Item K03
Rev:
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Time certain: No
MEETING DATE: March 21-22, 2001
BULK ITEM: Yes
DIVISION I
Department: Commissioner Spehar
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
The approval of employment and the selection by the County Administrator for a Land Steward for Natural
Areas from the current applications for this position.
ITEM BACKGROUND:
The need to create a land management program and to apply for grants not otherwise obtained. This need
is immediate and cannot wait until the upcoming special SOCC meeting on Reorganization. The selection is
clearly a function of the County Administrator as the position is neither a Department Head nor a Division
Director. Good management will not only pay for itself, but it will bring more grant money to Monroe County.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
Position advertised on November 3, 2000.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
TOTAL COST:
BUDGETED: N/A at this time
COST TO COUNTY:
REVENUE PRODUCING:
APPROVED BY: County Attorney
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL:
OMS/Purchasing Risk Management
1 )7~" 'rn ~.....
(5i9 ture)
Commissioner Dixie M. SDehar
(Type/Print Name)
DOCUMENTATION:
Included
DISPOSITION:
Agendaltem # I-J!.':,
LAND STEWARD
Commissioner Spehar has placed on the agenda for March 21, 200 I, an item
relating to the proposed Land Steward position. She has asked that the Administration
provide some background in reference to that issue.
During Fiscal Year 2000, the Administrator and Commissioner Williams, during
the reorganization discussions, presented similar opinions concerning the necessity of
having a Land Steward to be responsible for a wide variety of issues and activities related
to County-owned properties purchased for a variety of reasons. Although the details of
their proposals differed, the common theme was that the County needed to have someone
who was responsible for maintaining the properties.
As a result, the position of Land Steward was included within the Fiscal Year
200 I budget and adopted by the Board of County Commissioners. The Administration,
through the participation of a Coordinating Council, developed a job description. That
job description was then rated by the Department of Administrative Services and a
position level and salary grade were determined. A search was begun and a number of
apparently very qualified individuals responded. About the time that interviews were to
begin, the Board of County Commissioners, at their November, 2000 meeting, instructed
the Administration to discontinue the process. There has been a significant amount of
discussion since that time and the Administrator has recommended reconsideration of the
issue in the near future. Commissioner Spehar feels the issue is urgent and wishes to
have some action taken at the Board of County Commissioners meeting in March.
The Administrator and the Coordinating Council (Director of Growth
Management, Director of Planning, Director of Public Works, County Engineer, and
Executive Director of the Land Authority) have further discussed the position. The
group reviewed the ideas of having a staff position as well as a contract consultant which
could be an individual, a company, or a corporation. It is the unanimous
recommendation of the staff that the Land Steward be an employed staff position that is
directly answerable through normal County procedures. It is also felt that the required
knowledge of the Comprehensive Plan, Land Development Regulations, County Code,
requirements of the Florida Communities Trust, etc. mean that the person in charge of
this function must have continuing and direct access to the staff, the Coordinating
Council, and the resources of the County. With an aggressive land acquisition program
and the nature of the position, the Board of County Commissioners should maintain this
function as a staff position.
As proposed before, the Land Steward would report to the County Administrator
and would utilize the services and advice of the Coordinating Council to assist in the
development of policy to be recommended to the Board of County Commissioners. The
Coordinating Council would also provide oversight and well-rounded knowledge that
would be of assistance to the Land Steward.
The Land Steward will be developing management plans and stewardship reports
for the various properties and establishing procedures and recommending policies in
reference to how the County will address its responsibilities. There will also be a
significant level of physical work to be done on the properties. It is not the suggestion of
the Administration that the County expand the number of employees to accomplish this.
It is anticipated that the County and the Land Steward will work through the Public
2
Works Department and with a variety of nonprofit entities and contractors for the purpose
of providing the appropriate cleanup and maintenance of the properties.
The Land Steward will work with various granting agencies, where appropriate
the Cities in the County, and such organizations as the Invasive Exotics Task Force. The
Land Steward should be the County's official representative on that body.
The Coordinating Council reviewed the job description and feels that the levels of
responsibility may go beyond that originally identified.
The Department of
Administrative Services is currently reviewing those definitions with an eye toward
making an adjustment in the grade level.
The salary and benefits for the Land Steward presently exist in the Fiscal Year
2001 budget. Part of the Land Steward's job would be to identify additional costs and
resources that will be required in the future and to work with the Administration, the
Coordinating Council, and the Board of County Commissioners for the most effective
and economical way to fulfill the County's responsibilities.
At this point, the Administration has been told not to proceed with the hiring of
this position. If the Board of County Commissioners now wishes the process to go
forward and the position to be filled, they need only pass a motion rescinding the
previous instruction to the Administrator.
James L. Roberts
County Administrator
3
03/20/01 23:44 ~AX JU~2~217UJ
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The Nature Conservancy of the Florida Keys
P. O. BOll 4958
Key West. FL 33041-4958
phone (305) 296-3880fax (305) 292-1163
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03/20/01 23;44 FAX 3052921763
NATl1RE_CONSERV. .
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The ....
NatureJll'
conservancy-
Florida KC)'~
March 20, 2001
Dear Commissioners:
The Nature Conservancy supports Commissioner Spehar's March 21, 200J agenda item
to approve employment and selection by the County Administrator of a Land Steward for
Monroe COWlty' s naturaJ areas.
Millions of dollars in public and private funding have been expended in Monroe County
to purchase wrique natural areas. This effort has helped to protect these lands and the
variety of native plants and animals that they support for the enjoyment of future
generations of Keys residents and the visitors on which our economy depends. But
without a long-term commitment to management. these lands, like any real estate, wi))
suffer from neglect. The natural and scenic values for which they were purchased will
diminish and will be very costly and difficult to restore.
,
The Monroe County Year 2010 Comprehensive Plan clearly calls for the purchase of
sensitive, unique or recreationally valuable lands and is unambiguous about the need for
both initial management planning and appropriate long-term management. Recently, the
Monroe County Land Authority has been very successful at acquiring land with grant
funding from the Florida Communities Trust and there is a substantial pot of money
remaining. This State funded program also requires management plans and a serious
manaeement commitment for all new acquisitions.
~
The complex patchwork of federal, state, county and private lands throughout the Keys
also gives rise to the need for interagency cooperation. Interagency management
planning and implementation should lead to solid management agreements. This in turn
will lead to efficient use of County resources, a better level of service for users and
neighbors of our public lands and better stewardship of the londs themselves.
.
In order to fulfill its obligations Monroe County must develop its capacity to manage
what it has purchased and will purchase in the future. A permanent County Land
Steward position is critical to success in this regard. This position has already been
defmed and advertised lUld applications arc: on file awaiting the County Commission' s
reaffirmation of its importance. The Nature Conservancy urges the county to move
forward and hire a permanent Land Steward.
po. Box ..958 . Key Wesl, fL 330-11-4958 . 305296-JR80 . FAX J05 292-1763
trc:YdeJ paper
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NAllTRE_CONSERV. .
03/20101 23:44 FAX 3052921763
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Our ability to meet the tenns of the Comprehensive Plan depends on this action. More
importantly, in the absence of management the county' s investment in conservation
lands will be lost and these lands wiU become a liability rather than the natural asset that
they are.
Sincerely,
()~h ~
~~;~mas
Director, The Nature Conservancy - Florida Keys
Cc: Jim Roberts, Monroe County Administrator