Representing:
DIVISION OF BOND
FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
FLORIDA LAND AND
WATER ADJUDICATORY COMMISSION
ADMINISTRATION
COMMISSION
POWER PLANT AND TRANSMISSION LINE SITING
BOARD
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE INTERNAL
IMPROVEMENT
TRUST FUND
STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION
The above agencies came to be heard
before
THE FLORIDA CABINET, Honorable Governor Bush
presiding,
in the Cabinet Meeting Room, LL-03, The
Capitol,
Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday, June 24,
2004
commencing at approximately 9 a.m.
Reported
by:
NANCY P.
VETTERICK
Registered Professional Reporter
ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS,
INC.
2894-A REMINGTON GREEN
LANE
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
32308
(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
PAROLE COMMISSION
APPOINTMENT
(Presented by Treasurer Tom Gallagher)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
Selection
Approved
6
DIVISION OF BOND
FINANCE
(Presented by J. Ben Watkins, III)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
8
2
Approved
8
3
Approved
8
4
Approved
9
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT
(Presented by Jim Sewell)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
10
FLORIDA LAND AND WATER ADJUICATORY
COMMISSION
(Presented by Teresa Tinker)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
11
2
Approved
16
3
Approved
17
ADMINISTRATION
COMMISSION
(Presented by Teresa Tinker)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
18
2
Approved
83
3
Approved
69
4
Approved
19
.
4
SITING
BOARD
(Presented by Steve Palmer)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
85
2
Approved
97
Board of Trustees of the Internal
Improvement
Trust
Fund
(Presented by Eva Armstrong)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
98
2
Approved
98
3
Approved
99
4
Approved
101
5
Approved
102
6
Approved
102
7
Deferred
108
8
Approved
110
9
Approved
111
10
Approved
112
11
Approved
113
12
Approved
121
13
Approved
122
14
Approved
180
15
Deferred
181
16
Approved
187
STATE BOARD OF
ADMINISTRATION
(Presented by Coleman Stipanovich)
ITEM
ACTION
PAGE
1
Approved
188
2
Approved
188
3
Approved
189
4
Approved
189
5
Approved
189
6
Approved
190
CERTIFICATE OF
REPORTER
191
.
5
1
P R O C E E D I N G
S
2
THE GOVERNOR: Last year we appointed a
new
3 Parole Qualifications
Committee to provide us
with
4 three names to fill a
vacancy on the
Commission,
5 and we appointed Tena Pate,
who has served
the
6 remainder of that term,
which expires at the
end
7 of this
month.
8
We, also, appointed Commissioner David
to
9 serve as the Chair of the
Commission and
10 Commissioner Fred Dunphy to
serve as Vice
11 Chair. It's now
necessary to select
a
12 commissioner for a full
six-year term
and
13 appoint a chair and vice
chair for a
two-year
14
period.
15
The Parole Qualifications Committee
is
16 provided by Statute and has
elected to
forward,
17 for our consideration, the
same three
names
18 that they sent last year,
Patrick
Donaldson,
19 Tena Pate, and Robert
Woody, who has
removed
20 his name from further
consideration as of,
I
21 think, yesterday or the day
before.
22
Our vote today will appoint a
commissioner
23 to a new six-year term
beginning July of
this
24 year, select a vice chair,
and a chair,
and
25 reauthorize the list of
retired
commissioners
.
6
1 who previously provided to
us -- who
were
2 provided to us for temporary
duty.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: Governor, I'd like
to
4 appoint -- to move to
appoint Tena Pate to a
full
5 six-year term, select Monica
David as
Chair,
6 select Fred Dunphy as Vice
Chair, and approve
the
7 following list of former
parole commissioners
for
8 temporary duty, Maurice
Crockett, Tony
Fontana,
9 Charles Lawson, Guy Revel,
Charles Scribben,
Ken
10 Simmons and Judith
Wilson.
11
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
12
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
13 All in favor say
aye.
14
(Affirmative
response.)
15
THE GOVERNOR: All
opposed?
16
(No response.)
17
THE GOVERNOR: The motion passes. Thank
you,
18 Treasurer. The next
Cabinet meeting will
be
19 Tuesday, August 10th.
I guess we're taking
July
20
off.
21
CFO GALLAGHER: No Julys. How about
that?
22
THE GOVERNOR: I'll have just -- I'll
still
23 be in the afterglow of my
son's wedding
on
24 August 7th. I'll be
excited.
25
CFO GALLAGHER:
Congratulations.
.
7
1
THE GOVERNOR: I'll be tanned, rested,
and
2
ready.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
8
1 (The agenda
items commenced at 9:50
a.m.)
2
THE GOVERNOR: Division of Bond
Finance.
3
MR. WATKINS: Good morning,
Governor.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the
minutes.
5
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
7 objection, Item 1
passes.
8
MR. WATKINS: Item Number 2 is a
resolution
9 authorizing the competitive
sale of up to
10 $21,495,000 of State Board
of Education
capital
11 outlay bonds for local
districts and
community
12
colleges.
13
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
14
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Seconded.
15
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
16 objection, the item
passes.
17
MR. WATKINS: Item Number 3 is a
resolution
18 authorizing the competitive
sale of up to
19 $300 million in
right-of-way and
bridge
20 construction bonds for the
Department of
21
Transportation.
22
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Motion on
3.
23
CFO GALLAGHER:
Second.
24
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
25 objection, the item
passes.
.
9
1
MR. WATKINS: And Item Number 4 is a
report
2 of award on the competitive
sale of $8 million
of
3 student health center
revenue bonds for
the
4 University of Central
Florida. The bonds
were
5 awarded to the low bidder at
a true interest
cost
6 of 4.61
percent.
7
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
4.
8
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
10 objection, the motion
passes.
11
MR. WATKINS: Thank
you.
12
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
13
MR. WATKINS: Have a good
summer.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Good seeing you,
Ben.
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
10
1
THE GOVERNOR: Florida Department of
Law
2 Enforcement. Jim, how
are you
doing?
3
MR. SEWELL: I'm fine, Governor. How
are
4 you,
sir?
5
THE GOVERNOR:
Excellent.
6
MR. SEWELL: We have one item for you.
We
7 are respectfully submitting
for approval of
rule
8 11C-4.009, Uniform Arrest
Affidavits and
Reports,
9 for final adoption in Title
11 of the
Florida
10 Administrative
Code.
11
This rule adopts the Uniform
Arrest
12 Affidavit and Arrest Report
for use by law
13 enforcement agencies in DUI
arrests and is
14 required by 2002 Amendment
to section
943.05,
15 Florida
Statutes.
16
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
17
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
18
THE GOVERNOR: There's a second.
Without
19 objection, the item
passes. Thank you,
Jim.
20
MR. SEWELL: Thank
you.
21
22
23
24
25
.
11
1
THE GOVERNOR: Florida Land and
Water
2 Adjudicatory
Commission. I almost got
it.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes
of
4 May 11,
2004.
5
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
6
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second
7 on Item 1. Without
objection, the item
passes.
8
MS. TINKER: Good
morning.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
10
MS. TINKER: Item Number 2, request
approval
11 of the proposed final rule
establishing the
Split
12 Pine Community Development
District in the City
of
13 Jacksonville.
Governor, we have 2 speakers
on
14 this issue. The first
speaker is Ms.
Ellen
15
Whitmer.
16
THE GOVERNOR: Good morning, Ms.
Whitmer.
17
MS. WHITMER: Good morning, Governor
and
18 Members of the
Commission. I'm happy to be
here
19 today. I've come all
the way from St.
Johns
20 County, and I appreciate
this opportunity. I
do
21 have concerns and
opposition to the proposed
rule
22 establishing these
community
development
23
districts.
24
Since the Split Pine Community is
related
25 to the Tolomato Community
District,
some
.
12
1 comments will have a bearing
on it as well
as
2 the Tolomato. The
community
development
3 services and facilities will
be
incompatible
4 with the capacity and the
uses of the
existing
5 local and regional community
development
6 services and
facilities.
7
I am submitting a map from the First
Coast
8 Metropolitan Planning
Organization as a
proof
9 of the road failings and
deficiencies. In
the
10 last phases of these
developments, we're
going
11 to have most of our roads
in category F,
some
12 in E, but most of them in
F.
13
The lack of capacity for the schools,
the
14 libraries, the police, the
fire, and the
parks
15 will overburden the general
purpose
government.
16 St. Johns County is in an
urban sprawl or
an
17 over-allocated
position.
18
The services capacity -- the
service
19 capacity is simply not
there in our
county.
20 This is, also, against the
state
comprehensive
21 land plan, Statute
187.20115(a) regarding
land
22 use and the St. Johns
County's goal 8.1
and
23 objective 8.1.1 on land
use.
24
I have some strong concerns about
impacts.
25 There's going to be 474
acres of
wetland
.
13
1 impacts. This issue is
now being
evaluated
2 before the Army Corps of
Engineers. It has
not
3 been decided, but I think
this is
excessive.
4
And testimony and previous hearings that
I
5 was in confirmed this to be
excessive
and
6 unprecedented. I have
a worry
about
7 contamination of hazardous
waste sites
on
8 adjacent
property.
9
I, also, am worried about the
devastation
10 to the wildlife in the
area. I think
that
11 strict scrutiny is
necessary here.
This
12 petition automatically
amends the
development
13
order.
14
There were agreements made in
public
15 hearings regarding
proportionate fair share
and
16 other obligations of the
developers or
the
17 Nocatee Development
Group. The creation
of
18 these community development
districts
allows
19 the responsibility of the
developer to
be
20
shifted.
21
And since Statute 190 is not a
development
22 order, I do not think that
this is legal.
I
23 just think it's absolutely
egregious. I,
also,
24 have a concern for the due
process, the
25 disclosure, the
accountability, the ethics,
and
.
14
1 the government and Sunshine
requirements
2 embodied in 190 due to the
fact of the
close
3 relationships of the initial
board members
of
4 the proposed districts to
the
development
5
companies.
6
I'm asking that you deny the petitions
and
7 follow the intent of the law
as stated
in
8 190.0021(a). The
burden of proof is on
the
9 applicant to show that this
is in the
public
10 interest and will not
overburden the
other
11 governments and their
taxpayers, and that it
is
12 based on a proper and fair
determination of
the
13 applicable facts.
Thank you.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you very much.
Thanks
15 for being
here.
16
MS. TINKER: The next speaker is
Cheryl
17 Stuart representing the
CDD.
18
MS. STUART: Good morning, Governor
--
19
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
20
MS. STUART: -- Members of the Cabinet.
I'm
21 Cheryl Stuart on behalf of
the petitioner
SONOC,
22 LLC, with respect to the
Split Pine and
Tolomato
23 CDDs. The comments
made by Ms. Whitmer
all
24 relate, as you know, to the
content of the
25 development in this Nocatee
Development.
.
15
1
The matter before you today is simply
the
2 establishment of the
district. All of
the
3 issues related to the
development,
the
4 intensity, the permitting,
et cetera,
have
5 already been dealt with in
the
development
6 orders that have been issued
for this
project,
7 so those issues have already
been all
8
addressed.
9
Moreover, the matters she raised,
with
10 respect to compatibility of
services, have
been
11 dealt with by the
Administrative Law
Judge.
12 There is no
incompatibility. The district
will
13 be providing new facilities
and services
all
14 consistent with the
development
order.
15
And finally, that development
order
16 contemplates the
establishment of
these
17 districts. We ask for
your favorable
18 consideration. I'm
happy to answer any
other
19
questions.
20
THE GOVERNOR: Can you just make reference
to
21 the wetland issue that Ms.
Whitmer brought
up?
22
MS. STUART: Sure. There are wetland
impacts
23 associated with
development, as there are
always,
24 and those are matters, in
the normal
course,
25 before the Corps of
Engineers in our
permitting,
.
16
1 and we are in the middle of
permitting.
2
THE GOVERNOR: That's still
underway?
3
MS. STUART: Sure. And that will
continue
4 throughout the life of the
project.
The
5 establishment of these
districts does
not
6 eliminate the jurisdiction
of the Corps or DEP
or
7 undercut any environmental
regulatory
requirements
8 for the
project.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. Any
questions?
10
MS. STUART: Thank
you.
11
THE GOVERNOR:
Teresa?
12
MS. TINKER: Yes,
sir.
13
THE GOVERNOR: What's in front of
us
14
specifically?
15
MS. TINKER: The final rule, the
proposed
16 final rule that actually
establishes the
Community
17 Development District.
We recommend you
approve
18 that proposed final
rule.
19
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
20
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
21
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
22 Any other
discussion?
23
(No response.)
24
THE GOVERNOR: Without objection, the
motion
25
passes.
.
17
1
MS. TINKER: Item 3, recommend approval
of
2 the proposed final rule
establishing the
Tolomato
3 Community Development
District in St.
Johns
4
County.
5
CFO GALLAGHER: Move
it.
6
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
7
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
8 Without objection, the item
passes.
9
That's it?
10
MS. TINKER: That's it for FLWAC
--
11
THE GOVERNOR: Very
good.
12
MS. TINKER: -- Florida Land and
Water
13 Adjudicatory
Commission.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Well
done.
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
18
1
THE GOVERNOR: Administration
Commission.
2 Now I figured out why you
weren't
leaving.
3
MS. TINKER: Item 1, recommend approval
of
4 the
minutes.
5
CFO GALLAGHER: Move
it.
6
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
7
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second
8 on Item 1. Without
objection, the motion
passes.
9 Item
2?
10
MS. TINKER: Governor, I'd like to take
the
11 others out of order, if I
might. I think it
may
12 save us a little bit of
time.
13
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
14
MS. TINKER: I'd like to go to Item 4
first.
15 Staff recommends
authorization to enter
the
16 amended order of
remand. This is involving
a
17 small scale amendment in
the City of
Jacksonville.
18 The parties do not object
to the order of
remand.
19
We believe the order is
appropriate
20 because there's been a
change in the
21 designation of a road that
is specific to
this
22 particular
proceeding.
23
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
24
MS. TINKER: No
speakers.
25
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
.
19
1
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
2 Any
discussion?
3
(No
response.)
4
THE GOVERNOR: Without objection, the
motion
5
passes.
6
MS. TINKER: I'd like to go to Item 3
next.
7 Staff recommends entering
the draft final
order.
8 This is a comprehensive plan
amendment for
Wakulla
9 County. We have
several speakers today,
Governor,
10 three petitioners, quite a
few concerned
citizens,
11 and then the
intervenor.
12
Our first speaker is Terrell
Arline
13 representing the
petitioners, and
Governor,
14 I've asked the speakers to
limit their time
to
15 no more than two minutes
each.
16
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you. And if it's
been
17 said, don't feel compelled
to say it again.
I
18 mean, add to the
conversation if you
could.
19
MR. ARLINE: Good morning. My name
is
20 Terrell Arline. I'm
counsel for the
petitioners
21 here. What I'd like
to do is introduce one of
the
22 people on the ground here,
Victor Lambou, who is
a
23 former EPA employee and a
water quality
expert
24 with many years experience,
who may give you
a
25 little background on
this.
.
20
1
Then I'll finish up with our response
to
2 the recommended draft.
Thank
you.
3
MR. LAMBOU: Thank you. I and my
fellow
4 petitioners thank you for
giving us
the
5 opportunity to present our
views.
This
6 illustration is of the area,
and if you can
look
7 at it, you can see that it
is wet.
8
This project area is part of the
Lost
9 Creek Sump Area which is
surrounded by
10 Rehwinkle Road, Highway 319
and Highway
98.
11 Lost Creek flows into the
area and fills
a
12 large sump area with water
after rainfall
13
events.
14
Elevations, in this sump area, run from
a
15 few feet above sea level to
15 feet, where
the
16 water would then flow over
Highway 98. I'm
not
17 aware of any recorded event
of this
happening;
18 therefore, all this water
drains into
the
19 aquifer by percolation or
through
sinkholes.
20
Then, as far as the evidence shows,
that
21 it flows for approximately
5 air miles to
22 Spring Creek Springs.
The Administrative
Law
23 Judge found that the
evidence of a
connection
24 between these waters is
substantial.
25
Spring Creek is Florida's largest
spring
.
21
1 system, and some claim to be
the largest in
the
2 world. It has five
times the flow of
Wakulla
3 Springs. What happens
in the Rehwinkle
area
4 will affect the health and
integrity of
the
5 Spring Creek
Springs.
6
The wetlands in the Lost Creek Sump
Area
7 are world class and need to
be protected.
That
8 is, we believe that the
state and
federal
9 policies and goals of
protecting and
enhancing
10 our wetlands mean what they
say.
11
There's, also, the question of
public
12 safety as the
Administrative Law Judge
has
13 found this whole area would
be flooded by
a
14 category two hurricane, one
of less
intensity
15 than a category three
hurricane.
16
It has been suggested by increasing
the
17 size of the designated
wetlands, in the
project
18 area, from 64 acres to 85
acres, that
this
19 would solve all the
problems. We believe
this
20 is patently untrue for
several
reasons.
21
The Administrative Law Judge stated,
in
22 his finding of facts, that
the acreage was
at
23 least 85 acres, and using
an acceptable
current
24 methodology of wetland
delineation could
yield
25 significantly more
acreage.
.
22
1
The truth is we do not know how
much
2 wetlands are in this project
area, and
by
3 accepting the figure 85
acres, you could
be
4 giving the developer a
license to
degrade
5 wetlands as well as threaten
Florida's
largest
6 spring
system.
7
Wakulla Comp Plan does contain a
wetland
8 protection policy; however,
our county has
no
9 ordinance, rules, or
regulations to
protect
10 wetlands and has not
engaged to do any
wetlands
11 protection in the past even
when presented
by
12 opportunities to do
so.
13
I believe you have our April
14th
14 statement which details our
recommendations.
15 You, also, have a page of
four items that
we
16 think, as a minimum, should
be done. I
won't
17 go into details but just
outline them.
18
We currently -- we believe that the
County
19 needs to accurately
delineate and map all
the
20 wetlands in the project
area. The County
needs
21 to identify the
hydrological connections,
and
22 based upon this above two,
the County needs
to
23 determine if any of the
areas are suitable
for
24 development, and if so, at
what density.
25
We, also, believe because of
the
.
23
1 importance of the Rehwinkle
amendment area
and
2 Lost Creek Sump Area to the
health
and
3 integrity of Spring Creek,
that the County
and
4 State need to explore
approaches that
will
5 place Lost Creek Sump Area
in public
ownership.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
sir.
7
MR. LAMBOU: You are in the process
of
8 developing a Spring Creek
model development
code,
9 and we commend you for
that. We hope that
you
10 will protect this spring
shed. Thank
you.
11
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
sir.
12
MS. TINKER: The next speaker is
Robert
13 Alessi, also, a
petitioner.
14
MR. ALESSI: Good morning, honored
members.
15
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
16
MR. ALESSI: I'm here to ask you to help
keep
17 Wakulla County groundwater
clean. Some
reasons
18 would be groundwaters are
highly vulnerable,
like
19 Victor said. Most of
Wakulla residents
drink
20 water from private wells
which would draw
from
21 untreated groundwater, and,
three,
groundwater
22 feeds the springs, and two
of the largest ones
in
23 Florida are in Wakulla
County.
24
The potential carrying capacity of
land
25 and, ultimately, of
civilization, is
determined
.
24
1 by water, drinking
water. If water is
not
2 judiciously managed, then
groundwater
quality
3 is degraded continually over
time.
4
What will we tell our children? What
will
5 they tell their
children? I'm a firm
believer
6 in accountability and that
we all need to
be
7 accountable. The
ability to analyze
the
8 situation honestly and
accurately helps one
to
9 recognize both its
weaknesses and
its
10
strengths.
11
Accountability comes into play when
a
12 person steps up to this
responsibility and
acts
13 to correct weaknesses and,
also, improves
those
14 things which are already
being done
well.
15
Growth management is the promise
the
16 Legislature gave their
constituents. Hope
the
17 part you play is trusting
to keep that
promise.
18 Thank
you.
19
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you for being here,
sir.
20
MS. TINKER: The next several speakers
are
21 concerned citizens.
They were not part of the
--
22 they're not parties to the
proceeding.
23 Information they present
may not be a part of
the
24 record. I just want
to let you know
that.
25
The first speaker is Colleen Ruehl,
a
.
25
1 Wakulla County
resident. I'm going to
name
2 several and just have them
come up
--
3
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
4
MS. TINKER: -- to save time. Tim Hazlett,
a
5 hydrogeologist will present
a short
presentation
6 followed by Jenny
Brock. If you-all could
just
7 come up and just kind of
stand.
8
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
9
MS. RUEHL: Good morning. Governor
Bush,
10 Members of the Cabinet, and
concerned citizens,
I
11 stand here as only one lone
citizen that
12 represents hundreds of
citizens throughout
the
13 State of
Florida.
14
I'm a fourth-generation Floridian
and
15 proud of it, and I thank
God that I've had
the
16 opportunity to work in or
live in every
county
17 in Florida, and it's for
those folks that
I'm
18
speaking.
19
There are two problems. One is
the
20 development near Spring
Creek and the
Lost
21 Creek area. We're
concerned about our
Florida
22 natural resources; so as
Nancy Reagan has
so
23 well said, just say
no.
24
We're not against development. We're
for
25 protecting Florida's
natural resources.
I've
.
26
1 had firsthand experience
that approved
project
2 plans by DEP and the County
are
absolutely
3 worthless unless the State
has enough
manpower
4 to go out and inspect to be
sure that all
of
5 the storm water facilities
are in place, and
if
6 the County inspects, and if
they find it's
not
7 in compliance, if the County
then would
enforce
8
it.
9
So we have a problem, but, Governor,
we
10 have a solution.
Please appoint a
volunteer
11 task force. You have
learned people that
know
12 about protection of our
resources. We urge
you
13 to include citizens of
Wakulla County that
have
14 a vested interest in the
future of
Florida.
15
This volunteer task force, we would
like
16 to see them charged with a
written project
plan
17 with a time line,
implementation plans, and
an
18 evaluation to see if it's
working, and
we
19 certainly do not want
Florida to scare away
our
20
tourists.
21
We don't want our tourists to have to
come
22 to a state and feel like
they've got to
bring
23 their own bottled
water. Now, you're going
to
24 hear that there's not much
money to do
these
25 things, but, yes.
There are
ways.
.
27
1
Little Gadsden County is using
the
2 increased fees for
outsourcing review
of
3 environmental plans.
This might be an
option
4 for us. Governor and
Cabinet, we know what
we
5 need, and we know what we
want for
Wakulla
6
County.
7
We just need a little bit of help and
a
8 little bit of guidance in
getting there;
so
9 please think about this as
you make your
10 decision. How would
you like for the
future
11 generations to remember
your
administration?
12
We want them to remember you as
an
13 administration that
preserved Florida and
its
14 pristine waters.
Thank you.
15
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
ma'am.
16
MS. TINKER: Governor, I missed one of
the
17 petitioners. If we
could just go back.
Ron
18
Capron.
19
MR. CAPRON: Good
morning.
20
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
21
MR. CAPRON: Good morning. Ron Capron.
I
22 live on a 10-acre parcel
just immediately
south
23 of -- there's my house
right there
(indicating).
24 I'm not a lobbyist, a
lawyer, a scientist, and
I
25 don't represent special
interests.
.
28
1
I am, however, the president of my
home
2 owners association which is
on record,
since
3 May 14th, 2002, as opposing
this land
use
4 change. Robert lives
up on Evelyn Road,
the
5 next road up, and on
occasion we let --
during
6 rainy times, sometimes we
let them use
our
7
road.
8
I knew, before I started this, that I
had
9 something special when I
bought 10 acres in
a
10 gorgeous hardwood hammock
of beech,
hickory,
11 oak, and magnolia. I
built a home.
I've
12 raised a family
there.
13
I have an organic garden, and I have
a
14 well that gives crystal
clear water.
The
15 Administrative Law Judge
had a lot of
16 interesting findings of
fact. I urge you
to
17 strongly consider the
dramatic discoveries
that
18 have come about during the
process.
19
On April 20th, 2004, there was
a
20 presentation put on at
River Springs
Middle
21 School down in Wakulla that
featured
22 Hydrogeologist Todd
Kincaid, Wakulla
Springs
23 Park Manager, Sandy Cook,
and the
chairman
24 emeritus of the Florida
Springs Task Force,
Jim
25
Stevenson.
.
29
1
The additional speaker was
Charles
2 Gautier, who, as you know,
is DCA's
bureau
3 chief of local
planning. One of the
things
4 Mr. Gautier said was that,
in relation
to
5 protection of Wakulla's
resources, was
that
6 business as usual will not
be
adequate.
7
I believe that to merely increase the
size
8 of the excluded acreage
would be business
as
9 usual. Vague urgings
and encouragements
to
10 Wakulla County to do the
right thing offers
no
11 relief to me and my
neighbors.
12
Urban zoning, on this parcel, opens
the
13 door to Urban-2. It's
in our comp plan.
Once
14 the paved roads, water, and
sewer are
there,
15 Urban 1 shall convert to
Urban 2. That's
what
16 it
says.
17
Urban 2 allows greater densities,
greater
18 threats to the groundwater
and public
safety.
19 Outside here, as you guys
-- I was looking at
a
20 plaque out there at the
Florida
Heritage
21 Fountain, and August Bush,
III, is quoted
as
22
follows:
23
Quote, every choice we make regarding
the
24 earth, air, and water
around us is made
with
25 the objective of preserving
it for
all
.
30
1 generations to come.
This is how
our
2 stewardship will be judged,
and that is
our
3
commitment.
4
I hope that, in the matter before
you
5 today, that's your
commitment.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
sir.
7
MR. CAPRON: Thank
you.
8
MS. TINKER: Tim Hazlett will make a
short
9 presentation on the water
issues.
10
MR. HAZLETT: Good morning, Governor
and
11
Cabinet.
12
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
13
MR. HAZLETT: Okay. I'm going to be
just
14 presenting a few slides
about the science that
my
15 firm, Hazlett-Kincaid, has
been performing
over
16 the last three years in the
area called
the
17 Woodville Karst Plain which
is the expanse
of
18 limestone rock south of
Tallahassee down to
the
19 Gulf of
Mexico.
20
It contains both the Wakulla Springs
and
21 the Spring Creek Spring
Group which is
just
22 offshore. What you're
looking at here in
this
23 picture, just to give you a
sense of what
we're
24 dealing with with the Karst
limestone, the
25 limestone that dissolves
and makes large
holes
.
31
1 in the rock and, also, cave
systems that
feed
2 these large
springs.
3
These are actually divers in the
Wakulla
4 Cave System, and to give you
an idea of
the
5 size of conduits there,
they're quite
large,
6 tens of feet across up to
the size
of
7 basketball stadiums
there.
8
They're absolutely huge, and they're
a
9 very large impact on the
regional
groundwater
10 flow through the Woodville
Karst Plain.
Okay.
11 What do we know about the
Woodville
Karst
12
Plain?
13
It's a large karst space, and it's
about
14 625 square miles or about
25 by 25
square
15 miles. All or most of
the water flow
is
16 underground through the
cave systems.
The
17 caves are very large, ten
to more than 100
feet
18
across.
19
THE GOVERNOR: Have they been
mapped?
20
MR. HAZLETT: Yes, they have. The Leon
Sinks
21 Cave Systems, Chip's Hole,
Sally Ward Spring
Cave
22 System. Indian Spring
and Wakulla Springs
caves
23 all have been mapped.
There are many miles
of
24 large cave systems like
this that have been
mapped
25 by cave divers that are
really like
Everest
.
32
1 explorers, if you think of
it, because
they're
2 going to depths greater than
300 feet
underwater
3 with mixed gases.
They're quite
intrepid
4
adventurers.
5
The Woodville Karst Plains contains two
of
6 the largest springs in
Florida, as I
mentioned,
7 Wakulla and Spring
Creek. Wakulla, also,
is
8 one of the purest springs in
the world in
terms
9 of water
quality.
10
Both inland and coastal ecosystems
depend
11 on the quality of the
groundwater coming
from
12 the springs and
caves. Groundwater quality
in
13 the caves and springs is in
decline.
Nitrates
14 from sewage effluent and
storm water runoff
are
15 significant contributors to
the problem as
we
16
know.
17
The goals of the research that we've
been
18 involved with have been to
identify the
19 connections between streams
and springs.
There
20 are numerous sinking
streams, streams that
just
21 disappear and go
underground in
the
22 Apalachicola National
Forest.
23
We have determined the connection
between
24 those streams and some of
these cave
systems.
25 We've determined, in part,
the sources of
water
.
33
1 at Wakulla Springs, and some
of the
research
2 that we're currently moving
into is looking
to
3 determine the sources of
water at Spring
Creek
4
Springs.
5
We've, also, looked to delineate
the
6 spring sheds, i.e. the
source area for
the
7 springs, develop modeling
tools for
computer
8 modeling of these types of
systems where
the
9 Woodville Karst Plain is a
test.
10
I just want to say, from a
scientific
11 perspective, the Woodville
Karst Plain is
12 unique on a global
scale. There is no
other
13 place, in the world, that
has the kind
of
14 scientific instrumentation
and scientific
worth
15 like the Woodville Karst
Plain for
studying
16 karst
systems.
17
We, also, looked to develop a basin
scale
18 resource management
planning tools and
educate
19 essential parties about
Florida Karst.
20
Real quickly, the three pictures you
see,
21 on the bottom there, are
divers releasing a
dye
22 in the cave system, which
is part of some
of
23 the research we've
done. We release the
dye,
24 and we measure at other
points within
the
25 system, and that tells us
how quickly water
is
.
34
1 moving through the
system.
2
There's, also, a picture looking up at
the
3 diving platform at Wakulla
Springs with
algae
4 covering the rocks which it
shouldn't be,
but
5 because of the high nitrate
level, it is.
Then
6 there's an individual from
the Florida
Geologic
7 Survey sitting next to a
sampling
apparatus.
8
Okay. What we know about the
Woodville
9 Karst Plain -- this is a map
with
Tallahassee
10 in the north and the Gulf
of Mexico in
the
11 south. In the brown
area, it's confined.
That
12 means that the water that
falls on the
land
13 surface does not reach the
aquifer very
14
rapidly.
15
In the Woodville Karst Plain,
it's
16 unconfined, and it's very
rapid
infiltration.
17 The water only takes
minutes to perhaps days
to
18 get into the actual aquifer
that people
drink
19
from.
20
The Cody Scarp is the defining
line
21 between these two
things. It's a
physiographic
22 feature that marks the
highlands that
we're
23 sitting on right now versus
the lowlands
24 which
--
25
THE GOVERNOR: The spray field is south
of
.
35
1
that?
2
MR. HAZLETT: The spray field is just on
the
3 edge of it really.
It's marked here as a
line,
4 but it kind of wiggles and
waggles, and, you
know,
5 the spray field is
--
6
THE GOVERNOR: That's a scientific
term.
7
MR. HAZLETT: Yeah. Well, I'm trying to
make
8 the presentation
digestible. The spray
field
9 is
--
10
THE GOVERNOR: Is it waggle or
wiggle?
11
MR. HAZLETT: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I
don't
12 know. By the spray
field, it looks like
it's
13 waggling, so -- yeah.
I'll continue on
here.
14
What I'm adding in here now are
surface
15 water features that
exist. That's
the
16 St. Marks River, and it
goes underground at
the
17 brown circle and then
continues over
land,
18 again, after coming
up.
19
There's Wakulla Springs and the
Wakulla
20 River. You can, also,
see Spring Creek
Springs
21 at the south. Munson
Slew goes underground
to
22 Ames Sink. Fisher
Creek goes
underground.
23 Black Creek goes
underground.
24
Now, these are, on the left side, are
all
25 over in the national
forest, and then
Lost
.
36
1 Creek goes
underground. All those
green
2 feature just added in there
are the
cave
3 systems that are
mapped.
4
Okay. It, also, marks our current area
of
5 study and the future study
area, as
I
6 mentioned, in the Spring
Creek area.
Okay.
7 Very quickly, what we have
learned
8 specifically, from our
studies. In the
Leon
9 Sinks Cave System, we have
injected dyes
and
10 traced them to where they
come out at
different
11 places at sinkholes and
springs.
12
We have a connection between the
Leon
13 Sinks Cave System and
Wakulla Springs, and
that
14 connection was never proven
before, and it's
a
15 round trip of -- well, not
a round trip,
but
16 it's a one-way trip of
about 16 kilometers
that
17 connects up this Leon Sinks
Cave System
and
18 Wakulla
Springs.
19
The water actually flows to the
southern
20 end of the Wakulla System,
as we know it,
and
21 heads north and discharges
at the spring.
22 We've proven that, in a
scientific
fashion,
23 using the dye
tracing.
24
Just to give you an idea -- this is
very
25 important, I think -- is
that the water
flowing
.
37
1 through these systems are
greater than a mile
a
2 day, the velocity of the
water. A
typical
3 groundwater velocity is
about a couple
of
4 centimeters a day in
rock.
5
It doesn't move very fast. It's a
very
6 creeping
flow.
7
I should wrap up? Okay. Just to give
you
8 some ideas, these are
velocities that
we
9 actually measured using our
work, and
we're
10 trying to trace what
happens to the water
that
11 goes into Ames Sink
--
12
THE GOVERNOR: Who are you doing this for,
by
13 the
way?
14
MR. HAZLETT: -- this summer. We're
doing
15 this Florida Geological
Survey. That's who's
been
16 sponsoring this
work.
17
THE GOVERNOR: How does this overlay
relate
18 to the comprehensive plan
in Wakulla
County?
19
MR. HAZLETT: Well, my goal here today
was
20 to -- and I was asked to
come and provide
some
21 scientific knowledge about
the Woodville
Karst
22 Plain and the fact that, in
these types of
23 systems -- I think, to
answer your
question
24 specifically, in these
types of systems,
because
25 there is such rapid
interaction between
what
.
38
1 happens on the land surface,
in terms of water
or
2 contamination of any kind,
and how quickly
that
3 gets into the groundwater
supply, and can end
up
4 in the cave systems, or
coming out at the
springs.
5 That's the real essence of
the
issue.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Let me ask the question
again.
7
MR. HAZLETT:
Uh-huh.
8
THE GOVERNOR: Does your overlay -- does
your
9 work have -- has Wakulla
taken any of this
into
10 consideration as its plan
for its future
growth?
11
MR. HAZLETT: I am not fully aware of all
the
12 political
--
13
THE GOVERNOR: Maybe Teresa
--
14
MS. TINKER: The Department of
Community
15 Affairs will address that
in a few minutes.
I
16 don't think they're using
this specific study,
but
17 the department is beginning
to work with
the
18 County to look more
comprehensively at
these
19 issues and to make sure
that their
comprehensive
20 plan addresses the
groundwater as well as
the
21 springs
issues.
22
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
23
MR. HAZLETT: Shall I just finish
up?
24
MS. TINKER: Yes,
please.
25
MR. HAZLETT: Okay. I'll
finish.
.
39
1
This is showing what we know in
our
2 conceptual model right now
based on the
science
3 that we've done to date
about where the
water
4 comes from. The
groundwater flows south
to
5 Wakulla, and these are
probable spring
sheds.
6
This is just showing what we think.
This
7 is our best scientific model
right now of
where
8 the water comes from to
Spring Creek and
to
9 Wakulla. You can see
that Spring Creek
is
10 mostly fed by drainages in
the
Apalachicola
11 National Forest including
Lost Creek.
12
Wakulla is fed by water coming from
south
13 of Tallahassee, and as the
rain increases
and
14 we have different stages of
rain, those
15 boundaries change; so
they're not
fixed
16 boundaries. I'll just
give you a
different
17
idea.
18
Then, in summary, really, the
traditional
19 approaches, to looking at
these
groundwater
20 systems, don't apply in the
Woodville
Karst
21 Plain. We're only now
learning about how
these
22 systems
work.
23
Previous models had dated the spring
water
24 to decades, centuries, or
millennia.
They've
25 said that it's really old,
but our
research
.
40
1 tells us that the spring
water is only days
or
2 weeks
old.
3
Springs do receive a mix of
groundwater
4 that's old and young.
Massive caves
control
5 the flow paths in the
Woodville Karst
Plain,
6 and recharge, in the
unconfined region, is
very
7
rapid.
8
Lastly, Lost Creek probably flows
to
9 Spring Creek. We
haven't determined that
yet.
10 We're working on that in
the upcoming year,
and
11 we've determined already
that fish that are
in
12 Black Creek flow to
Wakulla.
13
Preserving groundwater and spring
quality
14 in our lifetimes will
depend on what we do
now
15 with the land
surface. That's the
overall
16 implication. These
are the people that
have
17 supported the work.
Thank you very
much.
18
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
19
MS. TINKER: The next speaker is Jenny
Brock
20 followed by Linda Jamison,
followed by
Manly
21
Fuller.
22
MS. BROCK: Governor Bush, Members of
the
23 Cabinet, thank you for
allowing me to speak. I
am
24 a fifth-generation
Floridian, but I've only
been
25 in Wakulla County for 30
years. I'm still
trying
.
41
1 to decide if that gives me
standing in the
county.
2 I wasn't born there
unfortunately.
3
Anyway, I'm a member of the
CCOW,
4 Concerned Citizens of
Wakulla County, and
we'd
5 just like to remind you that
the ever
present
6 3-2 vote that's handed down
by our
Commission
7 often does not necessarily
reflect the
wishes
8 of the majority of the
members of the
citizens
9 of the
county.
10
In any case, it, also, fails to
consider
11 the health of the
environment and the
water
12 supply. I was
present, at the
Commission
13 meeting, the evening that
this amendment
was
14 addressed, and one of our
commissioners
15 actually
said:
16
Folks, I've walked this property.
It's
17 rough land with a large
part of it
underwater.
18 It's not developable in my
opinion.
19
Of course, one or two commissioners
alone
20 can't override the wish to
hurry up and
develop
21 every square inch of a
place, so we have
those
22 things we're looking
at.
23
We ask that you find this amendment not
in
24 compliance; hence helping
us protect some
very
25 valuable wetlands.
This would clearly
be
.
42
1 consistent with the recently
stated promise
by
2 the President to restore or
protect as much
as
3 3 million additional acres
of United
States
4
wetlands.
5
Since we all know that protection
is
6 easier, less costly, and
more effective
than
7 restoration, we'd like to
ask that you
consider
8 this not in compliance, and
I'd like to
thank
9 you in advance for helping
us encourage
10 responsible growth
management and
the
11 protection of the public's
natural
resources.
12 Thank
you.
13
THE GOVERNOR: I vote for you being a
Wakulla
14 citizen if you've been
there 30
years.
15
MS. JAMISON: Good morning, Governor
and
16 Cabinet. My name is
Linda Jamison, and I
chair
17 the Big Bend Group of the
Sierra Club which
is
18 11 counties in this part of
the state.
We're
19 coming up on our 2,000th
member.
20
I would like to read you a quote from
the
21 Water Resources Atlas of
Florida edited by
Ed
22 Fernald at FSU and Betsy
Purdum, and you
will
23 find this book on the shelf
of just about
any
24 office that deals with
water in any
way.
25
They say, virtually every surface
water
.
43
1 feature in the state,
including rivers,
lakes,
2 wetlands, and estuaries,
interacts
with
3 adjacent
groundwater.
4
Okay. Governor Bush, your
administration
5 is taking exemplary strides
toward
protecting
6 springs in this state, and I
feel privileged
to
7 stand here in support of the
springs rule
back
8 in
2003.
9
Much is being learned about springs,
and
10 much more is yet to be
learned. The springs
--
11 the Florida Springs Task
Force and the
Florida
12 Springs Initiative have
resulted in
many
13 excellent educational
presentations.
14
I have attended several of those, and
I
15 would like to reiterate a
couple of points
they
16 have made in there that
have really stuck
with
17
me.
18
Many springs in south Florida no
longer
19 flow. Springs, in
this part of the state,
have
20 been down 50 percent in
their flow
volume.
21 Springs die a slow death of
1,000 wounds,
so
22 who here would wish to add
yet another
wound?
23
Today the State of Florida has
an
24 opportunity to steer the
course you have
set
25 and stave off wound Number
1001. I
feel
.
44
1 confident you will choose to
steer the
right
2 course, and I thank you for
the opportunity
to
3 be
heard.
4
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you very
much.
5
MR. FULLER: Governor and Cabinet,
Manly
6 Fuller, president of the
Florida
Wildlife
7 Federation. I've been
a resident of
Wakulla
8 County for 12 years
now.
9
THE GOVERNOR: You don't
count.
10
MR. FULLER: I don't count. I ain't
been
11 there long enough.
Okay.
12
The Federation has joined with the
State
13 of Florida, in the past, in
legal efforts
to
14 protect Wakulla Springs'
spring shed.
We're,
15 also, currently engaged
with the Department
of
16 Community Affairs in
efforts to protect
water
17 quality and the groundwater
in the eastern
part
18 of the county in another
legal
proceeding.
19
We think that -- we're glad that the
DCA
20 has recommended additional
wetlands acreage
to
21 be -- to come under --
defined as wetlands
in
22 this project, but we don't
think that this
is
23
sufficient.
24
We think we need to do
more
25 comprehensively to address
many of the
points
.
45
1 that the previous speakers
have made within
the
2 spring sheds, and we think
that there needs
to
3 be a program between state,
county,
business,
4 and the public to protect
these
incredible
5 resources that the State of
Florida enjoys
and
6 has committed significant
resources
to.
7
THE GOVERNOR:
Treasurer.
8
CFO GALLAGHER: Manly
--
9
MR. FULLER:
Yes.
10
CFO GALLAGHER: -- what would -- I mean,
this
11 is privately owned
land.
12
MR. FULLER:
Yes.
13
CFO GALLAGHER: There are development
rights
14 that
--
15
MR. FULLER:
Yes.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: -- come with that, and
my
17 question is, what is it --
I mean, we,
obviously,
18 added more acreage.
What should we be doing,
in
19 addition, without, you
know, stepping
on
20 somebody's, you know
--
21
MR. FULLER: We think
--
22
CFO GALLAGHER: -- ownership
rights?
23
MR. FULLER: We think, with this
individual
24 and other similar projects
in the county in
the
25 spring sheds, that we need
better storm
water
.
46
1 treatment programs than we
have. We think
that's
2 a major step to address the
issues.
3
Any other
questions?
4
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, that would tie in
with
5 DCA's responsibility to see
to it that we
have
6 high water quality that
could affect
--
7
MR. FULLER: We certainly encourage that
and
8 I think what Ms. Brock
referred to is that
there
9 is some degree of resistance
to that at the
county
10 level, and we have critical
resources. We
think
11 it would be good for the
State, in however way
it
12 chooses, to send a clear
message to the
County
13 that they want to help them
do a better job
of
14 protecting these
resources.
15
The County is one of the most
rapidly
16 growing counties, and we
certainly do
not
17 oppose development in the
county. We
recognize
18 that Wakulla County, as so
much of Florida,
is
19 changing, but we don't
believe that what's
in
20 place now is
adequate.
21
We think that we're seeing the
beginning
22 of a degradation of the
springs, and we
just
23 recently -- we're sending,
I think, today
a
24 letter to Commissioner
Castille, with
Thousand
25 Friends of Florida, about
our concerns
about
.
47
1 nutrients that are coming
from up, in this
part
2 of the system, down in
there.
3
So it needs to be approached, from
a
4 variety of standpoints, if
we're going
to
5 protect these resources for
posterity.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, I have the same
concern
7 that you have, and I really
do think that, from
my
8 standpoint -- and maybe
Teresa can help us
with
9 this -- that we need to get
DCA involved in --
you
10 know, prior to approving
this to move on, have
DCA
11 involved in seeing do we
have a high quality
water
12 runoff standard, and maybe
Teresa can tell us
how
13 we can go about doing
that.
14
MR. FULLER: And our fear is that if too
many
15 of these horses get out of
the barn, that
we're
16 not going to be able to
pull them
back.
17
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you, Manly. Would
you
18 like to respond to the
Treasurer's
query?
19
MS. TINKER: I'd love to. Again,
the
20 department will be
speaking, in a few
minutes,
21 about the actions they're
already taking
in
22 conjunction with the
Department of
Environmental
23 Protection and the
County.
24
We, also, have language in the
recommended
25 order that strongly
encourages those
entities
.
48
1 to proceed in that direction
and to look
at
2 these issues, in a very
comprehensive
manner,
3 and to incorporate
strategies into
their
4 comprehensive plan, the
county's
comprehensive
5 plan, to address these
issues in the
future.
6
We believe that you should go forward
and
7 approve the recommendation
that staff has
made
8 today which is to find the
comprehensive
plan
9 amendment not in compliance,
send it back
to
10 the County, direct the
County to modify
the
11 wetlands acreage, and then
again, on a
separate
12 track, to proceed with that
more
comprehensive
13 approach that Mr. Fuller
just spoke
about.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Teresa, didn't
the
15 Administrative Law Judge
state that it was
a
16 minimum of whatever the --
I forgot what
the
17 number of acres that were
defined as
wetland.
18 Eighty or 90 acres, is that
right, that it was
a
19 minimum, but there may be
more?
20
MS. TINKER: The Administrative Law
Judge
21 determined that, based on
the best
available
22 information, the
comprehensive plan
amendment
23 clearly did not reserve the
number of acres
that
24 they should have for
wetlands, and determined
that
25 there were a specific
number of acres that
should
.
49
1 be excluded from the
comprehensive plan
amendment
2 to bring that total to 85
acres.
3
There is differences of opinion about
how
4 much further the Hearing
Officer went in
terms
5 of are there more acreages;
does this
amendment
6 actually ensure protection
of the
groundwater
7 and the springs; and you'll
hear more
about
8 that when we bring the rest
of the parties
up.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. Maybe we should
hear
10 the rest of the parties
before we start
--
11
CFO GALLAGHER: Who are the rest of
the
12
parties?
13
MS. TINKER: Sherry Spiers is
representing
14 the intervenor and then
Craig Varn
representing
15 the Department of Community
Affairs.
16
THE GOVERNOR: Let's do it. Do we have
other
17 speakers that have
come?
18
MS. TINKER: We do have our citizens
to
19 speak. Did you
--
20
THE GOVERNOR: Well, I mean, if they come,
if
21 they could be very
brief. I think we've gotten
a
22 picture of the concerns,
but if people want
to
23 come speak, that's part of
the process.
24
MS. TINKER: The remaining speakers from
the
25 citizens' side are Eric
Draper, Janet
Bowman,
.
50
1 Madeleine Carr, Linda Young,
John Headrick,
and
2 Marilyn Wills. If
you-all would just come up
one
3 right after the
other.
4
THE GOVERNOR: You win points with
brevity.
5
MR. DRAPER: I'll be quick. Eric
Draper
6 speaking today for Apalachee
Audubon Society,
800
7 members in Franklin, Leon,
and Wakulla County.
We
8 saw 134 birds this year
during our bird-a-thon
in
9
Wakulla.
10
We have a clear interest there. A lot
of
11 people go there to see
birds. It's
an
12 extraordinary place.
Governor, thanks to
your
13 leadership, you've done
some
extraordinary
14 protection measures down in
Wekiva Basin.
The
15 Legislature passed
legislation which
will
16 direct even more
extraordinary
activities
17
there.
18
We think Wakulla County is no
less
19 extraordinary than the
areas around
Wekiva
20 Basin, and I think that the
issue that the
21 treasurer suggested, which
is that you
direct
22 your staff, direct the DCA,
and use this
23 opportunity right now to
give
additional
24
direction.
25
Not just the kind of voluntary
direction
.
51
1 that seems to be part of
this order,
but
2 something a little firmer
telling
Wakulla
3 County that you've got
something
really
4 remarkable down there.
Take extra steps
to
5 protect the groundwater and
the
natural
6
resources.
7
It's not a voluntary measure that
should
8 be left up to just that
county commission.
It
9 really is a region of
statewide
importance.
10 Act in that
direction. Thank you very
much.
11
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
Eric.
12
MS. BOWMAN: I'm Janet Bowman. I'm the
legal
13 director at 1,000 Friends
of Florida, and
we've
14 been very involved in
springs production
efforts
15 over the last couple of
years, both working
with
16 DCA in the preparation of a
springs best
practices
17 manual and in the Wekiva
Springs Protection
Task
18 Force and Coordinating
Committee.
19
I want to direct my comments
specifically
20 to Commissioner Gallahger's
question and
really
21 to provide a
suggestion. That is, in
your
22 recommended final order,
the suggestions
made
23 that the commission
encourage the County,
in
24 conjunction with DCA, to
take more
proactive
25 steps in its growth
management policies
to
.
52
1 protect groundwater, to
recognize
the
2 distinctive aspects of the
County's
3 geomorphology and its unique
karst
features,
4 and to preserve the County's
freshwater
springs
5 as the County's population
continues to
grow.
6
I mean, the previous speakers have
talked
7 about how important this
issue is, and I
think
8 one way of accomplishing
that -- and
there's
9 precedence for doing this --
is in the
remedial
10 measures that go back to
Wakulla County,
to
11 specifically provide a
schedule for them
to
12 adopt some proactive
measures,
spring
13 protection policies in
their comp plan, and
at
14 the same time, directing
DCA and other
agencies
15 to assist
them.
16
It doesn't have to -- it doesn't have
to
17 delay the development
portion of the
amendment,
18 and precedent for that,
we've been
involved
19 with some Franklin County
amendments where
the
20 entire Franklin County plan
was out of
21 compliance, and an
amendment adopted by
the
22 County that allowed the
development to
proceed
23 with remedial actions
specifically
associated
24 with the
development.
25
But, in addition, a specific deadline
for
.
53
1 the County to update their
plan to address
the
2 deficiencies, and I think
that's what needs
to
3 be done here. Not as a
punitive measure
at
4 all, but as a measure to
move the ball
forward
5 and to encourage the
cooperation of
the
6
agencies.
7
And frankly, it's not just a
Wakulla
8 County problem. I
mean, it's a
regional
9 problem, and it really
requires a
regional
10 solution. Thank you
very much.
11
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
12
MS. CARR: Madeleine Carr. Good
morning,
13 Governor and Cabinet.
Thank you very much
for
14 this opportunity.
I've lived in Wakulla
County
15 24 years, and my accent
just doesn't get it,
you
16 know, so I'm one of the
founders of the Friends
of
17 Wakulla
Springs.
18
Watersheds and springs are obviously
part
19 of my own personal
concern. You cannot
imagine
20 my consternation at the
degradation of
Wakulla
21 Springs, certainly one of
the world's
most
22 studied bodies of
water.
23
In the process of learning about
Wakulla
24 Springs, I became aware of
the Rehwinkle
issue
25 because of its implications
on the
health,
.
54
1 cleanliness, and the safety
to our fisheries
in
2 another spring system, that
of Spring
Creek.
3
I was elated when the Wakulla County
Board
4 of County Commissioners
denied this
application
5 to rezone the Rehwinkle
tract, but my
elation
6 quickly turned to
fury. Our
county
7 commissioners, probably upon
pressure,
8 rescinded their vote and
approved the
rezoning
9 at a later
meeting.
10
Such flip-flopping is more than normal
--
11 more normal than not in
Wakulla County.
Should
12 you decide to reverse the
amendment and send
it
13 back to the County, I am
convinced, based
on
14 our county's zoning
history, that this
would
15 not address the pressure on
our groundwater
and
16
watersheds.
17
I'm not convinced that this beautiful
and
18 wondrous aquifer is not
dying very slowly.
The
19 state spring systems that
are so important
to
20 you, Governor, and to the
Cabinet, and
to
21 developing of the state
would not be served
if
22 Wakulla County
Commissioners were told to
start
23
over.
24
Why? The same commissioners are
still
25 under the same pressure as
they were when
they
.
55
1 reversed their initial
decision. Many
years
2 ago, during an
administrative hearing about
the
3 nonexistence of Wakulla
County Storm
Water
4 Treatment Plan, a judge
ordered this County
to
5 come up with such a
plan. It has not,
the
6 DCA's generosity of paying
for a
consultant
7 just recently,
notwithstanding.
8
Please consider the relief the
petitioners
9 are asking of you, to order
Wakulla County
to
10 seek professional and
scientific
information
11 about all of its
watersheds, not just
Wakulla
12 Springs, before these
natural resources
die.
13 Thank
you.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you very
much.
15
MS. WILLS: Good morning. I am
Marilyn
16 Wills, Tallahassee League
of Women Voters.
I'd
17 like to read the letter
that we sent
to
18 Governor
Bush.
19
The League of Women Voters of
Tallahassee
20 joins the Sierra Club,
1,000 Friends
of
21 Florida, and other groups
in opposing
the
22 Rehwinkle Amendment to
Wakulla
County's
23 Comprehensive
Plan.
24
The league opposes this amendment
because
25 it is not in compliance
with the
comprehensive
.
56
1 plan and does not protect
sensitive waters
in
2 this region. The
portion of the Lost
Creek
3 Sump Area and the Rehwinkle
Amendment should
be
4 preserved in perpetuity in
public
ownership.
5
It is important that Wakulla County
be
6 required to follow its
comprehensive plan
and
7 adopt a groundwater springs
protection
8 ordinance and a countywide
storm
water
9
ordinance.
10
Wakulla County has a unique opportunity
to
11 protect underground water
resources
before
12 unwanted development
intrudes on
freshwater
13 supplies. The health
of the County,
region,
14 State, and the citizens,
who live here, is
at
15
stake.
16
The league asks that you oppose
the
17 Rehwinkle Amendment.
The League of
Women
18 Voters of the United States
believes that
19 natural resources should be
managed as
20 interrelated parts of
life-supporting
21
ecosystems.
22
Resources should be conserved
and
23 protected to assure their
future
availability.
24 Pollution of these
resources should
be
25 controlled in order to
preserve the
physical,
.
57
1 chemical, and biological
integrity
of
2 ecosystems, and to protect
public
health.
3
The League of Women Voters of
Florida
4 supported the State and
Regional Planning
Act
5 of 1984, and in 1985, the
Growth
Management
6 Bill, which strengthened the
role of
local
7 government, comprehensive
plans, and
restricted
8 coastal
development.
9
The League has long recognized
the
10 importance of wetlands to
wildlife
habitat,
11 fisheries, water quality,
and flood
control.
12 Thank
you.
13
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you. Anybody
else?
14
MS. TINKER: Marilyn
Wills.
15
MS. WILLS: That was
me.
16
MS. TINKER: Oh, I'm sorry.
Okay.
17
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
18
MS. TINKER: Did we get John
Headrick?
19
THE GOVERNOR: If they're not up there
--
20
MS. TINKER: Okay. Okay. We're going to
go
21 back to the parties
now. Terrell Arline will
wrap
22 up for the
petitioners. He's just got a couple
of
23 minutes -- one
minute.
24
MR. ARLINE: Thank you. This is a
major
25 groundwater case.
This case found that there
was
.
58
1 a connection between land
use and
groundwater
2 which we all know. It
reflected many of
the
3 principles that were
prepared by DEP and
the
4 Springs Initiative Task
Force which
this
5 administration
supported.
6
We know that the site has a
connection,
7 through a karst feature in
this wetland, to
the
8 groundwater and probably the
Spring Creek.
The
9 question is what do we do
about it?
DCA's
10 recommendation was just to
map the
amendment.
11
Your staff went farther than that, and
I
12 bless them for that.
They said to at least
map
13 the amendment, but go back
and encourage
14 Wakulla County to work with
others to
protect
15 its groundwater
resources.
16
Unfortunately, we don't think
that's
17 enough. Wakulla
County, in its
comprehensive
18 plan, over the ten years,
has had a
requirement
19 that it adopt a storm water
management
20 ordinance. It's never
done it.
21
This is an opportunity for
the
22 Administration Commission,
in this order,
to
23 ensure that Wakulla County
follows through
in
24 its principles of
implementing its plan.
What
25 we recommend is that just
before -- on
this
.
59
1 particular project, in
response
to
2 Commissioner Gallahger's
point, prior
to
3 entering the amendment on
this
particular
4 project, that we recommend
that Wakulla
County
5 just consider the data of
the connection
of
6 this site to Spring
Creek.
7
Then they can move on and do the
other
8 things that you recommended
which is
coordinate
9 with DCA on a countywide
basis. Thank
you.
10
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you very
much.
11
MS. TINKER: We're going to move to the
other
12 side now. Sherry
Spiers representing
the
13 intervenor, Brad
Suber.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
15
MS. SPIERS: Good morning. My name is
Sherry
16 Spiers. I'm with
Greenberg Traurig. I
represent
17 Brad Suber, the intervenor,
and contrary to
what
18 you've been told so far
this morning, the sky
is
19 not falling as a result of
this
amendment.
20
All of the issues that have been raised
by
21 the speakers today were
presented to
the
22 Administrative Law Judge,
and he
concluded
23 quite clearly, in his
recommended order,
that
24 none of the issues raised
by the petitioners
in
25 the petition, including
their allegation
that
.
60
1 this amendment will fail to
protect
wetlands
2 and natural resources, were,
in fact, proved
by
3 the
petitioners.
4
The only issue was with this 266
acre
5 parcel. The County
attempted to remove
the
6 large wetland that bisects
it from
the
7 amendment. They didn't
measure it right.
They
8 took out 64 acres instead of
85, and
therefore,
9 the amendment was not in
compliance.
10
THE GOVERNOR: The acreage, reading that,
the
11 ruling here, it says that
other better
available
12 data show that the large
wetland
comprises
13 85 acres, if not
significantly
more.
14
MS. SPIERS: That was his finding. All
that
15 was definitively
established at the hearing
was
16 that it's 85 acres.
The planning experts
who
17 testified said that, in a
plan amendment case,
you
18 don't expect a precise
measurement that
occurs
19 when permitting takes place
in a wetland.
20 Jurisdictional delineation
is required.
21
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. So you would
recognize
22 that 85 acres would be the
minimum.
23
MS. SPIERS: I would recognize
that.
24
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
25
MS. SPIERS: A delineation will occur,
and
.
61
1 the county plan quite
plainly
prohibits
2 development in wetlands,
period; so whatever
the
3 extent of it is, it cannot
be disturbed no
matter
4 what land use category it's
in.
5
In addition, for the types of
ordinances
6 that you're being asked to
direct the County
to
7 adopt, there's absolutely no
precedent
for
8 doing that under a
circumstance other than
when
9 a comprehensive plan is in
front of the
10 Commission, and the plan,
itself, the
goals,
11 objectives, and policies,
have been found to
be
12 not in
compliance.
13
Then the Commission directs the
local
14 government to go back and
correct that
and
15 adopt objectives and
policies that are
in
16 compliance with state
law. In this case,
the
17 Wakulla County plan is
already in
compliance.
18 It prohibits development in
wetlands.
It
19 requires that
predevelopment of water
quality
20 in wetlands be maintained,
that
groundwater
21 quality be maintained at or
above state
22 standards, and that storm
water meet
state
23 water quality
standards.
24
That's what is legally required.
It's
25 what they adopted.
It's been approved.
It's
.
62
1 in effect, and it is
implemented in the
County.
2 In addition, to address
issues related to
the
3 karst sensitive nature of
the County,
the
4 County, with a grant from
DCA, started
working
5 on that last
October.
6
A study has been ongoing since that
time.
7 Recommendations related to
it are due to
the
8 County in November, and
modifications, if
any
9 are needed to the plan, will
be made based
on
10 those
recommendations.
11
In the meantime, we've got 181 acres
of
12 usable land on the edge of
the town of
13 Crawfordville in what the
judge found was
the
14 most appropriate location
for housing
15 development in Wakulla
County.
16
They need the amendment. More
than
17 67 percent of this county
is in public
18 ownership. The only
place for people to
live
19 and work is in the eastern
part of the
county,
20 in this karst nature, and
that is where
people
21 build their homes and their
businesses.
22
We're asking for the opportunity to do
the
23 same in an area where it's
needed. If
there
24 are any questions, I'd be
happy to answer
them.
25
THE GOVERNOR: Any
questions?
.
63
1
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: I do have a
question.
2
THE GOVERNOR: Yes,
Commissioner.
3
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Thank you,
Governor.
4 On this development,
potential development
area,
5 was the idea to use an
effluent facility that
will
6 be built there, or septic
tanks, or what
was
7 the
--
8
MS. SPIERS: It will be built on a
central
9 sewers. There are
lines within about a
mile.
10 There's a development
agreement with the
County,
11 and the evidence, also, in
the hearing and in
the
12 judge's order, was that
we'll be using
central
13
sewer.
14
CFO GALLAGHER:
Okay.
15
MS. SPIERS: Thank
you.
16
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
17
MS. TINKER: We have one last speaker.
Let
18 me just let you know the
Wakulla County
Attorney
19 is here, Donna
Biggins. She's not planning
to
20 speak, but she is available
for questions.
21
The last speaker is Craig Varn from
the
22 Department of Community
Affairs.
23
MR. VARN: Good morning, Craig
Varn,
24 Department of Community
Affairs. I wanted to
just
25 step up and briefly discuss
or explain what
the
.
64
1 department's recommended
remedial measure was
in
2 this and the basis for that
recommendation.
3
Upon reading the ALJ's recommended
order,
4 the only things that became
clear were
that
5 this wetland was 85 acres,
potentially
larger;
6 however, there's no
explanation of what
that
7 potentially larger
was.
8
We know it's 85 acres. We
understand
9 that, and if you look at the
recommended
order,
10 paragraph 110, explains
that it is
that
11 reclassification that
causes all
these
12 potential
problems.
13
We've heard a lot of talk about
this
14 kinetivity, potential
groundwater
pollution,
15 issues along those
lines. What's missing
is
16 the cause to that effect,
and the cause,
as
17 laid out by the
Administrative Law Judge
in
18 paragraph 110, is simply
that redesignation
of
19 the land from agricultural
to urban uses.
20
What the department has said -- and
our
21 position, quite frankly,
has been
constant
22 through this process -- is
take the wetland
out
23 of the redesignation, and
that's why our
24 remedial measure to,
instead of taking what
we
25 thought was correct data,
61 acre wetland,
take
.
65
1 it to the 85 acres which was
explained in
the
2 hearing to be the accurate
data.
3
Along that line, we, also, wanted to
point
4 out there's been a lot of
discussion
about
5 continuing to work with the
County on
a
6 comprehensive basis.
The department is in
the
7 process of doing
that.
8
We currently have a grant to the
County
9 that provides them -- I
believe it's
10 approximately $10,000, to
look at their
LDRs,
11 look at their comprehensive
plan, and make
12 changes that are
necessary.
13
My understanding is that, in November,
a
14 schedule for such changes
will be due.
15 Additionally, the
department has filed
a
16 proposal with the
Department of
Environmental
17 Protection, been working
with Secretary
18 Castille's office quite a
bit.
19
This proposal and phase 4 provides
for
20 additional funding to the
County to
implement
21 another project that the
department is in
the
22 final phases on, and that's
the model
springs
23
code.
24
Through the springs initiative,
the
25 department anticipates
continuing to work
with
.
66
1 Wakulla County. The
project that's up
right
2 now would provide
funding. Wakulla County
is
3 listed as a potential local
government
to
4 provide funding, too, for
implementation
of
5 this
code.
6
I don't think there's a huge
disagreement
7 that things need to be
addressed on
a
8 comprehensive level. I
think the
disagreement
9 comes to as to whether or
not this amendment
--
10 and based upon the
recommendation of
the
11 Administrative Law Judge --
provides a
12 mechanism for doing
that.
13
The department anticipates continuing
to
14 work, and we do believe
that we'll address
a
15 lot of these issues in the
future.
16
THE GOVERNOR:
Questions?
17
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Thank you,
Governor.
18 I want to make sure that
I've got this right.
No
19 matter what Wakulla County
Commission decides
to
20 do on zoning, they still
have to meet
criteria
21 both from DCA, and they're
going to have to
meet
22 some criteria based on
DEP's recognition
of
23 wetlands and what makes up
wetlands.
24
So adopting the 85 acres minimum is
going
25 to be -- that'll be
done. It'll have to
be
.
67
1 done, or it won't be
approved, or it'll
be
2 coming back here, I would
assume.
3
And then any acreage above that that
may
4 be deemed wetland will have
to be adopted,
or
5 there will be an order by
DEP or DCA to
the
6 County based on those
conditions; isn't
that
7
correct?
8
MR. VARN: Yes, sir. That is
correct.
9
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: So the fact that
the
10 County is moving in this
direction is only
one
11 step in it to comply with
all
recommendations
12 before the final order is
given by the County,
or
13 any development of any type
starts in this
area
14 will have to be met,
right?
15
MR. VARN: Yes,
sir.
16
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Okay. I just want
to
17 make sure all that's
straight in my
head.
18
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
19
MR. VARN: Thank
you.
20
MS. TINKER: That concludes the
speakers,
21 Governor. Again, the
staff recommendation is
to
22 find the comprehensive plan
amendment not
in
23 compliance, send it back to
Wakulla County,
and
24 direct that they look at
the best
available
25 information, and that is
actually named in
the
.
68
1 remedial action, the
document that they look
at,
2 and include approximately 85
acres of
wetlands.
3
It may be a little more. It may be
a
4 little less, but they've got
to look at
that
5 best available data to
determine what it
is,
6 and then modify the
comprehensive
plan
7 amendment to ensure that
those wetlands are
not
8 redesignated to a different
land
use.
9
THE GOVERNOR:
Treasurer.
10
CFO GALLAGHER: I have a substitute
motion,
11 and that substitute motion
is that we adopt
the
12 recommended order with the
following
language.
13 That would be, Number 4
would read, in
accordance
14 with section 163.3184(11(a)
Florida statutes
and
15 based on findings of fact
Numbers 65, 89,
108,
16 110, 111, and conclusions
of law, 132, 135,
137,
17 138, and 139, the
Commission modifies
DCA's
18 recommendation of remedial
measures to require
the
19
following:
20
A, the extent of wetlands on the
site
21 shall be established using
the best
available
22 data, as found by the
Administrative Law
Judge.
23
B, once the extent of the wetlands
is
24 established, the County
shall analyze
the
25 hydrology, geomorphology,
and topography
--
.
69
1
THE GOVERNOR:
Topography.
2
CFO GALLAGHER: -- of the area -- thank
you,
3
Governor.
4
-- and topography of the area to
establish
5 whether the site is suitable
for the
intensity
6 of development allowable
under the
proposed
7 land use
designation.
8
THE GOVERNOR: There is an amended motion
--
9
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
10
THE GOVERNOR: -- and a second. Any
other
11
discussion?
12
(No response.)
13
THE GOVERNOR: All in favor, say
aye.
14
(Affirmative
response.)
15
THE GOVERNOR: All
opposed?
16
(No response.)
17
THE GOVERNOR: Very
good.
18
MS. TINKER: Governor
--
19
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you.
Yes.
20
MS. TINKER: Governor, we'll go back to
Item
21 2 now. Item 2 is a
small scale amendment for
Polk
22 County. Again, we
have a few speakers, not
as
23 many as the last
item.
24
THE GOVERNOR: That's good to
know.
25
MS. TINKER: The petitioners are
represented
.
70
1 by Terrell Arline and Jean
Reed.
2
MR. ARLINE: Lucky enough to appear,
before
3 you, twice today. I'm
Terrell
Arline.
4
THE GOVERNOR: Could you move the
microphone
5 up a little bit,
sir?
6
MR. ARLINE: I'm sorry. My name is
Terrell
7 Arline. I represent
the petitioners. I'd like
to
8 introduce one of my clients,
Jean Reed, who
wants
9 to briefly make a statement,
and then what I
want
10 to do is address the legal
issue that's before
you
11 that has to do with
standing.
12
Jean?
13
MS. REED: Good morning. My name is
Jean
14 Reed. I'm from Winter
Haven, Florida, home of
the
15 soon-to-be-reopened Cypress
Gardens
Adventure
16 Theme
Park.
17
THE GOVERNOR: How's that
going?
18
MS. REED: It's going well. I think
the
19 target date is October 1st,
so we hope they
hold
20 to it. We're all
eager to get there, get
our
21 annual passes. As
chair of Citizens for
Proper
22 Planning and for the
residents of Polk County,
I
23 want to thank the Cabinet
aides for meeting
with
24 us and for their careful
review and
appropriate
25 recommendations on the land
use
issue.
.
71
1
As well, we appreciate the
aides'
2 recommendations to grant
Citizens for
Proper
3 Planning standing.
Citizens for
Proper
4 Planning is a Florida
nonprofit
countywide
5 organization, and as such,
as many
6 organizations do, it
provides a form
for
7 people -- for the public to
unify and
organize
8 their efforts on issues
affecting their
quality
9 of life in many
areas.
10
I won't go into the background of
issues,
11 but I've been following
this since 2002,
and
12 I've been involved in most
areas of it, but
I
13 hope that you will be in
agreement with
your
14 staff's
recommendations.
15
And I just thank you for taking the
time
16 to finally put this issue
to rest. Thank
you
17 very
much.
18
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you very much for
being
19
here.
20
MR. ARLINE: This is a small scale
plan
21 amendment, but it's got
this big tar baby tied
to
22 it that deals with the
standing of nonprofits
to
23 challenge comprehensive
plan amendments. We
filed
24 exceptions to a recommended
order of the
Hearing
25
Officer.
.
72
1
Essentially, standing is provided,
under
2 Florida law, for affected
persons to
challenge
3 comprehensive plan
amendments. The
statute
4 defines affected persons to
include
persons
5 owning property residing,
and then it
says
6 owning or operating a
business.
7
That nonprofit corporation that Jean
is
8 involved with, Citizens for
Proper
Planning,
9 the finding of fact was that
what it did
was
10 educate the public on
growth management
issues.
11 The Hearing Officer, on his
own initiative
--
12 there was no disagreement
that they didn't
have
13 standing, and the County
and the intervenor
or
14 the developer, in this
case, had not
disagreed
15 with our position on
standing.
16
The Administrative Law Judge, on his
own
17 initiative, concluded
basically that
these
18 nonprofit organizations are
not
traditional
19 businesses -- and he came
up with the
term
20 traditional business on his
own -- and
said
21 that they can't bring these
comp plan
challenge
22
cases.
23
And we think that that construction,
to
24 say that you basically have
to be a -- you
have
25 to be a trade, or he said
you had to have
a
.
73
1 vocation in order to be a
business.
It's
2 wrong, and it needs to be
reversed.
3
It's wrong legally because
it's
4 inconsistent with three
final orders of
the
5 Department of Community
Affairs that have
found
6 that nonprofit groups are
businesses that
have
7 standing under the
statute.
8
They found 1,000 Friends of Florida was
a
9 business that had
standing. They found
the
10 Audubon Society of the
Everglades was
a
11 business that had
standing. They found
the
12 Sierra Club was a business
that had
standing.
13
And there's one final order of
the
14 Administration Commission,
from 1996, in
which
15 the Responsible Growth
Management Coalition
of
16 Lee County was concluded to
have standing,
and
17 that it did some type of a
business.
18
It's, also, inconsistent with
the
19 definition of, in the
hearsay rule and
the
20 evidence code on what --
that
businesses
21 include
nonprofits.
22
Finally, remember, nonprofit
challengers
23 to these plan amendments
are not always
just
24 these environmental
groups. In the Keys,
the
25 comprehensive plan was
challenged by
a
.
74
1 nonprofit called Monroe
County Chowder
and
2 Marching Society which was a
nonprofit
3 organization
--
4
THE GOVERNOR: Sounds like the
Keys.
5
MR. ARLINE: -- of landowners, but it was
an
6 organization of landowners
in the Keys that
was
7 concerned about that plan
amendment.
8
In Alachua County, it was a group
called
9 Preserving Rural Property
Values which was
an
10 organization of farmers and
landowners
that
11 challenged that plan
amendment.
12
In Broward County, it was the
Economic
13 Development Counsel of
Broward County and
the
14 Building Association of
South Florida
that
15 challenged a plan amendment
down there, so
the
16 other thing is that -- so
it's not just
the
17 nonprofit
environmentals. It's home
owners
18 associations, civic
associations, a
lot.
19
THE GOVERNOR: How can the Judge be
making
20 that determination?
Isn't that embedded in
a
21 statute somewhere?
How do they make
this
22 off-the-top-of-their-head
determination?
23
MR. ARLINE: He just defined -- he
defined
24 the term business not to
include
nonprofit
25 corporations, and I'm here
to tell you that
there
.
75
1 are a lot of nonprofit
corporations that will
be
2 affected by
this.
3
The only way to challenge
comprehensive
4 plan amendments is through
this process
that's
5 been created statutorily,
and if you
don't
6 reverse this exception -- I
mean, grant
our
7 exceptions on this, I mean,
it's going
to
8 affect these groups
statewide. Thank
you.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
10
MS. TINKER: The next speaker is
Michael
11 Gallaher representing Jack
Berry, the
intervenor.
12
MR. GALLAHER: Good morning, Governor
and
13 Cabinet. It's an
honor to be here before you
this
14 morning. For the
record, my name is
Michael
15 Gallaher, and I'm an
attorney with Peterson
and
16 Myers Law Firm in Lake
Wales,
Florida.
17
We represent Jack M. Berry, the
applicant,
18 property owner, and
intervenor in this
case,
19 and I'd just like to start
off this morning,
I
20 think, with some good
news. As Terrell
had
21 said, we really have no
objection to
their
22 exceptions concerning the
judge's
findings
23 regarding
standing.
24
It's an issue which really doesn't
affect
25 the outcome of the case and
isn't germane to
my
.
76
1 client, and so I yield to
Terrell's
analysis.
2 This is -- hopefully, we're
nearing the end
of
3 a two-year odyssey for this
client.
4
They applied for this comprehensive
plan
5 amendment in July of 2002,
and it is
almost
6 July of 2004. I would
like to cast my
comments
7 this morning as a practical
approach. I
would
8 like to recommend a
practical solution to
this
9
matter.
10
This amendment consists of two
components,
11 a business park center
component and
a
12 convenience center
component. Without
going
13 into any great detail, the
recommended
order
14 addressed numerous
challenges raised by
the
15 petitioners concerning this
amendment as
to
16 each
component.
17
As a result, the findings of fact
found
18 that the BPC, the Business
Park Center,
had
19 some compliance
issues. Now, we didn't
agree
20 with the recommended orders
conclusions in
that
21 regard; however, for the
purposes of
this
22 hearing, I just want to
address that as
a
23 forgone
conclusion.
24
The findings of fact found nothing
wrong
25 with the convenience center
portion of
the
.
77
1 amendment; however, given
the nature of
the
2 proceedings, although there
was
approximately
3 10 or 12 issues raised by
the petitioners,
only
4 two of them were found to
actually be
real
5 problems with the amendment,
and both of
them
6 went to the compliance with
the BPC portion
of
7 the
amendment.
8
What we would like for the
Administration
9 Commission to do, at the
very least, is
adopt
10 the draft final order,
which staff
has
11 prepared, with one
change. We would like
the
12 Administration Commission
to exercise
their
13 authority, under statute,
to direct the
County
14 to take remedial
action.
15
This is really an issue of equity and
good
16
governance.
17
THE GOVERNOR: What remedial
action?
18
MR. GALLAHER: The remedial action would
be
19 to adopt an ordinance
without the BPC
component,
20 which everyone agrees, for
the purposes of
our
21 discussion this morning,
has a compliance
problem,
22 and to adopt only the CC
component, as it
was
23 presented in the
application, which
everyone
24 agrees does not have a
compliance
problem.
25
There is no reason not to do this.
There
.
78
1 is a reason to do this which
is if the
final
2 order simply makes a finding
of
noncompliance
3 and does not direct remedial
action,
the
4 applicant will be forced to
start from
scratch
5 with the amendment in spite
of the fact
that
6 it's already been reviewed
and found to be,
for
7 lack of a better term,
compliant.
8
That process takes approximately three
to
9 six months. In this
particular instance,
I
10 know for a fact it will
take until January
6,
11 six months from now because
the County is
out
12 of small scale
acreage.
13
Every county is allotted a certain
amount
14 of small scale acreage
every year. Polk
County
15 is out, so in spite of the
outcome of
this
16 case, we'd have to start
from scratch. With
a
17 remedial action directed, a
hearing, one
18 hearing, before the Board
of County
19 Commissioners can be
held.
20
The convenience center portion of
the
21 amendment alone can be
adopted, at
the
22 direction of the
Administration Commission,
and
23 we can put this issue
hopefully to bed.
I
24 can't speak for the
petitioners with how
they
25 might appeal the final
order, but I can
say
.
79
1 that we would not be going
back to
the
2 beginning of the process and
then
potentially
3 facing another Division of
Administration
4 hearing case at the
end.
5
So with respect, Governor and Cabinet,
I
6 would ask that the final
order that's
been
7 prepared by your staff be
executed without
one
8 change to direct remedial
action, and I
will
9 stay for any questions you
may have, and
I
10 appreciate your time this
morning.
11
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
12
MS. TINKER: We have two additional
speakers,
13 Janet Bowman and Manly
Fuller, who wanted to
speak
14 to the standing
issue.
15
MS. BOWMAN: Janet Bowman, legal director
of
16 1,000 Friends of
Florida. I want to reiterate
the
17 comments of Mr. Arline
regarding standing
and
18 point out that if the
conclusions of law of
the
19 Hearing Officer were to
become the law of
the
20 land, nonprofit groups
would be out of business
as
21 far as participating in the
comprehensive
planning
22
process.
23
And, I mean, that's the exact kind
of
24 thing that's generating the
hometown
democracy
25 movement and
dissatisfaction with
citizen
.
80
1 participation in
comprehensive plan
matters,
2 and that really the only way
one would be
able
3 to obtain standing, as a
nonprofit, would be
if
4 you started engaging in
commerce,
started
5 having lemonade stands or
thrift shops
or
6 something that met that
particular
definition
7 of
standing.
8
And of course, citizen participation
in
9 the political process is
something that's
very
10 important, and 163
specifically encourages
in
11 the substance of the
statute,
citizen
12 participation and growth
management.
Thank
13
you.
14
CFO GALLAGHER: I have a question. Do
you
15 have -- I mean, are you-all
in favor of the
home
16 town
amendment?
17
MS. BOWMAN:
No.
18
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Okay. Just
checking.
19
THE GOVERNOR:
Manly.
20
MR. FULLER: Governor and Members of
the
21 Cabinet, we, Florida
Wildlife Federation,
shares
22 the same concerns that
Terrell Arline and
Janet
23 Bowman expressed to you,
and the same
Hearing
24 Officer concluded that the
Florida
Wildlife
25 Federation did not have
standing this past year
in
.
81
1 a St. Johns County case for
a similar
reason.
2
And we have several hundred members in
the
3 County and have been
involved in many
other
4 issues in the County in
legal proceedings
and
5 growth management issues
over the years; so
we
6 feel that Judge Alexander's
decision is
very
7 chilling for
nonprofits.
8
And we've actually experienced
that
9 ourselves, so we would
appreciate it if
you
10 would consider Mr. Arline's
recommendation.
11 Thank
you.
12
CFO GALLAGHER: Manly, let me ask a
question.
13 Don't we have some other
legal case pending
on
14 this
issue?
15
THE GOVERNOR:
Yes.
16
MR. FULLER: Yes. Maybe perhaps it might
be
17 better addressed to Mr.
Arline because he's
an
18 attorney and I'm not.
I'm going to mess up if
I
19 start giving you a legal
opinion.
20
MR. ARLINE: To answer your question,
this
21 very same issue is right
now in the laps of
the
22 Secretary of the Department
of Community
Affairs
23 for him to decide.
His legal staff has
filed
24 exceptions which mirror
ours.
25
The same Administrative Law Judge
issued
.
82
1 virtually the same opinion
that
nonprofits
2 didn't operate businesses in
two similar
cases.
3 One was a large scale plan
amendment which
goes
4 to the Department of
Community Affairs,
so
5 Secretary Collins got that
one.
6
The other one, the small scale, comes
to
7 you, and yet you get to bite
the bullet
first.
8
THE GOVERNOR: Haven't there been other
ALJ,
9 other judges, that have
ruled that the
definition
10 is
broader?
11
MR. FULLER: Oh, absolutely. Judge
Stampelos
12 and Judge Johnston in two
cases, and there may
be
13 another, but I know for
sure those two
have
14 disagreed with
him.
15
THE GOVERNOR: We just need to change the
law
16 and make it
clearer.
17
MS. TINKER: Just to be clear, the
staff's
18 recommendation does reject
the conclusions
that
19 the Hearing Officer set
forth. There is
another
20 case pending before the
Department of
Community
21
Affairs.
22
We felt that the standing was really
a
23 moot issue, in this
proceeding, because
the
24 other -- because the
petitioner had
actually
25 covered all the issues, so
it wasn't really
an
.
83
1 issue between the
parties.
2
We believe that is best handled in
the
3 other proceeding pending
before DCA.
Again,
4 staff recommends entering
the final
order
5 finding the comprehensive
plan amendment not
in
6
compliance.
7
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
2.
8
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Is there any
discussion?
10
(No response.)
11
THE GOVERNOR: I would hope one day that
we
12 could get rid of
this. This is -- to be
honest
13 with you, this is not a --
small amendment
changes
14 should not be done by the
Cabinet and
the
15
Governor.
16
If we can't figure out to how to do
growth
17 management in a better way,
something is
wrong.
18
CFO GALLAGHER: Especially for the
whole
19 state of
Florida.
20
THE GOVERNOR: Yeah. I mean, this is not
--
21 we're not -- never
mind. Motion and a
second.
22 All in favor, say
aye.
23
(Affirmative
response.)
24
THE GOVERNOR: All
opposed?
25
(No
response.)
.
84
1
MS. TINKER: Thank you,
Governor.
2
THE GOVERNOR: You
bet.
3
MS. TINKER: Oh, I'm sorry. Can I just
add
4 one other thing to the
--
5
THE GOVERNOR:
No.
6
MS. TINKER: I just want to get
the
7 permission to clarify the
amendment that
you-all
8 offered to the staff's final
order in Wakulla.
We
9 just need to be clear that
once the
County
10 determines what the correct
acreage is for
the
11 wetland, that they actually
take it out of
that
12 comprehensive plan
amendment.
13
CFO GALLAGHER: Right. That's exactly
what
14 we mean when we say figure
out what it is
because
15 wetlands can't be developed
on anyway, so
--
16
MS. TINKER:
Right.
17
CFO GALLAGHER: -- it's pretty
--
18
MS. TINKER:
Right.
19
CFO GALLAGHER: -- obvious, but
--
20
MS. TINKER: Right. I just wanted
to
21
clarify.
22
CFO GALLAGHER: -- you just needed
to
23
clarify.
24
MS. TINKER: Thank
you.
25
CFO GALLAGHER: Thank
you.
.
85
1
THE GOVERNOR: The Siting Board. Item 1
--
2
MR. PALMER: Item 1
--
3
THE GOVERNOR: Is there a
motion?
4
MR. PALMER: -- is the minutes to the
May
5 25th
--
6
THE GOVERNOR: Is there a
motion?
7
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Motion.
8
THE GOVERNOR: Is there a
second?
9
CFO GALLAGHER:
Second.
10
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
11 objection, Item 1
passes. Thank
you.
12
MR. PALMER: On Item 2, we have two
parties
13 that wish to speak to the
item. This is
regarding
14 a 54-mile hung, 230
kilovolt transmission line
to
15 be constructed in Lee and
Collier
Counties
16 connecting the Orange River
Substation
near
17 Ft. Myers with the Collier
Substation near
Naples.
18
And the staff is recommending, subject
to
19 the conditions, that this
be approved. We
have
20 Mr. Ken Smith, who would
like to speak to
the
21 issue, and Mr. Eric Draper
of the Audubon
22
Society.
23
Mr. Smith is a resident who is affected
by
24 this particular
transmission
line.
25
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
.
86
1
MR. SMITH: Good morning, Governor
and
2 Cabinet. Thank you for
this opportunity.
I
3 appreciate it very
much. Basically, what I
would
4 like to do is
--
5
THE GOVERNOR: You need to say
--
6
MR. SMITH: Oh,
sorry.
7
THE GOVERNOR: -- your name for the
record.
8
MR. SMITH: I am Kenneth E. Smith, and I
live
9 at 13701 Green Meadows Road,
Ft. Myers,
Florida
10 33913, and I represent the
Smith family.
11
THE GOVERNOR: Do you want to -- well,
go
12
ahead.
13
MR. SMITH: Okay. No
problem.
14
THE GOVERNOR: I've got a map. I was
just
15
curious.
16
MR. SMITH: Sure. No problem. I'll go
ahead
17 and read this letter.
Dear Governor Bush, I
would
18 like to take a moment to
explain why it would be
a
19 tragic mistake to approve
the corridor proposed
by
20
FPL.
21
The main reason is safety. The
main
22 question, how close is too
close, has not
been
23 answered, and yet this is
the most
critical
24 question. The whole
reason why FPL proposed
a
25 so-called geographically
diverse route was
to
.
87
1 protect the other lines in
the common
corridor
2 if one was damaged due to a
catastrophic
event,
3 hurricane, plane crash,
tornado, a
terrorist
4 attack. In other
words, lines can
fall.
5
When a power line or pole, or the
pole
6 that supports them falls, it
lands
somewhere.
7 The question then is what
does FPL plan to
do
8 to protect the people on
whom the land
falls?
9 I propose a route that is
not only
10 geographically separate
from other power
lines,
11 but, also, from homes to
the extent
12
practicable.
13
It is possible to do this down at
Green
14 Meadows, but not within the
corridor
proposed
15 by FPL. The corridor
is simply too narrow.
If
16 FPL would have proposed a
wider corridor
that
17 would have allowed them to
keep their lines
a
18 safe distance from my home,
I would not be
19 writing this
letter.
20
The problem is, however, FPL does not
seem
21 to have any answers when
questioned, how
close
22 is too close, in regards to
this issue; so
I
23 propose a formula.
The height of a pole
plus
24 the distance between the
two of them,
anywhere
25 from 500 to 700
feet.
.
88
1
This is to protect homes and
emergency
2 access to them in the event
of a
catastrophic
3 event, again, you know, the
hurricanes,
plane
4 crash, tornado, or
sabotage. If this rule
is
5 applied, nothing would be
close enough to
be
6 harmed by a downed power
line.
7
Now, I understand that this cannot
be
8 achieved everywhere, but it
can be done down
at
9 Green Meadows because
there's not another
home
10 for at least three-quarters
of a mile to
the
11 west of my
home.
12
FPL could get their connection
and
13 everybody will be
happy.
Unfortunately,
14 everyone is not happy
mainly because
someone
15 made a mistake.
Someone at FPL suggested a
too
16 narrow of a corridor to
safely place the
line
17 down Green
Meadows.
18
Probably because they did not know,
as
19 FPL's expert witness, who
played key roles
in
20 selecting FPL preferred
corridor,
testified
21 under oath at the
administrative hearing.
They
22 did not know how close is
too close in
regards
23 to placing power lines in
regards to
homes.
24
I feel that my family and I should
not
25 have to pay for this
mistake. Now, if
they
.
89
1 wanted to bury the line
within the
corridor
2 proposed down Green Meadows,
I think I
could
3 live with that because it
could be done
safely.
4
If FPL wanted to install the power
line
5 500 or 700 feet from Green
Meadows Road,
I
6 could live with that because
it could be
done
7 safely. If FPL wanted
to install the line
on
8 the west side of Jamerson
Farms property
--
9 this is a farm that is
adjacent to
conservation
10 2020 land -- I could live
with that because
it
11 could be done
safely.
12
If FPL put the power line on
conservation
13 2020 land -- this is west
of the
Jamerson
14 Farms -- this line would
basically have
the
15 ultimate protection because
access would
be
16 controlled, and they could
put up
security
17 cameras, if necessary, in
order to monitor
the
18 lines and, also, be far
enough away from
my
19
home.
20
And, also, I go on to write here,
even
21 though I did not think
that, you know, this
is
22 the best solution, I, also,
during the
hearing,
23 supported collocating the
line with
other
24
lines.
25
Let's see here, let me just go ahead
and
.
90
1 read this here. Even
though I did not
think
2 that that was the best
solution, but the
only
3 one that I could support
that was given
enough
4 consideration, during the
hearing, since it
was
5 the only alternative that
was
proposed
6 following the procedures
outlined, and
because
7 I could not personally
afford to propose
any
8 other of their
aforementioned
corridors.
9
That's why you guys, of course, see
those,
10 because, you know, I would
have to have
the
11 maps and all the other
stuff, so that's why
I'm
12 proposing it
now.
13
But I would not suggest any other of
the
14 aforementioned -- I would
not suggest any
other
15 of the aforementioned
because I would not
want
16 to unjustly put my fellow
neighbors through
the
17 same difficulties that I've
experienced.
18
In other words, I would not want
to
19 propose another corridor
other than the
ones
20 suggested because I don't
have the
resources
21 and the capabilities to do
the studies to
make
22 sure those people would
not, also, be
adversely
23
affected.
24
The only advantage that I can see
that
25 FPL's preferred corridor --
preferred route
has
.
91
1 over the others that I have
talked about is
it
2 is convenient for FPL and
that is all.
It
3 endangers human life, and
whereas, the
others
4 that I've suggested, other
than collocation,
do
5
not.
6
Human life should outweigh convenience
any
7 day. The flags have
already gone up, and
they
8 are right on the edge of
Green Meadows
Road,
9 and if the poles are placed
there, they
would
10 definitely end up in my
yard because
they'd
11 only be approximately 40
feet away.
12
Money can't be the reason why they
could
13 not follow some of my other
suggestions
because
14 it would surely not cost
much more to
locate
15 the lines there versus
where it is
proposed.
16
Now chances are nothing will happen,
and
17 I'm sure that's what people
think when
they
18 drive their cars without
seat belts or
speed,
19 but yet the State sees to
ticket drivers
who
20 drive without their seat
belts or speed
because
21 it's a matter of public
safety.
22
As a matter of fact, parents could
get
23 into serious trouble for
child endangerment
for
24 not properly securing their
precious young
25 ones. Yet people do
not live in their cars
and
.
92
1 no one sets out to get into
an
accident.
2
No parent means to do their child any
harm
3 by placing them into
vehicles without
being
4 properly secured, but they
can be harmed.
I
5 live 4 miles due east of
Southwest
Regional
6 Airport which is currently
being
expanded.
7
Expanded airports mean more air
traffic.
8 More air traffic means more
power lines
being
9 downed. Tornados and
hurricanes happen.
We
10 live in Florida, so that is
a very real
risk.
11
Terrorism, 9/11, I really don't need
to
12 say much more than
that. Power lines of
this
13 magnitude may pose a
tempting target
for
14 terrorists, not only can
they cause
severe
15 outages, but they could,
also, be downed
in
16 order to disrupt traffic,
thus blocking
escape
17 routes and pose severe
dangers to motorists
and
18 blocking emergency vehicles
from getting to
the
19 scene, or they could be
used to
distract
20 emergency services while a
more insidious
plot
21
unfolds.
22
Being the concerned parent that I am,
I
23 moved my family out,
further out into
the
24 country to Green
Meadows. Like many
Americans,
25 9/11 shook me to my
core. It helped me
to
.
93
1 realize just how vulnerable
we all
are
2 including my
children.
3
So being the parent that -- you know,
a
4 good parent that I am, I
decided to
move
5 because I figured, among
many reasons,
moving
6 my family out there would
minimize the risk
to
7 them and allow me to protect
them
better.
8
THE GOVERNOR: Sir, are you getting near
the
9 end of the
letter?
10
MR. SMITH: Yes. I just got two
paragraphs,
11 and I'll be
done.
12
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
13
MR. SMITH: Yes,
sir.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
15
MR. SMITH: All I'm doing is asking the
State
16 to help me keep my home
safe, keep it what it
is,
17 a safe and quiet
place. The State, like a
good
18 parent, has an obligation
to protect its
citizens,
19 and that is why we have
laws such as speed
limits
20 and seat belt laws to
protect us.
21
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of
22 cure. These laws and
other regulations
enacted
23 by the State save lives, so
to continue to be
a
24 good parent and use common
sense.
This
25 proposed routing is not
safe. There are
other
.
94
1 options, and it is not like
someone is
not
2 pointing them
out.
3
We can chew gum and walk at the same
time.
4 We can protect my interest
and the
interests
5 and responsibilities of FPL
at the same
time.
6 This could be done by not
approving --
this
7 could be done by not
approving the route
as
8 proposed and recommended by
FPL, but
seriously
9 considering the options that
I proposed.
10
I have faith that the State and
the
11 Governor and his Cabinet,
like any good
12 guardian, will protect its
citizenry.
Thank
13 you, and, also, if you have
any questions,
I'd
14 be more than glad to answer
them.
15
Also, in the Administrative Law
Judge's
16 final order, he had some
different points,
and
17 I just got three
points. I could make
them
18 later if necessary, but,
you know --
19
THE GOVERNOR: No. You got your shot
right
20
now.
21
MR. SMITH: Sure. No
problem.
22
THE GOVERNOR: If you'd briefly go
through
23 it, I'd appreciate
it.
24
MR. SMITH: Gotcha. All right. Number 1,
as
25 regards to the individual
with significant
mining
.
95
1 interest
--
2
THE COURT REPORTER: Please read it
slower.
3
MR. SMITH: Okay. Sorry. It's kind of
back
4 and forth
there.
5
THE GOVERNOR: Cut down on the number
of
6 words and slow
down.
7
MR. SMITH: Gotcha.
Gotcha.
8
THE GOVERNOR: How about
that?
9
MR. SMITH: Well, basically, the
person
10 mentioned in -- Judge
Stampelo's order
basically
11 mentioned that the
individual had
significant
12 mining interests that
didn't mind the power
line
13 being put on that side of
the road
that's
14 designated. He
doesn't live on Green Meadows.
I
15
do.
16
Also, tornados and plane crashes cannot
be
17 predicted. In the
Judge's final order,
FPL
18 recommended that I go to a
shelter in the
event
19 of a tornado, but if they
can't be
predicted,
20 how can you -- you know,
what am I supposed
to
21 go every time there's a
hurricane in the
area?
22
And, also, if this line is approved,
I
23 would basically demand
that, you
know,
24 continual health
monitoring, continue ozone
and
25 EMF monitoring, and if
nothing else,
protection
.
96
1 and compensation for any
loss incurred by
my
2
family.
3
If I could, I would like just to
submit
4 all these documents
--
5
THE GOVERNOR:
Sure.
6
MR. SMITH: -- and that way you folks
can
7 review them and take them
into consideration.
I
8 know it's a lot, but thank
you very much.
I
9 appreciate your
time.
10
THE GOVERNOR: No. Thanks for coming
up.
11
MR. SMITH: Also, there's an article
--
12
THE GOVERNOR: Mr.
Draper.
13
MR. DRAPER: Eric Draper, Audubon of
Florida.
14 We participated in the
siting process, and
we're
15 very pleased with the
outcome. I want to
point
16 out where our land
is. This area here is
the
17 Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
which is 12,000
acres.
18
We're about to add 3,000 acres to it
owned
19 by National Audubon
Society. It is the
most
20 important roosting area --
nesting area
for
21 wood storks and some
roseate spoonbills.
We're
22 very pleased with the
process that resulted
in
23 the current configuration
of this power
line.
24
I very much appreciate Florida Power
&
25 Light working so hard to
avoid the
wetlands
.
97
1 impacts for the Corkscrew
Swamp ecosystem
which
2 is part of the greater
Everglades
ecosystem.
3 Thank you very
much.
4
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you. Anybody
else?
5
(No
response.)
6
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
7
THE GOVERNOR: There's a
motion.
8
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
9
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
10 Any other
discussion?
11
(No response.)
12
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
13 objection, the item
passes. Thank
you.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
98
1
THE GOVERNOR: Board of Trustees. Eva,
how
2 are you
doing?
3
MS. ARMSTRONG: Great, sir. Thank you.
If
4 you'll give us just a
minute, we're loading
the
5
computer.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: Move
it.
7
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
8
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
9 objection, Item 1
passes. Item
2.
10
MS. ARMSTRONG: While he loads the
computer
11 here, we are -- this is
consideration of an
option
12 agreement to acquire 9.1
acres by the
Florida
13 Agricultural and Mechanical
University Board
of
14
Trustees.
15
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
16
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
17
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
18 Without objection, the item
passes. Item
3.
19
MS. ARMSTRONG: It does right error,
right?
20 Oh, on the keyboard?
I am sorry. Bear with
me.
21 This is called operator
error. There. All
right.
22 We'll get it down here in a
minute.
23
Item 3, consideration of an
option
24 agreement to acquire .93
acres for the
benefit
25 of New College of
Florida. The
consideration
.
99
1 is $315,000 which is 94
percent of
appraised
2
value.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
three.
4
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
5
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
6 objection, the item
passes.
7
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item 4 is consideration of
an
8 option agreement to acquire
18.1 acres within
Fort
9 George Island. The
consideration is
$925,000.
10 It's 93 percent of
appraised
value.
11
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
4.
12
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
13
THE GOVERNOR: I want to buy
it.
14
MS. ARMSTRONG: You want to go buy
this?
15
THE GOVERNOR: Yes. It's a house
sitting
16 right on the
--
17
MS. ARMSTRONG: It's a beautiful piece
of
18
property.
19
THE GOVERNOR: -- most beautiful property
in
20 the world. I can't
believe it.
21
MS. ARMSTRONG: I think there's a
picture
22 here looking out over the
waterway from
the
23
property.
24
CFO GALLAGHER: That's why we're buying
it,
25 so someone doesn't live
there.
.
100
1
THE GOVERNOR: No. Someone does live in
it
2 now,
right?
3
MS. ARMSTRONG: I don't think there's a
--
4 anybody in residence at the
site. I'm
looking,
5 although there's residents
on the
site.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Oh,
okay.
7
MS. ARMSTRONG: There is somebody living
at
8 the site? Yeah.
There is somebody
actually
9 living there now, but
they'll use those
buildings
10 and parts of this house and
put them to good
use.
11 This is the last privately
owned property in
the
12
area.
13
Everything else is government owned, so
--
14 and, you know, you signed
the Florida
Forever
15 Act on Little Talbot Island
which is just
over
16 the
waterway.
17
THE GOVERNOR: I know. I know. This
is
18 like -- this is one of the
prettiest parts
of
19 the
--
20
MS. ARMSTRONG: Great place. Yes,
sir.
21
THE GOVERNOR: Hence my desire to own
it.
22
MS. ARMSTRONG: Live there. I
understand.
23
THE GOVERNOR: A girl can
dream.
24
MS. ARMSTRONG:
Absolutely.
25
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
.
101
1 Any
objection?
2
(No
response.)
3
THE GOVERNOR: Motion
passes.
4
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item 5 is consideration of
an
5 option agreement to acquire
23.46 acres within
the
6 Florida Keys
ecosystem. This is the Vaca
Cut
7 site, and it is $1 million
that we would
be
8 spending in our effort to
acquire all
those
9 remaining conservation lands
in the Florida
Keys.
10
THE GOVERNOR: This is our first step in
our
11 commitment, the $93
million?
12
MS. ARMSTRONG: It's the first big one.
Yes,
13
sir.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Every time you come you
need
15 to
--
16
MS. ARMSTRONG: Talk about
this.
17
THE GOVERNOR: -- hold it up so that we
can
18 make sure
--
19
MS. ARMSTRONG: Well, we're bringing you
a
20 report on the Keys' effort
in August.
21
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
22
MS. ARMSTRONG: So you'll be seeing how
much
23 we've been doing 'cause
there are a lot of
little
24 ones we're buying under
delegation.
25
THE GOVERNOR: All right. Allison, let
the
.
102
1 record show this is the
first step towards
the
2 $93 million
commitment.
3
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
4
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion
--
5
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
6
THE GOVERNOR: -- and a second.
Without
7 objection, the item
passes.
8
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item 6 is consideration of
an
9 option agreement to acquire
1800 acres within
the
10 Division of Forestry
Withlacoochee State
Forest.
11 The consideration will be
$4.5 million.
It's
12 96 percent of appraised
value, $2500 an
acre.
13
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
14
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
15
THE GOVERNOR: I've got -- I've got a
few
16
questions.
17
MS. ARMSTRONG: Yes,
sir.
18
THE GOVERNOR: Is this the property that
had
19 the -- that St. Joe sold to
somebody who sold
to
20
us?
21
MS. ARMSTRONG: That's the next item,
sir.
22
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. Never
mind.
23
MS. ARMSTRONG:
Okay.
24
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
25 Without objection, the item
passes. I had
it
.
103
1 wrong. I'm
sorry.
2
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item 7 is a consideration
of
3 an option agreement to
acquire 1,775 acres
within
4 the Division of Forestry's
Lake Talquin
State
5 Forest Project. The
consideration will
be
6 $3,658,000; 98 percent of
appraised value
at
7 $2,061 per
acre.
8
This one was negotiated by the Division
of
9 Forestry. It will be
managed by the
Division
10 of Forestry, and we have
John Browne with
that
11 division here today.
Would you like to ask
him
12 some
questions?
13
THE GOVERNOR:
Yes.
14
MR. BROWNE: Good morning, Governor
--
15
THE GOVERNOR: Good
morning.
16
MR. BROWNE: -- Commissioner, and Members
of
17 the Cabinet. Yes,
sir.
18
THE GOVERNOR: We've had this
situation
19 happen once this year so
far that I can
remember
20 where a person wanted to go
sell land
apparently,
21 and we were a likely and
regular purchaser of
land
22 from that
entity.
23
They sold to somebody else who resold
to
24 us at a higher price within
a short period
of
25 time. I don't want to
-- I want to know
why.
.
104
1 Why is that
--
2
MR. BROWNE: I understand your concern,
sir.
3 Two years ago we tried to
buy this property
from
4 Arvida. It didn't have
legal access.
They
5 wouldn't assist us in
gaining any legal
access,
6 and there were some other
issues with
it.
7
So we didn't pursue it. We were not
aware
8 that Arvida had sold it, and
then it came
back
9 in again, and we had it
appraised --
10
THE GOVERNOR: Is this
Arvida?
11
MR. BROWNE: That was Arvida. That's not
the
12 St. Joe timber lands we
customarily deal
with.
13
CFO GALLAGHER: Arvida is now
nonexistent,
14 and you're back to St. Joe,
the mother
company
15 that owns
both.
16
MR. BROWNE:
Right.
17
CFO GALLAGHER: So which division, you
know,
18 it was owned by really
doesn't matter. I'm
very
19 tempted to make a motion
that we purchase this
at
20 the seller's purchase price
and give him a
choice,
21 take it or leave it,
because there's no
other
22 buyers out there for a cash
deal.
23
And this might send a message to
everybody
24 that we're not in the
business of
letting
25 somebody buy it. I
don't know. Maybe the
guy
.
105
1 didn't even put any money
down, and, you
know,
2 he sits there, carries a
little money for
a
3 while, and makes himself a
few hundred
thousand
4
dollars.
5
To me, I don't know if that happened
or
6 not, but it could
have.
7
MR. BROWNE: The original tract that
was
8 acquired from St. Joe has no
legal access.
He
9 acquired the legal access
subsequent to
its
10 closing with St. Joe, so
we're looking at
--
11
THE GOVERNOR: So what's the -- I
mean,
12 what's the other
option? Is this a place
where
13 there's a booming housing
market?
14
MR. BROWNE: No, sir. I mean, all
--
15
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. In other words,
we're
16 the buyer. We're the
big dog. We're the one
that
17 people come to, to buy this
stuff, and so
when
18 it's flipped -- and the
entrepreneur, God
bless
19 him, but we don't have to
always just kind
of
20 submit to
this.
21
I kind of like the idea,
Treasurer.
22
MR. BROWNE: No, sir. We don't. Let me
just
23 make one point from the
Division of
Forestry.
24 This particular piece was
identified and
was
25 pursued because of its
off-highway
vehicle
.
106
1 potential. It's not a
piece we would have
ever
2 pursued for its
environmental resources or
its
3 environmental
purposes.
4
THE GOVERNOR: Off-highway vehicle
potential.
5 You mean for using for
recreational
purposes?
6
MR. BROWNE: For recreation, specifically
for
7
recreation.
8
CFO GALLAGHER: You know, I don't have
any
9 problem with that.
(Simultaneous
conversation.)
10
MR. BROWNE: And the reason being
--
11
CFO GALLAGHER: -- how much you're
paying
12
him.
13
MR. BROWNE: Yes, sir. This is an
isolated
14 tract. It's bordered
on the north and the east
by
15 I-10, on the south and the
west by CSX
Railroad.
16 It has contour. It's
an interesting place
for
17 people to
ride.
18
We are getting hounded, on the
properties
19 we manage, with off-highway
vehicle
20 recreational drivers.
We've got to find
a
21 place for them to go, and
we have to find
a
22 place where they can go
recreate safely,
but
23 not destroy all the
resources.
24
THE GOVERNOR: Well, maybe they could go
to
25 this property with the
current owner doing it,
or
.
107
1 with us owning it at a price
where we get
what
2 would clearly be the fair
market value. I
mean,
3 this is not -- this is not
in the path
of
4 development. You
recognize
that?
5
MR. BROWNE: I
understand.
6
THE GOVERNOR: It's evidenced by the
fact
7 that you're -- a use that
would be
more
8 appropriate in a place
that's not in the path
of
9 development, and so we don't
see these
escalating
10 double-digit appreciation
that we may see
in
11 several of the other
properties that
we're
12 purchasing
today.
13
And within a year, this guy is making
on
14 a -- you know, there's
costs of --
15
MR. BROWNE: No. I
understand.
16
THE GOVERNOR: -- carrying. There's costs
of
17 holding and all the -- you
know, the
closing
18 costs, but he's making,
from what I can
tell,
19
$600,000.
20
MR. BROWNE: I think we would all like to
do
21 that,
Governor.
22
CFO GALLAGHER: You got that
right.
23
THE GOVERNOR: $600,000, so
--
24
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, I'll tell you what.
In
25 order to make this
something that -- I mean,
we
.
108
1 should be buying it, if
we're going to buy it,
at
2 least at appraised value; so
how long was
this
3 held by the
seller?
4
MR. BROWNE: I think they've had about
eight
5 months
now.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: Eight months. Well, we
know
7 that it was -- we know that
it was
worth
8 $3 million eight months ago
because this guy
paid
9 in the open market.
I'd like to have some
more
10 information, like did it
have a mortgage on it,
or
11 was it
cash?
12
That would make a big difference to me
in
13 my next decision. Why
don't we do this?
Why
14 don't we find out that
information? I'd
like
15 to defer this till the next
meeting. I'll
move
16 to defer it till the next
meeting.
17
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: I'll
second.
18
THE GOVERNOR: All right. There's a
motion
19 to defer and a
second. Any other
discussion?
20
(No response.)
21
THE GOVERNOR: That saves me from voting
no
22 because I would have.
The motion is
deferred,
23 and
--
24
CFO GALLAGHER: So somebody has to
--
25
THE GOVERNOR: -- if you could get
any
.
109
1 information to each of our
-- I'm tired of
this.
2 It's been deferred. If
you guys can get us
the
3 information the Treasurer is
asking for,
that
4 would be
helpful.
5
MR. BROWNE: Okay,
sir.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Thanks a
lot.
7
MS. ARMSTRONG: All right. Item Number
8,
8 this is consideration of an
assignment of
a
9 sub-sublease agreement to
Youth Services
10 International,
Incorporated; an amendment of
the
11 sub-sublease agreement; a
standard
sub-sublease
12 form for future use by the
City of Pembroke
Pines;
13 delegation of authority to
the Secretary of DEP
to
14 approve future
sub-subleases and amendments
to
15 sub-subleases within the
City of Pembroke
Pines'
16 Health-Care Park; and a
determination and an
award
17 of the sub-sublease without
conducting a
18 competitive bid is in the
public
interest.
19
A couple of key points, the amendment
is
20 about increasing the
sub-sublease $2 so
that
21 we're in line with the DMS
rental rates.
22 That's what the amendment
is about, and
the
23 delegation is project
specific just here
so
24 that we can handle these
sub-subleases just
for
25 the other buildings at this
site.
.
110
1
It's a large project. In fact, I think
we
2 may have another picture
here as I
recall.
3 Nope.
Sorry.
4
THE GOVERNOR: This is the South Florida
--
5
MS. ARMSTRONG:
Right.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: Yeah. Motion. I'll move
it.
7
MS. ARMSTRONG:
Right.
8
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
8.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Is there a
second?
10
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
11
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
12 objection, the item
passes.
13
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item Number 9,
consideration
14 of a determination that a
5.36 acre parcel
of
15 state-owned land in
Hillsborough County is
no
16 longer needed for
conservation purposes.
A
17 determination that the
property is surplus and
an
18 exchange agreement under
which the Board
of
19 Trustees would convey a
5.36 acre parcel
of
20 state-owned land to Jaymar
Farms, Inc.,
in
21 exchange for a 5.36 acre
parcel owned by
Jaymar
22 Farms, Inc., as an addition
to the
Hillsborough
23 County Balm-Boyette Scrub
Site.
24
The parcel that the State is giving up
is
25 actually a road that was
needed when we
first
.
111
1 bought the property, no
longer needed, and
so
2 we're giving it up for the
parcel that is
high
3 quality scrub
property.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
9.
5
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
7 objection, the item
passes.
8
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item 10 is consideration of
a
9 determination that a 9.20
acre parcel of
10 state-owned land in the
Point Washington
State
11 Forest is no longer needed
for
conservation
12 purposes; a determination
that the property
is
13 surplus; and an exchange
agreement under which
the
14 Board of Trustees would
convey the subject
parcel
15 to Olson & Associates
in exchange for
an
16 11.32 acre parcel located
in the Point
Washington
17 State Forest's optimum
management
boundary.
18
We are exchanging the 9.2 parcel, which
is
19 worth 1.19 -- $1,190,000,
which is owned by
the
20 Board of Trustees, and in
exchange, we
will
21 receive 11.32 acres which
is worth the
22
$1,030,000.
23
The difference is that our property
has
24 greater frontage on the
highway than the
parcel
25 that we are getting in
exchange.
The
.
112
1 difference will be paid in
cash to the Board
of
2
Trustees.
3
We are, also, getting $250,000 which
will
4 be put into the Citizens
Support
Organization
5 for the Point Washington
State Forest and
will
6 be used to build a trail
head for the
forest,
7 and they are -- the
developers agreed that
they
8 will have a formal way of
notifying
future
9 landowners, within that
development, that
the
10 Division of Forestry does
control burns, and
it
11 produces smoke, so that
those people will
be
12 given the heads-up when
they first buy
the
13
property.
14
You know, it's something that I know
the
15 Commissioner is concerned
about, the
Division
16 of Forestry.
Secretary Struhs, before he
left,
17 was constantly looking for
a way to let
people
18 know up front, and so we've
managed to get
that
19 in this agreement as
well.
20
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
10.
21
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
22
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
23 objection, the item
passes.
24
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item 11, consideration of
a
25 modification to a
restriction of a deed to
the
.
113
1 District School Board of
Collier County and
a
2 partial release and transfer
of a deed
restriction
3 from a 3.951 acre parcel
conveyed to two
parcels
4 containing 3.309 acres and a
.692
acre
5 respectively to be acquired
by the District
School
6 Board of Collier County from
the Community
School
7 of Naples,
Inc.
8
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
11.
9
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
10
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
11 Without objection, the item
passes.
12
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item 12, Alexandra,
you've
13 seen this one before.
Consideration of
an
14 application by Alexandra
USA, Inc. to purchase
two
15 parcels containing
approximately .14 and .52
acres
16 of filled, formerly
sovereignty submerged
lands;
17 and, two, a modification of
a 1999 sale by
the
18 Board of Trustees of 4.69
acres of
filled,
19 formerly sovereignty
submerged
lands.
20
What we have done is we have
renegotiated,
21 with the applicant, who has
agreed to pay
22 additional cash to the tune
of $350,000
total.
23 The original appraisal on
this property
was
24 $800,000, and the former
director of
the
25 Division of State Lands had
negotiated with
the
.
114
1 applicant and had considered
the fact that
they
2 had paid 300,000 for the
property.
3
They had not been the ones who
had
4 illegally filled. To
avoid
lengthy,
5 potentially lengthy
litigation, had felt
that
6 the -- that's what he had
based his
previous
7 negotiations
on.
8
We met with him, staff from the
Attorney
9 General's Office and myself,
trying to
figure
10 out how he got where he was
when the
previous
11 appraisal was 800,000, and
so to avoid
12 reappraising when there was
that full gap
13 before -- you know,
respecting the
Attorney
14 General's questions when we
were on the --
had
15 the meeting on the
road.
16
What we did was we sat down with
the
17 applicant's attorney, and
we first
surveyed
18 comparable sales in the
area. Tried to get
a
19 feeling for what other land
values were.
Went
20 back and renegotiated and
got the price up
to
21 $350,000, so if that is
satisfactory to
you,
22 that's what we're
suggesting.
23
CFO GALLAGHER: One of the things that
we
24 talked about last time on
this issue was
an
25 updated appraisal. I
guess we still
--
.
115
1
MS. ARMSTRONG: We could still do that
if
2 that was your desire, but
because there was
this
3 huge gap already between the
appraised value
that
4 was determined before and
what the
previous
5 negotiated price was
--
6
CFO GALLAGHER: In other words, we
already
7 know that this is real cheap
compared to what
the
8 appraised value is, so we
just don't know
how
9 much, and we'd rather not
know?
10
MS. ARMSTRONG: Well, we can go through
that
11 exercise if you
desire. I just figured it
was
12 worth seeing if this was
satisfactory. If not,
we
13 will be glad to go appraise
it, whatever
your
14 desire
is.
15
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, just let me get
clear
16 on this again. We
already sold it to him,
but
17 somebody didn't file the
deed. Is this the
one?
18
MS. ARMSTRONG: No. No, sir. This is
a
19 different one. This
is one that had
been
20 illegally filled by a
former owner. This
company
21 comes in and buys it,
doesn't know about
that
22 problem until they begin to
develop.
23
I'll tell you what. I'm going to
let
24 Mister -- let me let Mr.
Ken Plante come in
and
25 give you the history 'cause
he knows
greater
.
116
1
details.
2
CFO GALLAGHER: That might
help.
3
MS. ARMSTRONG:
Okay?
4
THE GOVERNOR: Do you want to go
through
5 this? This is a pretty
wild
story.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: It is a wild story, but
I
7 would like to be
reminded.
8
MS. ARMSTRONG: And it's got a
lengthy
9 history that predates me, so
we'll let Mr.
Plante
10 explain
this.
11
THE GOVERNOR: If you could
succinctly
12 describe the
--
13
CFO GALLAGHER: Real short,
Ken.
14
MR. PLANTE: Okay. Thank you. Good
morning,
15 Governor and Members of the
Cabinet. My name
is
16 Ken
--
17
THE GOVERNOR: By the way, this will make
all
18 of our friends from
Miami-Dade County realize
that
19 confusion and complex
things don't always
just
20 exclusively
--
21
CFO GALLAGHER: Happen in Dade
County.
22
THE GOVERNOR: -- exist in Miami-Dade
County.
23 They can be in the rural
parts of the state,
too.
24
MR. PLANTE: I'll make this as brief
as
25 possible. This area
was purchased by
Alexandra
.
117
1 USA around 1996, 1997 as
part of a larger
parcel.
2 I have been on the
site. There are 40- or
50-foot
3
trees.
4
You would never know that it was
filled.
5 It wasn't until it went to
the water
management
6 district that they wanted to
know where
the
7 submerged land deed was, and
then we got
into
8
this.
9
It's a 5 acre -- a little over a
5-acre
10 tract, that little banana
that's filled.
We
11 negotiated with the
Governor -- with
the
12 Division of State
Lands. The $800,000
original
13 appraisal assumed that this
would be a
very
14 exclusive gated
community.
15
The property around it does not have
the
16 exclusivity of isles worth
or anything
located
17 in the upper chain of
lakes. We negotiated
--
18 I negotiated with Pete
Mallison and
other
19 members of the staff, and
we came up with
about
20 $215,000 for this, and
we're releasing
about
21 4 acres of submerged
land.
22
Now, the submerged land, this deed
goes
23 back to the 1860s when
Hamilton
Disston
24 purchased it from the
State. It was swamp
and
25 overflow land which
Commissioner Gallagher,
as
.
118
1 you indicated at the
Cabinet, for a day,
was
2 given to the State by the
Feds for the
purpose
3 of being
filled.
4
THE GOVERNOR: I think Treasurer
Gallagher
5 reminded us that he was
actually serving at
the
6
time.
7
MR. PLANTE: I wasn't going to mention
that,
8 but it's -- so this goes
back. It was
filled
9 approximately in 1957.
We have an aerial
for
10 1958. There was a
lawsuit filed in 1956
regarding
11
it.
12
I don't have an aerial for 1957. If
I
13 did, the value of this
property would be
$2500
14 by statute. We
negotiated this.
We're
15 releasing all of the
submerged
lands.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: What do you mean
by
17
releasing?
18
MR. PLANTE: We're giving to the State
a
19 quitclaim deed to all of
the submerged lands
which
20 is roughly
--
21
CFO GALLAGHER: So you're clearing the
title
22 of the wetlands back to the
State.
23
MR. PLANTE: Right. And its lake bottom
and
24 its wetland. It's
over 4 acres. That is
being
25 quitclaimed to the State as
part of this.
We
.
119
1 think this could be
filled. The question
that
2 came up last -- I think
there are two
questions.
3
One, once this was approved by
the
4 Governor and Cabinet, it
went into -- I
left
5 the law firm, and then I was
called about
a
6 year later saying, oops, we
didn't close
yet
7 because instead of the metes
and bounds
along
8 there, the title company
wanted it to the
mean
9 high water line which is an
ambulatory
line.
10
Therefore, there's no hiatus if the
water
11 moves back and forth.
That's what we
started
12 off with coming back --
working with the
staff,
13 and in the meantime, there
were these two
other
14 little
parcels.
15
From a, I guess, legal perspective and
how
16 the Cabinet operates, the
Governor and
Cabinet
17 signed the deed to
this. It just wasn't
closed
18 which often happens.
We decided to come
back
19 with everything just so
that it'd be a
clear
20 presentation which is
probably one of the
worst
21 mistakes I've ever made
because it
just
22 confused
everything.
23
However, we're only looking to buy
another
24 .6 acres which will not be
used for
anything.
25 It'll be green space, and
it's wetlands. I
did
.
120
1 check with the
appraiser. The appraisal,
in
2 the area of the property,
has gone up
about
3 100 percent since that
time.
4
We have offered an extra 400 percent
for
5 the six-tenths of an
acre. I think that
the
6 word of the Governor and
Cabinet, in the
1996
7 deal, still holds, and it's
no different
than
8 if you bought it from me or
my
client.
9
Then my client decided, years later,
the
10 State got a deal. I
want to renegotiate,
and
11 so I think that is what --
but we have
offered
12 an extra $90,000 for
six-tenths of an acre
that
13 cannot be sold for
anything.
14
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, you're not counting
the
15 other part, right, just
this?
16
MR. PLANTE: Well, we lost 10 percent
because
17 of an easement, and then
we're adding
another
18
$90,000.
19
THE GOVERNOR: If I could summarize,
our
20 options are to claim that
-- make some legal
case
21 and pursue some legal
option, or to accept
this
22 compromise, gracious offer,
and move on.
23
CFO GALLAGHER: A deal is a deal. I'll
move
24 Item
12.
25
MR. PLANTE:
Right.
.
121
1
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion. Is there
a
2
second?
3
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
4
THE GOVERNOR: And a second.
Without
5 objection, the item
passes.
6
MR. PLANTE: Thank you very
much.
7
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: And for a point
of
8 reference, Governor, the
original Hamilton
Disston
9 land buy was 2 million acres
of Florida at
10 25 cents an acre, and
Charlie was there for
that
11 purpose, or one of his
family members, the
guy
12 that bought it
probably.
13
THE GOVERNOR: I feel as though a burden
has
14 been lifted off my
shoulders.
15
CFO GALLAGHER: Eva, would you please --
Eva,
16 would you make sure you get
the deed around
and
17 close it this
time?
18
THE GOVERNOR:
Yes.
19
MS. ARMSTRONG: Yes,
sir.
20
CFO GALLAGHER: Thank
you.
21
MS. ARMSTRONG: Mike, would you work on
this
22 'cause I can't get it to
move?
23
Item Number 13 is approval to
a
24 modification to a deed
restriction. In
1996,
25 the Board of Trustees sold
67.58 acres
of
.
122
1 surplus land to Marion
County. The County
paid
2 for the property with ad
valorem
funds.
3
As a result, the deed to the
County
4 contains a restriction
requiring the land to
be
5 used for public
purposes. There is currently
a
6 communications tower on the
property, part
of
7 which is leased to a private
entity.
8
The lessee uses a portion of the tower
for
9 private communication
purposes, and the
County
10 uses the remaining portion
of the tower
for
11 emergency
purposes.
12
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
13.
13
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
Second.
14
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
15 Without objection, the item
passes. Item
14.
16
MS. ARMSTRONG: What I want to do is lay
out
17 briefly, for you, the
issue. Then we're going
to
18 let the City go, the
developer go. We have
a
19 series of speakers, and I
thought that
would
20 probably be the easiest
way.
21
THE GOVERNOR: All
right.
22
MS. ARMSTRONG: What you have before you
is
23 consideration of a
modification for
deed
24 restrictions for a parcel
of land
encompassing
25 24.2 acres, more or less,
on Watson Island,
to
.
123
1 allow the City of Miami to
lease the parcel
to
2 Flagstone Island Gardens,
LLC; and easements,
both
3 temporary and permanent,
over other adjacent
and
4 nearby areas needed for the
project that
contain
5 the same deed restrictions
on which
modification
6 would be
required.
7
Let's just go ahead and do -- let's
go
8 through the order I
suggested. I think
that
9 way we can lay out the
project for you.
We'll
10 come back and discuss the
specifics within
the
11 agreement to protect Board
of Trustees'
12
interests.
13
THE GOVERNOR: All right,
Eva.
14
MS. ARMSTRONG:
Okay.
15
THE GOVERNOR: And have you asked them,
the
16 applicants or the people
speaking, to limit
their
17 discussion by to a certain
amount of
time?
18
MS. ARMSTRONG: I had not, but we can. I
had
19 spoken to one. I had
asked -- the City had
said
20 they could do it in five,
so if we could do
the
21 City in five and Flagstone
in five.
22
You-all can do that? That'd be
good?
23 Okay.
Great.
24
So with that, we'll start with Mr.
Joe
25 Arriola, City Manager for
the City of
Miami.
.
124
1
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: I really don't --
I
2 really don't know if Charlie
was around, but
I
3 definitely was not around
when they sold that
land
4 for 25
cents.
5
Thank you. Thank you for allowing me
to
6 be here. As leaders in
government, we
must
7 identify creative ways to
fulfill our role
and
8 contribute to the economic
revitalization
of
9
Miami.
10
This is particularly important to us
as
11 Miami is the nation's
poorest major city
with
12 28.5 percent of our
population living
in
13 poverty. To further
our efforts following
six
14 public hearings and
meetings, the City
issued
15 an RFP, in February 2001,
for the
development
16 of a mega-yacht and mixed
use development
on
17 Watson
Island.
18
Three proposals came in, the
Flagstone
19 Island Garden proposal was
selected and
was
20 approved by the Miami
voters by 65
percent.
21 Seventy-four percent of the
voters around
the
22 neighborhood voted in favor
of it.
23
This project will contribute to
our
24 economic revitalization by
fulfilling our
25 public purpose creating
jobs, providing
skills,
.
125
1 career training, and
generating revenue.
The
2 1949 deed from the State
requires that
the
3 property, to be used for
public
purpose.
4
Public purpose is defined as an action
by
5 or at the direction of
government for
the
6 benefit of the community as
a whole.
This
7 project is good for the
community.
8
The public benefits of this project,
this
9 project will create 1,000
full-time jobs,
3,000
10 construction jobs.
Flagstone has agreed
to
11 first source the citizens
of the City of
Miami
12 and Dade County. They
will get right of
first
13 refusal for every single
job.
14
Flagstone will create skilled
training
15 centers and career training
centers that
will
16 provide educational
programs to all
employees.
17 The property will be
available for public
use.
18 This lease provides that
the project, as
a
19 general matter, be open to
the public as
much
20 as practical, and that the
project shall
be
21 open to the general public
without
22
discrimination.
23
This project provides greater use by
the
24 public. The majority
of the upland has
been
25 encumbered since at least
1959 when
the
.
126
1 Goodyear blimp occupied
approximately 11
acres
2 of this
property.
3
Additional public benefits, the City
and
4 Commission has approved that
50 percent of
the
5 revenues coming from this
project will
go
6 directly to the parks of the
City of
Miami.
7 Additional public benefits
will include
public
8 gardens, 100-foot-plus wide
waterfront
9 promenade that will provide
a venue for
10 providing educational,
entertainment,
and
11 cultural experiences; a
fish market; a
4,000
12 square foot maritime
gallery; and a
million
13 dollars to master planning
development at
the
14 south end of Watson
Island.
15
It will create revenues, $1 million
of
16 rental revenue during
construction
and
17 $2 million in rental
revenue upon
completion.
18 It generates one-time fees
of $3.5 million.
It
19 will have reoccurring tax
revenue to the
City
20 of approximately $4.3
million per
year,
21 $6.8 million to Dade County
and the school
22 board. In addition,
the project will
generate
23 millions of dollars in
sales tax, license
fees,
24 and tourist tax
revenues.
25
The mega-yacht economic impact in
South
.
127
1 Florida, a 2002 study
prepared by the
marine
2 industry found that 400
mega-yachts visited
the
3 South Florida area in
2002. Each
mega-yacht
4 that visited generated
approximately
$385,000
5 of economic
impact.
6
The study further shows that 93 percent
of
7 the visiting mega-yachts
spend of an average
of
8 $140,000 in maintenance and
repairs in
the
9 area. Overall these
yachts
generated
10 $34.5 million worth of
sales tax
alone.
11
This project will have the ability
to
12 generate even greater
numbers per vessel
since
13 it will be able to attract
a market of
larger
14 yachts that cannot be
accommodated anywhere
in
15 South
Florida.
16
We're talking about a marina that
will
17 bring access to yachts in
the 150- to
350-foot
18 yachts which is unheard of
in our area.
In
19 1996, the City Commission
adopted Watson
Island
20 Policy Plan at a public
hearing. The plans
set
21 forth specific concepts of
public
recreation
22 and education, public
safety, marine
23 recreation, transportation
service, and
tourist
24
attraction.
25
The policy plan provides the
development
.
128
1 must be consistent with the
comprehensive
plan,
2 for recreation and
restrictive
commercial.
3 This project is consistent
with the policy
plan
4 and comprehensive
plan.
5
This project consists -- consistent
with
6 the Miami -- it's consistent
with the
7 Miami-Dade Manatee
Protection Plan
which
8 designates the area for
large vessel
and
9 special
use.
10
This project has been the subject
of
11 23 public hearings and 13
public
meetings.
12 Extensive public input has
been sought
and
13 considered in developing
this project.
We
14 believe strongly that this
project fulfills
the
15 public purpose provisions
set forth in the
deed
16 with the creation of jobs,
the generation
of
17 revenues, the public use of
the area and
18 economic by-product, and it
will create --
that
19 it will create. Thank
you.
20
In the last couple of weeks, sister
city
21 was concerned about the
traffic study. We
got
22 together with the Florida
Department of
23 Transportation, the DDA,
our own
traffic
24
experts.
25
The results of this is a letter
from
.
129
1 Johnny Martinez, the
district secretary,
which
2 clearly says that all the
issues have
been
3 addressed, and they are very
satisfied with
the
4 results. Thank you
very
much.
5
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
Joe.
6
MS. ARMSTRONG: Thank you. Now, we have
Joe
7 Herndon representing
Flagstone.
8
MR. HERNDON: Good morning, Governor
and
9 Commissioners. Thank
you very much for letting
us
10 be here. I'm Joe
Herndon with Flagstone
Island
11 Gardens, LLC. Our
chairman, Mr. Mehmet
Bayraktar,
12 and the Bayraktar family
come from a long
history
13 of industrial and other
investments throughout
the
14 country of Turkey and have
done a good number
of
15 projects throughout Turkey
including
significant
16 modern shopping malls,
hotels, and
resorts.
17
Other members of our team include
myself,
18 as project director, who in
a few years
19 completed the renovation of
the Biltmore
Hotel
20 in Coral Gables, recently
the EMR
Mega-yacht
21 Marina reconstruction as
well as the spas
at
22 Boca Raton Hotel and
Club.
23
You should have before you a set
of
24 handouts that basically
represent the
project.
25 Also, I should mention
Sherwood Weiser, who
is,
.
130
1 also, a board member and
very involved in
our
2 hotel management and
planning.
3
The project, as you may know, is
located
4 as a part of Downtown Miami,
as is shown
in
5 your design and your
projects in front of
you.
6 Our project objective
particularly is
important
7 to note that we have the
objective
of
8 establishing the leading
mega-yacht facility
in
9 the planet for the next 30
years in
Miami.
10
It will make a landmark icon and a
gateway
11 project for Miami and
create the magic of
Miami
12 as a global image.
We, also, have
the
13 objective of making a very
accessible area
for
14 all the community, garden
environments
15 throughout that are totally
accessible to
the
16
community.
17
And, also, separating, obviously,
the
18 necessary service and
security and
operational
19 requirements necessary to
keep guests, as
well
20 as visitors, to the project
comfortable
and
21 safe, and at the same time,
our project is
22 entirely compatible with
plans FDOT has for
the
23 bay tunnel and future
--
24
THE GOVERNOR: I'm sorry. Where are
the
25 gardens? I don't
--
.
131
1
MR. HERNDON: Excuse
me?
2
THE GOVERNOR: The gardens are
--
3
MR. HERNDON: The drawing on the screen
and
4 then the one that's in the
back of your
package
5 basically represents -- up
in the upper
left-hand
6 corner, you see the land --
on the
--
7
THE GOVERNOR: All
right.
8
MR. HERNDON: In the upper left-hand
corner,
9 that drawing there, it's the
land side as well
as
10 the water side is the
portion shaded in.
It's
11 right between the
children's museum and
the
12 MacArthur Causeway Bridge,
facing west
downward
13 toward
downtown.
14
There's a series of drawings here
showing
15 you the various elevations
and
perspective
16 drawings of the different
points of view
17 because our building and
deed, our
entire
18 project, has four
elevations. It faces
every
19 major direction and will be
visible
entirely
20
throughout.
21
It's in this area (indicating). This
is
22 the land side of the
development, and this
is
23 the water side of the
development.
24
MS. ARMSTRONG: Now show them where
that
25 Japanese Garden is
at.
.
132
1
MR. HERNDON: The Japanese Gardens is
right
2 at the tip of Parrot Jungle
right
there
3
(indicating).
4
THE GOVERNOR: That's not your
property.
5
MR. HERNDON:
No.
6
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
7
MR. HERNDON: Our property is only
this
8 portion that here's shown in
this area right
here.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Island Gardens
complies
10 with -- lots of gardens,
it's more -- never
mind.
11 Let's
go.
12
MR. HERNDON: Important -- I think it's
very
13 important for you to know
that this is the
only
14 possible location this
project can happen.
It
15 actually is a commitment
that was made in the
last
16 century when the government
first began to
develop
17 the main channel because it
must have access to
a
18 deep water
port.
19
It, also, is on city-owned land which
is
20 critically important to us
as well as having
a
21 high degree of not only
public
accessibility,
22 but transportation
accessibility throughout
the
23
community.
24
The project is consistent with the
master
25 plan. It's consistent
with the RFP.
As
.
133
1 Mr. Arriola has said, it got
68 percent of
the
2 voters and 74 percent of the
immediate
3
neighborhood.
4
It requires no additional zoning
changes.
5 It has no impact to the DRI
or necessarily
the
6 traffic. It has very
substantial
benefits
7 which he may have gone
through in great
detail.
8 So far we've gotten
unanimous approvals
from
9 the various committees that
it's been before
in
10 the
City.
11
We've complied with all
reasonable
12 requests, and we are in the
throes of
13 permitting with DERM and
South Florida
Water
14 Management and U.S. Corps
of Engineers which
is
15 coming to closure with a
very
substantial
16 environmental mitigation
program.
17
Your approval is required for us in
order
18 for us to proceed with the
permitting
processes
19 as well as having an impact
upon financial
20 markets and commitments,
but particularly
the
21 South Florida Water
Management District,
we
22 were actually on their
agenda on the 17th
of
23 July, and that's only been
pulled only
for
24 the -- the only missing
item is the fact
of
25 this waiver.
Likewise, similar
objectives,
.
134
1 DERM and U.S. Corps of
Engineers have the
same.
2
The project has been improved by the
South
3 Florida Regional Planning
Council, by FDOT,
and
4 DCA, not only in terms of
its vested
rights,
5 but, also, the NOPC and its
traffic
studies.
6 Provided there's no
additional amendments
made
7 by the City Commission and
the City
Commission
8 approves the NOPC and the
MUS processes,
no
9 further action from DCA is
required, and
that
10 vote of the City Commission
is scheduled
for
11 this
evening.
12
Thank you very much. I'm available
for
13 any questions you may
have.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you. General, you
have
15 a
question?
16
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: I do have
a
17 question. If
approved, when would you
start
18
building?
19
MR. HERNDON: We have on schedule to
commence
20 our dredging activity which
would be our
first
21 task and our relocation of
infrastructure
before
22 year's
end.
23
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: I'm sorry.
When?
24
MR. HERNDON: Before year's
end.
25
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Before year's
end.
.
135
1 Thank
you.
2
MS. ARMSTRONG: Let me mention to you
briefly
3 the provisions that we have
within the
agreement
4 to protect the Board of
Trustees' interests.
The
5 main concern we had was in
making sure that
we
6 secured enough provisions
that protected
the
7 public interest test and
what we saw as
things
8 that were necessary -- there
is a park there
now,
9 but we want to make sure
that there was enough
to
10 meet public interest
tests.
11
They are -- have agreed to pay at
least
12 $1 million to develop the
south park which
is
13 on this map -- if you back
up just a little
bit
14 there, Michael -- down
here. This is what
is
15 the south park, okay, so
they're paying
at
16 least $1 million to develop
the park.
17
They're required to develop it at least
as
18 good as it is now, but with
the million
19 dollars, they're going to
develop the
park
20 which includes planting, a
jogging trail,
21 biking trail, security
cameras, a parking
area,
22 and, also, rebuild the
Japanese Gardens
which
23 I've never been
there.
24
From locals, I hear it's supposed to
be
25 fabulous, and it just needs
to
be
.
136
1 redeveloped -- refurbished,
the
Japanese
2 Gardens. Although
they're in Parrot
Jungle,
3 they've agreed to help
refurbish the
gardens.
4
Sixty percent of this development has
to
5 remain as open space, which
includes a
walkway
6 along the waterfront and the
promenade, open
to
7 residents and the public
when they come to
the
8
facility.
9
Fifteen percent of the gross
rental
10 payments that are received
by the City
will
11 come to the Board of
Trustees with a
minimum
12 payment of $300,000 a
year. They will
make
13 those payments twice a
year. There will be
a
14 split payment, but the
minimum we will
receive
15 is
$300,000.
16
THE GOVERNOR: Is that a minimum, or is
that
17 a percentage based on
estimated revenue, or
is
18 that
--
19
MS. ARMSTRONG: It's a minimum payment.
And
20 I had -- we had, at one
time, been talking
with
21 the City about having those
payments starting
with
22 construction because under
the -- and we
had
23 not -- I was reading off an
old copy when
I
24 briefed the Cabinet
aides.
25
We do not have it beginning
with
.
137
1 construction. We have
it beginning
with
2 rentals, so it's after
they've
actually
3 completed it, and they have
rental
income
4 coming
in.
5
THE GOVERNOR: The City is not
getting
6 payments from
--
7
MS. ARMSTRONG: During
construction?
8
THE GOVERNOR: -- the
developers?
9
MS. ARMSTRONG: Oh, yes, they
are.
10
THE GOVERNOR: They are and we're
not
11 getting
--
12
MS. ARMSTRONG: Yeah, $1 million a year,
but
13 we're not getting anything
during that
time
14 period. That goes to
the City only.
15
THE GOVERNOR: What's the point of
that?
16
CFO GALLAGHER: When do we get
our
17 15
percent?
18
MS. ARMSTRONG: Well, that's kind of where
we
19 were in the beginning, but
we changed
that
20 position during
negotiations.
21
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, we might
--
22
THE GOVERNOR: Let's hear the rest of it,
and
23 then we'll be
--
24
MS. ARMSTRONG: Okay. Well, those were
the
25 high points, but I thought
I'd just go ahead
and
.
138
1 have the speakers speak, and
then we'd open it
up
2 for general discussion if
that's okay with
you.
3
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
4
MS. ARMSTRONG: Will that work? Okay.
With
5 that, the speakers are Mayor
of City Beach
--
6
THE GOVERNOR: Miami
Beach.
7
MS. ARMSTRONG: -- Miami Beach, David
Dermer.
8
THE GOVERNOR: Good morning,
Mayor.
9
MAYOR DERMER: Good morning,
sir.
10
THE GOVERNOR: Good afternoon,
Mayor.
11
MAYOR DERMER: Good afternoon. Governor
and
12 members of the Cabinet,
it's an honor to be
able
13 to appear before you.
I appreciate it very,
very
14 much. I'm joined here
today with our
economic
15 development director, Kevin
Crowder, along
with
16 our attorney, Gary
Rutledge.
17
And let me first say, at the outset,
that
18 we are not here to object
to this
project.
19 We're here just to
respectfully request that
we
20 get a one-month deferral or
till your next
21 meeting, which I believe is
in August.
22
In that, I want you to know that we
feel
23 that economic development
is good. We like
the
24 fact that there is going to
be 605 new
hotel
25 rooms and more tourists
spending money over
in
.
139
1 South Beach in our
city.
2
In fact, we're very proud of the fact
that
3 we've been the impetus for
Miami's success,
and
4 we want to -- and we want to
continue
that
5 chummy relationship with our
friends
and
6 neighbors across the
bay.
7
But let me say this, that Miami
Beach's
8 only interest, at this time,
is to ensure
that
9 all negative impacts are
addressed and that
the
10 appropriate mitigation
strategies are
11 identified and
implemented.
12
As you know, traffic congestion
is
13 currently the single
greatest threat to
the
14 economic stability of Miami
Beach,
Miami-Dade
15 County, and South Florida,
and I saw that in
an
16 article, Governor, on your
recent address
that
17 you had to the region
there.
18
And I know that you're concerned
about
19 that issue as all of us are
who live in
South
20 Florida. The City has
identified several
areas
21 and points of concerns, but
our main issue
is
22 the transportation impact
and the
adverse
23 effects on the quality of
life of area
24 residents and businesses
that will occur due
to
25 the size and type of the
proposed
development.
.
140
1
To put it in some perspective,
the
2 605-room hotel will be the
sixth largest
hotel
3 in Miami-Dade County, and
221,000 square
feet
4 of retail restaurant space
is approximately
the
5 same size as Bayside
Marketplace, not
to
6 mention the projects other
components, so
we're
7 talking about an enormous
project
here.
8
The City of Miami Beach understands
that
9 FDOT does not see a fatal
flaw in the
traffic
10 impact methodology, but
they do
acknowledge
11 that the MacArthur Causeway
should not be
12 classified as a freeway as
was done in
the
13 transportation assessment,
but that it
operates
14 somewhere between a freeway
and an
arterial.
15
It is the City of Miami Beach's
position
16 that since the causeway is
classified as
an
17 arterial, it should be
studied as
such;
18 therefore, the City of
Miami Beach feels
that
19 there are still outstanding
traffic issues
20 identified by the
consultants for both the
City
21 of Miami Beach and FDOT
that
necessitate
22 further
study.
23
And I know that the letter that was
handed
24 out just today, as to
FDOT's approval
relating
25 to concerns that we have,
we were never
even
.
141
1 invited to this
meeting. Keep in mind,
those
2 of you, I know, that have
visited and know
the
3 area, know what the
MacArthur Causeway is
all
4
about.
5
It's that 5th Street Causeway that
links
6 us between Miami and the
beach. Let me
tell
7 you. On any given
weekend, our City, which
may
8 have a permanent population
of
approximately
9 100,000, can swell to
200,000 or 250,
and
10 that's one of the major
roads that people go
to
11 and
from.
12
And it's a very difficult situation
for
13 both our cities if there's
going to be
gridlock
14 like that. As
mentioned before,
overstating
15 the maximum service
capacity for the
MacArthur
16 Causeway, the MacArthur
Causeway is an
arterial
17 road and not a
freeway.
18
Now, what they're saying in
their
19 studies -- and I got a
chance to peruse them
a
20 little bit -- was that,
yeah, you know,
we
21 agree that it may be a
freeway up to
Watson
22 Island, but we have
lights.
23
We have signals coming over to
Miami
24 Beach, so it's clearly an
arterial.
So
25 there's -- and, also, I
believe,
in
.
142
1 Mr. Plumber's study that I
was reading, he
said
2 that, in his analysis, where
there would
be
3 sufficient traffic flow,
that only 15
percent
4 of the traffic from these
hotels,
only
5 15 percent from hotels are
coming our way
to
6 South
Beach.
7
Now, I don't want to brag at all, but,
you
8 know, we're one of the
reasons a lot
of
9 tourists do come to our
town, and I
would
10 venture to -- you know,
with all the
amenities
11 and fun things happening in
Miami, I think
12 we'll have a little bit
more than 15
percent
13 coming our way on the
bridge.
14
MS. ARMSTRONG: You have one minute
left.
15
MAYOR DERMER: Only one minute? Okay.
So
16 let me sum up by saying
this. Right now
you've
17 got a hearing going on in
the City of Miami
today.
18 Commissioners from our city
are going to
be
19 attending that hearing
along with staff,
laying
20 out our
concerns.
21
And, you know, we just want the
ability,
22 for just one short time,
one-month
period
23 approximately, to sit down
with our
neighbors
24 to hash out some of these
issues, to make
this
25 a better project for
everybody.
.
143
1
There, also, are the issues of
the
2 residential component and a
possible
casino
3 development on the property,
too, that
I
4 believe needs to be
restricted here as well;
so
5 those are some issues that I
hope will
be
6 looked
at.
7
And frankly, those were in
correspondence
8 that we'll be happy to make
sure the folks
from
9 Miami have; so what's one
short deferral
until
10 the next meeting?
After Watson Island,
they've
11 had plans on that for over
25 years or as
long
12 as I can
remember.
13
And I hope this project happens, but
that
14 it is done in the right way
to benefit both
our
15 cities. I thank
you-all very much for
your
16 time and for listening so
patiently.
17
CFO GALLAGHER: I have one question.
What
18 would be your expectations,
in your
negotiation
19 with the City of Miami,
that would change what
we
20 have in front of us right
now 30 days from
now?
21
MAYOR DERMER: Well, I think, first of
all,
22 we would love them to come
over and make
a
23 presentation to us so we
even get a chance
to
24 digest this project.
They've had a lot of
public
25 meetings, but we haven't
had much dialogue at
all.
.
144
1 There was a hurried meeting
earlier in the
week,
2 and that's
it.
3
Second of all
--
4
CFO GALLAGHER: Wait. Wait. Let me just
ask
5
you.
6
MAYOR DERMER: Second of all, my
expectations
7 are that we have a real
legitimate, honest
traffic
8 study and do proper
mitigation. In fact,
the
9 commissioner, the County
Commissioner,
Miami-Dade
10 County Commissioner Bruno
Barreiro, I
conferred
11 with him recently, and he
agrees that there
should
12 be a deferral for
mitigation purposes as
well.
13
And he represents the district and,
also,
14 the vice chairman of the
County's
15 transportation committee,
so if we get a
16 legitimate traffic study,
can work together
for
17 both our cities, I think
that's what we
need.
18 That's my
expectation.
19
CFO GALLAGHER: Yeah. But I don't see
a
20 traffic study happening in
30 days.
21
MAYOR DERMER: I think we could do it by
the
22 next meeting. I think
it can happen.
Absolutely.
23 I've seen a lot of traffic
studies in my time
as
24 Mayor of Miami Beach, and
they can come
pretty
25 quickly when they want
to.
.
145
1
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
Mayor.
2
MAYOR DERMER: I thank
you.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: Can I ask a
question?
4
THE GOVERNOR: Sorry,
Treasurer.
5
CFO GALLAGHER: One other one. Wasn't
there
6 a big meeting last week, for
over two hours,
with
7 your people and the City of
Miami
folks?
8
MAYOR DERMER: There was a meeting that
Kevin
9 Crowder attended. That
was the first meeting
that
10 we had, just a rushed
meeting, right at the
end
11 there, that the City of
Miami basically invited
us
12 over in a way that said,
listen, you want to
be
13 here, you be here tomorrow
at nine
o'clock.
14
We went there. We expressed our
concerns
15 to them, and we asked to
have some
further
16 dialogue on the matter, and
that's where
it
17
ended.
18
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, let me ask just
a
19 couple
more.
20
MAYOR DERMER: And just for the record, I
did
21 not attend that meeting,
but I had somebody
there,
22 and he'll be able to
factually
represent
23 everything that
occurred.
24
CFO GALLAGHER: They had 26 public
hearings.
25 Now, it's not like you live
in Tallahassee
and
.
146
1 don't get to read the same
newspaper.
2
MAYOR DERMER:
Uh-huh.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: Any of those somebody,
from
4 your city, could have been
there and talked to,
I
5 would
think.
6
MAYOR DERMER: Those public hearings
occurred
7 prior to 2002, and the
referendum was a City
of
8 Miami referendum that they
speak of, that the
City
9 Manager had brought to your
attention, where
the
10 affected islands from the
Venetian, four of
them
11 are in our city and never
voted.
12
And, also, along Palm Star, Hibiscus,
and
13 Fisher never voted, and
frankly, on
the
14 referendum question, was a
smaller project
than
15 is being proposed, that the
people voted
on.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, if the residents of
all
17 those islands voted no, it
was so overwhelming,
I
18 don't think it would have
changed it
any.
19
MAYOR DERMER: Compared to the City of
Miami,
20 no, but I think their
interaction is -- you
know,
21 in all political campaigns,
sometimes a
small
22 vocal minority can make a
difference on
23 influencing an
election. I've seen that
happen
24
before.
25
CFO GALLAGHER: I don't disagree with
you.
.
147
1 Thank
you.
2
MAYOR DERMER: I thank you very much for
your
3
attention.
4
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you, Mayor. Thank
you
5 for coming all the way up to
Tallahassee.
6
CFO GALLAGHER: Thank you,
sir.
7
MS. ARMSTRONG: Just for the record,
there's
8 nothing in this document
that gives
them
9 permission in the future to
hold casino
gambling
10 activities, but there's,
also, nothing
that,
11 should the law change,
prevent them from
holding
12 casino gambling
activities. I thought it
caught
13 your attention when he
mentioned it.
14
CFO GALLAGHER: It would change the hotels
on
15 Miami Beach doing the same
thing, so --
16
MS. ARMSTRONG: Right. Right.
It's
17 interesting that he brought
that up. The
next
18 speaker is Daniel
Enriquiz. Are you
here?
19
THE GOVERNOR: How many speakers do we
have?
20
MS. ARMSTRONG: After that,
three.
21
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. Good afternoon,
sir.
22
MR. ENRIQUIZ: Good afternoon, Governor
and
23 the Cabinet. My name
is Danny Enriquiz, and
I'm
24 here on behalf of the Urban
Environment
League.
25 The Urban Environment
League of Greater Miami is
a
.
148
1 nonprofit community-based
organization
whose
2 mission includes the
protection and
preservation
3 of public lands for the
public's
use.
4
We've examined Island Garden's
documents
5 for the proposed development
on Watson
Island,
6 and it appears to be an
inappropriate use
of
7 public waterfront
land. There are
significant
8 issues with this proposal
that have yet to
be
9
clarified.
10
The UEL would like to ask that
any
11 decision be deferred until
these issues
are
12 fully addressed. The
most glaring problem
is
13 regarding public access and
amenities. It
is
14 our belief that the State
has
insufficient
15 information on which to
make a fair judgment
of
16 whether the project, as
currently
designed,
17 intends to deliver
amenities and
whether
18 sufficient enforcement
provisions are
available
19 to ensure that these
amenities are
delivered.
20
The Flagstone group intends to meet
its
21 public access and amenities
requirements
by
22 setting up a civic arts
endowment trust to
fund
23 part of the proposed
amenities.
24
However, section 26.2 of the
lease
25 indicates that this trust
is funded from
net
.
149
1 operation income from the
lesser and
each
2 applicable subtenant.
Every other
financial
3 provision benefiting the
City of Miami is
based
4 on specific dollar fees or
revenue
taxes.
5
Yet the public interest relies on the
net
6 operating income that is not
guaranteed.
None
7 of the amenities are
guaranteed in the
ground
8 lease, and the State has not
placed any sort
of
9 time line on when the
amenities should
be
10
built.
11
We would like the State to take the
time
12 to fully examine this issue
so as to
ensure
13 that the public is not
fenced out of
this
14 remarkable waterfront
property.
Furthermore,
15 the legality of granting
time share
licenses
16 merits further examination
from the
State.
17
The UEL echoes the concerns of
the
18 Venetian Causeway
Neighborhood Alliance,
the
19 Department of Community
Affairs, and the
City
20 of Miami Beach, all of whom
would like
several
21 issues fully examined
before a decision
is
22
rendered.
23
We are not fundamentally opposed to
this
24 project. We simply
want to ensure that
the
25 public receives the
amenities it voted on
in
.
150
1 2001 and approves this
development.
This
2 amazing property has a
potential to get
truly
3 standalone public
attraction.
4
Please take the time to guarantee that
it
5 fulfills that
potential. Thank
you.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you very
much.
7
MS. ARMSTRONG: Nancy Brown, then Eric
Draper
8 and Marianne
Gengenbach.
9
THE GOVERNOR: Good
afternoon.
10
MS. BROWN: Good afternoon. Nancy Brown.
I
11 think I'm representing
Friends of the
Everglades
12 here since they have no one
to speak for them
on
13 this issue here. I
see that this is listed as
a
14
modification.
15
I see it as a very serious
modification
16 that, in fact, takes away
the language of
the
17 earlier deeds which insists
on more, that
there
18 will be no transfer or sale
to private
19 entities, and I think
that's -- if I'm
not
20 mistaken, I think that is
what you're
21 eliminating from the
language, the
specific
22 language referencing the
public purpose,
nature
23 of the dedication, and
prohibiting the sale
of
24 conveyance and
lease.
25
Now, that's what you're taking out. I
see
.
151
1 that you are using, as an
example of
what
2 you're doing on this Island,
in the
3 construction of Bayside, the
Governor
and
4 Cabinet -- not
you-all.
5
The Governor and Cabinet approved what
is
6 actually a legal fill in the
Biscayne
Bay
7 Aquatic Preserve in order to
accommodate
a
8 restaurant, like there's no
shortage
of
9 restaurants in Miami, but
that is not a
good
10 example to use as what
you're going to do
on
11 this
project.
12
What is missing from this -- and I have
to
13 apologize. I just got
notice of this
yesterday
14 afternoon late; so I have
not really
inspected
15 all of it, but it seems
that the amount
of
16 dredging, which was used by
one of the
17 applicants, has not even
been discussed as
to
18 what is going to be
dredged.
19
I understand that they want a
deep
20 channel, and I would agree
with that,
that
21 there is -- probably this
would be the
best
22 opportunity for
mega-yachts, but I don't
know
23 what other dredging is
proposed.
24
And dredging in the Biscayne Bay
Aquatic
25 Preserve, at which I have
lived with since
1974
.
152
1 and upheld as long as I
lived in Dade
County,
2 there's no indication as to
what's going
to
3 happen, what is going to be
dredged and
whether
4 that is
legal.
5
I have some big concerns about
the
6 language that was used, and
I have
already
7 understood that the lines
that are
underlined
8 here have been struck from
your agendas,
is
9 that correct, which goes
into, again,
the
10 heart -- you don't
know?
Okay.
11
See, I want to know about this. You
say
12 it's deleted. The
language in here says
that
13 when the State of Florida
conveys land to
a
14 city or an individual, that
it is no
longer
15 part of the Biscayne Bay
Aquatic Preserve,
and
16 that is so deadly wrong
that I just
feel
17 compelled to discuss it,
even though this
has
18 been amended or taken
out.
19
THE GOVERNOR: Just so everybody
understands,
20 we're not -- that's been
taken out of
the
21
agreement.
22
MS. BROWN: It's been written, though,
and
23 that's what concerns me,
that this --
24
THE GOVERNOR: It's been
written.
25
MS. BROWN: This was printed -- the
Biscayne
.
153
1 Bay is described very
carefully.
2
THE GOVERNOR: If we approve this,
what
3 you're referring to is not
in that
agreement.
4
MS. BROWN: I am concerned about
the
5 mentality of whoever did
this work for the DEP
who
6 put this language in because
it is
totally
7 contrary to the
law.
8
THE GOVERNOR: And that's why it's been
taken
9
out.
10
MS. BROWN: The rules shall apply to
all
11 lands, public and private,
within the
Aquatic
12 Preserve, and the Aquatic
Preserve is
measured
13 very closely; so I think
that would be my
major
14 concern
there.
15
And another major concern is that this
is
16 very likely a public
thing. It has a
public
17 space in the gardens.
That's wonderful.
All
18 the rest of it is totally
private.
Mega-yachts
19 usually do not come with
public -- you
know,
20 there's not a lot of those
around.
21
So I think that money has ruled here.
I
22 mean, there are a whole lot
of things to
23 hotels, retail shops, all
of that. We
just
24 went through this with
Brickell Key Marina.
I
25 would hope that none of the
modifications
that
.
154
1 you-all contemplate in here
are going to
enable
2 a Brickell Key Marina now to
pop up
--
3
I'm very concerned about this. I
thank
4 you very much
--
5
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you for
coming.
6
MS. BROWN: -- and for your
time.
7
MR. DRAPER: Eric Draper speaking on
behalf
8 Audubon Florida and the
Tropical Audubon
Society
9 which actually enlisted us
in taking this item
up.
10 I just want to say that,
Governor and members
of
11 the Cabinet, we really
appreciate your
stewardship
12 of the State's natural
resources.
13
We, also, appreciate what you do to
bring
14 economic growth to places
like the City
of
15 Miami. That's where
our headquarters are,
and
16 we care about that
place. We, also,
encourage
17 you to defer this item
because we don't
think
18 that you've given -- staff
has given
proper
19 consideration to the
potential impacts
of
20 Biscayne Bay Aquatic
Preserve.
21
We've communicated with Secretary
Castille
22 and specifically noted in
that letter that
the
23 agenda item, itself, did
not even recognize
the
24 fact that these lands,
which are public
lands,
25 are within the Biscayne Bay
Aquatic
Preserve,
.
155
1 and therefore, governed by
the Biscayne
Bay
2 Aquatic Preserve
Act.
3
Even though they are, you know,
not
4 necessarily state-owned
public lands,
all
5 public lands are governed by
the terms of
that
6 act, and the statutory
language
specifically
7 says no further sale or
transfer of lease
of
8 sovereignty submerged lands
in the
preserve
9 shall be approved by the
Board of
Trustees
10 except where showing of
extreme
hardship.
11
I won't read the rest of that.
Without
12 going into a definition of
what extreme
13 hardship is, I'm not sure
that the
economic
14 needs of the City of Miami
are necessarily
met
15 in this
case.
16
We would like to see, in the same way
that
17 the City of Miami Beach
would like to see
it,
18 an examination and
mitigation of the
traffic
19 impacts. We would
like to make sure
that
20 you've taken complete
consideration of
the
21 potential impacts on the
aquatic preserve as
a
22 result of expanded use of
the marina
there,
23 even though the footprint
isn't
necessarily
24
expanding.
25
And we would ask, therefore, that
you
.
156
1 defer this item until we got
a chance to
look
2 at all the issues that we
simply have not
had
3 enough time to get in there
and dig around
and
4 see what's going on with
them. Thank you
very
5
much.
6
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
Eric.
7
MS. ARMSTRONG: I do need to make
one
8 correction here with the
item which I'd
forgotten
9 about. In the backup,
on page -- this is for
the
10 record. You don't
need to look at it, but
on
11 page 99 of attachment 14,
we are correcting
the
12 diagram that reflects the
legal
description.
13
The legal description is correct.
It's
14 the diagram that's
not. Currently it
reflects
15 that angled line, and that
is not
accurate.
16 What will be reflected is
that there is
no
17 line. This is the
correct legal.
Okay?
18
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you,
Eva.
19
MS. ARMSTRONG: So with that --
Marianne
20 Gengenbach, I'm
sorry. I forgot
you.
21
MS. GENGENBACH: Marianne Gengenbach with
the
22 Nature Conservancy, good
afternoon. DEP
has,
23 obviously, taken the legal
position that
the
24 Aquatic Preserve statute
does not apply, and
we
25 are here because we care
very much about
the
.
157
1 natural resources that are
in the Biscayne
Bay
2 Aquatic
Preserve.
3
There are legal arguments on probably
both
4 sides of that issue, and
it's been
my
5 experience -- and I'm sure
its been yours
as
6 well -- that when there is
such a
differing
7 legal opinion as to whether
a statute
applies,
8 it can often lead to
litigation if these
things
9 are not
resolved.
10
I'd like to take the discussion a
step
11 further. There's no
doubt that Watson
Island
12 is located in the Biscayne
Bay Aquatic
Preserve
13 which is a preserve that
has such
incredible
14 natural resources that it
warranted a
separate
15 piece of statute by the
Legislature that
holds
16 putting things in that
preserve to a
higher
17 standard including the
extreme
hardship
18
standard.
19
It is, also, true that the
applicants
20 coming to you for a
modification of
deed
21 restrictions -- and if they
didn't require
your
22 approval for those deed
restrictions,
they
23 would not be
here.
24
It's our feeling that the
overarching
25 charge of the Board of
Trustees is to
protect
.
158
1 the public interests of the
entire state
of
2 Florida, and not the least
of those charges
is
3 to protect the natural
resources that have
been
4 carefully set aside for the
entire
state.
5
It's not just the City of Miami and
the
6 City of Miami's economic
development, but
we're
7 talking about natural
resources that could
be
8 dramatically impacted by a
development of
this
9
magnitude.
10
Given this fact, we think that the
Board
11 of Trustees is well within
its authority
to
12 place conditions upon the
approval of
deed
13 restriction modifications
that would
address
14 the protection of the
precious resources in
the
15 Biscayne Bay Aquatic
Preserve.
16
I think that, in that sense, a deferral
of
17 this item to bring those
folks to the
table,
18 who care about those
natural resources,
to
19 address those concerns
before final approval
is
20 given and placing such
conditions would
be
21 appropriate, and we
strongly urge you to
do
22 that. Thank
you.
23
THE GOVERNOR:
Treasurer.
24
CFO GALLAGHER: Ma'am, would you give me
an
25 example of what kind of
additional things you'd
be
.
159
1 looking
for?
2
MS. GENGENBACH: Well, I think that
because
3 this was not even on the
radar screen,
with
4 respect to what the impacts
would be since
people
5 thought that the Biscayne
Bay Preserve did
not
6 apply, I think we would have
to look at
meeting
7 the
conditions.
8
But barring that, bringing the folks
to
9 the table, who care about
the natural
10 resources, and just simply
have a
thorough
11 discussion of the impacts
of the dredging,
of
12 exactly what would be
happening to
the
13 resources in Biscayne Bay
as a result of
this
14 development, would be
appropriate before
final
15 approval is
given.
16
It's quite possible that if you
get
17 everybody to the table,
these protections
could
18 be worked out, but it's
clear to me that
this
19 has not occurred prior to
this time.
20
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, you know, if you
talk
21 about dredging, Government
Cut is kept at a
very
22 deep -- you know, because
all of the cruise
ships
23 come in and out of there
and, also, the
24 freighters, that that whole
Government Cut,
all
25 the way up to the end of
Watson Island
including
.
160
1 the end of Government Cut
there where it goes
into
2 the Intracoastal is really a
turnaround basin
for
3 the ships; so that whole
area is already
probably
4 15- or 20-feet
deep.
5
MS. GENGENBACH: Right. And maybe that is
a
6 bad example, but the item,
also, states that
there
7 are going to be temporary
easements needed for
the
8 construction of this which
could, also,
have
9 significant environmental
impacts.
10
And again, none of that has been
detailed
11 at this point. I
think having people sit
down
12 and discuss what those are
and how to
minimize
13 those in a more clear
fashion where all
the
14 stakeholders are at the
table of that
15 discussion -- and that
includes a
statewide
16 interest, not just a local
interest -- I
think
17 that that would be
appropriate.
18
And getting a deferral would
probably
19 allow that discussion to
take place.
20
CFO GALLAGHER: Thank
you.
21
MS. GENGENBACH: Thank
you.
22
THE GOVERNOR:
Eva.
23
MS. ARMSTRONG: Well, those are all
our
24 speakers. Do you have
questions of staff or
--
25
THE GOVERNOR: Is there any planned
dredging?
.
161
1
MS. ARMSTRONG: Yes, sir, but that'll come
in
2 under the district or water
management
district
3 regulatory. It's not
contemplated here. None
of
4 that is being approved
here. That will all
go
5 under normal regulatory
permitting
procedures.
6
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
7
CFO GALLAGHER: Governor, if we could
--
8
THE GOVERNOR:
Yeah.
9
CFO GALLAGHER: We've heard the City
Manager
10 talk about why they would
like to have it.
We've
11 heard people from Miami
Beach and others on
why
12 they would like to defer
it. The City
Manager
13 didn't have the issue of
deferral in front of
him
14 when he spoke before, and
I'd like to hear
his
15 thoughts on that, if we
could.
16
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
17
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Of course, I'm
very
18 opposed to deferral, and I
will tell you why
I'm
19 opposed to deferral.
Let's tackle the issue
of
20 the Beach and their
concerns for traffic. If
the
21 Beach was so concerned
about the traffic, I
think
22 that they would have to
just drive about a
mile
23 down that same road they're
concerned, where
they
24 have allowed 6,000 units to
be built, and at
the
25 present time, there's other
thousands of
units
.
162
1 being
built.
2
If they're so concerned about what
we're
3 doing in the City of Miami,
I think it
would
4 have been very nice of them
to include us
in
5 their studies of the traffic
impact that
they
6 created in the Morano and
all
those
7 developments that are going
in
there.
8
We have gone through this through a
very,
9 very public process.
This is nothing
other
10 than a city that is jealous
that we're
building
11 a very, very classy
five-star hotel with
all
12 kinds of incredible
developments.
13
This is nothing but a City of Miami
Beach
14 butting in into the
business of our city.
We
15 do not go there and ask
them for things
like
16 that. We have gone to
every single
17 transportation
expert.
18
We have talked with everybody that
had
19 anything and everything to
say about this,
and
20 everybody approved
it. On the last hour,
two
21 weeks ago, I received a
letter saying stop
the
22 process, we have not been a
participant.
23
This has been so public. We have
made
24 presentations. As a
matter of fact, the
Mayor
25 of Miami Beach was in the
office of my
mayor,
.
163
1 and he looked at the project
less than a
year
2 and a half
ago.
3
So for them to come up now with this
is
4 ludicrous. I mean, if
I sound very upset,
let
5 me tell you. I am very
upset because this
is
6 last-minute tactics to kill
what I think is
a
7 great
project.
8
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, let me ask you.
How
9 would 30 days kill
it?
10
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Well, very much
so.
11 It would delay -- first of
all, it's not 30
days.
12 It's a lot longer 30
days. It's quite a
bit
13 longer, but, you know, I'm
going to look at
their
14 side of the point, the
developers.
15
You know, longer time for financing.
You
16 know, there's a whole slew
of things.
The
17 permitting process, there
are three
other
18 permits that would have to
go through that
now
19 that would delay 60 days
that would
trigger
20 another 60 days that would
trigger another
60
21
days.
22
And this is based on what, on Johnny
Come
23 Lately that shows up, and
now says, we have
a
24 problem with
traffic?
25
THE GOVERNOR: The Mayor of Miami Beach
has
.
164
1 every right to come up here
just like you
--
2
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA:
Absolutely.
3
THE GOVERNOR: -- and other citizens as
well
4 that aren't as concerned
about the
traffic.
5 They're concerned about the
water resource;
so,
6 you know
--
7
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: But it's been
three
8 years of public process,
though.
9
THE GOVERNOR: You get this angry at your
own
10 City Council
meeting?
11
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Yes, sir.
Absolutely.
12
THE GOVERNOR:
Wow.
13
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: I get
angrier.
14
THE GOVERNOR:
Wow.
15
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA:
Yes.
16
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Governor, there's
two
17 issues here that are still
working on my
mind.
18 One is the issue of the
potential of turning
this
19 private into what could be
casino activity
that
20 I'm still concerned about
because I don't
know
21 what the full legal and
ramifications of that
is,
22 and, Number 2, trying to
clarify the issue of
the
23 bay or the Aquatic
Preserve.
24
Those are two that I'm still very
unclear
25 on where we are legally
with all of
those
.
165
1
issues.
2
THE GOVERNOR: Maybe we should ask Eva
to
3 comment on
those.
4
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Well, we can't
dredge
5 it without going through the
process of --
you
6 know, they would have to get
other permits.
This
7 has nothing to do with the
dredging, and for
them
8 to dredge, they would have
to go out and
acquire
9 permits and go through the
whole process.
10
That's one of the permits they're
trying
11 to acquire right
now.
12
THE GOVERNOR: Dredging principally would
be
13 for the construction of the
marina --
14
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Yes,
sir.
15
THE GOVERNOR: Treasurer Gallagher's point
is
16 correct, isn't it, that
most of the dredging,
as
17 it relates
--
18
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: It's already
done.
19
THE GOVERNOR: -- to the sea grasses
are
20 already done or all of
it?
21
CFO GALLAGHER: Right. And the marina
is
22 already basically -- I
mean, the City already
has
23 control of that, and I
don't know how we can
stop
24 them from dredging it
because they're basically
--
25 I mean, they're going to
get the permits, in
my
.
166
1 opinion, because it's
already
--
2
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: It's an's
existing
3 marina there as you
know.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: They're not going to make
the
5 marina any larger than the
footprint
--
6
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA:
No.
7
CFO GALLAGHER: -- and there's been
dredging
8 and continual dredging
--
9
THE GOVERNOR: I assume you have to take
some
10 pilings
out.
11
CFO GALLAGHER: -- probably by the Corps
of
12 Engineers if you're doing
the dredging.
13
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: That's what it
is.
14
CFO GALLAGHER: Okay. And the
gambling
15 thing, I think --
personally I think that's a
red
16 herring, but Eva can talk
about it.
17
THE GOVERNOR:
Eva.
18
MS. ARMSTRONG: Yes,
sir.
19
THE GOVERNOR: Why don't you
--
20
MS. ARMSTRONG: What I'd like to do is
have
21 Bud Vielhauer, who's our
deputy general
counsel
22 for public lands
--
23
THE GOVERNOR:
Sure.
24
MS. ARMSTRONG: -- respond on both issues
if
25 you don't
mind.
.
167
1
THE GOVERNOR: On the Aquatic Preserve
issue.
2 That's an important
one.
3
MR. VIELHAUER: On the Aquatic
Preserve
4 issue, clearly Watson Island
does fall within
the
5 Biscayne Bay Aquatic
Preserve. The
statute,
6 itself, sets out a boundary,
a legal
description,
7 and Watson Island and the
submerged lands
around
8 it clearly fall within that
boundary.
9
They fall within the preserve; so the
real
10 issue here is whether this
transaction would
be
11 subject to those real
strict requirements
that
12 are set forth in this
statute and our rules
for
13 public or for activities in
the Biscayne
Bay
14 Aquatic
Preserve.
15
Those are it has to be in the
public
16 interest, and the applicant
would have to
17 establish that they have an
extreme
hardship
18 unique to themselves, but
what we've got
here
19 is a question that whether
that test applies
to
20 this city because this is a
use sale or
21 transfer of sovereignty
submerged
land.
22
Now, clearly this is a transfer of a
real
23 estate, and to that extent,
it would apply,
but
24 the problem we've got here
is the question
and
25 the definition of what
sovereignty
submerged
.
168
1 land
is.
2
Now, as you've heard from a couple
of
3 previous speakers, there is
in question as
to
4 whether this would be
sovereignty
submerged
5 land. I think our
legal opinion is that
the
6 better argument is that
these are
not
7 sovereignty submerged lands
because
the
8 constitution talks about
sovereignty
versus
9 submerged lands being -- it
is not
sovereignty
10 submerged lands if the
property has
been
11 alienated
out.
12
This property has been conveyed to
the
13 City of Miami; so we think
that that's
the
14 better argument that this
is not
sovereignty
15 submerged lands, and
therefore, the
Biscayne
16 Bay Aquatic Preserve rule
does not apply,
or
17 the extreme hardship test
does not
apply.
18
As for the casino boat issue,
clearly
19 there is a state statute
prohibiting any
casino
20 activities in the state of
Florida unless
it's
21 certain activities such as
casinos on
22 reservations, but we, also,
have, this
being
23 privately owned lands or at
least not
being
24 sovereignty submerged land,
it would not be
--
25 they could still put in day
cruise type
of
.
169
1
activities.
2
But you still have the ability, in
your
3 deed restriction. If
you want to waive
the
4 deed restriction, you have
the ability,
though,
5 to put in a condition that
would
prohibit
6 casinos. You do have
that
ability.
7
CFO GALLAGHER: The casino you're
talking
8 about is what we've done --
and we had to get
it
9 done through statute -- is
on submerged lands
that
10 we've leased, I believe,
that we do not
allow
11 casino ships to be anchored
or to be tied up
at
12 those
docks.
13
MR. VIELHAUER: Although I will caution
that
14 we lost that case in the
first DCA.
15
CFO GALLAGHER: I know we did, but
the
16 Legislature never did fix
it to date?
17
THE GOVERNOR:
No.
18
MR. VIELHAUER:
No.
19
CFO GALLAGHER: Okay. But it was -- it
had
20 to go the
Legislature?
21
MR. VIELHAUER: That's
right.
22
THE GOVERNOR: It got shut out. It was
a
23 noble effort, though.
If the development
changes
24 its shape, changes its use,
we have no
recourse?
25 In other words, we're not
approving --
we're
.
170
1 waiving the deed
restrictions that we have on
the
2 property now in return for a
commitment for
public
3 amenities and
--
4
MS. ARMSTRONG: And the
payment.
5
THE GOVERNOR: And the
payment.
6
MS. ARMSTRONG: Yes,
sir.
7
THE GOVERNOR: So if the use changes, if
the
8 casino is put into the hotel
or if time
shares
9 don't work so they decide to
build and turn
those
10 into condos or whatever --
I mean, it could be
a
11 series of different things
-- or if the
mega-yacht
12 thing doesn't work, so
there's maybe some
other
13 use there, we don't
--
14
MS. ARMSTRONG: The way it's
currently
15 worded, no,
sir.
16
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, I don't see why
we
17 couldn't approve only
what's been asked for
here
18 and may require them to
come back if they make
any
19 changes. I mean, I
would be very uncomfortable
to
20 do anything but
that.
21
MS. ARMSTRONG: We could do that. Yes,
sir.
22 We could make it
tighter. If that would be
your
23 desire, we could do
that.
24
THE GOVERNOR: Well, I want to be
careful
25 doing that because then we
start getting into
the
.
171
1 micromanagement of -- there
has to be
some
2 flexibility, I think, in
development because
of
3 something, in the scale, it
may be
changed.
4
But what I found -- why couldn't we
have
5 our conditions kick in with
the
final
6 development order being
done? In other
words,
7 we have a better
understanding of exactly
what
8 it is that's
coming.
9
MS. ARMSTRONG: We probably ought to have
--
10 yeah. I was going to
suggest you hear from
the
11 City or the Flagstone
because it
probably
12 implicates -- impacts their
financing.
13
MS. BILBERRY: Hi, Lori Bilberry with
the
14 City of Miami. Your
waiver of deed
restriction
15 does specifically reference
this lease, so
the
16 uses would be that which
are defined in the
lease.
17 And additionally, no
residential would be
allowed
18
here.
19
No sale of condos or conversion of
that
20 nature. That would,
also, constitute
a
21 violation of the initial
RFP that went out;
so
22 we would not be able to
provide that type
of
23
change.
24
CFO GALLAGHER: I'm sorry. What did you
say
25 that had to be -- that the
development has to
be
.
172
1 consistent with the RFP that
you received and
what
2 they're going to have to
build?
3
MS. BILBERRY:
Correct.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: So you will hold them
to
5
that?
6
MR. HERNDON: Again, as I said before,
the
7 issue goes before the City
Commission tonight,
and
8 assuming it passes, the
development orders will
be
9 in place tonight relative to
the NOPC and the
MUS.
10
THE GOVERNOR: So you can't build a casino
in
11 your
hotel?
12
MR. HERNDON:
No.
13
THE GOVERNOR: Even if the law
changes.
14
MR. HERNDON: There is provision in the
lease
15 that if the law changes and
all the hotels
in
16 competitive set is building
casinos, then we
can
17 go back to the City and ask
them to do that, and
I
18 suspect they would have us
come back here at
the
19 same
time.
20
THE GOVERNOR: Well, would they? That's
my
21
question.
22
MS. ARMSTRONG: Yeah. We'll amend
the
23 agreement to require
that. See, currently
they
24 can amend -- right now it's
tied to the lease,
and
25 they could amend their
lease. There's
no
.
173
1 requirement that they come
to us if they amend
the
2
lease.
3
We can amend our agreement to
require
4 that. No
problem.
5
THE GOVERNOR: And you would be okay
with
6
that?
7
MR. HERNDON: As long as it's
not
8 micromanaged, of
course.
9
THE GOVERNOR: I want to micromanage
a
10 casino. If we are
giving up -- we
are
11 representing the public
interest, and it's
not
12 just the City's. It
is the State. Whoever
said
13 that, I think, is right on
point.
14
And this is -- a casino is not a public
--
15 I don't think it satisfies
the test, and
I'm
16 opposed to them anyway; so
as long as I'm
17 here -- we tried to do it
for the cruises
and
18 got slammed by the courts
because we
didn't
19 have the legislative
authority, but we do
have
20 the authority
--
21
MR. HERNDON: To restrict it
here.
22
MS. ARMSTRONG: In this
instance.
23
THE GOVERNOR: -- to restrict it
here.
24
MS. ARMSTRONG: Right. Because
it's
25 proprietary interest
totally.
.
174
1
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: I have a
question.
2
THE GOVERNOR:
Yes.
3
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: And maybe
this
4 gentleman is the best -- I
was curious about
the
5 dredging. What
anticipated additional dredging
do
6 you
foresee?
7
MR. HERNDON: I have our
environmental
8 consultants here. We
can get into
specific
9 detail. The largest
component -- and I'll
just
10 put input. She may
get into
details.
11
The largest component of the dredging
we
12 have to do is basically to
remove spoil
that
13 was created when the ICW
was originally
cut,
14 but it still lays
underwater, and it creates
a
15 navigational
hazard.
16
It's currently a navigational hazard,
and
17 so that's the biggest
component of it.
Christy
18 Blush with Coastal Systems
International
can
19 give you a little more
detail.
20
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: I mean, I agree
with
21 the Treasurer. I
drove by it yesterday. I
was
22 down there making a speech
and, on the way back
to
23 the airport, went right by
the location on
the
24
causeway.
25
You know, the cruise ships are very
close,
.
175
1 and I was just curious and
what
additional
2 dredging would be
necessary.
3
MS. BLUSH: Christy Blush with
Coastal
4 Systems International.
Within the existing
marina
5 basin, there are water
depths ranging from about
6
6 to 18 feet, and to
accommodate the
mega-yachts
7 which have fairly
significant drafts up to
about
8 maybe, you know, 20 feet
plus or minus,
there
9 would be some additional
depths required
to
10 accommodate those boat
drafts, so we would
be
11 deepening the marina basin
to a range of 18
to
12 25
feet.
13
CFO GALLAGHER: Which is consistent with
what
14 is sitting in the
turnaround basin and
the
15 entire
--
16
MS. BLUSH: Correct. There's essentially
a
17 shoal if you want to call
it that. It's not
a
18 natural shoal, but a
shallow area between
the
19 bulkhead on the uplands and
the turning basin.
It
20 would be to connect that
area and remove
the
21 shallow
areas.
22
CFO GALLAGHER: And there's nothing on
the
23 bottom but muck. I
mean, there's no sandy
bottom
24
there.
25
MS. BLUSH: There is some sandy bottom,
yes.
.
176
1
CFO GALLAGHER: Is
there?
2
MS. BLUSH:
Yes.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: With things
growing?
4
MS. BLUSH:
Yes.
5
CFO GALLAGHER: And what are we going to
do
6 to mitigate
that?
7
MS. BLUSH: There are a range of
resources.
8 There are some sea grasses
and some
sponge
9 communities that will be
mitigated through
a
10 creation of higher quality
communities in
both
11 off-site locations as well
as we're doing
some
12 on-site mitigation to
accommodate some
specific
13 habitats that are unique to
the area.
14
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: So that's
already
15 part of your plan to
develop those
others?
16
MS. BLUSH: That's correct. We're in
final
17 negotiations with the
regulatory agencies
that
18 were mentioned earlier with
regard to that
19
mitigation.
20
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: Thank
you.
21
THE GOVERNOR: What are the -- in terms
of
22 the public, the commitment
-- you know,
whatever
23 the term is. I
apologize. I'm getting a
little
24 tired. The public
amenity commitments,
what
25 guarantees do we have that
they'll be met,
and
.
177
1 what are the recourses if
they're
not?
2
MS. BILBERRY: Lori Bilberry again.
There
3 are various public amenities
that have
been
4 included here are all
included as an exhibit
to
5 the lease, and Flagstone is
required to
comply
6 with all those items that
are listed in the
lease.
7 If they do not, then it
would become a default
of
8 the lease, and we could
pursue remedies that
way.
9
The $1 million contribution is the
one
10 item that was subsequently
added and has
been
11 voluntarily proffered by
Flagstone.
12
THE GOVERNOR: $1
million?
13
MS. BILBERRY: Towards the developing
and
14 master planning the south
end of Watson Island
for
15 a public open
space.
16
THE GOVERNOR: So if the City -- the
City
17 would have the ability to
pursue these, but
the
18 State
wouldn't?
19
MS. BILBERRY: That is correct. I mean, as
a
20 default, then you then
could come after us,
I'm
21
sure.
22
THE GOVERNOR:
How?
23
MS. ARMSTRONG: We have provisions,
within
24 the document, that provide
time for them to
cure
25 it. I mean, there's a
cure-and-default
period
.
178
1 within the document, and if
they ultimately do
not
2 cure whatever they don't
provide, we impose
the
3 reverter, and we take the
property
back.
4
THE GOVERNOR: Take the property
back?
5
MS. ARMSTRONG: Yeah. And then we can
run
6 it, but that ultimately is
what would happen
if
7 they don't provide what they
have committed
to
8 provide in this
document.
9
CFO GALLAGHER: And all condo unit
owners
10 have to move out, and we
can all move in,
right?
11
MS. ARMSTRONG: No, sir. We would operate
it
12 as a business. We'd
put it up on the
market.
13 We'd get a new buyer, and
we'd move
forward.
14 Whatever would happen, we
have got provisions,
in
15 this document, to ensure
that they move forward
as
16 they
committed.
17
THE GOVERNOR: All right. Any
other
18
discussion?
19
(No response.)
20
THE GOVERNOR:
General.
21
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST: I move the
item.
22
THE GOVERNOR: Is there a second? We need
a
23
second.
24
CFO GALLAGHER: I will second the item so
we
25 can have a little
discussion up
here.
.
179
1
THE GOVERNOR: All right.
There's
2 discussion. Why don't
we ask Eva one more time
to
3 describe exactly what we're
doing here, and
then
4 if anyone wants to talk, we
can.
5
MS. ARMSTRONG: You are being asked to
modify
6 the deed restrictions for a
parcel of land
that's
7 24.2 acres on Watson Island;
to allow the City
to
8 lease the parcel to
Flagstone; and there
are
9 easements, both temporary
and permanent,
over
10 adjacent and nearby areas
for the project with
the
11 same deed restrictions on
which the
modification
12 would be
required.
13
That's literally what you're being
asked
14 to do, and for the public
amenities -- and
they
15 are written into the
document. One of
the
16 speakers didn't think they
were -- they
are
17 $1 million, at least $1
million to upgrade
the
18 south park to include a
jogging path,
security
19 cameras, a parking area,
and upgrading
the
20 Japanese
Gardens.
21
Sixty percent of the development
must
22 remain as open space
including walkways,
the
23 waterfront promenade, and
the Trustees will
get
24 15 percent of the total
gross rental
payments
25 received by the City with
no less than
$300,000
.
180
1
annually.
2
THE GOVERNOR: At the time
of?
3
MS. ARMSTRONG: At the time they initiate
the
4 rentals, upon completion of
construction.
5
THE GOVERNOR: Any other
discussion?
6
(No
response.)
7
THE GOVERNOR: What's the vote
that's
8
required?
9
MS. ARMSTRONG: I think you need
three.
10
THE GOVERNOR: Three votes? Okay. No
more
11 discussion,
Treasurer?
12
(No response.)
13
THE GOVERNOR: Then we'll have a vote.
All
14 in favor say
aye.
15
(Affirmative
response.)
16
THE GOVERNOR: All
opposed?
17
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
No.
18
THE GOVERNOR: Motion
carries.
19
MS. ARMSTRONG: Thank you,
sir.
20
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
21
MS. ARMSTRONG: Item Number 15
is
22 reaffirmation of existing
delegations granted
to
23 the staff by the Board of
Trustees.
24
CFO GALLAGHER: I move that we take
between
25 now and the August cabinet
meeting to let
our
.
181
1 staff work with Eva and her
staff and actually
the
2 department to see what those
delegations are
and
3 how they're applied and
bring this item back
in
4
August.
5
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion to defer
this
6 till August
--
7
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
8
THE GOVERNOR: -- and a second.
Without
9 objection, the motion
passes.
10
MS. ARMSTRONG: Okay. And we have one
more
11 item. It's Good Cause
Item number 16. The
City
12 of Miami is requesting an
amendment to a waiver
of
13 a deed restriction for
58,887 square feet
of
14 submerged lands within the
Biscayne Bay
Aquatic
15
Preserve.
16
A portion of the lands in question
were
17 the subject of a Board of
Trustees' 1949
deed
18 that conveyed sovereignty
lands bayward of
the
19 established bulkhead line
that, also,
20 restricted the use to
municipal
purposes.
21
The Board of Trustees approved a waiver
of
22 deed restrictions in July
of '81 for 29,000
of
23 that 58,000 square
feet. The City leased
the
24 property which was later
assigned to
Grove
25 Marine and Market, LTD,
which is, also,
known
.
182
1 as Monty's Restaurant and
the current lessee
of
2 the
property.
3
The urgency and need for
your
4 consideration is that the
sale of
the
5 restaurant is scheduled for
early July, and
the
6 City doesn't want to lose a
well-known
and
7 well-established business,
and that it can
ill
8 afford to lose the revenue
from the
lease.
9
The submerged land is being run as
a
10 commercial marina, ninety
percent open to
the
11 public on a
first-come-first-served
basis.
12 Portions being used are not
within the area
of
13 the original waiver of deed
restrictions.
14
The City additionally thought that a
1974
15 final judgment and
condemnation, between
the
16 City and Grove Marine
Properties, had given
the
17 City the property full and
clear
including
18 waiver of the deed
restrictions.
19
It's a bit complicated, and I'm going
to
20 have somebody explain to
you. There
are
21 different parcels involved
in this. Why
don't
22 we have the City explain to
you why they
feel
23 the good cause real quickly
here.
24
CFO GALLAGHER: Eva, do we have
speakers
25 other than the
City?
.
183
1
MS. ARMSTRONG: Not as many, but we do
have
2
speakers.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: Not as many, so the answer
is
4
yes?
5
MS. ARMSTRONG:
Yes.
6
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Well, now that I
did
7 this once, after 57 years, I
kind of lost
my
8 virginity, I can do it
again, right? Second
time
9 around is a little bit
better.
10
THE GOVERNOR: Technical
term.
11
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Technical terms,
of
12 course.
Yes.
13
Well, thank you for allowing me to
do
14 this, and we understand and
appreciate
your
15 patience. Our request
is to amend a waiver
of
16 deed restrictions
previously approved by
the
17 Board of Trustees to the
International
18 Improvement Trust Fund to
include
additional
19 land that is within the
submerged land
area
20 conveyed to the City by the
State in 1949.
21
Let me explain to you how the error
was
22 discovered. The
trustees previously approved
a
23 waiver of deed restriction
for a portion of
the
24 submerged land leased by
the City to
Grove
25 Marina
Market.
.
184
1
During the refinancing of
the
2 leaseholder's interest,
Grove Marina
Market
3 discovered that the dock
that lies within
the
4 waiver area actually extends
beyond the
land
5 legally described in the
waiver.
6
As a result, city staff contacted DEP
to
7 have the waiver amended to
include
the
8 additional land.
During the time we
were
9 seeking the amendment
waived, DEP's
staff
10 questioned the ownership of
another portion
of
11 the submerged land lease to
GMM commonly
known
12 as parcels 2 and
A2.
13
We advised DEP that we owned it
pursuant
14 to the condemnation of the
land in 1974.
15 Regardless, we asked our
counsel to review
the
16 matter, and they concluded
that the City
owned
17 it pursuant to the trust's
deed and not
18 pursuant to the
condemnation case within
a
19 request with DEP to include
parcels 2 and
A2.
20
Based upon our original conversation
with
21 DEP, we understand the
amendment waiver
would
22 be approved
administratively. DEP staff
and
23 the City worked diligently
to have the
item
24 executed prior to the end
of June.
25
This would allow Grove Marina to
finalize
.
185
1 its closing on the sale of
the
leasehold
2 interest in July. On
June 14th, we
learned
3 that the matter had to be
presented to
the
4 Trustees for
approval.
5
To delay the hearing on this matter
until
6 August would create an
extreme hardship on
all
7 the parties. The
business property that
we're
8 speaking about has suffered
tremendous
losses
9 since 9/11 like all the
restaurants in
Coconut
10
Grove.
11
And we are now looking at the Grove
Marina
12 Market that is running --
that's got back
taxes
13 from 2002, 2003, and four
months late on
the
14 payment. We have a
willing buyer, a
willing
15 buyer that's willing to
come in and invest
a
16 lot of money and fix this
property.
17
The contract is based -- it expires
in
18 30 days from the date they
completed the
due
19 diligence. There are
extensive costs in
this
20 due diligence process, and
they're not going
to
21 go forward until we give
them the
approval.
22
THE GOVERNOR: All
right.
23
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Waiver
approval
24 results in hardship.
The contract for
sale
25 requires back rent and
taxes to be paid by
the
.
186
1 buyer. Delay in
approving this item will
result
2 in due diligence not
--
3
THE COURT REPORTER: You need to slow
down,
4
please.
5
THE GOVERNOR: Hold on. There's no
possible
6 way that she can type
that.
7
CITY MANAGER ARRIOLA: Okay. Well, you
said
8 fast, so -- in other words,
our choice is
either
9 we do this for them and let
them sell the
10 property, or the City takes
over -- forecloses
the
11 property, takes it over,
spends two years with
an
12 abandoned piece of
property.
13
By the time we do our fee and our --
it's
14 just not making any -- it
doesn't make
any
15 sense, and we lose a lot of
money.
16
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. Thank
you.
17
CFO GALLAGHER: Okay, Governor. I'll
move
18 Item
16.
19
THE GOVERNOR: Is there a
second?
20
(No response.)
21
THE GOVERNOR: How can I second
it?
22
CFO GALLAGHER: Turn it over to the
General.
23
THE GOVERNOR: I'm going to turn the
chair
24 over to you. Oh, are
you seconding?
25
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
.
187
1
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. There's a motion and
a
2 second. Any other
discussion?
3
(No
response.)
4
THE GOVERNOR: All in favor say
aye.
5
(Affirmative
response.)
6
THE GOVERNOR: All
opposed?
7
COMMISSIONER BRONSON:
No.
8
THE GOVERNOR: You're a
no?
9
COMMISSIONER BRONSON: I'm a
no.
10
THE GOVERNOR:
Okay.
11
MS. ARMSTRONG: That concludes our
agenda,
12
sir.
13
THE GOVERNOR: Thank you, Eva. Tell
Colleen
14 that we look forward to
seeing her in
August.
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
188
1
THE GOVERNOR: Okay. State Board
of
2
Administration.
3
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes
of
4 May
25th.
5
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
6
MR. STIPANOVICH: Item Number 2, approval
of
7 fiscal sufficiency of amount
not
exceeding
8 $300 million State of
Florida full faith in
--
9
THE GOVERNOR: I'm sorry. I apologize
for
10 calling it. Thank
you-all for coming. There
was
11 a motion and a second on
Item 1.
Without
12 objection, the item
passes. Item
2.
13
MR. STIPANOVICH: Item 2, Governor,
approval
14 of fiscal sufficiency of an
amount not
exceeding
15 $300 million State of
Florida, full faith
and
16 credit, Department of
Transportation
right-of-way
17 acquisition bridge
construction
bonds.
18
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
2.
19
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
20
THE GOVERNOR: There's a motion and a
second.
21 Without objection, the item
passes.
22
MR. STIPANOVICH: Item 3 requests approval
of
23 fiscal sufficiency of an
amount not
exceeding
24 $21,495,000
--
25
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Motion.
.
189
1
MR. STIPANOVICH: -- State of Florida,
full
2 faith and credit, State of
Florida of
Education
3 capital outlay
bonds.
4
CFO GALLAGHER:
Second.
5
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
6 objection, the item
passes.
7
MR. STIPANOVICH: Item 4 is
requesting
8 approval to file rules that
we brought to you
that
9 we discussed in terms of the
legislation that
you
10 signed, Governor.
This is rulemaking following
up
11 this legislation having to
do with the
defined
12 contribution program as
well as some
--
13
CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on
4.
14
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
15
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
16 objection, the item
passes.
17
MR. STIPANOVICH: Item 5 is the
Florida
18 Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
requesting that
the
19 Trustees approve filing
--
20
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
21
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
22
THE GOVERNOR: We have a motion and a
second.
23 Without objection, the item
passes. Thank
you,
24
Coleman.
25
MR. STIPANOVICH: We've got one more
item,
.
190
1 Governor. Item Number
6.
2
THE GOVERNOR: I was following
the
3 Treasurer's lead
there.
4
CFO GALLAGHER: Well, I don't have a 6.
Oh,
5 now I do have a
6.
6
THE GOVERNOR: What is Item
6?
7
MR. STIPANOVICH: Item 6 is the
appointment
8 of chair, an annual action
that you take,
an
9 appointment of chair to the
Florida Commission
on
10 Hurricane Protection and
Methodology. It
is
11 recommended that Bob Ricker
be --
12
CFO GALLAGHER:
Motion.
13
ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIST:
Second.
14
THE GOVERNOR: Moved and seconded.
Without
15 objection, the item
passes.
16
MR. STIPANOVICH: Thank
you.
17
THE GOVERNOR: Thank
you.
18
(Cabinet meeting concluded at 1:05
p.m.)
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
.
191
1
REPORTER'S
CERTIFICATE
2
3
4
5 STATE OF
FLORIDA
6 COUNTY OF
ALACHUA
7
8
I, NANCY P. VETTERICK, RPR, Court
Reporter,
9 certify that I was authorized to and
did
10 stenographically report the proceedings herein,
and
11 that the transcript is a true and complete record of
my
12 stenographic
notes.
13
I further certify that I am not a
relative,
14 employee, attorney or counsel of any of the
parties,
15 nor am I a relative or employee of any of the
parties'
16 attorney or counsel connected with the action, nor am
I
17 financially interested in the
action.
18
WITNESS my hand and official seal this
3rd
19 day of July,
2004.
20
21
______________________________
22
NANCY P. VETTERICK,
RPR
22
2894-A REMINGTON GREEN
LANE
23
TALLAHASSEE, FL
32608
23
(850) 878-2221
24
25
.
Cabinet
Affairs
