14 far as growth
is concerned. Just a couple of
15 examples.
In securities, Florida is now ranked in
16 the top three
in the number of agents that we have
17 that can sell
and buy securities for others. We're
18 also ranked
third in the state in terms of the
19 numbers of
firms that are licensed to do business in
20 the State of
Florida. And we've had a 77 percent
21 increase since
1999 in the number of branch offices
22 that are
domiciled here in the State of Florida. We
23 now have over
8,500 branch offices selling
24 securities for
others.
25
In our credit unions, we're ranked in the top
.
10
1 five in assets
that are under supervision, and they
2 now serve over 4
million citizens in the State of
3 Florida.
We have 194 institutions that are
4 chartered as
banks that will receive $46 billion in
5 assets.
We've seen a 41 percent increase in terms
6 of banks that
have been doing business in the State
7 of Florida for
less than five years. And in the
8 last five years,
over 85 percent of any banks that
9 come into the
State of Florida are seeking state
10 chartered
regulation versus being regulated by the
11 Feds. And
we also have currently 14 applications
12 that are
pending to be chartered as state
13 institutions
now in the State of Florida.
14
On the mortgage broker side, we have 45,000
15 mortgage
brokers, and we have 15,000 mortgage broker
16
businesses. That's a 38 percent increase since the
17 beginning of
the millenium. And we recently were
18 accredited by
the CSBS. That's the Conference of
19 State Banking
Supervisors, which accredits us for
20 the work that
we do in regulating state institutions
21 in the State of
Florida. This is a group that comes
22 in that's made
up of other states, and they certify
23 that we are
doing business in a way that is
24 commensurate
with the way other way states regulate
25 banks and the
way the Feds regulate banks. And at
.
11
1 this time we're
also looking to get accredited for
2 the first time
for our credit unions and our
3 examination
program in that area.
4
And if you go through the report, you'll see in
5 all of our
functional areas that we've been very
6 aggressive in
trying to do what we can to protect
7 consumers out
there where our industries are
8 wronging our
consumers.
9
GOVERNOR BUSH: Any questions? There's a
10 motion to
accept the report and a second. Without
11 objection, it
is accepted.
12
Thank you, Don. Appreciate the report.
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
12
1
GOVERNOR BUSH: Florida Land and Water
2 Adjudicatory
Commission.
3
MS. LEIGHTY: Good morning. I'm Barbara
4 Leighty.
Teresa Tinker is on leave.
5
Item 1 is recommend approval of the minutes of
6 the June 24th
meeting.
7
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes.
8
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
9
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
10 objection, the
item passes.
11
MS. LEIGHTY: Item 2, request approval of the
12 proposed final
rule establishing the Tern Bay
13 Community
Development District in Charlotte County.
14
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Motion on 2.
15
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
16
GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion and a second.
17 Without
objection, the item passes.
18
MS. LEIGHTY: Item 3, request approval of the
19 proposed final
rule establishing the Concord Station
20 Community
Development District in Pasco County.
21
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 3.
22
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
23
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
24 objection, the
item passes.
25
Thank you.
.
13
1
GOVERNOR BUSH: Power Plant Siting Board.
2
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes.
3
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
4
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
5 objection, the
item passes.
6
MS. CASTILLE: Item number 2 is consideration
7 of an ALJ's
recommended order finding that FP&L's
8 Turkey Point
power plant site is consistent and in
9 compliance with
the existing land use plans. FP&L
10 has applied for
certification of an 1,150 megawatt
11 natural
gas-fired power -- combined cycle steam
12 electric
generating system as an expansion of their
13 Turkey Point
power plant.
14
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 2.
15
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
16
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
17 objection, the
item passes.
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
14
1
GOVERNOR BUSH: Board of Trustees of the
2 Internal
Improvement Trust Fund.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion to defer Item 1 to
4 September
21st.
5
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
6
GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion to defer Item
7 1 to September
21st and a second. Without
8 objection, the
item passes.
9
CFO GALLAGHER: Item 2, defer till August 24th.
10
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
11
GOVERNOR BUSH: There is a motion to defer Item
12 2 till -- when
is it?
13
CFO GALLAGHER: August 24th.
14
GOVERNOR BUSH: August 24th. And a second.
15 Without
objection, the item is deferred.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion to withdrew Item 3 and
17 Item 4.
18
GOVERNOR BUSH: Wait a second. Can we have a
19 little
discussion on Item 3?
20
CFO GALLAGHER: Sure.
21
MS. CASTILLE: We sure can.
22
GOVERNOR BUSH: This is the one that we asked
23 to go back to
the drawing boards?
24
MS. CASTILLE: Yes, sir.
25
GOVERNOR BUSH: Commissioner Bronson, do you
.
15
1 have any
thoughts? Since this is a Division of
2 Forestry
property, I want to show a little
3 deference.
4
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Well, we're still --
5 we're trying to
work out the issue. We think there
6 is a chance to
try to work this out. I know my
7 staff is working
with those involved, and it is an
8 issue that we
really need to concentrate on doing
9 something with,
simply because we have people across
10 the state who
want the place, since the State is
11 buying land on
behalf of the people, that they can
12 actually
use. And we're trying to create a
13 situation where
it is going to be environmentally --
14 I guess I would
say safe, but environmentally
15 positive to use
this facility in such a way that
16 we're not going
to harm the environment, but yet
17 give the public
a chance to use these properties.
18 But we're still
working on it, and I believe we can
19 come up with a
solution hopefully by the next --
20
GOVERNOR BUSH: Would it make sense then not to
21 withdraw the
motion, but to defer it?
22
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, they can bring it back up
23 anytime they
want, including the next meeting. And
24 if they're
ready for the next, they will, and if
25 they're not,
they'll wait till they are.
.
16
1
GOVERNOR BUSH: So withdrawing doesn't change
2 the --
3
CFO GALLAGHER: No. It just makes it easier
4 for them to
figure out when they're ready to bring
5 it to us.
6
GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay. Are you good with that?
7
CFO GALLAHAGER: Three and 4, withdraw.
8
GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion to withdraw
9 Items 3 and
4.
10
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
11
GOVERNOR BUSH: And a second. Without
12 objection, both
items are withdrawn.
13
MS. CASTILLE: Item 5. Governor and members of
14 the Cabinet,
this is the consideration of an option
15 agreement on
9.16 acres in Monroe County. This is a
16 part of our
initiative to work out with the County.
17 This is our
second acquisition, and we are in the
18 process of
determining how to use the $10 million
19 for water and
sewer that was in the budget, and
20 we're working
on an agreement on that with the
21 communities
down there. And so this is our part of
22 the deal, and
we continue to work on it.
23
This particular parcel, if you recall, the Keys
24 properties are
the only tropical hardwood forests
25 that we have in
the continental U.S., and this
.
17
1 particular site
contains just over eight acres of
2 undisturbed high
quality hammock. The purchase
3 price for the
property is 385,000, and we are
4 purchasing it
from Monroe County Land Acquisition
5 Authority, Land
Authority, which allows them to
6 utilize -- they
have a dual role. They can use some
7 of their money
for land acquisition for conservation
8 lands, and they
can also use it for affordable
9 housing.
So us buying the property for them frees
10 up their
dollars for affordable housing as well.
11
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 5.
12
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
13
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
14
GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion and a second.
15 Without
objection, the item passes.
16
MS. CASTILLE: Item 6 is the consideration of
17 an option
agreement to acquire 23.5 acres in Terra
18 Ceia in
Pinellas County from the Nature Conservancy.
19 The goal of
this particular acquisition is to
20 preserve the
natural creek system which provides
21 proper
nutrients to Bishop's Harbor and to Terra
22 Ceia Bay.
The price for this acquisition is
23 $360,500, which
includes closing costs for the
24 Nature
Conservancy.
25
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 6.
.
18
1
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
2
GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion and a second.
3 Without
objection, the item passes.
4
This is in Manatee County, correct, not
5 Pinellas?
6
MS. CASTILLE: I'm sorry. Manatee County, yes,
7 sir.
8
GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you.
9
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion to defer number 7 to
10 August
24th.
11
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
12
GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion to defer Item
13 7 and a
second. Without objection, the motion is
14 deferred till
August 24th -- the item is deferred.
15
MS. CASTILLE: Item 8 is a little bit of a
16 controversial
item we've been working with over the
17 summer.
It's a -- let me set up the item for you.
18 It's a
determination that a 1.86-acre parcel of
19 state-owned
land is no longer needed for
20 conservation
purposes.
21
GOVERNOR BUSH: Secretary, can you change the
22 picture here on
the screen?
23
MS. CASTILLE: Oh, yes, sir.
24
GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you. This is a new
25 system we've
got. This is very exciting, except
.
19
1 that doesn't
mean anything right there.
2
MS. CASTILLE: Can you see it?
3
GOVERNOR BUSH: Yes. We've got it in a better
4 form that's
easier to follow, I think. It's a
5 little
complicated.
6
MS. CASTILLE: What you see before you -- let
7 me just sort of
set up the map for you. What you
8 see before you
is a trail which is adjacent to I-95
9 on the
north-south -- on the right side of the page.
10 The green in
there is the proposed trail. If you
11 see the blue
dotted lines, that's a proposed roadway
12 that is
required to be built as a part of the
13 Florida
Landmark Communities development of the
14 area,
development which has 2,500 dwelling units and
15 a number of
commercial developments to support that
16 neighborhood.
17
This is a very hot growing area of the state.
18 If you look at
-- there are some other maps that we
19 have
there. You can see that there are a number of
20 roadways that
are already built for housing
21 developments as
well. The County has been
22 adequately
planning for their growth. They have two
23 roads that are
going to be major north-south
24 connector
roads. One of them is Old Kings Road,
25 which is to the
right of I-95. And to the left,
.
20
1 about the center
of the page, is the Belle Terre
2 roadway, two
major north-south connectors.
3
This particular roadway that is being built
4 here will be to
take some of the pressure off those
5 two north-south
connectors for the development
6 itself and for
the Town Center itself. The greenway
7 is designed as a
part of that Town Center as well.
8
As we develop the trail systems in the State of
9 Florida, what we
try to do is, we try to accommodate
10 development,
but we also try to make sure that the
11 public is safe
in the location of the trails. And
12 part of what
we're doing is to have a 12-foot-wide
13 pedestrian
trail, an FDOT approved overpass at this
14 road, trail
landscaping, physical barriers under
15 I-95 to protect
the pedestrians, because at that
16 point, that's
where all of the traffic will be
17 bottlenecked
together, and then construction of the
18 3,600 linear
feet of trails as a part of the Town
19 Center
project. And we appreciate working with the
20 developer on
these pieces of property and on the
21 development of
this trail.
22
When we develop trails with a community, we try
23 to develop with
the developer as well as -- with the
24 developer's
money, with the community's money, and
25 with FDOT's
money, as well as our money. And in
.
21
1 order to make
that money go further, we try to
2 leverage as much
as we can from the community.
3
In this particular case, we will have
4 difficulties
over those two north-south connectors
5 that I mentioned
to you earlier, Kings Highway and
6 Belle
Terre. Those are also locations that we would
7 hope to get
ISTEA money that we can leverage for
8 from USDOT and
from Florida DOT for overhead trails
9 there as
well.
10
This is not an unusual situation. We generally
11 work with
communities to do this. And I want to
12 show you a
picture of a couple of different trails.
13
The one that I can remember last coming here
14 about -- can
you switch over to me for the dotcam?
15 The ones that I
remember coming --
16
GOVERNOR BUSH: I like this new system.
17
MS. CASTILLE: -- to are in Seminole County and
18 the West Orange
Trail that we worked out through the
19
community. Now, this particular -- there are
20 different
levels of prices.
21
The issue here is whether the developer should
22 be required to
build a trail overhead at this
23 location.
When we signed a contract with the
24 community to
buy the trail and to establish the
25 trail, the
commitment was that if an overhead was
.
22
1 needed -- I mean
an over-road bridge was needed,
2 that they would
be committed to developing that as
3 well.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: Is that part of the contract
5 that was written
when they --
6
MS. CASTILLE: Yes.
7
CFO GALLAGHER: When we sold to them?
8
MS. CASTILLE: Yes, it was.
9
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, then they knew it was
10 coming.
11
MS. CASTILLE: When we did some other trails
12 around the
Orange County area, which you know has
13 explosive
growth, there were a number of roadways in
14 Seminole and
Orange County that were six-lane roads
15 and were slated
to be six-lane roads. This
16 particular
trailhead overpass -- not trailhead, but
17 trail overpass,
is at State Road 434, and this
18 particular one
is a $2 million --
19
GOVERNOR BUSH: It's got to be more than that.
20
MS. CASTILLE: A $2 million -- can you zoom in
21 a little bit,
Michael? It's a $2 million trailhead.
22 The trailheads
come in various prices and various
23 designs.
24
GOVERNOR BUSH: That's 2 million?
25
MS. CASTILLE: This one is 2 million, this one
.
23
1 is 3 million,
and this is over the Cady Way Trail
2 over State Road
436, which is a major statewide
3 connector in
Central Florida.
4
Now, this one is the one that you typically
5 see. It is
the low cost option, $500,000. It
6 certainly
doesn't beautify a community, but it
7 certainly meets
the need of safety of the public who
8 is traversing
the trail.
9
CFO GALLAGHER: Is the left side of this a ramp
10 that a bike can
go down?
11
MS. CASTILLE: Yes, it is.
12
GOVERNOR BUSH: Colleen, isn't there a process
13 where after a
certain traffic level, or if you go
14 from two lanes
to four lanes or four lanes to six
15 lanes, that
triggers the requirement of a solution
16 like this?
17
MS. CASTILLE: Yes, it does. And that's what
18 we're
recommending here, that when that traffic
19 count is
reached that we would -- that the developer
20 would help to
-- help us achieve that, the developer
21 and the County
would help us achieve that.
22
GOVERNOR BUSH: Well, why should we care who
23 pays for
it? Shouldn't that be a local decision?
24 As long as we
have an agreement that it happens when
25 either the road
is widened or there's the traffic
.
24
1 flow, why do we
want to be so prescriptive about
2 hitting up the
County or hitting up the developer?
3
MS. CASTILLE: Well, this is what we typically
4 negotiate
internally at DEP, and we have been unable
5 to negotiate
this particular deal.
6
The benefit inures to the community for the
7 moving of this
particular roadway here, and so we --
8
GOVERNOR BUSH: Well, what's the concern about
9 leaving it
open-ended about how it's paid for and
10 only require
that it be done?
11
MS. CASTILLE: Because DEP usually gets the
12 short end of
the stick. The public ends up having
13 to pay for all
of it.
14
GOVERNOR BUSH: Public like us?
15
MS. CASTILLE: Public like us.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, let me ask you a question
17 here.
This particular developer pretty much gave us
18 an unbelievable
deal on this property that we bought
19 compared to
today's value. Do you agree?
20
MS. CASTILLE: I agree. It is also an
21 unbelievable
benefit that happens to a community
22 that has a
trail.
23
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, that's all well and
24 good. We
get a trail that will be there forever,
25 which is a
wonderful thing. It's good for the
.
25
1 community.
And we do need an overpass.
2
Now, my question is, he gave -- we got a good
3 deal.
Obviously, somebody messed up in how much he
4 needed to retain
to get his roadway correct. In
5 other words,
he's going to put his Town Center
6 there, and he
needs four to six lanes to get people
7 in and out of
there comfortably, and he doesn't have
8 that.
9
MS. CASTILLE: Right.
10
CFO GALLAGHER: So he now needs to buy it back
11 from us, what
he sold us, and we're charging him a
12 lot more than
we paid for it, and we're declaring a
13 surplus because
the County needs this. So here's
14 somebody who,
in their mind -- and we can look at it
15 either way --
in their mind, did the right thing
16 giving us the
property or selling it to us so we
17 would have a
trail. At the same time, that would be
18 good for his
community because there's a trail, and
19 I agree with
that.
20
And now the question is, we're charging him a
21 lot of money to
get the little tiny piece he wants
22 back so he can
put his road in, and we're making him
23 build the
bridge.
24
MS. CASTILLE: Because we have to build two
25 more
bridges. And in order to leverage the public
.
26
1 dollars, we're
trying to get the developer that's
2 increasing the
density, that's increasing the
3 traffic count,
to participate in this as well.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: But all of things are done --
5 all these
increases are done by local government,
6 not by us.
We're not the ones that say what you can
7 build
there. That's local government saying you can
8 put a Town
Center, you can put this many houses, you
9 can put --
10
MS. CASTILLE: Well, except that -- is this a
11 community
development district? Is this a community
12 development
district?
13
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes.
14
MS. CASTILLE: Okay. So it was approved by the
15 Governor and
Cabinet under FLAWAC.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: But that was way back.
17
MS. CASTILLE: Yes.
18
CFO GALLAGHER: And he's already got that.
19
MS. CASTILLE: Yes.
20
CFO GALLAGHER: He gave us the land, and he got
21 that, and he's
sitting there. And, listen, I think
22 there ought to
be the overpass. I think it ought to
23 be put
in. But I think we ought to require that it
24 be put in and
let the developer and the local
25 government
figure out when and how.
.
27
1
MS. CASTILLE: Well, the requirement -- and
2 that we can
do. But what we're requesting is that
3 it be a
requirement that there be an overpass at the
4 point in time
when the traffic is increased.
5
GOVERNOR BUSH: Isn't that the law already?
6
MS. CASTILLE: No, it is not.
7
GOVERNOR BUSH: Isn't there a trigger for --
8 that DOT can't
approve a road if it --
9
MS. CASTILLE: No.
10
CFO GALLAGHER: They could put a light there,
11 I guess.
12
MS. CASTILLE: I'm sorry, sir?
13
CFO GALLAGHER: They could put a light there.
14
GOVERNOR BUSH: They could probably do both.
15
MS. CASTILLE: They could put a light, but the
16 light doesn't
necessarily stop children from
17 crossing when
they shouldn't, and that's what part
18 of the problem
is here.
19
GOVERNOR BUSH: Well, do we have speakers,
20 Colleen?
21
MS. CASTILLE: Yes, sir, we do have speakers.
22
GOVERNOR BUSH: I thought maybe we did.
23
MS. CASTILLE: We have City Councilman John
24 Netts, County
Commissioner Jim Darby, and Florida
25 Landmark
Communities representative Charlie Faulkner
.
28
1 as well.
2
Commissioner Netts, would you like to speak
3 first?
4
MR. NETTS: Thank you. Good morning,
5 gentlemen, and
thank you for the opportunity to
6 speak to you
this morning.
7
GOVERNOR BUSH: Good morning.
8
MR. NETTS: I'm John Netts, Council of the City
9 of Palm
Coast. And I would like to preface my
10 remarks by
saying that I stand here on behalf of the
11 entire City
Council. Your staff has a resolution
12 that was
unanimously adopted by the City of Palm
13 Coast
supporting the County's application for the
14 surplusing of
this land.
15
I would like to give you some background as to
16 why the City is
interested in this or involved in
17 this at
all. People have asked me, "Why does the
18 City
care?"
19
Here again is the property in question. I-95,
20 State Road 100,
Palm Coast Parkway. The City of
21 Palm Coast, as
you know, is perhaps one of the most
22 rapidly growing
cities in the state. We went from a
23 census count of
30,000 to -- we recently recognized
24 the arrival of
our 50,000th resident, and we
25 anticipate by
the end of the next fiscal year that
.
29
1 there will be in
excess of 60,000 residents in Palm
2 Coast.
Now, this is not without its problems.
3
GOVERNOR BUSH: 10,000 new residents in one
4 year?
5
MR. NETTS: Yes, sir. It's growing by leaps
6 and
bounds. The best kept secret in Florida is no
7 longer a well
kept secret.
8
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, if you've got 850 people
9 moving in
Florida a day, they've got to be
10
somewhere. I think a bunch of them are --
11
MR. NETTS: We're doing 500, 600 single-family
12 residence
permits a month.
13
CFO GALLAGHER: Holy mackerel.
14
MR. NETTS: It's growing rapidly.
15
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: They're all moving
16 there.
17
GOVERNOR BUSH: Welcome to Florida.
18
MR. NETTS: As I say, this growth is not
19 without
problems. If you want to move north and
20 south, you want
to travel north and south in our
21 city, that's
not too much of a problem. Old Kings
22 Road runs north
and south, I-95 runs north and
23 south, and
Belle Terre Parkway runs north and
24 south.
Our problem is traveling east and west.
25 Palm Coast
Parkway, which is north of this project,
.
30
1 is really the
only north-south connector. State
2 Road 100 is in
the process of being widened right
3 now, and the
City of Palm Coast has instituted a CRA
4 to help develop
that and make this an alternative
5 gateway into the
city.
6
The issue that we face is lots and lots of
7 single-family
residence lots, such that the
8 potential tax
base as the City grows is going to be
9 heavily
dependent on homeowners. When Town Center
10 was first
proposed before we incorporated as a city,
11 we felt it was
going to be a tremendous asset to the
12 City, because
it brings jobs, it brings business, it
13 brings other
things for our taxpayers.
14
When we incorporated as a city, we became
15 intimately
involved in the DRI negotiations. Town
16 Center, this
proposed project, is an integral part
17 of our
strategic plan. It will provide alternative
18 shopping.
It will provide relief from our congested
19 Palm Coast
Parkway. So we have put -- as a city,
20 our staff, our
government has put a tremendous
21 amount of time
and effort into negotiating this
22 DRI.
23
The ironic thing is that when the original land
24 sale that the
Governor referred to was consummated,
25 the developer
retained an easement on some five
.
31
1 acres, knowing
full well that at some point some
2 road was going
to have to cross the trail.
3
When the City became involved, we said, "No, we
4 think there's a
better way." And -- let's see if
5 I've got a
graphic that better represents this.
6
GOVERNOR BUSH: This is north of Palm Coast?
7
MR. NETTS: No, this is in the south central
8 region of Palm
Coast.
9
GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay.
10
MR. NETTS: Palm Coast started developing along
11 Palm Coast
Parkway, where it has fleshed out. This
12 is south of
that.
13
CFO GALLAGHER: Is Royal Palms Boulevard the
14 same as Palm
Coast Parkway?
15
MR. NETTS: No, sir. Royal Palms currently is
16 a road that
goes nowhere. Royal Palms Parkway stops
17 about
here.
18
What the City said is that to facilitate travel
19 within our
city, it would make sense to continue
20 Royal Palms
Parkway across under 95 and tie into Old
21 Kings
Road. That will be an additional east-west
22 connector.
23
There is a road here, Seminole Woods Parkway,
24 that doesn't
show well, that dead-ends. Our thought
25 and the input
from the City was to continue Seminole
.
32
1 Woods Parkway up
through the development, dead-end
2 it into Royal
Palms, so that you kind of grid the
3 city better than
it currently is.
4
GOVERNOR BUSH: Why don't we focus on our
5 little role in
this.
6
MR. NETTS: Yes.
7
GOVERNOR BUSH: Because I'm sure you guys can
8 work out your
local development issues locally.
9
MR. NETTS: I certainly hope we can.
10
The point I was trying to make was that because
11 of the City's
input, the developer had to move his
12 site.
This is the new site, and --
13
GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay.
14
MR. NETTS: -- this is where we envision a
15
trailhead.
16
Town Center is a unique development. It is
17 pedestrian
friendly. It is vehicular unfriendly.
18 It is
consciously being designed that way, wide
19 sidewalks,
canopied awnings, park and get out and
20 walk, much like
old downtown Florida cities. The
21 trail supports
that.
22
The concept, however, of an overpass does not
23 fit with our
vision. What the City envisions this
24 trail being or
this intersection being is a
25 trailhead,
perhaps borrowing some design elements
.
33
1 from Town
Center, slightly elevated brick pavers, a
2 wide median, a
refuge area if you can. We envision
3 this becoming a
major trailhead with trailhead
4 amenities.
5
We feel that an overpass, while it certainly
6 does address the
issue of safety, is not the only
7 way to address
this issue of safety. We feel that
8 you can do an
at-grade crossing more consistent with
9 the overall
theme of Town Center.
10
The other point that I would like to make is
11 that --
12
GOVERNOR BUSH: Even with six lanes on both
13 these highways,
these north-south arteries?
14
MR. NETTS: Currently Belle Terre Parkway,
15 which is
north-south, is four lanes. It will
16 probably go to
six lanes at some point. Old Kings
17 Road is
currently scheduled to be four-laned.
18
GOVERNOR BUSH: Right. So --
19
MR. NETTS: But those are major 45-mile-an-hour
20 roads.
The road that the trail is going to cross,
21 Seminole Woods
Parkway, will be a 25-mile-an-hour
22 road.
Where would it get its traffic from? For the
23 most part, it
will get its northbound traffic from
24 within Town
Center. Keep in mind that Town Center
25 is pedestrian
friendly, vehicular unfriendly. There
.
34
1 is already a
pedestrian favorable mind-set as they
2 approach the
trail.
3
So we think that a better way to address the
4 issue of safety
is to design an at-grade crossing,
5 and we think it
can be done very well.
6
The other problem that we see is that a project
7 of this
magnitude is probably going to have a 15- to
8 20-year
build-out. The project is going to evolve
9 during those 15
to 20 years. We think -- we at the
10 City feel that
it's inappropriate to try to
11 determine now
what you're going to need in the
12 future.
We don't know what that crossing is going
13 to be
like. We don't know what the traffic levels
14 are going to
be. We do know that many of the
15 traffic study
assumptions that were made prior to
16 the Town Center
DRI have already been changed, the
17 widening of
State Road 100, the City's Community
18 Redevelopment
Agency, the construction of the
19 Matanzas Woods
overpass, which is going to create an
20 even further
north east-west connector. These have
21 all changed
many of the fundamental assumptions
22 about
traffic.
23
GOVERNOR BUSH: So the City's position is,
24 don't require
us to have an overpass.
25
MR. NETTS: The City --
.
35
1
GOVERNOR BUSH: To synthesize this down.
2
MR. NETTS: Yes, sir. The City's position is
3 that we stand
shoulder to shoulder with the County
4 in saying that
this is a local issue, this is an
5 issue that is
best left in our hands. We could
6 resolve the
issue of pedestrian safety. Palm Coast
7 is dedicated to
bike paths and trails. We have
8 numerous such
already.
9
GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay.
10
MR. NETTS: So our feeling is three things:
11 One -- if I can
now summarize.
12
GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you.
13
MR. NETTS: The surplusing of this property is
14
essential. We need to be moving forward with the
15 project, and
the developer certainly needs to be
16 moving forward
in the project.
17
Second, we ask that you not attach any
18 conditions to
the surplusing of the property.
19
Thirdly, this is an issue best left to local
20 government.
21
GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you, sir.
22
MR. NETTS: If I may, I would like to thank you
23 for your time,
and I would like to introduce
24 Chairman Jim
Darby of the Flagler County Board of
25 County
Commissioners.
.
36
1
GOVERNOR BUSH: Absolutely. Chairman, good
2 seeing you.
3
MR. DARBY: Good to see you, Governor.
4 Honorable
Governor Bush and members of the Cabinet,
5 Honorable
members of the Cabinet, I am Jim Darby. I
6 am Chairman of
the Flagler County Board of County
7 Commissioners
since 1993.
8
In about 1997, I met with the developer's
9 representatives
to plead our cause for the Rails to
10 Trails.
At that time, ITT had sold its -- or was in
11 the process of
selling its interests in Palm Coast
12 to Palm Coast
Holdings, so there were new players on
13 deck. And
we were trying to make the application
14 for the
abandoned Lehigh Railroad, an eight-mile
15 stretch, to
bring it into public inventory for the
16 Rails to Trails
program.
17
In that meeting that I personally had with the
18 parent officers
at the request of our Board of
19 County
Commissioners, we pled the case of the County
20 to make the
property available for the Rails to
21 Trails
acquisition. They were promised the rails.
22 They were told
they would get the ties and the
23 salvage rights
to all of those items, which did not
24
materialize. Later the Department took those
25 instead, so the
developer was left out on the limb
.
37
1 for that.
They didn't contest it. They went along
2 with it.
3
Now, I'm primarily an environmentalist at
4 heart. I'm
a South Floridian at nature. I moved to
5 Palm Coast in
1978 from Miami, and my heart is with
6 the environment
of Florida and its pristine nature,
7 so rarely do you
see me standing arm in arm with a
8 developer to
plead their case. In this event, this
9 developer really
needs the support of Floridians and
10 the State in
terms of what the transgressions have
11 been upon the
developer, which you have already
12 touched
upon. I won't dwell on that. I'll hasten
13 my
comments.
14
This developer has done everything that has
15 been asked of
it for the Town Center development to
16 help us with
the Rails to Trails program. They've
17 been very
proactive with it. And so the few
18 comments that I
have that I would like to leave with
19 you is that the
grant application for Flagler County
20 at the time the
language was written was rushed,
21 because we had
Palm Coast Holdings now acquiring the
22 property, and
we had to get the grant application
23 in. So
some of the language apparently didn't cover
24 what your map
showed as a roadway, and now we're
25 asking for that
exchange for the surplus land, the
.
38
1 action asked of
you today to reduce the original 5.X
2 acres, whatever
that was, to the 1-point acres
3 today, to
surplus it and let them get on with the
4 road building
without additional conditions.
5
This is a unanimous vote of the Flagler County
6 Board of County
Commissioners. This is a unanimous
7 vote of the City
Commission of Palm Coast. This
8 represents the
unanimous vote of all of the members
9 of the volunteer
Rails to Trails Committee for
10 Flagler County.
11
The question I have is, why, if to fix the
12 original
concept, which was hurried -- it was a
13 concept.
There was no permanency in place at that
14 time. The
developer didn't know what they were
15 going to
do. Then why is this connection, or this
16 correction, I'm
sorry, why is this correction being
17 subjected to
other conditions that traditionally are
18 the
responsibility of the local government, and that
19 when the time
comes, the local government will make
20 the appropriate
decision. We are no less interested
21 in safety than
the Department that's contesting the
22 right of local
government to make this decision and
23 making that
decision for us at this point in time.
24
You know, we came through the '98 fires, and
25 Flagler County
was burning. We were the county that
.
39
1 evacuated in
this state. We are no less sensitive
2 to safety
issues, and probably more so because of
3 the experience
that we've had in the past.
4
We ask your indulgence and understanding that
5 Flagler County
government has the expertise and the
6 safety issue at
heart to make these decisions, and
7 that you allow
us to do so.
8
CFO GALLAGHER: A quick question, if I can.
9
GOVERNOR BUSH: Yes, Treasurer.
10
CFO GALLAGHER: Do you foresee in the future
11 whether your
Commission would want -- I mean,
12 depending on
the traffic, and let's say it goes to
13 what extent we
all believe is going to happen as far
14 as the
development of the Town Center, and obviously
15 we see the kind
of growth that's happening in the
16 city -- an
overpass there anytime down the road, or
17 do you foresee
a --
18
MR. DARBY: An over -- I'm sorry, sir. An
19 overpass down
the road?
20
CFO GALLAGHER: Do you foresee that there
21 might need to
be one, or do you think that it could
22 always be
handled with some grade level?
23
MR. DARBY: We have not -- our engineers and
24 our safety
aspects have not been fully considered at
25 this point,
because we don't know what those growth
.
40
1 parameters
are. As you've heard, this is a two-lane
2 road with a
25-mile-per-hour speed limit. It may
3 never become
more than that. We have not made that
4
determination. But I can assure you, sir, that in
5 the interest of
public interest and welfare, when
6 the time comes
to make that decision, we're going to
7 make the right
decision on behalf of the safety of
8 the public.
9
We're probably on deck in the local area, being
10 in the field
and knowing more about that region than
11 anybody else
would outside of the area. And we're
12 just asking --
like with the original grant
13 application
that had to be hurried, we only knew of
14 the
concept. We didn't know what the finality was
15 going to
be. We don't have those details today, nor
16 does anybody
else. We can assume that that road is
17 going to become
a major artery someday, but the
18 rights-of-way
and the other impacts on surrounding
19 roads with the
increase of Old Kings Road and Belle
20 Terre, that may
not be the state of affairs.
21
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, I understand that
22 although the
statute doesn't require an overpass,
23 what it does,
it says to the extent feasible and
24
practical. And so that's sort of were we're caught
25 when we --
we're trying to look out for the right
.
41
1 thing happening
at the right time, and I think
2 that's where
you're coming from too. How do we know
3 that that will
-- when you're gone and I'm gone, how
4 do we know that
down the road that's going to
5 happen?
6
MR. DARBY: Well, as we have trust in you and
7 the Cabinet and
the state government to run the
8 affairs of the
State of Florida, we would hope that
9 you would have
trust in the local officials to do
10 the same.
11
GOVERNOR BUSH: So we'll never see you write a
12 critical letter
of anything we do up here.
13
MR. DARBY: I've been in public service for 15
14 consecutive
years, and you've not seen one yet.
15
GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay.
16
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Governor, if I could,
17 you know,
there's a DOT springboard here of the
18 amount of
traffic needed before some of these things
19 take place that
are recommended. We know that
20 recommendation
is out there through DOT. We also
21 know that
through ISTEA at the federal level, there
22 can be some
grant monies gone after to help build in
23 the future an
overpass if it's needed to accomplish
24 what everybody
wants to do for safety.
25
And I would like to see, since DEP has been a
.
42
1 part of this
process of the land exchange and so
2 forth -- it's
easier for a state agency like DEP to
3 help the local
government go after a grant when
4 needed for this
process. If we decide to go ahead
5 with this and
let the local determination after we
6 make our
determination here today, that DEP stay in
7 contact to the
point to help them get their ISTEA
8 grant down the
road whenever the time comes and the
9 traffic gets
high enough and the four-lane or
10 six-lane takes
place, and that way we become
11 partners at the
state and the local level to get the
12 same thing
done.
13
MR. DARBY: Well, we appreciate -- if I may
14 close,
Governor. We appreciate everything the State
15 has done for
us, and the Feds. The Feds came in
16 with their
ISTEA monies and our grant applications
17 for a
pedestrian -- an eight-foot-wide concrete
18 pedestrian
pathway that runs from county line to
19 county line
along the east coast of Florida in
20 Flagler County,
and those were ISTEA monies that
21 satisfied
that.
22
And we were very proactive on the safety
23 issue. We
built that pathway. And certainly for
24 the safety
aspects, we're well aware personally of
25 what goes on in
Flagler County and what our needs
.
43
1 are. But
we appreciate everything the DEP does. We
2 believe that
they've been very helpful to us. On
3 this particular
issue, though, we believe that it's
4 our time at bat
and that we have the expertise to
5 make that
decision.
6
If I may, Governor, introduce --
7
CFO GALLAGHER: May I ask another question?
8
GOVERNOR BUSH: Sure.
9
CFO GALLAGHER: Is there a way we can sort of
10 require it, but
allow you to come and tell us why
11 you would
rather not do it when the traffic gets to
12 that count?
13
MR. DARBY: There is no decision that we would
14 rather not do
it. We may very well make the
15 decision to do
exactly the overpass that --
16
CFO GALLAGHER: So then if you did, everything
17 is fine.
But if you choose not to, you would come
18 back, and we
would say, "Okay. You've got a good
19 reason not
to. Go ahead and don't."
20
MR. DARBY: Well, that's strictly up to you
21 folks.
22
CFO GALLAGHER: I'm thinking that would sort of
23 get us past
where we are and let you all sort of
24 have a
decision. If you've got a good reason you
25 don't want to
do it, come back, and then --
.
44
1
MR. DARBY: Our Board of County Commissioners
2 has given our
legal department and myself as
3 Chairman the
authority to do what we need to do in
4 order to help
the developer get on with the road.
5 If we need to
put other things on the table for you
6 and keep that
door open for future considerations,
7 we're perfectly
willing to do that.
8
CFO GALLAGHER: See, that's something that
9 would make us
comfortable. We're doing the right
10 thing making
sure there's going to be one, but if
11 you all in
local government believe that it isn't
12 needed, you can
come back and show us it's not
13 needed, and we
don't do it.
14
MR. DARBY: If that is a stipulation or a
15 condition
that's conditioned upon the approval in
16 order for this
project to move forward, then our
17 county will
certainly consider that.
18
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, for me, that would get us
19 on out of here
and moving on and let you all run
20 your local
government fine, and let us look at it if
21 there's a good
reason you have not to do it when you
22 hit that
traffic count.
23
MR. DARBY: Yes, sir.
24
GOVERNOR BUSH: Are you good to go with that?
25
MR. DARBY: Yes, sir.
.
45
1
CFO GALLAGHER: I would like to make that
2 motion.
3
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
4
GOVERNOR BUSH: We've got another speaker.
5 We've got the
developer here, I assume.
6
MR. DARBY: Charlie Faulkner is senior vice
7 president of
Landmark -- of Palm Coast Holdings,
8 Inc., and I
would like to introduce him. He is the
9 developer that
we're essentially going to bat for.
10
GOVERNOR BUSH: If everything is good with the
11 suggestion, we
don't need to be talking too much,
12 but if you've
got concerns, please let us know.
13
MR. FAULKNER: Okay. Well, first of all, thank
14 you for
listening to it. I've told the story so
15 many times, I
can do a two-minute version or a
16 two-hour
version.
17
GOVERNOR BUSH: Try two minutes.
18
CFO GALLAGHER: Two minutes will --
19
MR. FAULKNER: I sort of sensed the two-minute
20 version might
be appropriate.
21
I'm just going to distill it down. I think
22 you've been
briefed adequately as far as the
23 history, the
evolution and the genesis of this
24 thing.
I've been working on this for the last year
25 just to try to
get here in front of you folks.
.
46
1
The local government, from my conversations,
2 uniformly
agrees. They don't want to be dictated
3 what the
solution is and the design of this
4 intersection of
the trail and the road. None of it
5 is even built
today. It was predicated on a traffic
6 model done in
the process of a DRI. Three years ago
7 probably this
model was done. Since that time,
8 there are
improvements over the existing I-95. I-95
9 has a big
barrier in the city like the Berlin Wall.
10 There's an
overpass that's going to be under
11 construction
this year. There's probably -- we're
12 donating more
land for another overpass just north
13 of this
one. Old Kings Road is going to be
14
four-laned. The CRA is going to have a parallel
15 connector with
State Road 100. In essence, the
16 traffic
patterns are likely to change from what this
17 model
predicted.
18
I would ask you, and I think this is local
19 government's
position, don't dictate what the design
20 ought to be
today for something that won't be built
21 for 10 or 15
years. The whole world may change by
22 then.
Allow local government to do its job. And I
23 think that's
the right thing for you to do.
24
GOVERNOR BUSH: Are you comfortable with
25 Treasurer
Gallagher's amended --
.
47
1
MR. FAULKNER: If I understand it right, the
2 motion would be
to require an overpass, and then at
3 the time, have
local government come back and
4 explain why you
don't need one.
5
CFO GALLAGHER: That's correct.
6
MR. FAULKNER: I don't think that's -- I think
7 that's an undue
burden. I think you need to trust
8 local
government. I would be happy and won't
9 complain on
whatever decision you gentlemen make. I
10 think the
correct thing to do is not to assume an
11 overpass is the
best solution, because I'm not
12 convinced it
is.
13
There's a northwest -- I mean, I've got all
14 kinds of
graphics. There's a north-south bike path
15 that will
intersect right here at this intersection,
16 and there's all
kinds of opportunities for
17 trailheads and
amenities for the trails. If you
18 require an
overpass, it's the Berlin Wall. The
19 constraints for
an overpass haven't even been talked
20 about.
21
CFO GALLAGHER: But if in fact that's where you
22 end up 10 years
from now, you come in and say, "This
23 is what we
designed in the city. We would like to
24 do this
instead," we're going to probably say,
25 "Fine," or
whoever follows us. It isn't going to be
.
48
1 us. And
you have a good reason for doing it.
2 However, if the
traffic count on that road goes up
3 to where all of
us know you've got to have an
4 overpass, then
we want to make sure it gets done.
5
MR. FAULKNER: I understand.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: That's the problem on that.
7 And if it
doesn't get there, then obviously it's not
8 an issue for the
local government or for us. So if
9 all of your
other roads work and you end up with a
10
25-mile-an-hour, two-lane road with nobody driving
11 on it, then
obviously nobody wants a four-lane or
12 six-lane
overpass.
13
MR. FAULKNER: Right. Just two brief points.
14 One is the
character of the project. This is --
15 this project
was weighted heavy for nonresidential
16 use. It's
literally in the center of 45,000
17 approved,
platted quarter-acre lots. We don't need
18 any more
quarter-acre lots in Palm Coast.
19
CFO GALLAGHER: I'll bet.
20
MR. FAULKNER: There's a deficiency of
21 nonresidential
uses. This fills that gap. There's
22 2,500 units
proposed here. None of those units are
23 single-family
stand-alone houses. There are any
24 variety of
townhouses, apartments, condominiums,
25 many mixed in
with residential uses in the downtown
.
49
1 area. This
had in the DRI negligible impact on
2 schools.
You're not having a lot of little kids in
3 this
project.
4
The second point is the physical constraints of
5 an
overpass. The property in this area that is
6 owned by
Greenways and Trails is in the vicinity of
7 60 feet
wide. On the north there's a canal with an
8 armored bank at
greater than a 45-degree slope.
9 That's what the
land abuts, is that canal. You
10 can't go
further north. To the south you've got an
11 FPL easement
with half-a-million-volt transmission
12 lines there
today, to be increased in the future.
13 You can't go
further south either. It is a heavily
14 constrained
area for an overpass. None of that has
15 ever been
really looked at by engineers other than
16 my engineers
for the past year.
17
CFO GALLAGHER: Which is all the reasons why
18 local
government may well come back and say this
19 overpass is not
needed.
20
MR. FAULKNER: You're right.
21
CFO GALLAGHER: And whoever is here will say,
22 "Fine."
23
MR. FAULKNER: And I think your proposal is a
24 good probably
solution to get us all out of here
25 today.
.
50
1
CFO GALLAGHER: That's what we're -- that's the
2 goal. That
is my goal, believe me.
3
MR. FAULKNER: Thank you.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: So I would just clarify that as
5 a condition of
the sale of the 1.8 acres, the County
6 agrees to put an
overpass at the crossing at the
7 time of a
four-lane highway, or return to the
8 Governor and
Cabinet to request a waiver of that
9 condition.
10
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
11
GOVERNOR BUSH: You mean at least four lanes;
12 right?
13
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Four or more?
14
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, obviously four or more.
15
GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion and a second.
16 Any other
discussion? All in favor say aye.
17
(Simultaneous affirmative responses.)
18
GOVERNOR BUSH: All opposed? The motion as
19 amended is
carried.
20
Thank you all for coming.
21
MS. CASTILLE: That concludes our --
22
GOVERNOR BUSH: Chairman, it's good seeing you.
23
MR. DARBY: Good seeing you too. Thank you.
24
GOVERNOR BUSH: You bet.
25
MS. CASTILLE: Thank you, Governor and members
.
51
1 of the
Cabinet. That concludes our agenda items.
2 You have one
more agency.
3
GOVERNOR BUSH: Yes. Thank you, Colleen. Your
4 old Chief
Cabinet Aide --
5
MS. CASTILLE: Just trying to keep everything
6 on track.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
52
1
GOVERNOR BUSH: State Board of Administration.
2
MR. STIPANOVICH: Agenda item 1, the minutes,
3 Governor.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes.
5
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
6
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
7 objection, item
1 passes.
8
MR. STIPANOVICH: Agenda item number 2 is a
9 request for
approval of fiscal sufficiency of an
10 amount not
exceeding $200 million State of Florida,
11 Full Faith and
Credit, State Board of Education
12 public
education capital outlay bonds.
13
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 2.
14
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
15
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
16 objection, the
item passes.
17
MR. STIPANOVICH: Item 3 is a request for
18 approval of the
fiscal determination of a amount not
19 exceeding 75
million of Florida Housing Finance
20 Corporation
homeowner mortgage revenue bonds.
21
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 3.
22
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
23
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
24 objection, the
item passes.
25
MR. STIPANOVICH: And, Governor and members,
.
53
1 the last item on
the agenda is just simply an annual
2 report on
corporate governance showing the
3 activities for
fiscal year '02-03, information only.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion to receive the report.
5
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Second.
6
GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
7 objection, the
report is received. Thank you,
8 Coleman.
9
MR. STIPANOVICH: Thank you, Governor, and
10 thank you,
members.
11
(Proceedings concluded at 10:08 a.m.)
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
54
1
2
CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER
3
4 STATE OF FLORIDA)
5 COUNTY OF LEON )
6
7
I, MARY ALLEN NEEL, do hereby certify that the
8 foregoing proceedings were taken before
me at the time
9 and place therein designated; that my
shorthand notes
10 were thereafter transcribed under my
supervision; and
11 that the foregoing pages numbered 1
through 53 are a
12 true and correct transcription of my
stenographic notes.
13
I FURTHER CERTIFY that I am not a relative,
14 employee, attorney or counsel of any of
the parties, or
15 relative or employee of such attorney
or counsel, or
16 financially interested in the
action.
17
DATED THIS 24th day of August, 2004.
18
19
20
21
___________________________
MARY ALLEN NEEL,
RPR
22
2894-A Remington Green
Lane
Tallahassee, Florida
32308
23
(850) 878-2221
24
25
.
Cabinet
Affairs
