09/10/2012 Special 2012/185
MINUTES
OF THE MONROE COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Special Meetings
Board of County Commissioners
Monday, September 10, 2012
Marathon, Florida
Special Meetings of the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners
convened at 3 :00 P.M. and 5:05 P.M., at the Marathon Government Center. Present and
answering to roll call were Commissioner Heather Carruthers, Commissioner Sylvia Murphy,
Commissioner George Neugent, Commissioner Kim Wigington and Mayor David P. Rice. Also
present at the meeting were Roman Gastesi, County Administrator; Debbie Frederick, Assistant
County Administrator; Suzanne Hutton, County Attorney; Danny L. Kolhage, Clerk; Isabel C.
DeSantis, Deputy Clerk; County Staff, members of the press and radio; and the general public.
ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS, DELETIONS
Item A There were no Additions, Corrections and Deletions made to the Agenda.
COUNTY ATTORNEY
Item B The Board discussed for direction regarding the recently released Monroe County
Grand Jury Report involving County staff and property. Point of Personal Privilege -
Commissioner Carruthers made a statement with regards to the report. Bob Shillinger, Chief
Assistant County Attorney and Suzanne Hutton, County Attorney discussed the matter. The
following individuals addressed the Board: Harry Appel, Mickey Baker, Skip Haring, Sue Heim,
Ted Blackburn, and Deb Curlee. After discussion, motion was made by Commissioner Murphy
and seconded by Commissioner Neugent to retain the County Administrator and allow him to
handle the other employees under his control. After consideration, the motion was withdrawn.
Motion was then made by Commissioner Murphy and seconded by Commissioner Neugent to
retain the County Administrator. Roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Commissioner Carruthers Yes
Commissioner Murphy Yes
Commissioner Neugent Yes
Commissioner Wigington No
Mayor Rice Yes
Motion carried. Motion was made by Mayor Rice and seconded by Commissioner Murphy to
place a letter in the County Administrator's personnel file documenting the event and
admonishing the administrator- informing him that any future indiscretions of this nature will be
dealt with vigorously and will not be tolerated. The BOCC will have the authority to review and
approve or modify the letter, if necessary. Roll call vote was unanimous.
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Motion was made by Mayor Rice and seconded by Commissioner Neugent to hire outside
individuals to handle any necessary disciplinary decisions for the county employees named in the
Grand Jury report, other than the County Administrator. During discussion, the second to the
motion withdrew. Motion was then made by Mayor Rice and seconded by Commissioner
Neugent to hire outside individuals -Retired Judge David P. Kirwan and Retired Sheriff Richard
D. Roth, as Hearing Officer and Investigator, to evaluate the disciplinary action for each of the
county employees who participated in the purchase of the equipment. Roll call vote was taken
with the following results:
Commissioner Carruthers Yes
Commissioner Murphy No
Commissioner Neugent Yes
Commissioner Wigington No
Mayor Rice Yes
Motion carried.
Roman Gastesi, County Administrator addressed the Board and apologized for his
involvement in the matter. Motion was made by Mayor Rice and seconded by Commissioner
Neugent for the County Administrator to pay the costs of the Hearing Officer and Investigator
who will deal with the discipline of the other employees who don't report directly to the BOCC,
negatively named in the Grand Jury Report. Roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Commissioner Carruthers Yes
Commissioner Murphy No
Commissioner Neugent Yes
Commissioner Wigington Yes
Mayor Rice Yes
Motion carried.
COMMISSIONERS' ITEM
Item C The Board discussed Commissioner Neugent's item concerning a Resolution
supporting legislation to exclude Safe Harbor Enterprises, Inc., and Robbie's Safe Harbor Marine
Enterprises, Inc., from the Coastal Barrier Resources System. The following individual
addressed the Board: Bart Smith, representing Robbie's Safe Harbor Marine Enterprises, Inc.
and Safe Harbor Enterprises, Inc. Mayte Santamaria, Assistant Director of Planning and
Environmental Resources addressed the commission. After discussion, motion was made by
Commissioner Murphy and seconded by Commissioner Neugent to adopt the following
Resolution. Roll call vote was unanimous.
RESOLUTION NO. 221-2012
Said Resolution is incorporated herein by reference.
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COUNTY ATTORNEY
Item D The Board discussed a Settlement Agreement in the Florida Association of
Counties, et. al., v. the Florida Department of Revenue and the State of Florida Agency for
Health Care Administration(Medicaid) lawsuit. Pedro Mercado, Assistant County Attorney
addressed the commission. After discussion, motion was made by Commissioner Murphy and
seconded by Commissioner Neugent granting approval of the item. Roll call vote was
unanimous.
FISCAL YEAR 2013 BUDGET MEETING
Item A There were no Additions, Corrections or Deletions made to the agenda.
Item B Tina Boan, Director of the Office of Budget&Management announced the
rolled-back rate, the proposed millage rate, the percent above/below the rolled back rate. Roman
Gastesi, County Administrator discussed the document entitled Monroe County, Florida Board
of County Commissioners Fiscal Year 2013 Proposed Budget, dated September 10, 2012,
Special Budget Meeting-Marathon, FL. Said document is incorporated herein by reference.
Item C Jim Callahan, Monroe County Fire Chief discussed fire services at the Sugarloaf
Volunteer Fire Department. The Board accepted public input with the following individual
addressing the Board: Bill Hunter, representing the Sugarloaf Property Owner's Association.
FIRE & AMBULANCE DISTRICT 1
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
The Board of Governors for the Fire and Ambulance District I convened. Present
and answering to roll call were Commissioner George Neugent, Mayor David P. Rice,
Commissioner Kim Wigington, Councilman Clark Snow and Mayor Norman Anderson.
Item E The Board of Governors discussed the budget for Fiscal Year 2013.
There being no further business, the meeting of the Board of Governors for the
Fire and Ambulance District I was adjourned.
* * * * *
The Board of County Commissioners meeting reconvened with all commissioners
present.
Item F The Clerk announced the following date for the final budget public hearing:
Thursday, September 13, 2012, at 5:05 P.M., at the Harvey Government Center,
1200 Truman Avenue, Key West, Florida.
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There being no further business, the meeting of the Board of County
Commissioners was adjourned.
Danny L. Kolhage, Clerk
and ex-officio Clerk to the
Board of County Commissioners
Monroe County, Florida
Isabel C. DeSantis, Deputy Clerk