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Item S4County of Monroe <r BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS � Mayor David Rice, District 4 IleOI1da Keys ��x t t 0. Mayor Pro Tem Sylvia J. Murphy, District 5 Danny L. Kolhage, District 1 P f,< George Neugent, District 2 a Heather Carruthers, District 3 County Commission Meeting April 19, 2018 Agenda Item Number: S.4 Agenda Item Summary #4116 BULK ITEM: Yes DEPARTMENT: County Attorney's Office TIME APPROXIMATE: STAFF CONTACT: Bob Shillinger (305) 292 -3470 n/a AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Receipt of reports and approval of minutes from public meetings held on April 4, 2018 with Senator Rubio, April 6, 2018 with the South Florida Water Management District, and April 9, 2018, with the Florida Department of Emergency Management Director. ITEM BACKGROUND: Earlier this month, the County hosted three public meetings at the Marathon Government Center during which two members of the County Commission attended: 1) April 4, 2018 with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio; 2) April 6, 2018 with representatives of the South Florida Water Management District; and 3) April 9, 2018 with representatives of the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Each meeting was noticed and open to the public. Other federal, state, and local officials and staff from several agencies attended, in addition to members of the public. While the topics discussed at each meeting did not involve specific issues that are presently anticipated to come before the Board for a vote, the reports of each meeting are being submitted in an abundance of caution because it is reasonable foreseeable that some of the topics might come before the Board at some point in the future. The reports, as drafted, satisfy the Sunshine Law's requirements that written minutes be taken when public meetings are held. To be clear, the County Commissioners present took no votes or other official action at any of these meetings. They merely provided comments on topics relevant to the meetings. PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: n/a CONTRACT /AGREEMENT CHANGES: n/a STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval of reports as minutes in bulk. DOCUMENTATION: April 4 2018 report from meeting with Senator Rubio April 6 2018 SFWMD meeting notes April 9 2018 FEMA DEM BOCC meeting notes FINANCIAL IMPACT: Effective Date: n/a Expiration Date: Total Dollar Value of Contract: Total Cost to County: Current Year Portion: Budgeted: Source of Funds: CPI: Indirect Costs: Estimated Ongoing Costs Not Included in above dollar amounts: Revenue Producing: Grant: County Match: Insurance Required: Additional Details: If yes, amount: n/a REVIEWED BY: Bob Shillinger Completed 04/10/2018 12:15 PM Bob Shillinger Skipped 04/10/2018 12:14 PM Budget and Finance Skipped 04/10/2018 12:14 PM Maria Slavik Skipped 04/10/2018 12:14 PM Kathy Peters Completed 04/10/2018 12:25 PM Board of County Commissioners Pending 04/19/2018 9:00 AM Memo To: The Honorable Kevin Madok, Clerk From: Bob Shillinger, County Attorney Date: April 9, 2018 Re: Report of Meeting held April 4, 2018 Meeting with Senator Rubio at the Marathon Government Center at 12:30 pm. This report is provided in an abundance of caution and shall serve as meeting minutes should it be determined that the subject meeting was a public meeting of the County Commission since two Commissioners were present at this publically noticed meeting. This report documents the extent of the discussion of Mayor Rice and Commissioner Carruthers on topics discussed at the meeting but makes no representations on the likelihood that these topics are likely to come before the BOCC for a vote in the future. This report does not attempt to document the comments of other officials present. After introductions, the Senator updated the group of public officials, staff, and citizens on the Federal Government's efforts to provide reimbursement for Hurricane Irma related expenses. A discussion followed with federal, state, and local officials and staff Other than making introductory remarks, Mayor Rice made no comments. Commissioner Carruthers remarked on the need to provide funding for affordable housing as she is concerned that the community will lose residents at end of the school year which will impact our local work force. She specifically mentioned the need to deed restrict housing so that it remains affordable and the need to obtain tax relief for owners to help keep the properties affordable. She further expressed the need to afford relief to homeowners so they can rebuild themselves including time deadline extensions. The meeting ended at approximately 1:30 pm. Memo To: The Honorable Kevin Madok, Clerk From: Steve Williams, Assistant County Attorney Date: April 10, 2018 Re: Report of Meeting held April 6, 2018 Meeting SFWMD at the Marathon Government Center at 11:00 a.m. This report is provided in an abundance of caution and shall serve as meeting minutes should it be determined that the subject meeting was a public meeting of the County Commission since two Commissioners were present at this publically noticed meeting. This report documents the extent of the discussion of Mayor Rice and Commissioner Neugent on topics discussed at the meeting but makes no representations on the likelihood that these topics are likely to come before the BOCC for a vote in the future. This report does not attempt to document the comments of other officials present. After introductions, South Florida Water Management District ( "SFWMD ") Director, Ernie Marks, updated the group of public officials and staff from state and local governments and FKAA regarding Florida Bay conditions and project operation updates. SFWMD made four presentations and discussions followed each presentation Other than making introductory remarks, Mayor Rice asked about mangrove die -off in the Keys and about how Hurricane Irma improved the salinity levels of the Bay waters Commissioner Neugent inquired as to why the water quality he sees from his house is now good and clear some weeks and cloudy other weeks. He also asked if the South Florida delegation to Washington D.C. was helping get things done regarding water quality. Further, he inquired when the County can expect to see improvement in our water quality as a result of the combination of the two new bridges on U.S. 41 and SFWMD improvements upstream from the bridges. Commissioner Neugent asked if SFWMD was still looking at storage areas. He also inquired as to the approximate $1 billion spent on wastewater in the Keys and why the county still paid taxes on wastewater if the counties North of Monroe were not taking similar steps to improve the waters that we have paid to clean up. The meeting concluded at approximately 1 :00 p.m. Memo To: The Honorable Kevin Madok, Clerk From: Cynthia Hall, Assistant County Attorney Through: Bob Shillinger, County Attorney Date: April 9, 2018 Re: Report of Meeting held April 9, 2018 Meeting with Representatives from FEMA and Florida DEM at the Marathon Government Center at 10:00 a.m. This report is provided in an abundance of caution and shall serve as meeting minutes should it be determined that the subject meeting was a public meeting of the County Commission since two Commissioners were present at this publically noticed meeting. Commissioner Heather Carruthers and Commissioner Neugent were both present at this meeting. This report documents the extent of the discussion of Commissioner Neugent and Commissioner Carruthers on topics discussed at the meeting but makes no representations on the likelihood that these topics are likely to come before the BOCC for a vote in the future. This report does not attempt to document the comments of other officials present. Present at the meeting in addition to the Commissioners were Alan Jarvis, the new Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) for Florida /Hurricane Harvey, Director of Florida Division of Emergency Management Wes Maul, other staff from FEMA and DEM, representatives of County municipalities, and County staff. After introductions by Lisa Tennyson, Wes Maul provided an overview of the obligation process and DEM's efforts to get Project Worksheets (PWs) submitted by the county and others to be paid. Alan Jarvis then provided an overview of FEMA's efforts. The Commissioners then raised numerous concerns, one of which was the challenge of finding housing for citizens, particularly those in the Lower Keys, whose houses had been destroyed by Irma. Commissioner Neugent voiced disappointment with the fact that FEMA insisted on removing trailers by June 1, lack of communication and responsiveness by both agencies in addressing the situation, and disappointment over the fact that FEMA has not made an effort to sell the trailers to local citizens rather than taking them to staging areas in the mainland for sale. Commissioner Carruthers raised similar housing concerns and also commented on both agencies' slowness in getting reimbursement for the County as we are approaching another hurricane season. A discussion followed with federal, state, and local officials and staff. The meeting concluded at approximately 11 :30 a.m.