[0:03] everyone. Uh, if I could have your
[0:05] attention. Thank you'all very much for
[0:06] the um May 20th, 2026 meeting of the
[0:10] Conservation 2020 Land Acquisition and
[0:13] Stewardship Advisory Council, excuse me,
[0:16] Advisory Committee. Uh, we have a quorum
[0:18] and I'd like to call to order. And first
[0:20] order of business, a pledge of
[0:21] allegiance. If you join, stand and join
[0:23] me.
[0:26] I aliance to the flag of the United
[0:29] States of America and to the republic
[0:31] for which it stands. One nation under
[0:34] God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:37] justice for all.
[0:41] >> Thank you very much. Please call the
[0:43] role and we'll
[0:46] move on after that. Thank you.
[0:49] >> Renee Manita for the record. Karen
[0:52] Andress
[0:53] >> present. Carl Barco
[0:55] >> here.
[0:57] >> Joseph Cruz
[0:58] >> here.
[0:59] >> Ron in
[1:00] >> present.
[1:01] >> Christy Knight
[1:02] >> here.
[1:03] >> Matthew Lincolnhal
[1:04] >> here.
[1:05] >> Fred Bonson
[1:06] >> here.
[1:06] >> John Paul
[1:07] >> here.
[1:08] >> Chris Robin
[1:09] >> here.
[1:10] >> Nathan Shaw
[1:11] >> present.
[1:11] >> Shane Spring
[1:12] >> here.
[1:13] >> Andrew Sund
[1:14] >> is present.
[1:14] >> Gary Tasman
[1:15] >> here.
[1:16] >> Bridget Thorough is absent. And Savannah
[1:19] White, did she slip in? She's absent.
[1:22] That's a quorum.
[1:24] Thank you very much. Thanks everyone for
[1:25] coming. Uh, previously Renee circulated
[1:28] the minutes of our April 15th meeting.
[1:31] I'd like to see if anyone has any
[1:33] comments on their assume you've had a
[1:35] chance to read them. Any comments? And
[1:37] if not, we'll entertain a motion for
[1:38] approval of the minutes.
[1:40] >> Ch. I'll make a motion to approve.
[1:42] >> Thank you.
[1:43] >> Second.
[1:44] by Miss Andress. We have a
[1:45] motion, a second. Any discussion? Any
[1:47] opposition? That carries. Uh we have
[1:51] several uh staff negotiated purchase
[1:53] agreements tonight. Four in particular.
[1:56] Uh a couple of things of interest or of
[1:58] note relative to these. We have to vote
[2:01] on each of them separately and staff has
[2:04] to record our vote. Even if it's a
[2:06] unanimous vote, we'll still need to
[2:07] signify by raising our hands so there's
[2:09] some acknowledgement that that is our
[2:11] vote so that the record will record it.
[2:13] uh if you would please hold off any
[2:15] motions until after we've taken public
[2:18] input because members of the public may
[2:19] wish to comment on uh any particular
[2:22] one. So that's kind of the way we'll proceed on each one of them. We'll
[2:25] take them individually uh have a
[2:27] presentation by staff, ask questions,
[2:30] open it to the public, and then take
[2:31] whatever action that the committee deems
[2:33] appropriate. Everybody okay with that?
[2:36] All righty, Mr. Clemens. First one is
[2:39] nomination 143-2
[2:41] Orange River Preserve Infill 3.2 acres
[2:44] with a score of 61. Please proceed, sir.
[2:47] >> All right. This parcel is about a 3 acre
[2:50] tract of land. We've got it under
[2:54] contract for $495,000.
[2:57] The county will pay for the title
[3:00] commitment, closing fees, survey, phase
[3:04] one and phase two. The situation with
[3:08] this is a little more complicated
[3:10] acquisition. The property's going
[3:12] through foreclosure and bankruptcy.
[3:15] So, um,
[3:17] >> are there any other problems?
[3:20] >> So, um, staff staff recommends to
[3:24] proceed with it. As you can see, this is
[3:28] an infill parcel that has uh really
[3:32] bifurcates our property and acquiring
[3:35] this will make that one complete system.
[3:39] >> Mr. Clemens, I think this is in tier one
[3:42] of our acquisition schedule.
[3:43] >> That is correct.
[3:44] >> Thank you, sir.
[3:46] >> All right. You've had a brief
[3:48] presentation. It's an infill item of
[3:50] nomination 143-2. Does anyone on the
[3:52] committee have any questions of staff or
[3:54] comments? If so, Mr. Spring,
[3:57] >> do we know how much they owe on the
[4:00] property for closure
[4:01] >> over the 500,000?
[4:04] We also owe somewhere in the
[4:06] neighborhood of approaching 200,000 in
[4:09] fines on this that we can get forgiven
[4:13] under the county ownership.
[4:18] So, it resolves a lot of issues.
[4:22] There were some code violations
[4:23] associated with this property in its
[4:25] past use.
[4:28] >> Is it a local bank or is it a national
[4:31] bank?
[4:32] >> Excuse me.
[4:33] >> The local bank or national bank that has
[4:34] a foreclosure?
[4:35] >> I'm sorry.
[4:36] >> Local bank or national bank that has a
[4:38] foreclosure?
[4:39] >> I that I'm not sure.
[4:44] » Clemens question. If there's that
[4:48] outstanding debt that you mentioned, and
[4:49] I don't know if I heard correctly,
[4:50] 500,000 plus another two plus some other
[4:53] items, our purchase price is less than
[4:56] what would satisfy all those. I would
[4:58] presume that those are claims that are
[5:01] prior to our involvement, meaning the
[5:03] county. How do we solve it without
[5:06] picking that up?
[5:07] >> The ownership is under a bankruptcy
[5:09] trustee. So, the trustees and of the
[5:12] court had to approve the settlement.
[5:15] >> Thank you. Any
[5:17] other questions on 143-2?
[5:21] >> Quick question, Mr. Broco.
[5:22] >> Um, on the scoring, and this happened on
[5:24] several of them, some of the numbers are
[5:25] in red. What's the difference between a
[5:27] red?
[5:28] >> We we put the red numbers. If the
[5:30] scoring, if you look at it by itself, it
[5:34] would score the 61 points. If you look
[5:36] at it as part of the overall system
[5:39] attached to that whole preserve, it
[5:41] would score an additional four points
[5:43] because it's part of a larger system.
[5:47] Okay,
[5:48] >> we had talked about that at previous
[5:49] meetings and you know to keep things
[5:51] simple, we said we would give the score
[5:53] to give you all an idea as to what that
[5:55] differential would look like.
[5:57] >> So, but this how many acres?
[5:58] >> About three three and a half
[6:02] >> and you gave it two because it would
[6:04] have gotten zero without that.
[6:07] >> Correct.
[6:07] >> Okay. Thanks.
[6:10] everyone hear that discussion. The the
[6:12] red marks are to consider the adjacency
[6:14] factor that we've talked about in the
[6:16] past.
[6:18] Any other questions, comments? Seeing
[6:20] none, we'll go to the public. I don't
[6:21] have any cards on item 58. Would anyone
[6:24] in the public like to speak on
[6:25] nomination 143, Orange River Preserve?
[6:28] If so, please come forward.
[6:31] Seeing none, we'll close the public
[6:32] input. What is the uh pleasure of the
[6:35] committee or any other thoughts or
[6:36] questions on nomination 143-2?
[6:42] Uh,
[6:43] >> Mr. Cruz moved that we proceed with
[6:44] acquisition. Do we have a second?
[6:46] >> I'll second it. Shane Spring.
[6:48] >> We have a motion to second. Discussion.
[6:51] All in favor, please raise your hand.
[6:54] And that's unanimous. Does anyone oppose
[6:56] it? If so, raise your hand. None. Renee.
[6:59] That's unanimous.
[7:01] Next is nomination 656. in addition to
[7:04] the Buttonwood Preserve with a score of
[7:06] 4750 if you consider adjacency issues.
[7:10] Mr. Cuz
[7:12] Clemens, please provide us some update
[7:14] on that as well.
[7:16] >> The and this is in uh tier one also,
[7:19] correct?
[7:20] >> Yes. Thank you. Tier one, this parcel is
[7:24] about a 28 acre track of land. It fronts
[7:28] on Stringfellow. It's adjacent to um
[7:33] systems in this area and and part of the
[7:36] Buttonwood preserve separation by the
[7:39] road. The um appraised values came in at
[7:44] 1.4 million and 1.54 million. The
[7:48] purchase price is 1,395,000.
[7:53] The county pays for phase one audit,
[7:56] title policy, and survey.
[7:59] This parcel is also
[8:02] contingent upon a simultaneous closing
[8:07] of the parcel that you see up there as
[8:09] 657.
[8:11] Uh they have common ownerships and in
[8:14] both of these but uh when we were when
[8:17] this was presented that was one of the
[8:19] conditions for this to go forward for
[8:21] acquisition. So staff is recommending to
[8:24] go forward with this contract.
[8:29] >> Mr. Spring,
[8:30] >> what is the
[8:37] » If you've seen those large plastic
[8:40] water containers, it looks like there
[8:42] was a shrimp farm to the north or a fish
[8:45] farm to the north and during the
[8:48] hurricanes, it looks like that container
[8:50] floated onto the property. So, we had
[8:52] staff go out, get an estimate as to what
[8:55] they thought it think it will cost to
[8:57] remove it, and that 5,000 number is what
[9:01] we were given. The property owners are
[9:04] elderly. They're scattered
[9:07] throughout the country. Um, they really
[9:09] don't have the whereforall to
[9:12] handle this. So, um, that's why we're
[9:15] recommending a reduction in price and,
[9:17] uh, taking care of this ourselves. Any
[9:23] further questions,
[9:26] >> Robin?
[9:31] » It's going to be about $50,000. Just a
[9:34] fraction under 50,000 per acre.
[9:43] » South reason
[9:53] Correct.
[10:01] » What
[10:02] >> I understand,000.
[10:19] Well, if you're looking at 50 acres,
[10:22] what's that? $500,000 difference.
[10:26] >> Right. But that one went to tier two.
[10:29] So,
[10:33] » any other comments or questions of
[10:35] staff?
[10:37] >> If the phase one audit doesn't come back
[10:39] clean, who's responsible for radiation?
[10:44] >> We either they pay it or we can
[10:46] terminate the contract. Okay.
[10:58] I would just like to say this has been a
[11:01] long
[11:22] Any other comments or questions?
[11:24] >> All right, we'll go to public input. I
[11:26] have one card from Robert Ballard on
[11:28] this particular item. Please, please
[11:30] come forward and state your name for the
[11:32] record. And you have three minutes, sir.
[11:39] » Yes. I'm Robert Ballard with Klua Land
[11:41] Trust, also a native Pine Islander. Uh,
[11:44] I've been working on this property for
[11:46] nine years to try to get it preserved.
[11:48] If you're ever out on Pine Island, as a
[11:51] native Pine Islander, it is probably the
[11:53] most purest piece of property left on
[11:55] Pine Island without a lot of invasive
[11:58] plants and stuff on it. So, I encourage
[12:00] you to go forward with this nomination
[12:04] uh because it's really critical to my
[12:06] community to save it and save this big
[12:08] piece of pristine Pine Island as it is,
[12:11] pines and palmettos. So, I appreciate if
[12:14] you go forward with that.
[12:16] >> Thank you very much.
[12:17] >> Uh, would anyone else in the audience
[12:19] care to speak on item 5B, nomination
[12:22] 656? If so, please come forward.
[12:25] >> Uh, could I just make one more comment?
[12:26] Uh, Renee just reminded me the Tus Land
[12:29] Trust, we're so invested in this that we
[12:31] offered $80,000 towards the maintenance
[12:34] and improvements to this property if
[12:36] it's purchased. So that is uh the
[12:39] conclusive interest is committed to
[12:41] making $80,000 towards the uh parks and
[12:44] recreation from improving it.
[12:47] >> That's great. Thank you for that
[12:48] additional information. That's that's
[12:50] very great great info. Thank you sir.
[12:54] Seeing no other public input uh
[12:56] nomination 656 which is addition to the
[12:58] Buttonwood Preserve 28 acres roughly
[13:01] with a score of 47. What is the
[13:03] committee's pleasure?
[13:05] to move forward for acquisition.
[13:06] >> We have a motion to move forward for
[13:08] acquisition by Mr. Spring, second by
[13:09] Miss Anderson, and Mr. Cruz. At the same
[13:11] time, almost.
[13:13] We have a motion, a second to move
[13:14] forward with acquisition. Do we have any
[13:16] further discussion?
[13:18] All in favor, please raise your hand.
[13:22] All opposed, please do the same. Raise
[13:24] your hand. Seeing none, that's unanimous
[13:26] approval. Thank you very much, everyone.
[13:29] The next item, which as Mr. Clemens
[13:31] mentioned is somewhat tied to the
[13:32] previous one and it's a contingent type
[13:35] arrangement is parcel number 657 which
[13:38] is also in addition to the Buttonwood
[13:40] preserve 28.13 acres with a score of 47.
[13:43] Mr. Clemens, can you give us some
[13:45] background on this one as well?
[13:46] >> Yes, this parcel is contiguous to the
[13:49] one we just spoke about. it has um
[13:54] 60% of the ownership on the first one
[13:59] um is common in this site here. So,
[14:03] three people own the subject site we're
[14:05] speaking about that own 60% of the one
[14:09] that is contiguous to them with the road
[14:11] frontage. And I bring that up because
[14:13] when we initially appraised this, we
[14:15] appraised it as if it had no legal
[14:18] access.
[14:20] that came in at around $150,000.
[14:24] In the negotiations, they property
[14:26] owners pointed out their assessed value
[14:29] is around $285,000
[14:34] and they could go through the process
[14:36] and just assemble the whole parcel as
[14:40] one tract of land, which would cause us
[14:42] to have to go back, reappraise it, and
[14:45] go through, you know, a full analysis
[14:48] again. So instead of doing that, we had
[14:50] our staff do an in-house value
[14:53] adjustment, assuming that it had legal
[14:56] access. And in doing that is where we
[14:59] came up with an appraised value of about
[15:02] 200,000.
[15:04] That's based on the upland area only.
[15:08] That's about 8 acres at 40,000 an acre.
[15:13] That would be 320 by itself. And if if
[15:16] you were to assemble it to the as a
[15:18] larger piece at 50,000 an acre, that
[15:21] puts us at over 400,000. So we feel that
[15:25] making the internal market adjustment is
[15:28] reasonable and easy to explain and
[15:32] probably in the long run less costly
[15:34] than than uh going back through the
[15:37] whole process again. So, we're
[15:38] recommending the purchase at the um
[15:44] uh $285,000
[15:48] that being the county pays for the title
[15:50] policy
[15:52] survey and phase one audit and it's it
[15:56] also is uh contingent upon the
[15:59] simultaneous closing of the adjacent
[16:02] parcel.
[16:05] >> Thank you. questions of Mr. Clemens. Mr.
[16:10] >> Tasman,000
[16:15] at least the land trust is pledging. Is
[16:17] that 80,000 per
[16:20] um per parcel or total for the both
[16:23] part?
[16:30] » Well, if Mr. Ballard speaks, maybe we
[16:31] can convince him to double it.
[16:38] Just kidding, sir.
[16:42] » All right. Anyone have any other
[16:44] comments or questions? Karen.
[17:09] » Okay, good. I'll hold any motion till we
[17:11] hear from the public. But thank you.
[17:14] Anyone have any other thoughts?
[17:17] >> Mr. Robin,
[17:22] » it is
[17:26] interest
[17:27] >> in in the past. I think they've been
[17:30] solicited.
[17:32] I
[17:32] >> uh
[17:38] » and that's certainly something we can
[17:39] consider once we close on this.
[17:44] There's a parcel north of here that has
[17:45] come in for review. That'll be
[17:49] >> Mr. Clemens, if I may, the
[17:52] Charlotte Harbor State Lands is
[17:54] highlighted in a light green and then
[17:56] you have this parcel. What about the
[17:59] parcels below it that are just normal
[18:01] color? Is that stateowned too or who
[18:03] owns?
[18:03] >> Those are those are privately owned.
[18:06] >> Okay. And if you that southerntherly
[18:10] portion, if you look where the uh green
[18:13] hashmark area is and look north of that,
[18:16] that's a couple of hundred acres. And I
[18:18] just spoke to that property owner
[18:20] probably six months ago and asked her if
[18:22] she wanted to nominate it. Uh she said
[18:25] no, that was gifted to her. I don't know
[18:28] if it was her husband or father gifted
[18:31] it to her and it was important to her.
[18:36] Fair enough.
[18:37] >> Thank you.
[18:42] » Any other comments of or questions of
[18:44] staff before we open up for public
[18:46] input? Seeing none,
[18:49] >> I just have a comment and I don't want
[18:51] to look at it on this one, but in the
[18:52] future when we look at projects like
[18:54] this, when you evaluate the the value of
[18:58] the property, I I hope you look at the
[19:00] developable possibilities. For instance,
[19:02] if this is subject to compensating
[19:05] storage and it can't be developed, then
[19:07] the value I would assume is much less
[19:09] than if it could be. So
[19:10] >> we address it for those factors.
[19:13] >> If there is you can build on this
[19:16] >> the stuff that's fronting.
[19:18] >> Yes.
[19:19] >> What elevation is the land? You know,
[19:22] >> I did check it, but I'm thinking it's
[19:27] five or sixish, but I I
[19:28] >> That's what I'm saying. If the land is
[19:30] at elevation five and 100year storm is
[19:32] at elevation 10, you can't build on that
[19:35] land. And and I don't want to bring it
[19:37] up on this one, but in the future, I
[19:39] hope we look at those things.
[19:40] >> Well, similar properties out here are
[19:42] selling and I'm seeing them developed. I
[19:44] just drove out there today.
[19:46] >> I'm just asking that we look at that in
[19:47] the future because I I think that's a
[19:50] significant thing, not only today, but
[19:51] as as we continue.
[19:58] » Thank you. All
[19:59] right, we'll go to public input. Mr.
[20:01] Ballard, please come forward, sir.
[20:05] >> Please again state your name for the
[20:06] record and you have three minutes.
[20:10] » Yes, Robert Ballard includes the land
[20:12] trust. Again, I've walked these
[20:14] properties three times now and this
[20:16] piece we're looking at right now, the
[20:18] uplands are matching what we just
[20:21] approved to go forward with. The other
[20:24] part is mangroves which is very critical
[20:27] to the whole ecology of of Pine Island
[20:30] itself. U the upland part there's an
[20:34] eagle's nest that I found on my one of
[20:36] my trips through there and Ottoman
[20:38] didn't know about it and now they know
[20:40] about it and they're watching it and
[20:42] they had eagles again this year on it.
[20:44] Uh it's almost on the border of the
[20:46] piece you just approved there. Um but
[20:49] it's uh it's contingent the other piece
[20:52] and and to me it's important to keep it
[20:54] all together if you can. Uh you're
[20:56] looking at the piece coming up probably
[20:58] nomination in a next meeting or so just
[21:01] north of that which is part palm farm
[21:04] and part mangroves and stuff. Uh and
[21:07] south of it what you see in the in the
[21:09] gray area is mangroves. So it's not
[21:11] really development property. uh and
[21:16] maybe someday the owner would come up
[21:18] with a reasonable price to donate that
[21:20] but but I I suggest go forward with it.
[21:23] My opinion.
[21:26] >> Thank you very much sir.
[21:29] >> Would anyone else in the public care to
[21:31] speak on nomination 657 28.13 acre
[21:35] additions of Button Court preserve. If
[21:36] so, please come forward.
[21:39] Seeing none, we'll close the public
[21:40] input. What is the committee's pleasure
[21:42] with respect to nomination 657?
[21:48] » We have a motion by Miss Sanders, second
[21:50] by Mr. Cruz to pursue purchase of uh
[21:54] move forward to recommend purchase of
[21:56] this parcel pursuant to the negotiations
[21:59] that the staff has accomplished. There
[22:01] we go. We have a motion and a second.
[22:03] Any further discussion? All in favor,
[22:05] please raise your hand.
[22:08] Anyone opposed, please raise your hand
[22:09] as well. Seeing none, that's a unanimous
[22:12] approval as were the other two. Thank
[22:14] you.
[22:18] » Oh, yes, ma'am. I'm sorry. I should have
[22:19] mentioned that it is tier one.
[22:23] All righty. Uh item 5D is nomination 665
[22:28] Pine Islands Pine Island Flatwoods
[22:30] infill a 10acre parcel with a score of
[22:33] 23. Mr. Clemens, please give us some
[22:35] background on this parcel, sir.
[22:37] >> Yeah, this is somewhat of an infill
[22:39] parcel. is within the um
[22:44] Pine Island.
[22:46] Gosh, I can't I can't What's that?
[22:48] Buttonwood.
[22:50] >> Pinewood. Flatwood.
[22:51] >> I was going to give him a glass of some
[22:54] kind of wood.
[22:55] >> It's one of our preserves and it infills
[22:58] and it's got access to the uh you see
[23:00] that hash mark that runs through the
[23:03] preserve. That's an access for the
[23:06] private ownerships in there. And this
[23:09] area has been a troubled area for us
[23:13] from a maintenance standpoint because of
[23:15] those access points. Um in fighting with
[23:19] neighbors, uh property owners fighting
[23:21] with the county, they had some other
[23:24] access potential um points within the
[23:28] preserve. So we've consolidated it to
[23:30] that hashmark area. So, buying this
[23:34] property, as you can see, that takes
[23:36] another private ownership out of play
[23:38] and impact off of our maintenance staff.
[23:42] The uh appraised value for this parcel
[23:45] was $430,000
[23:47] and 400,000. The purchase price is for
[23:51] $400,000.
[23:53] The county pays for the environmental
[23:55] phase one audit and survey. Other costs
[23:59] are paid by the seller. uh staff
[24:02] recommends buying this parcel for the
[24:06] previous mentioned uh reasons
[24:11] and is it is also a tier one part.
[24:13] >> It's tier one also correct.
[24:17] >> Thank you sir. Any questions of Mr.
[24:19] Clemens relative to nomination 665
[24:25] question on the um contamination I
[24:27] assume the same answer. That's correct.
[24:29] And that's pretty standard in all of our
[24:31] contracts. We always have the right to
[24:33] bail out fest county contracts period
[24:36] for district.
[24:37] >> Obvious reasons. Help me make sure I'm
[24:39] for everyone the map I'm reading
[24:42] correctly. The green hash comes down
[24:46] goes east, west, north, south, east,
[24:48] west, and then there's a yellow hash.
[24:52] Does that provide access to this
[24:53] particular parcel so that you can
[24:55] maintain it?
[24:56] >> Correct. That was one of the
[24:57] contingencies in this even being
[24:59] nominated.
[25:00] >> I just want to differentiate between the
[25:01] two colors because the the legend says
[25:03] yellow is easements. Wasn't sure about
[25:05] the other, but it looks that color
[25:07] because it overlays the green.
[25:08] >> Yeah, the yellow are private easements.
[25:10] The green hashed are
[25:14] easements on county property to those
[25:17] private
[25:19] tracks of land in there.
[25:22] >> Thank you. Any questions of Mr. Clemens
[25:26] or staff on nomination 665.
[25:29] Seeing none, would anyone in the public
[25:31] care to speak on nomination 665, Pine
[25:34] Islands, Pine Island Flatwoods in
[25:36] Philip, 10acres? If so, please come
[25:38] forward at this time.
[25:41] Seeing none, we'll close the public
[25:42] input. What is the committee's pleasure
[25:44] with respect to nomination 665?
[25:50] » Motion by Mr. Spring, second by Miss
[25:52] Andress. Any discussion?
[25:56] All in favor, please raise your hand.
[25:59] Any opposed, please raise your hand as
[26:01] well. Seeing none, that's unanimous
[26:03] approval. Thanks everyone very much. Um,
[26:06] we will move on to acquisition reviews
[26:08] or possible acquisition reviews. We have
[26:10] two parcels for consideration. The first
[26:12] is nomination 655-2
[26:17] and it's a Charlotte Harbor buffer
[26:19] preserve infill of 2 acres with a score
[26:21] of 39. uh near your capens. Mr. Clemens,
[26:25] please uh give us some input on this,
[26:27] sir.
[26:28] >> This property is about two acres. It's
[26:31] improved with a house and some incillary
[26:34] structures.
[26:36] Uh the property owner previously
[26:39] nominated this. We were unable to come
[26:41] to terms.
[26:43] The um and the reason was price. Uh that
[26:47] was about 18 months ago or so.
[26:51] They have pursued a way of access over
[26:57] county property. They do not have legal
[26:59] access at this time. Uh the way that
[27:03] Florida law is written, it is nearly
[27:06] impossible to exclude access from a
[27:09] property owner to a public access point.
[27:14] So they're looking to go down and across
[27:18] our property. If you you see the yellow
[27:20] line, but then you see a faint dirt road
[27:24] that runs through there. That's the path
[27:26] that they've been using to get to this
[27:29] property. And that path has existed
[27:34] probably since about the 50s or 60s.
[27:38] and um the
[27:43] they have renominated this but they've
[27:45] also pursued that way of access and
[27:51] they brought it back and said that if if
[27:54] we could get to their price which is
[27:57] somewhere around
[28:00] 6 to 800,000
[28:02] they would rather sell it than to
[28:04] continue going through that process and
[28:06] I
[28:07] staff would recommend
[28:10] removing a neighbor within our preserve
[28:13] as well because we don't have control of
[28:16] what happens in there when you have a
[28:18] private ownership. Um, if you look, you
[28:21] can see a lot of scarring in this area.
[28:24] It is uh
[28:26] people come out in their ATVs and such.
[28:29] I I know fish and wildlife
[28:32] um monitor this area, county staff
[28:35] monitors this area, but you can't be out
[28:37] there 247 and and uh so that's kind of
[28:42] the reasoning. Staff recommends buying
[28:46] it for the purpose of the management
[28:49] aspect of this. Um, but if we don't go
[28:54] forward with it, then we'll we'll be
[28:56] working with them to perfect their legal
[28:59] access. So, that's kind of where we are
[29:02] on this one.
[29:03] >> So, our our function is to make a
[29:05] recommendation on whether you should
[29:06] pursue acquisition, not acquire at this
[29:08] time because we haven't gotten that far
[29:10] along. Correct.
[29:12] >> Correct. That would be to put it in the
[29:13] process. And if you do recommend going
[29:16] forward with acquisition, I would
[29:19] recommend to put it into tier one
[29:21] because if not, they're going to come
[29:23] after the way of access. And I suspect
[29:27] at that point, they'll want even more
[29:29] money afterwards because now when you
[29:31] have a perfected legal access, it's
[29:35] going to be easier to market.
[29:42] » It's a dirt. It's a dirt road.
[29:51] » They could.
[29:56] » Some of the concerns we have and I we
[29:58] have um you know park staff here, but
[30:01] when you're in an area like this, it's
[30:04] pretty flat. You can see it drains to
[30:07] the canal system there. just a slight
[30:10] elevation
[30:12] and grade change
[30:14] changes the water flow patterns and you
[30:18] know from there you run into other
[30:20] issues and you know I certainly defer to
[30:23] the experts if y'all want more
[30:25] information on that but
[30:32] » it it does almost totally bifurcate our
[30:35] property
[30:38] >> just out of curiosity how Did they ever
[30:39] acquire that to begin with with no
[30:41] access?
[30:42] >> Well, it went through foreclosure and we
[30:45] picked it up for about $90,000.
[30:48] But when you go through I take that
[30:50] back. It was a tax deed sale. So when it
[30:53] goes through a taxdeed sale, you inherit
[30:55] the uh
[30:58] nuisances that are remaining
[31:03] spring. So, we're going to go after
[31:05] this. We go after the other house that's
[31:07] there, too.
[31:09] >> I'm sorry.
[31:09] >> We go after the other house that's
[31:11] there, too, as well. See if they're a
[31:12] willing seller as well. If we're going
[31:14] to go after one, go after both.
[31:15] >> I I I those folks have been out there
[31:17] from what I've been told over 20 years
[31:20] and they're tenants. And uh we we have
[31:23] solicited all the property owners in
[31:25] here to nominate their properties to us.
[31:28] If you if you see the property, if you
[31:30] follow that yellow line,
[31:31] >> you see that at the very end of that
[31:34] yellow line
[31:36] right there, that was that was one we
[31:39] closed on probably a year ago when we
[31:41] solicited all these people to see if
[31:43] they were wanting to sell. So, we got
[31:46] that one. So, that's the most westerly
[31:50] private ownership that is interfering
[31:53] with the uh preserve.
[31:57] And then if we do acquire this, we will
[32:00] be required to remove all the structures
[32:02] and everything on this. Correct.
[32:03] >> Correct.
[32:06] >> Mr. Sun, you had a question.
[32:08] >> So the current easement was only back
[32:11] most westerly property. These people
[32:13] have no access to that easement.
[32:15] >> Correct.
[32:16] >> And now the secondary properties, have
[32:19] we had any communication with them that
[32:21] they're looking to pursue legal access?
[32:23] Because I appear they don't have access
[32:25] either currently.
[32:27] They haven't had their attorneys contact
[32:29] us yet.
[32:32] >> And then just last question,
[32:35] if we were to be able to fail to reach
[32:36] an agreement on purchase price, what
[32:38] costs legal cost is associated with the
[32:41] county for them to gain legal access? Is
[32:44] it
[32:47] >> we would have to um perfect their
[32:51] easement rights? we would we would want
[32:53] to restrict it to the path that they're
[32:56] currently following. Um, you know, we
[32:59] certainly wouldn't want to go into a a
[33:01] court situation and they say they want
[33:03] to, you know, a court come back and say,
[33:05] "Hey, follow the yellow line. Now we
[33:07] have a new disturbed area."
[33:10] I I think just common sense wise they
[33:13] would, you know, if it went to trial, it
[33:17] would be a you follow the path that
[33:19] they've been following. And that's
[33:22] pretty much the legal opinion that that
[33:24] I've received is that, you know, that
[33:27] would be what they would get. We don't
[33:30] really have the ability to charge them
[33:33] damages or anything like that. Uh what
[33:36] we would be looking to do is have them
[33:39] pay for a survey to draw out the legal
[33:41] description and then
[33:45] um survey the area that their um
[33:49] ownership entails so that we can have
[33:53] demarcation as to here's where you can
[33:55] go. You can walk through the whole
[33:58] preserve. But I don't think that's how
[34:01] people like to travel out here. But when you see a bunch of toys that folks
[34:05] have and they tend to be these ATVs and
[34:08] stuff,
[34:09] um
[34:11] I just leave it at that.
[34:14] Any other questions of Mr. Clemens?
[34:18] All right. Before we move forward, uh
[34:21] would anyone in the public care to speak
[34:22] on nomination 655-2,
[34:26] Charlotte Harbor buffer preserve infill
[34:28] 2 acres? If so, please come forward,
[34:31] please.
[34:40] Sherry Morris. For the record, I have
[34:43] hiked that and it is creepy when you are
[34:47] hiking through a preserve and all of a
[34:49] sudden you get to something and I tell
[34:51] my husband we can't go there, you know.
[34:53] So, it it really is disturbing as a as a
[34:58] hiker when you think this is, you know,
[35:01] where we're going to get to go and um so
[35:03] and because you don't know, you you
[35:05] you're worried about how the people the
[35:07] owners feel about you being anywhere
[35:09] around there. So, so the more of that we
[35:12] can take care of, the better.
[35:15] >> Thank you.
[35:16] Would anyone else in the
[35:18] public care to speak on nomination
[35:20] 655-2? If so, please come forward.
[35:24] Seeing none, we'll close public comment.
[35:26] What is the pleasure of the committee
[35:28] with respect to nomination 665-2? Mr.
[35:31] Sun, uh, pursuant to staff's
[35:33] recommendation to avoid the uh,
[35:36] potential maintenance and costs and uh,
[35:39] damage to the current preserve. I would
[35:42] move that we uh, move forward with the
[35:44] nomination and place it in tier one.
[35:47] >> Thank you. We have a motion or we have a
[35:48] second.
[35:49] >> Second,
[35:49] >> Mr. Paul. All right. We have a motion
[35:51] and a second to move forward move
[35:55] item 655-2 nomination 65-2 forward. Any
[36:00] discussion?
[36:02] All in favor say I.
[36:03] >> I. Any in opposition?
[36:06] That carries unanimously.
[36:09] I have a question. Robert, can we go
[36:12] after the other property as well?
[36:18] At the same time,
[36:19] >> we can certainly solicit them.
[36:22] >> Do you need a motion or you guys?
[36:24] >> We can just do it. Seth can just do it.
[36:27] I think everyone probably is would would
[36:29] vote for that even if it was a motion.
[36:31] Makes sense. Thank you. Uh the next item
[36:34] is item 6B, nomination 673 in the crew
[36:38] trust, uh 30 acres with a score of 79.
[36:42] Uh Mr. Clemens, please give us some
[36:44] background on this parcel, sir.
[36:48] » Yeah, we're looking at about a combined
[36:50] it's two tracks of land, but it equates
[36:53] to about 30 acres in uh section 29 of
[36:56] the crew area. Um it scores 79 points.
[37:00] staff recommends to
[37:03] pursue this parcel for acquisition
[37:06] purposes. It is contiguous to um public
[37:11] ownership. These lines get a little
[37:13] skewed in the maps, but that uh green
[37:17] line, I mean that green area that's on
[37:20] the left hand side of the screen would
[37:24] form the uh easterly bound or touch the
[37:27] easterly boundary of the subject
[37:29] properties.
[37:31] That's the crew trust itself, correct?
[37:33] Saying it borders that at least
[37:34] certainly the north
[37:36] >> portion north half of this does.
[37:39] >> Correct.
[37:40] This this is als
[37:45] uh ecosystem area
[37:48] and it will be beneficial to projects
[37:52] that natural resources is working on.
[37:54] >> What tier would you recommend this for?
[37:56] >> Uh tier one.
[38:00] And these are the highest scoring
[38:02] parcels that we have in the in the crew
[38:05] area.
[38:06] >> All righty. Any comments or questions of
[38:09] let Miss Andrew
[38:20] acquire this whole thing for a long
[38:23] time.
[38:27] So you want to do you want to change
[38:28] that and not move forward with this one?
[38:34] » I want to move forward.
[38:38] » All right. Thank you. All righty. Any
[38:40] other questions? Mr. Broco,
[38:42] >> what's this this strip between the two
[38:44] parcels?
[38:45] >> It's it's just mapping.
[38:47] >> Okay. So So they touch.
[38:49] >> Yeah.
[38:50] >> Okay.
[38:51] >> Any other questions or comments? Seeing
[38:53] none, we'll go to the public. Would
[38:55] anyone in the public care to speak on
[38:56] nomination 673 in the crew trust 30
[38:59] acres? Please come forward.
[39:02] Seeing none, we'll close public comment.
[39:04] What is the committee's uh direction
[39:06] with respect to nomination 673 that's
[39:10] recommended for acquisition review as a
[39:12] tier one parcel.
[39:14] >> I move forward.
[39:16] >> Moved by Miss Andrew. Do we have a
[39:17] second?
[39:19] >> Second by Mr. Tasman. We have a motion
[39:20] to second. Any discussion? Any
[39:22] opposition? That carries unanimously.
[39:24] Thanks everyone very much. There's a lot
[39:26] of lot of parcels to look at tonight. Um
[39:29] >> clarify I'm sorry. We clarify that
[39:32] that's tier one, please.
[39:33] >> Tier one. Yes.
[39:34] >> Thank you.
[39:41] » All righty. Uh
[39:44] as everyone knows or we've talked about
[39:46] in the past, we're governed by the
[39:48] sunshine law. And from time to time it's
[39:51] very uh helpful for us to either get a a
[39:54] primer or a refresher as the case may be
[39:56] either way on what that uh means and how
[40:00] that would affect how we operate uh as
[40:02] members of this committee. So we've
[40:04] asked our county attorney's office and
[40:05] Miss Swindle to give us an overview of
[40:07] the Sunshine Law and things we need to
[40:09] be aware of. The floor is yours. Ma'am,
[40:15] please uh please go forward.
[40:20] Thank you. All right. Good evening
[40:22] everyone. Amanda Swendle with the county
[40:24] attorney's office. Um, as the chair has
[40:27] said, I'm here to talk to you about um,
[40:30] public records, sunshine law, and voting
[40:33] conflicts. And just keep in mind that
[40:36] this is like a Mount Everest level view
[40:39] of what is included in public record,
[40:42] Sunshine Law. The the amount of
[40:43] information and rules and exceptions to
[40:45] rules that there are is so voluminous.
[40:48] it would take me three or four days to tell you all about it. So, this is
[40:52] just really the the the highlights, the
[40:55] upshots, and um just the the main things
[40:58] to keep in mind. So, um as as your chair
[41:02] said, um your role as an advisory board
[41:06] member subjects you to the exact same
[41:08] laws and standards that are applicable
[41:10] to elected officials, uh the
[41:12] commissioners who appointed you. The
[41:13] reasoning is is that even though you
[41:15] make a recommendation to the board, that
[41:18] recommendation is part of the entire
[41:20] decision-making process that will
[41:22] eventually go to the legislative body
[41:24] for a vote. So, all of that comes in to
[41:26] what we call um sunshine law. So, the
[41:30] main rules to um to keep in mind is that
[41:33] you should only discuss board me at a
[41:36] noticed public meeting such as this. Um,
[41:39] you should assume that all your
[41:40] communications regarding matters that
[41:42] come before this board are public
[41:44] records. And if you ever have a doubt or
[41:47] a question as to whether a communication
[41:49] is a public record or something has gone
[41:51] out of the sunshine or if you have a
[41:53] voting conflict, just stop and ask
[41:56] staff. So, if you could remember
[41:57] anything from this uh presentation is if
[42:00] a little flag goes up in your brain and
[42:02] you think, just send the question to
[42:04] Renee and then Renee will forward it to
[42:06] me most likely. and and we'll get you an
[42:09] answer. So, that's that's what the
[42:11] county attorney's office is here for.
[42:14] Um, so the Sunshine Law, the rule is
[42:17] that two or more members of the same
[42:18] board may not discuss matters on which
[42:21] foreseeable board action will be taken
[42:23] except at a noticed meeting. So any two
[42:26] members of the same board communicating
[42:29] in any medium. So in person, phone,
[42:32] email, text, chat message, social media,
[42:35] all of those would be uh prohibited
[42:38] forms of communication. Um even indirect
[42:40] communication. So you can't tell, you
[42:43] know, Renee, would you go and pull the
[42:45] other board members to see what they
[42:47] think about this? You know, or um relay
[42:51] information between two board members
[42:53] using a third party. um that would that
[42:55] would be a violation of the sunshine
[42:57] law. Um so what does foreseeable action
[43:00] mean? It means something obviously
[43:02] that's going to come before this board
[43:04] and you're going to vote on it. Um and
[43:07] it doesn't mean that it's on the agenda
[43:09] for the next meeting. It means that it will the potential for it to come to
[43:14] you for a vote is foreseeable at this
[43:17] moment. So we um I would say in this
[43:19] context a a nomination that's been
[43:21] submitted that hasn't come before the
[43:24] board yet, you would assume that that
[43:26] would be foreseeable action that the
[43:27] board might eventually take. So that
[43:29] would come under it. So some some things
[43:32] um some examples I've seen that people
[43:35] get in trouble with texting. Um
[43:38] I would strongly recommend against
[43:41] sending any text messages about any uh class act business. um forwarding
[43:47] materials to another member with your
[43:49] notes or thoughts on it. Um discussions
[43:52] in the hallway right before a meeting.
[43:55] This says after a meeting, but I think
[43:57] it should say before a meeting. Um
[43:59] asking staff to run this by another
[44:01] member. Again, that's that indirect
[44:02] communication. And this is something
[44:04] that we just talked about replying all
[44:06] to a group message. you know, if you're
[44:09] gonna, you know, Renee sends out a
[44:10] message to everybody and you reply with
[44:13] some thought or idea and then everybody
[44:15] gets it. You've just communicated an
[44:17] idea about a a a foreseeable action. So,
[44:22] um, common mistakes, I think we just
[44:25] kind of went over most of those. Uh, the
[44:28] one here, I think social media is
[44:29] interesting. So, um, obviously if you
[44:33] make comments on a post about a 2020
[44:35] nomination, you're communicating outside
[44:37] of a public meeting. And I've even seen
[44:39] some indication, although I haven't seen
[44:41] any court cases, that just liking
[44:43] something could be considered a
[44:45] communication because you're signaling
[44:47] to the public what your opinion is
[44:50] essentially. So, um, just kind of watch
[44:53] out for that.
[44:55] Um, public records, moving right along.
[44:58] What counts as a public record? any
[44:59] material regardless of form made or
[45:02] received in connection with board
[45:04] business that's used to perpetuate,
[45:06] communicate or formalize knowledge. So
[45:09] access to public records in Florida is a
[45:11] constitutional right of every person. um
[45:14] they have the right to uh examine public
[45:16] records um on request and the county has
[45:20] an obligation to retain public records
[45:23] and to redact any or um sensitive
[45:27] information out of those. Um so when we
[45:30] say regardless of physical form um it
[45:34] means obviously electronic
[45:35] communications um handwritten notes
[45:38] again social media posts um the um
[45:43] uh the scheduling so a meeting room you
[45:46] know that we a conference room that gets
[45:48] scheduled with different meetings and
[45:49] you have that that's a public record. Um
[45:52] so basically anything that is um
[45:56] memorialized
[45:57] um would be considered a uh potentially
[46:00] a public record.
[46:02] Uh personal devices again this is the
[46:04] big one where people get in trouble. Um
[46:08] sometimes people make an assumption that
[46:10] if they communicate on their personal
[46:11] phone that it's not a public record.
[46:14] That is definitely not the case. So just
[46:16] keep that in mind. If you do receive a
[46:20] communication on your personal device
[46:22] that you think is a public record, I
[46:24] recommend forwarding it to Renee because
[46:26] once it hits our county servers, we'll
[46:28] be responsible for retaining it and you
[46:30] won't. So, um, so what to do? Again, uh,
[46:35] don't decide on your own what is or is
[46:36] not a public record. If you think that
[46:39] it might potentially be, ask question.
[46:42] Um, oh yeah, the disappearing message
[46:44] apps. This is a new one. Interesting. I don't I've never used any of these,
[46:47] but I guess there's apps where you you
[46:49] know, communicate and then it's gone. I
[46:51] mean, obviously there's no way to retain
[46:52] that. I really hope no one's
[46:56] talking about county business on one of
[46:58] those kind of apps, but you know, it's
[47:00] something new that I've heard of. Um,
[47:03] all right. So, then, uh, the last topic
[47:05] that I'm going to really talk about
[47:06] tonight is voting conflicts. when you're
[47:09] appointed to sit on this board, uh you
[47:11] are expected to have uh the public's
[47:13] interest in mind in all the actions you
[47:15] take and that the public interest is
[47:17] supposed to override your own personal
[47:19] interest. So, uh the the rule is that if
[47:23] you have if if an item is going to come
[47:25] before you uh for a vote and that item
[47:29] could potentially benefit you, a
[47:32] relative or your employer that you are
[47:35] not allowed to vote on it, you you need
[47:37] to abstain. You need to fill out a form
[47:40] um saying why you need to abstain and
[47:42] you need to announce that at the at the
[47:44] public meeting. So, um, and this is a
[47:47] really tricky, um, area of the law
[47:50] because first of all, family members,
[47:52] that's divine defined very specifically.
[47:54] It goes up to your parents and then down
[47:58] to your um,
[48:02] your children, but not to your
[48:03] grandchildren or your grandparents. And
[48:05] anyways, there's all different like
[48:07] kinds of um, you know, exceptions and
[48:09] rules. Um, who counts as your employer?
[48:12] That's a very litigated area of the law.
[48:15] Um so all those questions are very you
[48:18] know minutia type questions that again
[48:20] should come to the county attorney's
[48:22] office for a legal opinion.
[48:25] Um so again that's what the county
[48:28] attorney's office is here for. That's
[48:30] essentially my role in being a li le
[48:33] liaison to this board. So um I'm happy
[48:36] to answer any questions that you have.
[48:38] I've gone through this really really
[48:40] quickly I know but in the interest I
[48:41] know everybody probably wants to get
[48:43] home. So, if anyone has any questions,
[48:45] I'm happy to answer them here or you're free to ask me offline.
[48:49] >> I do have one.
[48:50] >> Sure.
[48:52] >> Uhhuh.
[48:52] >> And I like to log everything 2020 post.
[48:55] >> Uhhuh. Is that a problem?
[48:58] >> I I would
[49:01] What is 2020 posting? Are they posting
[49:03] things before a nomination gets voted
[49:05] on?
[49:06] >> Only stuff we acquire.
[49:07] >> Okay. Yes. If it's after acquired, then
[49:09] no, you don't have to worry about it.
[49:10] But I was like, I really hope they're
[49:11] not posting that.
[49:14] >> Okay, good. Um, yeah. So, you're good
[49:16] there. Now, I would avoid, you know, if
[49:19] someone makes a comment getting into
[49:22] some kind of discussion back and forth.
[49:25] >> Well, that's not a good idea anytime, I
[49:27] don't think.
[49:31] » Yeah. But if they posted, you know, if
[49:33] there was a post saying this nomination
[49:35] is coming to us and you did like, you
[49:37] know, happy face, whatever that and
[49:40] again, like I said, I haven't seen any
[49:42] court cases that have actually said
[49:44] this, but I've seen some uh legal
[49:47] theories.
[49:49] So,
[49:50] all right. Well, thank you everybody.
[49:52] >> Well, I have I have one real back to
[49:54] slide four,
[49:55] >> maybe.
[49:59] Uh, tell me when I'm at four.
[50:05] » Okay.
[50:07] >> The third bullet point you mentioned
[50:10] that it should have said discuss a
[50:11] pending recommendation in the hallway
[50:12] before a meeting. Yeah.
[50:14] >> Okay. We voted on uh recommended that
[50:17] the board of county commissioners pursue
[50:18] acquisition of four different parcels.
[50:20] Now, let's say we walk out in the
[50:21] parking lot and are we prohibitive and
[50:24] say, "Well, I'm glad we looked at all
[50:26] those. There were some good things
[50:27] there. What did you think?" Is that a
[50:28] violation of the sunshine law because we
[50:30] have made a recommendation but it's out
[50:32] of our hands now.
[50:33] >> So I I I would kind of split that up. So
[50:35] when you make the recommendation for
[50:38] acquisition by the board I I think
[50:40] that's okay because it's now out of your
[50:42] hands. But if it's for you know to
[50:44] pursue negotiations that is going to
[50:47] come back to you again. So I would say I
[50:50] would say avoid that.
[50:51] >> Good difference. So tonight we could
[50:53] discuss the four that went for were were
[50:56] recommended for purchase but we
[50:58] shouldn't discuss the two that were just
[51:00] nominated.
[51:01] >> That would be my advice.
[51:02] >> Thanks.
[51:02] >> Thank you.
[51:04] >> Good differentiation. Thank you.
[51:07] >> Any other questions?
[51:09] >> Thank you very much for that. Uh there
[51:12] are uh reporting requirements that we
[51:14] all have. So I think that we have uh
[51:17] if you transact and do business with the
[51:19] county and represent projects before the
[51:21] county, you have to file a form
[51:23] quarterly to to show what contacts you
[51:26] made on behalf of clients. And then we
[51:27] each have to file an annual financial
[51:29] disclosure as well. So keep keep that in
[51:31] mind. No numbers on it, but outlines
[51:34] generally where your compensation comes
[51:36] from and things like that.
[51:37] >> When is that?
[51:39] >> I think it's always at the end of June
[51:41] or July, usually in the summer.
[51:44] And now you have to do it
[51:45] electronically. In the old days, you
[51:46] could do it very easy by filling out by
[51:48] paper and sent in. Now you got to go
[51:50] through AI and get your facial
[51:52] recognition and your retina scanned and
[51:53] all that. Do it. It's ridiculous. It's
[51:56] not quite that bad, but it's still a a
[51:59] task. All right. Thank you. Uh, next
[52:02] item on our agenda is management
[52:04] updates.
[52:05] >> Yes, Miss Lumis,
[52:06] >> for the record. And I'm only going to do
[52:08] about 30 minutes. You don't worry about
[52:10] it. Just kidding. Now, one of the things
[52:12] I do want to do is I want to introduce
[52:14] Jeff Anderson um and kind of explain to
[52:17] you one of the things we're we are
[52:18] working on in our department um is
[52:21] promoting Jeff and he will oversee all
[52:24] of our um 2020 employees which will help
[52:28] us a great deal. Right now they're
[52:30] spread out everywhere which they will be
[52:32] but he will oversee all of them. So he
[52:34] will start coming with us to the
[52:36] meetings. So, I want to introduce Jeff
[52:38] and if you can tell us a little bit
[52:39] about yourself.
[52:41] >> Sure. Um, so I started with the county
[52:45] in 2004
[52:47] um with Conservation 2020. Um, I've
[52:50] spent the last six years mainly managing
[52:52] the Cape Coral preserves,
[52:56] but over the years have worked and done
[52:58] management on pretty much all the
[53:01] preserves in the county. Um, so I'm very
[53:05] familiar with with all of them and um
[53:09] just, you know, en enjoy all of it and
[53:12] looking forward to continuing my career
[53:14] doing the land management
[53:16] >> countywide is the city is primarily in
[53:19] be, you know, all over the place.
[53:20] >> Yes,
[53:21] >> all of it. So, we're really excited
[53:23] about it. them. It's been I think really
[53:26] I think since Kathy Olsen was around
[53:28] before we had you know somebody over top
[53:30] of them because each one of them had a
[53:33] different manager. This will make it
[53:35] easier. We'll have a better
[53:36] understanding of everything which will
[53:38] be really good. Um I gave um Renee notes
[53:43] more detailed notes so I'm not going to
[53:44] read through a whole bunch of stuff just
[53:46] some different things. This is just a
[53:48] picture of G. It is completely done now
[53:51] and it's absolutely gorgeous. So, just
[53:53] wanted to show you even better picture
[53:55] than last time. Um, and it all of our
[53:58] preserves, our all of our um 2020 people
[54:02] are doing exotic removals. They're
[54:05] trimming the trails. They're it's
[54:08] everywhere. So, if you want details,
[54:10] it'll be more in the report, but they're
[54:11] all doing it. Um, we did get some
[54:14] benches donated
[54:16] um from Fort Meyers Edison Quanas that
[54:19] are going to go out to Oak Hammock. So,
[54:21] are they there yet? No.
[54:22] >> Okay. But they're going to be going out
[54:24] to Oak.
[54:25] >> Um, Wild Turkey Strand will be having a
[54:28] Memorial Day workday if anyone's
[54:30] interested. 8:30 to noon. Matanza's Pass
[54:34] Preserve is almost done. It's getting
[54:36] closer. Staff have spent days and days
[54:39] working on it for when we can open it
[54:41] up. It's It's going to be absolutely
[54:43] gorgeous. We're hoping maybe June. We're
[54:46] keeping our fingers crossed. Yellow
[54:49] Fever Creek will be closing the parking
[54:51] lot June the 1st through the 4th to work
[54:54] on drainage and parking lot
[54:55] improvements. Um and then since October
[55:00] at our preserves they have caught 755
[55:03] hogs.
[55:05] >> So just ongoing staff are doing an
[55:08] amazing job. So that's it. You have any
[55:10] questions?
[55:14] Right.
[55:19] Thank you very much. U would anyone else
[55:22] uh do anyone have any questions of Miss
[55:23] Lumis?
[55:26] All right. Thank you. Thank you for that
[55:27] report. Uh are there any committee
[55:29] member items that anyone would like to
[55:31] bring forward at this time? If so,
[55:32] please go forward.
[55:35] M Mr. Sure. I have one and it is
[55:37] actually not class act related, but I
[55:38] did want to heap some praise on the
[55:40] parks department and excuse me, uh,
[55:43] deputy director at Lumis' team. We had
[55:46] the Florida High School state
[55:47] championships in baseball happening here
[55:49] in Lee County over the last seven days.
[55:51] Today, we just crowned the last two of
[55:53] the eight statewide champions. And so,
[55:55] big thanks to uh the parks department,
[55:58] all the work they do to make that a
[55:59] wonderful tournament and event and
[56:01] represent Lee County very well at a
[56:02] statewide level. So, thank you guys.
[56:04] Just as a followup to that, the 3A
[56:06] championship game, the squeeze playm
[56:07] made world internet. Oh my gosh. How
[56:10] >> I If you look very closely at the end of
[56:12] that play, you see me ushering my
[56:14] umpires off the field
[56:17] from the opposite dugout because the
[56:19] friends in the one dugout weren't as
[56:20] excited about the squeeze play as as you
[56:22] are.
[56:23] >> It is really worth watching, man. It is
[56:25] so fun. All righty. Thank you. Any other
[56:28] comments? Seeing none, uh our next Oh,
[56:31] public comment. Would anyone in the
[56:33] public care to speak on anything? We had
[56:35] a thumbs up. We're good to go. Our next
[56:37] meeting date is June 17th at 5:30.
[56:40] Seeing no other business, we'll
[56:41] entertain a motion for adjournment.
[56:44] We have a motion second by Mr. Sun and
[56:46] Mr. Cruz. All in favor, please stand and
[56:49] go.