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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem R01COUNTY of MONROE The Florida Keys BULK ITEM: No TIME APPROXIMATE: N/A BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Mayor Michelle Lincoln, District 2 Mayor Pro Tem David Rice, District 4 Craig Cates, District 1 James K. Scholl, District 3 Holly Merrill Raschein, District 5 Regular Meeting February 18, 2026 Agenda Item Number: RI 26-0270 DEPARTMENT: County Attorney STAFF CONTACT: Bob Shillinger AGENDA ITEM WORDING: A public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance amending Section 2-58 of the Monroe County Code that would authorize the County Administrator to grant temporary exemptions to conduct and activities which are otherwise prohibited in the county code at County parks, beaches, libraries, and government centers, provided that the exemption is for organized community events which contribute to the health, safety, and welfare of the County, is issued in writing, lasts no more than 10 days, and is transmitted to members of the Board. ITEM BACKGROUND: At the November 12, 2025 BOCC meeting, the Board directed the County Attorney to prepare an ordinance which would vest the County Administrator with the authority to grant exemptions to conduct that the County code prohibits at county facilities so as to avoid the need for the Board to hold a special meeting to consider such requests. The discussion arose after a request from participants in the Key West Boat Races to use Higgs Beach County Park as a place to park their Recreational Vehicles and boats. That request was rejected because Section 18-26 of the Code expressly prohibits the parking of RVs at Higgs Beach County Park and makes violations of that section punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. The proposed draft ordinance creates a new paragraph of Section 2-58(b) of the County Code that would authorize the County Administrator to grant temporary exemptions from ordinances prohibiting conduct and activity at certain county facilities provided that the exemption is for an organized community event that contributes to the health, safety, or welfare of the County, lasts no more than ten consecutive days, the exemption is documented in a writing and that document is transmitted to the Commissioners upon issuing it. The ordinance would apply only to certain categories of County facilities such as parks, beaches, libraries and government centers but not any airport, fire station, courthouse, vacant conservation parcel or county maintained right-of-way. The proposed amendment expressly excludes from the County Administrator's authority to grant exemptions, her ability to grant waivers for rules relates to alcoholic beverage use. PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: 11.12.25 (Item P1), the BOCC directed the County Attorney to draft an ordinance that would empower the Administrator to waive of prohibitions and rules for conduct prohibited by the code. INSURANCE REQUIRED: No CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES: N/a STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve DOCUMENTATION: See proposed ordinance FINANCIAL IMPACT: n/a R1. A public hearing to consider adoption of an ordinance amending Section 2-58 of the Monroe County Code that would authorize the County Administrator to grant temporary exemptions to conduct and activities which are otherwise prohibited in the county code at County parks, beaches, libraries, and government centers, provided that the exemption is for organized community events which contribute to the health, safety, and welfare of the County, is issued in writing, lasts no more than 10 days, and is transmitted to members of the Board. ORDINANCE NO. - 2026 AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING SECTION 2-58 OF THE MONROE COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES, "COUNTY ADMINISTRATION" TO VEST THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR WITH THE AUTHORITY TO GRANT EXEMPTIONS, LASTING IN DURATION OF NO MORE THAN TEN DAYS, TO ANY PROHIBITION AGAINST CONDUCT AT COUNTY FACILITIES, AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE ORDINANCE, THAT ARE SET FORTH IN THE COUNTY CODE FOR ORGANIZED COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE OF THE COUNTY AND REQUIRING THAT THE ADMINISTRATOR DOCUMENT THE EXEMPTION IN WRITING AND TRANSMIT A COPY OF THAT WRITTEN EXEMPTION TO MEMBERS OF THE BOARD UPON ISSUANCE; CLARIFYING EXISTING LANGUAGE; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABIILTY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, under F.S. 125.01(1)(f) the Board of County Commissioners for Monroe County (BOCC) is granted the authority to, among other things, provide parks, playgrounds and recreation areas; and WHEREAS, the BOCC implemented the County Administrator form of governance when it adopted the County Administrator Law of 1974 in Ordinance 13-1977; and WHEREAS, the powers and duties of the County Administrator are primarily set forth in F.S. 125.74(1); and WHEREAS, among the duties set forth in F.S. 125.74(1), paragraph (g) vests the Administrator with the power and duty to "supervise the care and custody of all county property;" and WHEREAS, Monroe County owns or operates various facilities that stretch over 120 miles from Key West to the Miami -Dade County line on Card Sound Road, including but not limited to three government centers, five libraries, and over a dozen parks, beaches, and boat ramps hereinafter referred to as "County facilities"; and WHEREAS, the Monroe County Code sets forth various rules and regulations for the County facilities including some prohibitions on certain expressed activities; and WHEREAS, some but not all sections of the County Code that prohibit certain conduct within a County facility also grant the County Administrator the authority to waive that prohibition provided certain guidelines are met; and WHEREAS, the Board recently scheduled a special meeting to consider an emergency ordinance that would have granted an exemption from a prohibition against stopping, standing, and parking of recreational vehicles at Higgs Beach County Park set forth in Section 18-26(g) of the Code due to a request for overflow parking of race vehicles which are often towed by recreational vehicles; and WHEREAS, while the issue leading to the calling of that special meeting was remedied, the Board finds it important to vest the County Administrator with the authority to grant waivers to prohibitions against certain activities in County facilities so the Board will not have to meet in an emergency session should a similar request occur in the future; and WHEREAS, it is not the intent of the Board to grant the County Administrator limited discretion in granting such waivers; and WHEREAS, the Board desires for the County Administrator to inform them in a timely manner whenever such a waiver is granted; and WHEREAS, the remainder of the proposed changes in subsection (b) are non -substantive clarifications of the existing language; and WHEREAS, the amendment of Section 2-59(b), necessitates the repositioning of text applicable to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) into a new paragraph (4). NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA THAT: SECTION 1: LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. The above stated recitals to this Ordinance are hereby incorporated into this Ordinance by the BOCC as the legislative intent pertaining to this Ordinance. SECTION 2: LIMITED AUTHORITY TO GRANT EXEMPTIONS. Section 2-58(b) of the Monroe County Code of Ordinances is hereby amended to read as follows: (b) County administrator; powers and duties. In furtherance of and in addition to the power and duties set forth in F.S. § 125.74: (1) In case of a construction projector professional services that are the subject of previously executed contracts, the county administrator is authorized without necessity of approval by the board of county commissioners: a. To approve, sign and execute change orders with each change order not to exceed $100,000.00 or five percent of the original contract price, whichever is greater. Such change orders are noncumulative: in other words, each change order may be in the amounts described and need not be added together for the purposes of reaching a maximum per project or per service change order cost ceiling of $100,000.00 or five percent of the original contract price. However, before the county administrator may execute a change order authorized by this subsection, he must notify the members of the board of county commissioners, at least 24 hours in advance, of his intention to execute the change order. The county administrator must provide a report at each monthly board of county commissioners meeting listing the change orders approved by him during the prior month and the reasons for those change orders; and b. To extend a project's substantial completion date up to six months by written agreement to the previously approved contract. (2) In the case of selecting and employing county personnel, the county administrator is authorized without the necessity of approval of the board of county commissioners: a. To approve and sign reimbursement requests for moving expenses of newly employed department heads or other key personnel as designated by the administrator, who reside outside of the county at the time of hire. The amount paid may not exceed $5,000.00; and b. To reimburse travel expenses of department director or other key personnel interviewees. (3) The county administrator may execute agreements on behalf of the board, provided that said agreements are for an amount within the administrator's signature authority of $100,000.00. If the county administrator authorizes a person to act as a designee, such person shall comply with F.S. § 112.3145, and the financial disclosure requirements set forth therein. All agreements will be in a form approved by the county attorney's office prior to execution. The county attorney may require approval or ratification of an agreement by the board. (4). With reference to such authority exercised by the county administrator on behalf of the board as more fully set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), and 3) of this subsection, steases,iehthe board hereby determines that none of its discretionary authority is being exercised by the county administrator; rather, the execution of such agreements is in conformity with fiscal decisions already made by the board. Agreements and reimbursements heretofore made by the administrator and that meet the criteria set forth in this section, as hereby ratified. (5). Limited Authority to Grant Exemptions of rules and regulations at County Facilities. The County Administrator is vested with the authority grant exemptions on a limited and temporary basis of no more than 10 consecutive days to any rule or prohibition set forth in this code that regulates conduct or regulates an activity, excluding alcoholic beverage use, at a county facility provided that the exemption is granted for organized community events that contribute to the health, safety, or welfare of the County. The Administrator may consider the economic impact of the event to the County and its residents when determining whether to grant an exemption under this paragraph. When granting an exemption, the Administrator must state in writingthe he specific exemptions) being granted and transmit a copy of that exemption to members of the Commission upon issuing it. For purpose of this paragraph, the term "county facility" means any park, beach, library, government center, or other building or facility owned, operated, or managed by the County but does not include any airport, fire station, courthouse, vacant conservation parcel, or county maintained right -of -wad SECTION 3: SEVERABILITY. If any portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or declared to be unconstitutional, inoperative or void, such holding shall not affect the remaining portions of this Ordinance. If this Ordinance or any provision thereof shall be held to be inapplicable to any person, property or circumstances, such holding shall not affect its applicability to any other person, property or circumstances. SECTION 4: CONFLICT WITH OTHER ORDINANCES. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of said conflict. SECTION 5: FILING: Pursuant to F.S. 125.66(2), the Cleric is directed to transmit by email a certified copy of this Ordinance to the Florida Department of State as soon after enactment as is practicable and to the Municipal Code Corporation for publication. SECTION 6: EFFECTIVE DATE. The ordinance shall take effect pursuant to the requirements set forth in F.S. 125.66(2). PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida, through procedures authorized by F.S. 125.66(2), on the 28TH day of January, 2026. Mayor Michelle Lincoln Mayor Pro Tem David Rice Commissioner Craig Cates Commissioner Holly Merrill Raschein Commissioner Jim Scholl (SEAL) BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Attest: KEVIN MADOK, Clerk OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA C Deputy Clerk Michelle Lincoln, Mayor Approved as to form and legal sufficiency: Robert B. Shillinger, Jr. Monroe County Attorney