Item E12
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date: November 19,2008 Division: Public Works
Bulk Item: Yes X No - Department: Facilities Maintenance
Staff Contact person/Phone #: John King/292-4531
AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Approval to create two (2) new full-time Custodian positions for the
Freeman Justice Center, to be funded by the Court Facilities Fund for FY2009.
ITEM BACKGROUND: We currently employ six custodians to clean approximately 173,000 sq. ft.
of space at the Key West Courthouse, Courthouse Annex, Lester Building, Records Storage Building,
Gato Building, and Public Works Garage Compound. Not including leased facilities, smaller areas,
and emergency clean ups at facilities that have contracted janitorial service, this equates to about
28,833 sq. ft. per employee. (A 2002 study by the Florida Department of Education recommends one
custodian for every 19,000 sq. ft.). One new lead custodian was added in FY09 for the Freeman
Justice Center, however, due to the building's amenities and appurtenances, two (2) additional full-
time custodians are needed to keep the facility properly cleaned and maintained. The Court is willing
to fund the two new positions for at least FY2009.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: None.
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES: n!a
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Approval.
TOTAL COST: approx. $70,000 BUDGETED: Yes X* No -
($43,000 salaries + $27,000 in benefits) *for FY09
COST TO COUNTY: zero in FY09 SOURCE OF FUNDS: Court Facilities Fund
REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes - No x AMOUNT PER MONTH - Year
-
APPROVED BY: County Atty _ OMB/Purchasing _ Risk Management _
DOCUMENTA TION: Included X Not Required _
DISPOSITION: AGENDA ITEM #
.
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MO~RO[ CO-\J NT!' COURTHOUSE At.lIolU
SIXTEBNTH JUDICIAL CmCUlT OF FLORIDA 50,2 Wt-lnrHEAO ST-RiE:ET
KE'r' WEST, FLOFilICA 33040
TEliEPHONE C305; 292-3423
SU-NCOM: "'Sl'''-.J423
TELE.FAX ..30~) 2'92.3435
October 27, 2008
Mr. Dent Pierce
Director, Monroe County Public Works
1100 Simonton Street
Key West, FL 33040
RE: Freeman Justice Center Janitorial Services
Dear Dent:
I want to thank you and County Administrator Roman Gastesi again for meeting with me
to address some of our concerns concerning the maintenance ofthe newly constructed
Freeman Justice Center. As you know, this building requires a great deal of upkeep to
maintain the 53,000 square feet of granite flooring, woodwork, courtrooms and office
space. As we discussed at our meeting, the current Public Works janitorial crew is not
assigned to this building, but they are assigned to Jackson Square and other off-site
Cowltyoffices. With a building of this size, we need staff assigned full-time to the
Freeman Justice Center.
In that regard, the court is willing to fund two new full-time janitorial positions for the
Freeman Justice Center. As we discussed, these employees would be Public Works
employees, however, they would be funded by the court from the Court Facilities Fund.
Thank you again for your time If you have any questions or would like to discuss this
further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Holly H. omina
Acting Trial Court Administrator
cc: Chief Judge Sandra Taylor
[.' ....,-".--. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
O,~~rY ~o~~~~E Mayor, Mario Di Gennaro, District 4
Mayor Pro Tern Charles "Sonny" McCoy, District 3
Dixie M. Spehar, District 1
George Neugent, District 2
(305) 294-4641 Sylvia J. Murphy, District 5
Suzanne A. Hutton, County Atto rney * * Office of the County Attorney
Robert B. Shillinger, Chief Assistant County Attorney ** '/;~~~"'~~~1" 1111 12th Street, Suite 408
Pedro J. Mercado, Assistant County Attorney Key West, FL 33040
Susan M. Grimsley, Assistant County Attorney ** ~, , (305) 292-3470 - Phone
:..... _........ 1.1..
Natileene W. Cassel, Assistant County Attorney ~ . , ' (305) 292-3516 - Fax
. ........... ................. . .,~..
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Cynthia L Hall, Assistant County Attorney ~>,,~ ~~.:.~r)'
Christine Limbert-Barrows, Assistant County Attorney . ..'.'...1... ,~...~' . .,
Derek V. Howard, Assistant County Attorney
** Board Certified in City, County & Local Gov!. Law
Memo
To: Holly Elomina, Court Administrator
From: Bob Shillinger, Chief Assistant County Attorney
Date: October 28, 2008
Re: Use of Court Facilities Fees under F.S. 318.18(13) (a).
Cc: The Hon. Danny Kolhage, County Clerk
Suzanne Hutton, County Attorney
Debbie Frederick, Deputy County Administrator
Tina Boan, Director of Budget and Finance
Dent Pierce, Director of Public Works
You have asked this office to render an opinion on whether fees collected pursuant to
F.S. 318.18(13) (a) could be used to pay for the costs of janitorial and maintenance services at
the Freeman Justice Center. The short answer is yes, fees collected pursuant to the authority
set forth in F.S. 318.18(13) (a) may be used to pay for janitorial and other maintenance costs
associated with court facilities such as the Freeman Justice Center.
The Legislature authorized local governments, including Monroe County, to "impose by
ordinance a surcharge of up to $15.00 for any infraction or violation to fund state court
facilities." F.S. 318.18(13) (a). Monroe County adopted such an ordinance in 2004. See,
Ordinance 017-2004.
The question posed centers on the appropriate expenditure of the court facilities fees
collected pursuant to 017-2004 and F.S. 318.18(13) (a). The Legislature outlined the County's
responsibilities for funding the state court system in F.S. 29.008. One of the County's
responsibilities is to provide maintenance services of court facilities. Paragraph (c) of F.S.
29.008(1) defines maintenance to mean: "all reasonable and necessary costs of custodial and
groundskeeping services and renovation. . . as needed to accommodate functions for circuit
and county courts. . . and for maintaining the facilities in a condition appropriate and safe for
the use intended."
On September 23, 2008, the Attorney General opined that revenue generated pursuant
to a Sarasota County ordinance similar to 017-2004 could be used to fund County obligations
outlined in F.S. 29.008(1), specifically renovations to the courthouse tower and a cafe located
within the courthouse. See, AGO 2008-47. Given the opinion expressed in AGO 2008-47 and
the language set forth in F.S. 29.008(1) (c), there is adequate authority to justify using court
facility fees generated under the authority of F.S. 318.18(13) (a) to cover maintenance costs.
Accordingly, you are hereby advised that it is a permissible use of court facility fees to
fund janitorial and other maintenance costs at the Courthouse.