1

2 T H E C A B I N E T

3 S T A T E O F F L O R I D A

4

Representing:

5

STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION

6 DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

7 ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

BOARD OF TRUSTEES, INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUND

8

9 The above agencies came to be heard before

THE FLORIDA CABINET, Honorable Governor Chiles

10 presiding, in the Cabinet Meeting Room, LL-03,

The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday,

11 April 14, 1998, commencing at approximately

12:55 p.m.

12

13

14

15

16 Reported by:

17 LAURIE L. GILBERT

Registered Professional Reporter

18 Certified Court Reporter

Certified Realtime Reporter

19 Notary Public in and for

the State of Florida at Large

20

21

22

23 ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

100 SALEM COURT

24 TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32301

850/878-2221

25

2

1 APPEARANCES:

2 Representing the Florida Cabinet:

3 LAWTON CHILES

Governor

4

BOB CRAWFORD

5 Commissioner of Agriculture

6 BOB MILLIGAN

Comptroller

7

SANDRA B. MORTHAM

8 Secretary of State

9 BOB BUTTERWORTH

Attorney General

10

BILL NELSON

11 Treasurer

12 FRANK T. BROGAN

Commissioner of Education

13

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ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

April 14, 1998

3

1 I N D E X

2 ITEM ACTION PAGE

3 NOTE: This Agenda Item was

Transcribed from Audio Tape.

4

STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION:

5 (Presented by Tom Herndon,

Executive Director)

6

1 Approved 5

7 2 Approved 5

8 NOTE: This Agenda Item was

Transcribed from Audio Tape.

9

DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE:

10 (Presented by J. Timothy Tinsley,

Manager of Bond Programs)

11

1 Approved 8

12 2 Approved 9

13 NOTE: This Agenda Item was

Transcribed from Audio Tape.

14

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION:

15 (Presented by Robert L. Bedford, Ph.D.,

Deputy Commissioner)

16

1 Approved 10

17 2 Approved 12

3 Approved 13

18 4 Approved 13

5 Approved 13

19 6 Approved 13

20 ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION:

(Presented by Robert B. Bradley, Ph.D.,

21 Secretary)

22 1 Approved 16

2 Approved 16

23 3 Approved 17

4 Approved 17

24 5 Approved 17

6 Approved 18

25 7 Approved 18

8 Approved 27

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

April 14, 1998

4

1 I N D E X

(Continued)

2

ITEM ACTION PAGE

3 BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT

4 TRUST FUND:

(Presented by Virginia B. Wetherell,

5 Secretary)

6 1 Approved 28

2 Approved 28

7 3 Approved 28

4 Approved 28

8 5 Approved 29

6 Approved 29

9 7 Approved 29

8 Approved 30

10 9 Approved 30

10 Approved 30

11 11 Approved 30

12 Approved 31

12 13 Informational Item 31

14 Approved 107

13 15 Approved 151

14 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER 152

15 *

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ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION

April 14, 1998

5

1 P R O C E E D I N G S

2 (The following was transcribed from the

3 audio recording.)

4 GOVERNOR CHILES: And now we'll start with

5 State Board of Administration.

6 MR. HERNDON: Item number 1 is approval of

7 the minutes of the meeting held on March 24th,

8 1998.

9 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: I move the minutes.

10 TREASURER NELSON: And I second it.

11 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

12 Without objection, the minutes are adopted

13 as read.

14 MR. HERNDON: Item number 2 is approval of

15 fiscal sufficiency for a 245 million dollar

16 State of Florida, Orlando-Orange County

17 Expressway Authority bond issue.

18 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: And I move Item 2.

19 TREASURER NELSON: Second.

20 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

21 Without objection, Item 2 --

22 MR. HERNDON: That completes --

23 GOVERNOR CHILES: -- is adopted.

24 MR. HERNDON: -- the agenda.

25 Thank you.

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION

April 14, 1998

6

1 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you, sir.

2 (The State Board of Administration Agenda

3 was concluded.)

4 *

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ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE

April 14, 1998

7

1 GOVERNOR CHILES: What time do we need to

2 do it? Quarter till?

3 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: 11:00.

4 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: It starts at

5 11:00 o'clock.

6 GOVERNOR CHILES: It starts at 11:00?

7 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: 11:00 is the

8 service.

9 GOVERNOR CHILES: What?

10 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: 11:00 o'clock.

11 GOVERNOR CHILES: Yeah. What do you think,

12 about 5 minutes?

13 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: We've got another

14 5 minutes anyway.

15 GOVERNOR CHILES: About 5 minutes.

16 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Yeah.

17 GOVERNOR CHILES: Yeah.

18 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Twenty of.

19 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: The problem is, you

20 don't -- you don't have a stenographer.

21 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Oh, yeah. By the

22 way, you don't a stenographer.

23 SECRETARY MORTHAM: We've got -- we've got

24 it going on --

25 GOVERNOR CHILES: Pardon?

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE

April 14, 1998

8

1 SECRETARY MORTHAM: -- Internet.

2 It's on the Internet.

3 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: It on the Internet?

4 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Yeah.

5 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Is this a new

6 system?

7 GOVERNOR CHILES: Division of Bond Finance.

8 SECRETARY MORTHAM: We've been doing it.

9 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: No, I meant not

10 having a stenographer.

11 SECRETARY MORTHAM: We've got it both ways.

12 MR. FUCHS: It's being recorded. It's

13 okay.

14 GOVERNOR CHILES: Oh, it's being recorded.

15 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Yeah.

16 MR. TINSLEY: Item 1 is approval of minutes

17 of the meeting March 24th.

18 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Motion.

19 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: Second.

20 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

21 Without objection, it's adopted.

22 MR. TINSLEY: Item number 2 is adoption of

23 resolutions authorizing the issuance and

24 negotiated sale of not exceeding 245 million

25 dollars, Orlando-Orange County Expressway

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE

April 14, 1998

9

1 Authority Revenue Bonds.

2 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: Move approval.

3 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

4 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

5 Without objection, that's approved as

6 read.

7 (The Division of Bond Finance Agenda was

8 concluded.)

9 *

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ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

April 14, 1998

10

1 GOVERNOR CHILES: State Board of Education.

2 DR. BEDFORD: Governor Chiles,

3 Commissioner Brogan, members of the State Board

4 of Education, good morning.

5 Item 1, minutes of the meeting held

6 February 24th, 1998.

7 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: So move.

8 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Second.

9 DR. BEDFORD: Item 2, recommendations for

10 the Florida Education Standards Commission on

11 self-reporting of arrests and convictions by

12 educators.

13 I have with me in the audience

14 Dr. Bill Proctor, the Vice-Chair of the

15 Education Standards Commission, and President of

16 Flagler -- excuse me -- President of

17 Flagler College, if you have any questions.

18 GOVERNOR CHILES: Let the record show that

19 the minutes were adopted with motion and

20 seconded as read.

21 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: I'll move Item 2,

22 Governor.

23 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: And I'll second.

24 TREASURER NELSON: I have a question on

25 Item 2.

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

April 14, 1998

11

1 If it is --

2 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

3 TREASURER NELSON: -- if -- Governor, if

4 the recommendations require the self-reporting

5 of arrests and convictions, and if there is --

6 if a teacher fails to disclose a misdemeanor

7 conviction, is it grounds for termination?

8 DR. PROCTOR: There would be grounds for

9 consideration of the Practice Commission for a

10 violation of the principle, yes, sir.

11 Now, what the Commission might determine on

12 that, I don't know.

13 TREASURER NELSON: All right. Well, the

14 next logical question is: Well, what about a

15 minor traffic violation? Does a teacher have to

16 report that?

17 DR. PROCTOR: No, sir. That's explicit in

18 the language, and we took that language from the

19 statute, and from the certification material

20 that the teacher files every five years.

21 Technically all this does is move the

22 reporting period up, because every five years a

23 teacher applies for recertification, and that

24 language is there.

25 TREASURER NELSON: Okay. And -- and if

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

April 14, 1998

12

1 you'd take it on from there. For example,

2 driving with a suspended license and so forth,

3 at some point it activates your requirement that

4 they have to report it.

5 DR. PROCTOR: Yes, sir. When it gets to

6 the point -- there's two reporting conditions.

7 One is on child abuse or an offense involving

8 drugs. That requires immediate. That's the

9 first part of the rule -- proposed rule.

10 Second part is language that we drew from

11 the certification requirement. The difference

12 it does, it makes the reporting immediate rather

13 than a five-year delay, so that the school

14 district will have knowledge of a felony charge

15 after it has been adjudicated.

16 TREASURER NELSON: Okay. Thank you.

17 GOVERNOR CHILES: All right. It's been

18 moved and seconded.

19 Without objection, it's approved.

20 DR. BEDFORD: Item 3, Rule 6A-4.00821,

21 Amendment to Florida Education Leadership

22 Examination.

23 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: Move approval.

24 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

25 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

April 14, 1998

13

1 Without objection, it's approved.

2 DR. BEDFORD: Item 4, Rule 6A-6.03019,

3 Amendment, Special Instruction Programs for

4 Students who are Gifted.

5 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: Move approval.

6 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

7 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

8 Without objection, that's approved.

9 DR. BEDFORD: Item 5, repeal of rules in

10 accordance with Chapter 120. We would request

11 repeal of 6A-1.0442, 6A-1.092, 6A-6.009,

12 6A-6.013, 6A-6.0712, 6A-6.073, 6A-6.074,

13 6A-6.075.

14 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

15 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: Second.

16 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

17 Without objection, it's approved.

18 DR. BEDFORD: Item 6, appointment to the

19 Florida Community College at Jacksonville Board

20 of Trustees. The appointee is Joseph S. Bryan,

21 Jr., for a term that will expire May 31st, 1998.

22 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

23 COMMISSIONER BROGAN: Second.

24 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

25 Without objection, that's approved.

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

April 14, 1998

14

1 DR. BEDFORD: Thank you.

2 TREASURER NELSON: Governor --

3 GOVERNOR CHILES: Yes.

4 TREASURER NELSON: -- back on Item 2. I

5 don't think that the Commission has clarified so

6 that it will be clear in the minds of teachers

7 what a minor traffic violation is.

8 The answer that I had was, well, the -- the

9 Commission or Standards Commission will decide

10 this. I'd like to have some further

11 clarification on that, please.

12 Has it been defined as what a minor traffic

13 violation is so that a teacher will know if

14 they, or if they do not, have to report it?

15 DR. PROCTOR: In the Florida Statutes on

16 Chapter 231 -- Chapter 231.28(1) --

17 parenthesis (1), parenthesis (e), we took that

18 language: Has been convicted of a misdemeanor,

19 felony, or any other criminal charge other than

20 a minor traffic violation.

21 I don't know how that is legally defined,

22 but the language comes from the statute, and we

23 assume that there is some court case that

24 defines that.

25 TREASURER NELSON: Okay. I think we need

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

April 14, 1998

15

1 some crispness there. Because what you're --

2 what you're doing is you're hanging a lot of

3 teachers' careers out there on whether they

4 report or whether they don't report. And what

5 you just said sounds to me like a huge

6 ambiguity, and it needs some definition.

7 DR. PROCTOR: Yes, sir. I understand

8 that. We drew the language from the statute,

9 and we'd be glad to do that. That can be done.

10 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you.

11 We'll recess now.

12 (The State Board of Education Agenda was

13 concluded.)

14 (Recess.)

15 (The transcription from audio tape is

16 concluded.)

17 *

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ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

16

1 (The agenda items commenced at 12:55 p.m. )

2 (Commissioner Brogan,

3 Commissioner Crawford, and Treasurer Nelson were

4 not present.)

5 GOVERNOR CHILES: Administrative

6 Commission.

7 Reconvene our meeting, and now hear from

8 the Administrative Commission.

9 DR. BRADLEY: Item number 1, recommend

10 approval of the minutes for the meeting held

11 March 24th, 1998.

12 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

13 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Second.

14 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

15 Without objection, they're approved.

16 DR. BRADLEY: Item number 2, recommend

17 approval of the transfer of general revenue

18 appropriations for the Agency for

19 Health Care Administration.

20 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

21 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Second.

22 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

23 Without objection, that's approved.

24 DR. BRADLEY: Item number 3, recommend

25 approval of the transfer of general revenue

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

17

1 appropriations for the Agency for

2 Health Care Administration, the Department of

3 Children and Families.

4 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

5 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Second.

6 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

7 Without objection, that's approved.

8 DR. BRADLEY: Item number 4, recommend

9 approval of the transfer of general revenue

10 appropriations for the Department of Education.

11 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

12 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Second.

13 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Second.

14 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

15 Without objection, that's approved.

16 DR. BRADLEY: Item number 5, recommend

17 approval of Items A. and B. for the Justice

18 Administration Commission.

19 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

20 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Second.

21 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

22 Without objection, that's approved.

23 DR. BRADLEY: Item number 6, recommend

24 approval of the transfer of general revenue

25 appropriations for the Department of

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

18

1 Transportation.

2 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

3 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Second.

4 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Second.

5 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

6 Without objection, that's approved.

7 DR. BRADLEY: Item number 7, request

8 authorization to enter the draft order granting

9 the exception of the South Florida Water

10 Management District regarding general permits,

11 and defer consideration of the exceptions filed

12 regarding emergency oral variances.

13 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Motion.

14 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and --

15 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

16 GOVERNOR CHILES: -- seconded.

17 Without objection, it's approved.

18 DR. BRADLEY: Item number 8. This is

19 request authorization to enter the amended draft

20 letter. We have some speakers on this item.

21 Let me first introduce Lee Atkinson,

22 representing Peter and Roy Geraci.

23 Each -- each speaker will have 5 minutes,

24 Governor.

25 GOVERNOR CHILES: All right, sir.

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

19

1 MR. ATKINSON: Good afternoon, Governor,

2 members of the Administration Commission. My

3 name is Lee Atkinson of Tew, Zinober, Barnes,

4 Zimmet & Unice, a Clearwater law firm. I have

5 with me Nick and Peter Geraci, and George Brown,

6 who is President of Advanced Leasing. We're

7 involved in the plans to develop this property,

8 and the Geracis are the owners.

9 At the Cabinet Aides meeting last week, I

10 was asked why we had filed this Notice and why

11 we were here. We're here to ask you to stand

12 for the hard right against the easy wrong.

13 We filed this Notice, and are here because

14 Florida Statute 163.3161(9), in the introduction

15 to the Growth Management Act, contains the

16 Legislature's specific intent that all

17 government entities in this state recognize and

18 respect constitutionally protected private

19 property rights. And that all rules,

20 ordinances, regulations, and programs adopted

21 under the authority of the Act must be

22 developed, promulgated, implemented, and applied

23 with sensitivity for private property rights,

24 and not be unduly restrictive.

25 And we're here because these people,

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

20

1 citizens of the state of Florida, have a right

2 to see if this body, the Governor and Cabinet

3 sitting as the Administration Commission, is

4 going to do what the Legislature admonished them

5 in that statute to do, and protect their private

6 property rights; rights the DCA and

7 Hillsborough County refused to even acknowledge,

8 let alone protect.

9 And we've chosen this vehicle, this Notice

10 of Intent, pursuant to Chapter 120, because in

11 every other forum we have appeared, in every

12 other place we have tried to vindicate these

13 citizens' rights, the DCA and the County has

14 taken the position that there was no settlement

15 agreement which resulted in your final order

16 resolving the Comprehensive Plan challenge to

17 the Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan.

18 Or if there was a settlement agreement, we

19 were neither parties to it, nor intended

20 beneficiaries of the deal.

21 Because they continue to maintain that the

22 Administration Commission's final order as to

23 the land use designation to be given this piece

24 of property, which we were asked by you and your

25 staff to consent to, and which we did consent

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

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1 to, is no more than a recommendation and need

2 not have been, in fact, placed on the property.

3 And we're here because Florida Statute

4 120.69(1) clearly gives us standing as

5 interested persons to enforce your order, if you

6 will not do so, but requires us to give you the

7 opportunity to fix this wrong first.

8 So that's why we're here.

9 We're here because we need to hear you tell

10 us, sitting as the Administration Commission, we

11 need to hear you tell us you're sorry that we

12 thought we had a deal. We're here to have you

13 tell us you're sorry we thought it would be fair

14 to give us what you asked us to agree to.

15 We are here to have you tell us that --

16 that we misunderstood when Tom Reese, on behalf

17 of the Sierra Club on December 14th, 1993, told

18 you that this final order was the result of a

19 settlement agreement he had negotiated with

20 private property owners who were not parties to

21 the actual Sierra Club challenge; to tell us we

22 misunderstood Mr. Rhodes, our own attorney, when

23 he told you that in these negotiations, we have

24 agreed with the DCA, and with the Administration

25 staff, and with the County to cut in half the

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

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1 allowed intensity for this particular project,

2 and reduce the intensity of development that

3 would be permitted.

4 We're here for you to have us -- to tell us

5 that Lynn Muller was misunderstood, by you and

6 by us, when she said on the record at that

7 hearing, the County proposed, and the Department

8 accepted, a 50 percent reduction in the

9 intensity. The Department believes that this

10 reduction in intensity is supported by data and

11 analysis, and it allows the County sufficient

12 flexibility to make their local zoning

13 decisions.

14 Ladies and gentlemen, the end, this is a

15 simple matter. It's a matter of equity. It's a

16 matter of fundamental fairness. It's a matter

17 of honor. It's a matter of following the

18 dictates of the legislation as they spelled out

19 in the Growth Management Act that that Act was

20 to be applied with some respect for private

21 property rights. It's about paying more than

22 lip service to the protection of those private

23 property rights.

24 The County and the DCA and the

25 Administration Commission staff can suggest to

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

23

1 you a myriad of reasons not to do the right

2 thing here. The Geracis can arguably be hoisted

3 on a number of procedural petards, they can be

4 left to their appellate or Circuit Court

5 remedies, or they can be granted the benefit of

6 the bargain that they thought they had made with

7 the State of Florida through its Governor and

8 Cabinet.

9 We ask you simply and straightforwardly, on

10 the basis of the various matters we have filed,

11 to keep the promise that was made to the Geracis

12 by the DCA, by Hillsborough County, and ratified

13 by the Administration Commission. Restore their

14 faith in government. Say you meant it when you

15 ordered the land --

16 (Commissioner Crawford entered the room.)

17 MR. ATKINSON: -- designation for this

18 property; enforce that final order, however you

19 have to do it, whatever the consequences.

20 Because to do anything else is less than fair,

21 and is not reasonable.

22 Do you have any questions?

23 GOVERNOR CHILES: Any questions?

24 I don't think so.

25 MR. ATKINSON: Thank you for your time.

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

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1 DR. BRADLEY: Next we have Ray Allen,

2 Assistant County Attorney from

3 Hillsborough County.

4 MR. ALLEN: Governor, members of the

5 Cabinet, Ray Allen, Senior Assistant County

6 Attorney with Hillsborough County.

7 Today I have with me Gordon Schiff with the

8 firm of Macfarlane, Ferguson in Tampa, and also

9 Nancy Linnan of the firm of Carlton, Fields here

10 in Tallahassee.

11 Very briefly, we have attended the

12 Cabinet Aides' meeting, we have talked to staff,

13 we have read the amended draft letter that was

14 dated April the 14th of '98 which very simply

15 states that the County was consistent with the

16 final order dated December the 16th, 1993, and

17 it's unnecessary for the Commission to take any

18 action to enforce the final order.

19 We agree with that letter, we agree with

20 position of staff. We think it's the only right

21 position. We do not like -- we do not feel that

22 the Administration Commission was able to bind

23 the County through the final order that the

24 Geracis are attempting to bootstrap themselves

25 to.

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

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1 We think it's very clear that that final

2 order was merely guidance to the County. If you

3 will, it was a bar, and if the data and analysis

4 that they were reviewing at the time, and

5 reviewed after that final order supported a

6 different land use on the property, that that

7 was the land use that was to be placed upon the

8 property. That, in fact, is what the County did

9 after numerous public hearings, public input.

10 We designated the -- the land use on the

11 property; it came back to the Department of

12 Community Affairs, met with their approval; went

13 back for a final adoption by the County; and

14 came back to DCA. That's when one of six

15 lawsuits were filed in this matter.

16 We are fighting on a number of different

17 fronts the Geracis. The County has spent a lot

18 of time and effort. We believe that it is the

19 policy of this Commission, we believe it is the

20 law of this state that local government should

21 designate its own land uses.

22 Locally, they should have the prerogative

23 as to what they do locally. We have just

24 completed a two-week hearing as to whether the

25 1994 comp plan amendments were consistent with

ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION

April 14, 1998

26

1 the -- Chapter 163. We believe that the County

2 will prevail in that action. That action will

3 come back before this Governor and Cabinet.

4 We feel that the position that the staff

5 has taken and the letter in response to this

6 16-- 120 process that the Geracis have started

7 now is the appropriate position to take.

8 We will defend -- at a later date, we feel

9 that there will be lawsuits filed out of this

10 matter. We feel that we can defend them, and we

11 think that this is the correct process, and the

12 correct position for the Commission to take at

13 this time.

14 If there are any questions, I'll be happy

15 to answer them, if I can.

16 GOVERNOR CHILES: Are there any questions?

17 Don't seem to be.

18 DR. BRADLEY: Stephanie Kruer, who's the

19 General Counsel from DCA, is available for

20 questions. But she doesn't need to speak.

21 They're in favor of the staff recommendation.

22 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: I move staff

23 recommendation, Governor.

24 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: And I'll second.

25 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded on the

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1 staff recommendation.

2 Is there discussion?

3 So many as favor the staff designation --

4 or recommendation, signify by saying aye.

5 THE CABINET: Aye.

6 GOVERNOR CHILES: Opposed, no.

7 Staff recommendation is approved.

8 DR. BRADLEY: That's it.

9 (The Administration Commission Agenda was

10 concluded.)

11 *

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

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1 GOVERNOR CHILES: Board of Trustees.

2 MS. WETHERELL: Item 1 is minutes.

3 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: I move the minutes.

4 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and --

5 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

6 GOVERNOR CHILES: -- seconded.

7 Without objection, the minutes are adopted.

8 MS. WETHERELL: Item 2 are three purchase

9 agreements for the Belle Meade CARL project.

10 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

11 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

12 Without objection, they're approved.

13 MS. WETHERELL: Item 3 are thirteen option

14 agreements for Corkscrew Ecosystem CARL project.

15 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

16 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Second.

17 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

18 Without objection, that's approved.

19 MS. WETHERELL: Item 4 is an option

20 agreement for Rookery Bay CARL project.

21 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Move approval.

22 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

23 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

24 Without objection, it's approved.

25 MS. WETHERELL: Item 5 is an option

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1 agreement for Grayton Beach Recreation and Parks

2 Addition, and a waiver of survey.

3 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Move approval.

4 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

5 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

6 Without objection, it's approved.

7 MS. WETHERELL: Item 6 is an option

8 agreement for North Peninsular Recreation and

9 Parks Inholdings, and a waiver of marketability

10 of title.

11 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

12 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Second.

13 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

14 Without objection, it's approved.

15 MS. WETHERELL: Item 7 is a purchase

16 agreement for FSU.

17 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

18 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Second.

19 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

20 Without objection, that's approved.

21 MS. WETHERELL: Item 8 is a purchase

22 agreement for the Department of Agriculture.

23 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

24 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Second.

25 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

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1 Without objection, it's approved.

2 MS. WETHERELL: Item 9 is a purchase

3 agreement for the Department of

4 Management Services.

5 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Move approval.

6 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

7 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

8 Without objection, it's approved.

9 MS. WETHERELL: Item 10 is an authorization

10 to encumber parcels of State-owned lands for the

11 receipt of Federal money.

12 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

13 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Second.

14 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

15 Without objection, it's approved.

16 MS. WETHERELL: Item 11 is an oil and gas

17 lease.

18 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Move approval.

19 GOVERNOR CHILES: Is there a second?

20 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Second.

21 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

22 Without objection, it's approved.

23 MS. WETHERELL: Item 12 is the modification

24 of a submerged land lease to make it a 20-year

25 extended term lease.

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1 COMPTROLLER MILLIGAN: Move approval.

2 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Second.

3 GOVERNOR CHILES: Moved and seconded.

4 Without objection, it's approved.

5 MS. WETHERELL: Okay. Item 13, City of

6 Punta Gorda conveyance.

7 Governor, there are numerous speakers.

8 This is the item that you have conceptually

9 approved in the past. We've had a request of

10 two Cabinet offices to bring this back today to

11 have an opportunity for some public input, and

12 the Agency is hoping that at the end of that,

13 you will give us whatever direction you wish so

14 that we can proceed --

15 (Commissioner Brogan entered the room.)

16 MS. WETHERELL: -- one way or the other.

17 We have 22 people wishing to speak today.

18 Given your permission, I will begin.

19 We will ask people to limit their time

20 to -- they've asked for 3 minutes, except the

21 elected officials have asked for a little bit

22 more time per person.

23 GOVERNOR CHILES: Three minutes for

24 22 people?

25 MS. WETHERELL: Yes, sir. That's what

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1 they've requested.

2 GOVERNOR CHILES: Pardon?

3 MS. WETHERELL: Per person.

4 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: That's --

5 GOVERNOR CHILES: Pardon?

6 MS. WETHERELL: Per person.

7 ATTORNEY GENERAL BUTTERWORTH: Each.

8 GOVERNOR CHILES: You mean 3 minutes

9 each --

10 MS. WETHERELL: Yes, sir.

11 GOVERNOR CHILES: -- for 22 people?

12 MS. WETHERELL: Yes, sir.

13 GOVERNOR CHILES: I would hope that we'd be

14 able to consolidate that, that either everybody

15 could not speak, or they'd designate some

16 speakers.

17 MS. WETHERELL: What we normally do, as

18 you know, is to set a time, and it's usually

19 around 30 minutes. But I'll do whatever y'all

20 wish. But if you'd like to limit it to

21 30 minutes --

22 GOVERNOR CHILES: Well, I know people have

23 come from a long ways. And we certainly want to

24 give them an adequate opportunity to be heard.

25 But it would seem like if -- if we could --

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1 let's grant 45 minutes to the -- the people that

2 wish to be heard, the numerous people.

3 MS. WETHERELL: All right.

4 GOVERNOR CHILES: And then --

5 MS. WETHERELL: Well --

6 GOVERNOR CHILES: -- maybe the other side

7 can confine themselves to short of that time. I

8 would hope that they could.

9 MS. WETHERELL: All right. Well, we've got

10 six opponents who wish to speak, and then

11 16 proponents. So do you want to divide that

12 time in half, is that what you're suggesting per

13 side?

14 GOVERNOR CHILES: There are pro-- how many,

15 16 proponents?

16 MS. WETHERELL: We have 16 proponents, and

17 six opponents. Do you wish to equally divide

18 the time?

19 GOVERNOR CHILES: There are only

20 six opponents. I thought you said there were

21 22 people that --

22 MS. WETHERELL: Total. Twenty-two who wish

23 to speak on this item.

24 GOVERNOR CHILES: Pardon?

25 MS. WETHERELL: Twenty-two people in

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1 total --

2 GOVERNOR CHILES: Oh --

3 MS. WETHERELL: -- who wish to speak.

4 GOVERNOR CHILES: -- in total.

5 MS. WETHERELL: Yes, sir.

6 GOVERNOR CHILES: In total.

7 MS. WETHERELL: Yes, sir.

8 GOVERNOR CHILES: Sixteen people want to

9 speak --

10 MS. WETHERELL: -- against the project,

11 and --

12 Excuse me. Proponents. I'm sorry. I've

13 said it so many times, I'm confused.

14 There are 16 proponents and six opponents

15 who wish to speak. So that is 22 people.

16 Would you wish to ask everybody to limit

17 their time to maybe 2 minutes a person, and

18 maybe we can get through it that way?

19 GOVERNOR CHILES: Let's try to do it at

20 2 minutes --

21 MS. WETHERELL: All right.

22 GOVERNOR CHILES: -- a person.

23 MS. WETHERELL: If that's okay with the

24 Cabinet, then we'll proceed that way.

25 And we'll call first on Paul Johnson, then

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1 George Lynch, and George Mitchell. I'll call

2 three at a time to save a little bit of time.

3 If you don't mind stating your name.

4 MR. JOHNSON: For the record, Paul Johnson,

5 resident of Punta Gorda.

6 Governor Chiles, members of the Cabinet,

7 ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Johnson,

8 and I'm a resident of Punta Gorda, Florida. I'm

9 here today to urge the Cabinet to focus on

10 protecting the public's right to use and enjoy

11 valuable waterfront land that belongs to the

12 State.

13 No doubt you'll hear a convincing

14 presentation from a paid lobbyist, some City

15 officials, and various members of the public.

16 They will insist that you honor your commitment

17 to the -- to Punta Gorda Community Redevelopment

18 Agency, and their one-sided agreement with

19 New Orleans developer David Waltemath.

20 Please don't be intimidated, and don't buy

21 into scare tactics from the pro-development --

22 excuse me -- pro-development side that

23 threaten. If the State does not sell the land

24 to the CRA, the developer will build his condos

25 on land now slated to be public -- to be public

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1 park.

2 That just isn't true. These people are

3 marvelous spin doctors. Unfortunately, they're

4 long on spin and short on truth.

5 Most of you are aware that a previous

6 presentation made by the City's planning

7 director, Bob Johns, wasn't entirely accurate.

8 The sliver of land he referred to as being

9 insignificant was far from insignificant. It's

10 the reason we're here today.

11 And quite possibly it's the reason why

12 Mr. Johns has tendered his resignation and taken

13 a position in another city.

14 And just maybe it has something to do with

15 the City Attorney's recent announcement that he

16 plans to enter private practice later this

17 month.

18 I find these two occurrences curious, and

19 not coincidental. Why all of a sudden are these

20 pro-development cheerleaders bailing out? And

21 who's next?

22 Maybe it's because the State's Attorney's

23 Office is about to refer some of their

24 questionable behavior to a grand jury. Or it

25 may be the fact that both local newspapers, the

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1 Charlotte Sun Herald, and the Sarasota Herald

2 Tribune; plus the chairman of the legislative

3 delegation; the leadership of both political

4 parties; and judging from recent election

5 returns, between 60 and 72 percent of the

6 electorate are about to rain on their parade.

7 The operative question might be, why are

8 all these diverse entities in alliance on this

9 single issue. Well, it isn't a long story, but

10 it began shortly after the CRA was formed.

11 In the beginning, the Agency spent nearly a

12 half million dollars in attorney fees to

13 negotiate a development agreement, and

14 subsequently a revision to that agreement.

15 There was little public concern about either --

16 either of those agreements. However, when the

17 CRA decided to negotiate a third agreement, for

18 unknown reasons, they decided not to seek

19 professional negotiating assistance.

20 Instead, they sent an inexperienced

21 manager -- City Manager, the City Attorney, and

22 the City planner to New Orleans to handle

23 sensitive negotiations with the developer. Not

24 only were those negotiations conducted out of

25 the sunshine, but unlike the first two

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1 agreements, this one failed to include any

2 protection of the public purse.

3 Remarkably the agreement no longer --

4 MS. WETHERELL: You need to try to wrap it

5 up. I'm sorry.

6 MR. JOHNSON: I'm sorry?

7 MS. WETHERELL: You need to try to wrap it

8 up.

9 MR. JOHNSON: Okay. I'm -- two more -- a

10 couple more sentences.

11 Unfortunately the public is now saddled

12 with a one-sided contract that adequately

13 protects the developer's interests and penalizes

14 the public.

15 Is it any wonder people insist -- sense

16 that something is wrong? For that reason, we

17 turn to you and hope the Governor and the

18 Cabinet will help to protect the public's right

19 to use in perpetuity what has rapidly become the

20 State's vanishing public waterfront.

21 We implore you not to sell or release the

22 Wood Street Extension. As you know, it is the

23 only bargaining chip that we have to bring the

24 developer back to the negotiating table.

25 And thank you very much.

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1 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you, sir.

2 MS. WETHERELL: Would you state your name

3 for the record.

4 MR. LYNCH: My name is George Lynch. I

5 live in the city of Punta Gorda.

6 I have prepared -- Governor Chiles and

7 distinguished Cabinet members, I have prepared a

8 paper to present to you. But first I would like

9 to bring something to your attention that was

10 published in the newspaper last weekend.

11 The Secretary of State sent an Aide -- her

12 Cabinet Aide, Paul Mitchell, to the

13 city of Punta Gorda on a fact-finding mission,

14 and he made a solution -- he made a compromise

15 remark to one of the reporters.

16 And the -- one of the Cabinet members,

17 Jane Brenner, took offense of the wet behind the

18 ears young man who had assumed that he knew a

19 solution to the problem.

20 Would you stick that in the record?

21 The area known in the city of Punta Gorda

22 as Laishley Waterfront Park has been the subject

23 of controversy in the city for the last eight

24 years. The last three years, the controversy

25 has heated to the point that it is on the mind

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1 of every resident of the city. There is hardly

2 a day goes by that it is not in the local media

3 as front page news or letters to the editor, and

4 very little is of positive attitude.

5 Starting back at about 1988, '89, officials

6 of the City, at the direction of the

7 City Council and the CRA, negotiated a

8 closed-end contract with a person in New Orleans

9 by the name of Waltemath. Waltemath did not put

10 up one cent of front money for the development

11 of the entire waterfront.

12 The residents were not really told the

13 facts of the contents of this contract until the

14 last couple of years. And when they found out

15 is when the controversy really started to heat

16 up.

17 For about a year, the City Council and the

18 CRA used the attitude that the residents had no

19 need of knowing what was going on, and they

20 really were not qualified to make any comments

21 on the subject.

22 I have been personally told these very

23 words by certain City officials.

24 More and more the residents started to

25 voice disapproval of our giving away park, and

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1 it became evident to the City Council and the

2 CRA that we're going to need to attempt to

3 renegotiate a contract with Waltemath to get

4 some park land back.

5 MS. WETHERELL: Try to speed it up.

6 You need to try to speed it up. That's the

7 2 minutes.

8 MR. LYNCH: Now we are not -- now we're at

9 the point of having to buy back our own land

10 from the developer so that there could be at

11 least a small amount of park land left.

12 The CRA, and City Manager, and Mark Rohr,

13 and Bob Johns, and Attorney David LaCroix went

14 to New Orleans to meet with the developer to try

15 to negotiate a deal to where a small amount of

16 land could be left as a park. It has been said

17 that these negotiations were done out of the

18 sunshine.

19 A town hall meeting was held in the

20 City Council to explain the results of the

21 negotiation. An overflow of -- crowd attended

22 the meeting. The Council chambers were not

23 nearly large enough so the people were standing

24 in the hallways, and even out in the parking lot

25 in temperatures in excess of 90 degrees.

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1 Only a small number of residents were

2 allowed to voice their opinion at the meeting,

3 which really irritated a lot of people.

4 It was very evident that the residents were

5 completely dissatisfied with what had been done,

6 and it all fell on deaf ears.

7 The City Council and -- and the CRA went

8 ahead and --

9 (Commissioner Crawford exited the room.)

10 MR. LYNCH: -- voted to proceed. This

11 resulted in a lawsuit against the CRA and the

12 City Council for the violation of the

13 Sunshine Law, which is presently in the

14 appellate court.

15 One important item happened recently. When

16 the laws were written for -- for the CRA, they

17 stated that the CRA -- they stated that the --

18 Charlotte County would appoint two people to

19 represent the County on the CRA.

20 The County pays the City a sizable amount

21 of money for this privilege. Recently, one of

22 the County representatives resigned, and the

23 County appointed a very prominent qualified

24 resident by the name of Tom D'Andrea to fill

25 this position.

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1 The City Council did not approve of

2 Mr. D'Andrea because he didn't think at times

3 the way they did. So the City Council ignored

4 the County's employee and violated their own

5 bylaws and voted to appoint Robert Strang. The

6 residents really got up in arms on this

7 action -- the Council on the issue.

8 So the Council voted for Robert Strang to

9 resign. Robert Strang refused to resign, and

10 now the Council is afraid to do anything about

11 it.

12 The latest happening at the April 1,

13 1998 -- City Council member, Jane Brenner, made

14 the remark that she was tired of being

15 criticized by citizens, and attempted to make a

16 motion to discontinue any future input at the

17 City Council meeting. A 2 minute restriction

18 was enacted.

19 It is appropriate here to paraphrase

20 President Harry S. Truman when he said, if you

21 can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

22 When I read the minutes of Bob Johns'

23 presentation to this Cabinet on

24 February the 10th is when I said it is time this

25 whole thing was to be brought up on top of the

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1 table for everyone to see what has been going on

2 in regard to this issue. And that's what I've

3 attempted to do here.

4 If the area is not developed as a park, the

5 losers are: 12,000 residents of the City of

6 Punta Gorda, 134,000 residents of

7 Charlotte County, and all the people in the

8 surrounding area that would be denied the use of

9 this land for themself and their family to go to

10 a place to enjoy a beautiful waterfront area.

11 Then consider the attraction it would be

12 for our winter residents, which adds to the

13 people that would be denied the use of the park.

14 You are then talking about a very large

15 number of people that would need to step aside

16 for a very small group of selfish individuals to

17 build waterfront condominiums.

18 What would the Laishley Front Park look

19 like if it was a park? I've discussed this with

20 Matt DeBoer, Chairman of the Charlotte County

21 Commissioners, and some ideas were mentioned. A

22 picnic and playground area for family use, an

23 amphitheater for various events, a major walkway

24 for a large amount of people that walk or run

25 each day.

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1 Consider building a section -- a beach in

2 one section. The water is only about 2 feet

3 deep for two to three hundred yards out.

4 4th of July events; fireworks; antique

5 automobile shows; boat shows; boat parties; and

6 many, many more.

7 There is apparently tourist tax money for

8 the County that could be made available for this

9 project. The issue would need discussed with

10 Chairman Matt DeBoer, as he has all the facts of

11 the subject.

12 I would ask that you maintain ownership of

13 the Wood Street Reverter, because it is the only

14 bargaining chip we have left to force the

15 developer to the bargaining table. At present,

16 they won't -- they refuse to even talk to

17 anyone. We need your help.

18 Thank you for listening.

19 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you, sir.

20 MR. MITCHELL: Not prepared.

21 George Mitchell's my name. I'm a -- I've

22 been a resident of Punta Gorda, Florida, for the

23 past 19 years. My involvement with government

24 has been very limited.

25 I attended about 12 City Council meetings

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1 and CR meetings in Punta Gorda over the past

2 several years. I have seen a one-sided form of

3 government that doesn't listen to the people,

4 and have stated at the beginning of meetings

5 that they have made up their mind and were not

6 changing no matter what we said.

7 They have limited people to speak only once

8 during a meeting, and for only 2 minutes. One

9 person said about ten words over their limit,

10 and the Mayor called for the police to remove

11 that person.

12 After witnessing this type of government, I

13 was very surprised and pleased last week when I

14 came to the Cabinet Aide meeting. These people

15 were well informed, listened intently, and were

16 very polite and patient even after 8:00 o'clock

17 at night.

18 They looked into our situation and were not

19 fooled by the distorted answers every one of the

20 Punta Gorda City officials and employees gave.

21 As you are aware, Paul Mitchell visited

22 Punta Gorda and was not buying what these

23 masters of deception were trying to sell. The

24 question was asked by the Cabinet staff last

25 week as to why there wasn't opposition before.

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1 This was a well orchestrated scheme by our

2 former City Planner. I have a copy of a short

3 course he did for some planners in Orlando in

4 1966, which Paul Mitchell has a copy, not an

5 illegal thing. But it lays out -- I think he

6 was gloating on his scheme.

7 You find a champion, who he describes as a

8 well-known, highly respected community leader

9 becoming a forceful and articulate spokesperson

10 for the vision of the plan.

11 Then target the local Kiwanis, Rotary,

12 Garden Club, et cetera, the champion can then

13 attend their meetings and share his vision of

14 the plan.

15 This so-called champion, he's here today,

16 one of our ex-City officials, who is strongly

17 trying to -- still strongly trying to sell this

18 lopsided deal, was a community -- this was a

19 community of very old seniors.

20 A lot have gone to places like Sun City or

21 have passed on. These people were misled with a

22 rosy, one-sided picture, as you were, before

23 this opposition came forward.

24 I was a kid on the block when I moved to

25 Punta Gorda. Approximately 30 homes on my

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1 street -- of approximately 30 homes on my

2 street, about three or four of the original

3 people still remain. Younger people with

4 children are moving in, and these younger people

5 are not buying what the City is misleading them

6 to believe.

7 They built a retention pond for the

8 development of the condos and other

9 construction. Put a gazebo on it and call it a

10 park.

11 As you are aware, the CRA is giving the

12 condo a second mortgage. No money required to

13 build these condos. We request that you not

14 give or sell the Wood Street Reverter to the

15 City.

16 We also request that you have the

17 State's Attorney's Office do a full

18 investigation into the taking of this land from

19 the public to give to a private developer, and

20 violation of Sunshine Laws in regard to some of

21 the meetings held by the City of Punta Gorda.

22 Also the one-sided contract law that

23 protects against contracts, such as the City has

24 entered into. I believe that some people are

25 resigning -- that -- I believe that some of the

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1 people resigning are very fearful that an

2 inquiry into these areas will expose the unique

3 methods used to get this batch of sugar cookies

4 in the oven.

5 Thank you.

6 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you, sir.

7 MS. WETHERELL: I'll ask the next three to

8 come up: Gertrude Osborne, George Kerschlager,

9 and Joanna Prentiss.

10 MS. OSBORNE: Good afternoon, Governor and

11 distinguished members of Cabinet.

12 I'm here today as a Charlotte County

13 taxpayer. I do not live in Punta Gorda; I am

14 not an elected official in Punta Gorda; nor do I

15 have any financial interest in this enterprise,

16 as will have some of the people --

17 (Treasurer Nelson entered the room.)

18 MS. OSBORNE: -- that you hear today.

19 I am here to ask you not to do business

20 with an agency that uses my tax dollars, has

21 created a debt for me, but does not recognize

22 that they represent me.

23 At a July 16th meeting that I attended of

24 the CRA, one of the Council members asked if it

25 would not be appropriate for those people who do

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1 not live in Punta Gorda to get up and give their

2 seats to those who do.

3 I have watched Charlotte County

4 Commissioners over the last 20 years, and

5 they've made a valiant effort to increase park

6 land and preserve the environmentally sensitive

7 assets that we have.

8 The taxpayers of the entire county have

9 been supportive of their efforts through the

10 years, and take pride in what we have

11 accomplished.

12 Somehow everyone thought of the waterfront

13 in Laishley area as one of the assets we had to

14 protect.

15 At the time that I was president of the

16 Charlotte County Tax Watch Organization, with a

17 membership of 350 people, we had misgivings

18 about creating a CRA within our county. Our

19 concerns were focused on the very thing that we

20 see happening here today.

21 Some of us were less vocal about the

22 negative side of the program. But -- because we

23 were aware that eliminating blight in

24 Punta Gorda would be a primary concern of the

25 CRA. Most thought that the area south of

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1 Marion Avenue would be addressed promptly, since

2 the trailer park on the Laishley site had

3 already been emptied out.

4 But today folks are addressing the issue of

5 whether condominiums will create a blight on our

6 valuable waterfront.

7 Many County citizens were surprised that a

8 proposal for the development such as this were

9 sought, and eventually Mr. Waltemath came to be

10 a topic of conversation in the County. With

11 absolutely no funds from Waltemath, the CRA

12 constructed a beautiful gazebo, along with a

13 pond and a fountain. The area was completely

14 grassed, and a river walk was built. Nothing

15 was done in the blighted area, and no money for

16 Mr. Waltemath.

17 At the dedication of the gazebo,

18 Mr. Waltemath indicated that he would be

19 breaking ground in six months. This was in

20 1933, I believe. Mr. Waltemath -- Mr. Waltemath

21 participated in this dedication, and I wondered

22 why, because not one -- one penny of his money

23 was spent for that site.

24 The CRA has put all of Charlotte County in

25 debt for over 3.4 million dollars. This is not

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1 strictly a Punta Gorda issue. Over 60 percent

2 of the tax revenue that's going back into the

3 CRA is coming from the County taxpayers.

4 To get to the purpose of this meeting, I

5 would ask you not to sell, give, or swap the

6 Wood Street right of reverter to the CRA. My

7 most important reason that as a resident of

8 Charlotte County, I do not feel represented,

9 even though County tax dollars are being used by

10 the CRA.

11 Ever since its inception, the CRA Board has

12 been made up of City Council and two

13 representatives from the County proposed by the

14 County Commissioners.

15 This past year, when a vacancy was created,

16 the County's replacement proposal was ignored.

17 And during Councilmen's comments at the end of

18 the meeting, the name of the man who was

19 pro-construction was submitted and elected. I

20 do not have representation on the CRA as

21 provided.

22 I would ask you not to transact any

23 business with the CRA until the taxpayers of the

24 entire County have the representation that

25 should be afforded to them. This is taxation

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1 without proper representation.

2 Punta Gorda needs affordable housing,

3 better roads in the depressed area, as well as

4 playgrounds, and better lighting. How can the

5 CRA be 3.4 million dollars in debt, and none of

6 these things have been done?

7 Please, if you agree to any arrangement

8 regarding the release of the Wood Street

9 Extension, it would make any effort to bring the

10 developers involved to the bargaining table

11 again, and this would all be a lesson in

12 futility.

13 I would like to enter into the record just

14 one thing. A resolution was passed by the

15 County Commission this morning to support

16 continuation of public access to public

17 shorelines in Charlotte County to ask the

18 Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund

19 to give serious consideration to the wisdom of

20 releasing the reverter clause in the dedication

21 of Wood Street by the State, and to direct the

22 clerk to forward resolution to the legislative

23 delegation and the Trustees of the Internal

24 Improvement Trust Fund.

25 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you.

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1 MS. OSBORNE: We may only be six here,

2 Governor, but we represent a lot of people who

3 could not be here today.

4 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you, ma'am.

5 MS. OSBORNE: Thank you.

6 MS. WETHERELL: Okay. The next two people

7 I called, are they not here?

8 George Kerschlager?

9 Yes, sir. If you'd come forward, please.

10 MR. KERSCHLAGER: Good afternoon, Governor,

11 and members of the Cabinet. I never expected to

12 be in this position where I'm speaking to the

13 Governor.

14 I've been in Florida since 1993, and I've

15 never gotten involved with this sort of thing

16 before. But after I had seen what was happening

17 in the City Council, it prompted -- it motivated

18 me to do this.

19 The waterfront in Punta Gorda must be

20 preserved for future generations. It should not

21 be replaced with a commercial business

22 development, with the profit motives of a few

23 businessmen who are supporting the project. And

24 the key City Council members are also supporting

25 the business people.

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1 We who oppose the development of

2 Laishley Waterfront Park are supported by the

3 general public, families who appreciate the true

4 value of the natural asset.

5 This is the last remaining location for a

6 park on the water. This park will become more

7 important to the community as the population

8 doubles in the next ten years.

9 Condominiums should not be built on our

10 waterfront park property, but be built in

11 another area so that they do not detract from

12 the quality of life in Punta Gorda.

13 Waterfront property is irreplaceable.

14 Condominiums in Laishley Waterfront Park would

15 have an adverse effect on activities in the

16 park.

17 The occupants of the condominiums would

18 object to the park noise. They expect peace and

19 quiet in the area where they live.

20 Most of the activities create a lot of

21 noise such as volleyball, tennis, music

22 festivals, children playing. Noise would not be

23 tolerated by some of the condominium owners.

24 The Punta Gorda police would have the

25 responsibility to control the noise level of the

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1 park. The police would be forced to restrict

2 certain activities in the park, such as music

3 festivals, tennis, games. They could even

4 require early closing hours in the park.

5 Condominium owners deserve peace and

6 quiet. Park activities create a noisy

7 environment. To avoid this conflict, parks and

8 condominiums should not be built in close

9 proximity to each other. The City Council pre--

10 Pardon me. I'm going to skip that. That's

11 been covered.

12 A new contract with -- was negotiated with

13 Mr. Waltemath in June of '97. The public was

14 never informed of all the details of the

15 contract. We were told that the park area was

16 enlarged, but not told that the City gave up the

17 escape clause in the new contract.

18 The release clause was removed from the

19 revised contract. The new contract put

20 Mr. Waltemath in control of the waterfront

21 development. And this is a sad thing, because

22 here we have an outsider from Louisiana coming

23 in here and developing our waterfront.

24 The City Council failed to control the

25 development of -- of the waterfront. They were

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1 derelict in their duties to the citizens of the

2 city.

3 The access road to the condominiums from

4 Nesbit Street runs through the middle of the

5 park. This divides the park into two sections,

6 which will create a dangerous situation for the

7 children at play. The possibility of an injury

8 or death of -- when children cross the street is

9 very possible.

10 The access road entering the condominiums

11 does not have to go through the park.

12 Mr. Waltemath refused to relocate the road. So

13 as to avoid this dangerous situation, he

14 obviously -- pardon me -- if he had relocated

15 the road, he would have avoided this dangerous

16 situation.

17 He obviously believes that the road through

18 the park makes the condominiums more attractive

19 and marketable. His concern is not public

20 safety; his concern is the bottom line, profit.

21 He demonstrated his lack of his concern for

22 the safety of our children by refusing to

23 relocate the road outside of the park.

24 With your help, by not releasing the

25 Wood Street reverter, we hope to save this

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1 waterfront for the enjoyment of future

2 generations. We need this bargaining chip to

3 save our water -- waterfront.

4 And I want to thank you very much for your

5 time.

6 MS. WETHERELL: Joanna Prentiss.

7 Okay. Then we'll move to the proponents --

8 GOVERNOR CHILES: How much time did we use

9 then?

10 MS. WETHERELL: Pardon?

11 GOVERNOR CHILES: How much time did we use

12 in --

13 MS. WETHERELL: Can you tell me, Perry?

14 MS. BROOKS: Twenty-five.

15 MS. WETHERELL: Forty-five minutes were

16 used.

17 MS. BROOKS: Twenty-five.

18 MR. ODOM: Twenty-five.

19 MS. WETHERELL: Twenty-five minutes --

20 GOVERNOR CHILES: All right.

21 MS. WETHERELL: -- was used.

22 Okay. It would help and save some time if

23 y'all wouldn't mind coming up in groups of two

24 or three.

25 Kevin Crowley. Following him,

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1 Mayor Bill Richards. And then Council member

2 Jane Brenner.

3 MR. CROWLEY: Governor, members of the

4 Cabinet --

5 GOVERNOR CHILES: Yes, sir.

6 MR. CROWLEY: -- my name is Kevin Crowley

7 with the law firm of Pennington, Moore,

8 Wilkinson, Bell & Dunbar. We represent the

9 Punta Gorda Community Redevelopment Agency.

10 I first wanted to -- to thank you for

11 having this item on the agenda. I think it's a

12 good idea to have everyone give the opportunity

13 to have their say, and to explicate the issues.

14 Secretary Mortham, I want to particularly

15 thank you for making the -- the resources of

16 your office available. It was very useful, and

17 it's very much appreciated.

18 I understand that this is an informational

19 item only today. But when the time comes to --

20 to take some action, we'd -- we would urge that

21 you give credence and continuity to the previous

22 action that you've already taken, and that the

23 CRA has relied on in coming to the end point of

24 this project.

25 And we would ask that you -- you give

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1 deference to the -- the actions of -- of the

2 local elected officials because first, foremost,

3 and fundamentally, this is a local government

4 issue.

5 With that, I'd like to introduce you to the

6 Mayor of Punta Gorda.

7 MR. RICHARDS: Governor Chiles, members of

8 the Cabinet, ladies and gentlemen, I was --

9 first I'd like -- my name is Bill Richards, by

10 the way, presently Mayor of Punta Gorda.

11 I was first elected to the City Council in

12 1986. In July of '86, I voted to close the old

13 municipal mobile home park which consisted of

14 275 mobile homes. These people were offered

15 the -- to be able to -- to manage this park

16 themselves prior to this vote.

17 By the way, we moved these people. And

18 $875,000 of the debt of the CRA was used to take

19 care of them. We established another

20 mobile home park, a private enterprise, and we

21 moved -- anybody that wanted to move, we

22 disconnected their sewage and water, moved their

23 trailers, paid to connect them up again.

24 Trailers that couldn't possibly be moved

25 because of their condition, we had them

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1 appraised, and we bought them. And it's all

2 part of that $875,000.

3 In October of 1986, I was named Chairman of

4 the Mayor's blue ribbon committee called the

5 Park Use Study Committee.

6 The Commi-- this Commission -- or mission

7 was to develop an adopted reuse of the old

8 municipal-owned park to help revitalize our

9 failing downtown.

10 Three years and 16 public meetings later,

11 our committee recommended to the City Council

12 the approval of the mixed use Punta Gorda Harbor

13 Plan presented by Waltemath Interests.

14 As the Mayor of Punta Gorda between 1988

15 and '91, I presided over the creation of the

16 Punta Gorda CRA.

17 On March 21st, 1990, the CRA chose the

18 Punta Gorda Harbor Plan over a 200 committee --

19 200 condominium unit plan presented by a local

20 developer.

21 The original contract with Waltemath

22 contained 80 condominiums to be located over the

23 Wood Street extension.

24 In December of 1990, I, along with the City

25 staff, flew to Tallahassee to meet with the

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1 FDNR, the Natural Resources Secretary,

2 Mr. Thomas Gardner.

3 Then on February 12th, 1991, the Trustees

4 gave their first of three conceptual approvals

5 for the release of the Wood Street Reverter in

6 exchange for the CRAs acquisition and

7 development of a mangrove park.

8 On December -- on December 31st, 1991, we

9 got a letter from the State indicating the first

10 conceptual approval could not be honored because

11 we had a grant from the State to help us

12 purchase the park. The State grant was

13 two-thirds of the cost, we put up a third of the

14 cost.

15 However, the DNR -- the Natural Resources

16 Department at that time gave us the

17 recommendation to get this grant.

18 On May 11, 1993, the Trustees gave their

19 second conceptual approval for release of the

20 Wood Street Reverter in exchange for 138,000

21 from the CRA when the condominium site at

22 Punta Gorda is developed.

23 We didn't have to come up with the money

24 right away. So based on this agreement, we

25 proceeded with the execution of various

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1 provisions of its contract with Waltemath.

2 November 5th, 1995, the CRA approves a

3 modified contract which places the

4 Trabue Harborwalk on the upland portion of the

5 Wood Street Extension, thus guaranteed direct

6 public access to the water.

7 I want to state that this river walk will

8 extend from our hospital, all the way out to a

9 Ponce de Leon Park, approximately an 8-mile

10 distance. And this is being done right now.

11 These people will be able to walk along the

12 river all the way around, even in front of the

13 condominiums.

14 On July 16, 1997, the CRA approved an

15 amendment development plan for Punta Gorda

16 Harbor Site which nearly doubles the on-site

17 park land from 4.385 acres, to 8.572 acres.

18 The project developer then provided notice

19 to the CRA on October 29th, '97, that he intends

20 to proceed with the development of the

21 condominium parcels which now has a reduced

22 number to 60 instead of 80.

23 On February 1988, the Trustee provides a

24 third conceptual approval for the release of the

25 Wood Street Reverter at a price to be negotiated

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1 with State staff.

2 On March 6, the State staff informed the

3 CRA in writing that it can support a purchase

4 price for Wood Street of 89,945. The CRA

5 immediately proceeded to send a check to the

6 Department of Environmental Protection in this

7 amount.

8 What's happening in our park today? Our

9 CRA have voted unanimously to acquire the

10 Wood Street Reverter. And our community has

11 discussed the Punta Gorda Harbor project

12 294 times in open public meetings, of which

13 45 minutes -- 45 meetings were held as public

14 hearings, workshops, or ordinance items.

15 Our community has taken great care in

16 discussing and amending the Punta Gorda Harbor

17 Project since 1986. We have relied on three

18 conceptual approvals from the Trustees to

19 getting to this point of the development.

20 I, therefore, urge you to support the

21 release of the State -- of State's Wood Street

22 Reverter interest, and to let Punta Gorda

23 implement what it has established as its local

24 policy for redevelopment.

25 Thank you very much.

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1 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

2 MS. BRENNER: Good afternoon. I am that

3 terrible ogre, Punta Gorda City Council member,

4 Jane Brenner.

5 I also would like to introduce some of the

6 taxpayers from the City of Punta Gorda who were

7 able to join us today. They're the ones with

8 the orange ribbons, and I would like to have

9 them stand up.

10 (Members of the audience stood.)

11 MS. BRENNER: Thank you.

12 Now, I would like to ask Mr. Mitchell, and

13 the other members of this very fine staff who

14 were so patient with us last week, if he or any

15 of the others remember my saying to Mr. Mitchell

16 that he was wet behind the ears.

17 MR. MITCHELL: No, ma'am.

18 MS. BRENNER: Thank you.

19 So much for Mr. Lynch.

20 First and foremost, there has been a legal

21 and binding contract on this property since

22 1990. This contract was entered into after much

23 citizen discussion, input, and study. There

24 have been numerous public meetings devoted to

25 this mixed use development since 1990.

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1 The condominiums were part of that contract

2 in 1990, and they remained there in the

3 renegotiations of 1995 and 1997. Therefore, the

4 condominiums that some people are so belatedly

5 and vociferously objecting to will be built in

6 the Punta Gorda Harbor Project.

7 The issue then is not whether these condos

8 will be built, but where.

9 Back in 1990, when this contract was

10 finally signed, staff and counsel began

11 implementing the plan. It took many years and

12 much money to get the old trailer park residents

13 moved, the park dismantled, State environmental

14 regulations complied with, et cetera, et cetera.

15 Among the issues to be handled was the

16 Wood Street Extension. In 1991, and again in

17 '93, as Mr. Richards has said, government and

18 Cabinet committed the State to the sale of this

19 small sliver of land to the Punta Gorda CRA. We

20 have depended on that agreement, and we have

21 made business decisions based on that agreement.

22 This is done every day in the business

23 world, and we should be able to rely on the word

24 of our State Government. To renege at this late

25 date is not fair to the taxpayers of our city.

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1 They are the ones who will bear the resulting

2 expense.

3 It has been suggested that if we do not

4 have access to the Wood Street Extension, the

5 condos will have to be moved farther into the

6 park. That is correct. We will have to go back

7 to the negotiating table with the developer.

8 However, this time we would be negotiating from

9 a very weak position.

10 In 1995, the CRA wanted to make a change,

11 the 10 acres needed for the Justice Center. But

12 that Justice Center would anchor the project for

13 the developer. As well -- this was -- the

14 project so it was good for the developer, as

15 well as the City.

16 In 1997, the developer wanted something

17 from us. That was to buy, instead of lease,

18 Parcel I. We could negotiate from strength, and

19 the result was more land for park.

20 At that -- at this stage, however, the

21 developer would be in the driver's seat. We

22 would have nothing with which to bargain.

23 It has been suggested that the road into

24 the condos be moved. Let us understand that all

25 parks of any size must have roads through them

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1 to give access to the farthest areas. This is

2 particularly true in this instance in order that

3 people won't have to walk -- walk over 4 or

4 5 acres of ground to reach the water.

5 That road probably will be extended around

6 the condos out to Marriage Point to enable

7 people to take their -- and elderly people to

8 take their chairs and picnic stuff there.

9 The attempt by opponents of this mixed use

10 development to convince the Governor and the

11 Cabinet to renege on its agreement to sell us

12 the Wood Street Extension is ill-advised, and

13 short-sighted. This will only cost the

14 taxpayers of our city more money in staff time,

15 legal fees, and penalties in the struggle to fit

16 these buildings farther into our hard-won park.

17 Thank you.

18 GOVERNOR CHILES: Thank you, ma'am.

19 MS. BRENNER: And I'll be happy to answer

20 any questions that you may have.

21 GOVERNOR CHILES: Any questions?

22 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Yes, I have a question.

23 GOVERNOR CHILES: Yes, ma'am.

24 SECRETARY MORTHAM: Do I understand you to

25 say that you needed a road so some -- so that --

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1 (Attorney General Butterworth exited the

2 room.)

3 SECRETARY MORTHAM: -- people wouldn't have

4 to walk 4 or 5 acres into -- to get to the

5 water?

6 MS. BRENNER: Precisely. Every park --

7 Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda has a road or a

8 driveway, whatever you want to call it, toward

9 the water with some parking spaces so that

10 people can get to the water, to the seawall, or

11 to the beach, or whatever is there.

12 Most parks of any size at all have this

13 kind of a -- of a driveway or a road. This road

14 should go, and probably will -- we have not

15 planned exactly this -- how this is going to be

16 drawn out. There's a lot of work to be done on