[0:02] . Morning, everyone.

[0:05] let me welcome all of you to

[0:06] the orange county board of county

[0:07] commissioner meeting of december 2nd,

[0:09] 2025. As we begin this morning, we're

[0:11] going to call

[0:13] on commissioner nicole wilson to introduce

[0:14] her

[0:16] guest who will be bringing the invocation

[0:20] for today. Following

[0:22] the invocation we'll ask commissioner wilson

[0:23] if she'll lead

[0:26] us in the pledge of

[0:28] allegiance, after we will then move

[0:29] forward on

[0:31] our agenda thisthis morning. With

[0:32] that, commissioner

[0:33] wilson you are recognized.

[0:34] >> thank

[0:35] you so much,

[0:37] mayor. Good morning, everybody. Today we

[0:41] are especially honored to have

[0:42] pastor scott blue with us to offer

[0:44] this

[0:47] morning's invocation. A

[0:48] homeless outreach nonprofit he launched

[0:50] in west orange county in

[0:53] 2010. Matthew's hope is dedicated

[0:56] to

[0:57] meeting basic needs and offering a hand up to

[0:59] men, women and

[1:00] children experiencing homelessness.

[1:02] individuals

[1:04] can access clothing medical mental

[1:07] health care, eye exams, case management,

[1:08] showers,

[1:10] hair and nail salon, and even day

[1:12] care and early learning institution.

[1:14] pastor scott has found

[1:17] success in helping people by

[1:18] prioritizing self-sufficiency and

[1:20] stability for a

[1:22] better quality of life. Under his

[1:23] leadership with a small

[1:25] but extraordinarily dedicated team

[1:26] matthew's hope has become

[1:28] known for its approaches for serving

[1:29] our winter

[1:31] garden and west orange community and

[1:32] as of

[1:34] june 2022 they are serving in brevard

[1:35] county.

[1:37] the organization currently operates

[1:38] a mobile

[1:39] emergency shelter busses providing

[1:41] safe overnight accommodations for

[1:44] unsheltered individuals if

[1:47] you haven't had the opportunity

[1:49] to see these I would invite you to

[1:50] do that.

[1:52] in september I had the privilege of

[1:53] visiting the

[1:54] brevard campus where the shelters

[1:56] are changing

[1:57] lives. Today is especially meaningful

[1:59] to have pastor scott here because we

[2:00] have

[2:01] the opportunity to approve the mobile

[2:02] shelter

[2:04] project here on our consent agenda.

[2:05] it will

[2:08] serve residents all over west orange

[2:10] county in an effort many have worked

[2:11] tirelessly to bring

[2:14] today. I am so thrilled to

[2:17] support him

[2:20] and the homeless

[2:22] outreach efforts. I want to say this

[2:23] is

[2:26] off the script editorial,

[2:27] pastor scott blue is somebody who

[2:29] also speaks truth to power in

[2:31] a time that power seems to have lost

[2:32] compassion and I think it's

[2:34] a critical voice that needs to be

[2:35] heard, and I am really,

[2:37] really grateful to have him in my

[2:38] community and as a friend. Without further adieu.

[2:47] [ applause ]

[2:53] why are

[2:56] you all standing up?

[2:59] I heard I can stay five or ten minutes so

[3:02] I want to make sure

[3:05] you're comfortable because I'm not on

[3:08] the pulpit any more and so this

[3:10] is my opportunity to speak a little

[3:13] jesus into your life. I have a few

[3:14] things I want to share with

[3:17] you because I'm able, and I'm watching

[3:19] things happening right now that, quite

[3:20] honestly in 63

[3:23] years, I never thought I would see

[3:25] happen again. The lack of empathy

[3:26] and compassion

[3:28] for others is at an all-time low.

[3:31] when it comes to homelessness we seem

[3:32] to have figured out

[3:35] the best way to handle things is

[3:38] simply lock them up. Don't kid

[3:40] yourself for a minute this isn't happening.

[3:41] I track it.

[3:44] we can show it happening every day.

[3:45] recently

[3:47] was you're going to love this,

[3:50] camping paraphernalia. As

[3:53] a drug addict I

[3:56] know what drug paraphernalia is. It's

[3:59] something to think about. But I want

[4:00] to

[4:02] share with you that matthew mobile

[4:03] teams

[4:05] are throughout from basically

[4:08] I-4 up into claremont. Out well

[4:10] before the sun rises caring for the

[4:11] homeless men, women and children living on

[4:14] the streets of our community. As the

[4:15] cold

[4:17] weather approaches and will soon arrive

[4:18] imagine having no

[4:19] shelter, going with no or very little

[4:21] rest, with

[4:23] no relief in sight. Not even being

[4:24] able to sit

[4:26] down without being told to move along

[4:30] or risk arrest. Don't buy into

[4:31] the false narrative that homelessness --

[4:32] what homelessness looks like. The

[4:36] truth is, the truth is is

[4:38] that many are elderly, some very ill,

[4:39] while

[4:41] others are physically or mentally disabled

[4:42] and then the

[4:43] young families with children with no

[4:45] understanding how they are

[4:48] supposed to survive on our streets.

[4:50] due to the increased law enforcement

[4:51] of new laws coming out

[4:53] of tallahassee, basically making it

[4:56] illegal to sleep outside, illegal to

[4:57] be

[4:59] homeless, the anxiety and tension

[5:00] we see on

[5:01] the streets right now is at an all-

[5:03] time high. And when people

[5:06] feel that anxiety and that kind

[5:08] of tension, they do desperate things.

[5:09] good people

[5:12] do desperate things. Simply I

[5:14] ask from each of you today and our

[5:15] commission and

[5:17] mayor, pray for them. If you can't

[5:18] do

[5:19] anything else, if you want do anything

[5:23] else, pray for them. We go where we

[5:24] need to go.

[5:27] we do what needs to be done. If not

[5:30] us, then who? Emily

[5:32] dickinson said, I dwell in possibilities.

[5:33] mr. Mayor

[5:35] and commissioners, I choose to dwell in

[5:36] the possibilities and

[5:39] god does the rest, and I am --

[5:42] invite you to also, I choose to live

[5:43] in possibilities, dwell in the possibilities.

[5:45] let us pray.

[5:48] this morning, lord,

[5:51] god, father, I lift up our

[5:53] elected leaders to you and pray that

[5:54] they may have

[5:56] open hearts and open minds and choose

[5:58] to dwell on the possibilities. As

[6:00] they gather here this

[6:02] morning, may they acknowledge with

[6:03] courage that all

[6:05] people desire to realize all the potential

[6:06] that

[6:09] life offers. May each be led with

[6:11] conviction, enthusiasm and passionate

[6:12] resolve.

[6:15] may the needs, hopes and

[6:18] dreams of all peoples be given consideration,

[6:19] those

[6:21] with homes and

[6:23] those finding themselves without.

[6:24] living on our streets.

[6:27] may each one here place politics aside and

[6:29] look to you for guidance and strength,

[6:30] if you are with us who could

[6:33] be against? Us the many task and

[6:35] challenges ahead are not easy but

[6:36] nothing worth fighting for has

[6:38] ever been easy and greatness isn't

[6:39] achieved

[6:42] by the faint of heart. Creator

[6:43] god, often making the proper decision

[6:45] is not always the

[6:47] popular decision. So may you provide a

[6:48] fortress

[6:51] of protection of those will to do

[6:52] what is

[6:54] right rather than simply

[6:56] doing what is easy. Lord god, our

[6:57] country is hurting,

[7:00] if we ever needed you, we need

[7:02] you now. May your presence be known

[7:03] in this place today and

[7:06] every day,

[7:07] in your precious son christ jesus, amen.

[7:15] >>> I pledge allegiance to the flag

[7:16] of the united states of america and to the

[7:18] republic for which it

[7:21] stands

[7:33] one nation under

[7:35] god indivisible with liberty and justice for

[7:36] all.

[8:27] >>> we

[8:30] have no proclamations or resolutions

[8:31] or anything like that

[8:33] today. Let me acknowledge that I

[8:35] hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving

[8:36] holiday period of

[8:40] time. Now that we're in the

[8:41] season, this is my favorite time of

[8:43] the year,

[8:45] as it is all about how wewe treat

[8:48] others and how we recognize and give

[8:49] to the

[8:52] least of those in our community,

[8:54] and so we have one more board county

[8:57] commission meeting in this calendar

[9:00] year. We have a board meeting in a

[9:01] couple weeks and that

[9:03] will be the final one for this year

[9:07] and we move into 2026.

[9:10] so today we do

[9:12] have a full agenda and we're going

[9:13] to

[9:16] move forward and open it up

[9:17] for any public comment this is a period

[9:19] of time in which we

[9:20] ask members of the public to come

[9:22] forward regarding matters or

[9:25] issues of concern, matters that

[9:26] are appropriate discussion during

[9:28] this period of

[9:31] time, these matters would

[9:32] include procurement of land issues

[9:34] or property

[9:35] concerns, rather than this board, this

[9:36] afternoon we will be taking up the

[9:40] various land use related

[9:43] issues and we will be soliciting public

[9:49] input during each of the public hearings

[9:50] this afternoon. The public comment

[9:52] period is this morning.

[9:54] do we have members of the public present

[9:55] who wish to be heard?

[9:57] >> we do. We have seven registered

[9:58] speakers this morning.

[9:59] >> all

[10:00] right. We're going to give each of

[10:01] our speakers a couple minutes

[10:04] by which to make their case, and

[10:06] we'll generally call them in the order

[10:09] in which you signed up. You can go

[10:10] ahead and

[10:12] proceed with calling those who wish to

[10:13] be heard.

[10:15] >> thank you, mayor. Folks, I'm going

[10:16] to call your names in

[10:19] batches. Line up along the back wall in

[10:20] the

[10:21] order called when you approach the

[10:22] podium, begin with your

[10:25] name and address for the record.

[10:28] first speaker is gavin

[10:31] kian, zachary

[10:34] moldof, and joe silvistrus.

[10:43] >> thank you, mr.

[10:46] kian up first, is he here

[10:48] at this time?

[10:49] >> does not appear.

[10:50] >> does

[10:52] not appear he's here. Mr.

[11:01] moldof.

[11:02] >> good morning,

[11:04] commissioners, mayor, staff. Thank

[11:06] you for the opportunity to be here.

[11:07] before I say anything I came

[11:09] here to say, I would like to say thank you

[11:10] for displaying

[11:13] the menorah here. As a jewish

[11:16] person, we

[11:17] don't always find representation or

[11:19] even acceptance in

[11:21] all spaces and it's felt good to know

[11:22] that I'm accepted

[11:25] here and to see that represented

[11:26] so explicitly. I would just like to say thanks.

[11:31] my name is zach moldof

[11:34] I reside at --in district

[11:37] 5, 32792 my zip code.

[11:39] my full address in the written record.

[11:40] today

[11:43] I did come down here with a whole

[11:44] written and

[11:45] prepared things, but there's just

[11:46] other things happening in the community

[11:48] that call for attention as well, so

[11:49] I'm going to do my best

[11:52] to split my time here. I think

[11:55] when it comes to visit orlando

[11:57] and everything that we've heard lately

[11:58] about investigating the

[12:00] spending and revealing what's been

[12:01] spent and

[12:03] what it's been spent on, it shows

[12:04] there's a

[12:05] tremendous opportunity for orange

[12:07] county to

[12:10] innovate and to create opportunities

[12:11] where

[12:12] this marketing money can be spent

[12:13] differently to

[12:16] achieve the same results. And

[12:19] there's all kinds of ways to

[12:22] structure these

[12:25] programs so that

[12:27] the revenue expended circulates in

[12:28] the community much more

[12:31] so than being paid out in marketing

[12:32] firms we would

[12:34] like to emulate here. We can

[12:36] cultivate the talent here and make this

[12:37] a place where people who

[12:38] are leaving from new york and los

[12:40] angeles want to move to and we can

[12:43] pay less to get that talent here and help

[12:45] that talent shape our community into

[12:46] what it should be so they want to

[12:47] be here and all those great outcomes can be made

[12:49] possible.

[12:55] separate from that, I am --I am

[12:58] really proud to see that the

[13:00] commissioners and the mayor are taking

[13:01] up

[13:04] with such

[13:07] urgency the issue of basically motorized

[13:08] vehicles on

[13:10] our sidewalks,

[13:13] simply because they have electric

[13:16] motors. We've slipped into this space

[13:17] where

[13:19] we've forgotten that the distinction

[13:20] is

[13:22] about the motor not what powers

[13:24] the motor. Serving on the transmac this

[13:25] is a citizen who came

[13:27] down and pointed out the urgency to

[13:29] this --to us and

[13:31] I just wanted to echo that, you know, it

[13:32] is really

[13:33] important, and I'm glad to see that action is being

[13:34] taken. So thank you for the time.

[13:38] >> all right.

[13:41] thank you mmoldof.

[13:44] we'll move to our

[13:47] next

[13:49] speaker, please.

[13:50] >> good morning,

[13:51] mayor

[13:52] demings, my name is joe. I serve as

[13:53] the

[13:54] senior director of safety and emergency

[13:55] management at orange county public

[13:57] schools. I'm here today representing

[13:59] the school district to

[14:02] share some thoughts on micro

[14:03] mobility devices which will be discussed

[14:05] later on

[14:07] the agenda. Last month our district

[14:08] held a school board work

[14:10] session focused on these devices prompted

[14:11] by concerns

[14:12] from parents and the community about

[14:14] how students are

[14:16] using them. Over the past few years,

[14:17] we've noticed these

[14:19] devices becoming more and more popular

[14:21] with students as a way to commute

[14:23] to and from

[14:25] school, however with the increase of

[14:27] the use of these devices we've seen

[14:29] an increase

[14:31] in incidents resulting in jers and

[14:34] some cases serious injuries to the

[14:35] rider

[14:36] or bystanders. We are working with nonprofits

[14:38] and other

[14:39] stakeholders to address the challenges

[14:41] posed by thee

[14:42] devices and determine best way to

[14:44] curb unsafe behaviors

[14:47] to ensure safety of students and the

[14:49] community members at large. We request

[14:50] the opportunity

[14:53] to partner with the county and future

[14:54] discussions regarding micro mobility

[14:56] devices given many of

[14:58] our students rely on them daily to

[14:59] get

[15:00] to school. We want to thank you for

[15:02] your

[15:03] leadership, attention to this issue

[15:04] in consideration of a partnership

[15:06] to keep our students an community

[15:08] safe when

[15:09] using these alternative methods to

[15:11] commute to school. Thank you.

[15:14] >> all right. Thank you mr.

[15:15] silverest. We look forward to working

[15:17] with the school district as

[15:18] we better understand how these devices

[15:20] are being

[15:22] used and what we can perhaps do from

[15:25] a regulatory perspective on making

[15:26] the

[15:28] safer for our youth and others who

[15:29] seem to be

[15:32] drawn to using these devices.

[15:34] more to follow. Thank you. We'll move to

[15:35] the next speaker.

[15:37] >> our next batch of speakers is going

[15:38] to

[15:41] start with

[15:43] val mobilely, followed by david segal,

[15:47] jake patroski, dr. Jim moyer.

[15:53] >> good

[15:55] morning, county commission.

[15:56] >> good

[15:57] morning.

[15:59] >> val mobley,

[16:02] 226 west king street. In the spirit of

[16:03] the

[16:05] season I am here today

[16:08] to give thanks for your leadership,

[16:11] for what you've done with the budget

[16:12] of

[16:14] this county, and the ways

[16:17] that you give back through the

[16:20] budget to the people who live in orange

[16:21] county. I think it's --y'all have

[16:23] done a tremendous job. I

[16:25] don't agree with every expenditure

[16:26] but that's beside the point.

[16:29] the point being, a lot

[16:32] of good is being

[16:35] done. Let me highlight the

[16:37] housing initiative trust fund that

[16:38] y'all

[16:44] created. That was and

[16:47] is a landmark legislation. And I hope

[16:50] that every other county in

[16:53] the state will follow suit.

[16:55] I can see where the smaller counties

[16:56] think they

[16:58] can't afford it, but I think that

[16:59] anything you do county wide to

[17:01] help people have a roof over their

[17:05] heads, is worth it.

[17:08] so thank you for that.

[17:11] I just wanted to point out

[17:14] that I'm here

[17:17] supporting the unhoused and I will

[17:18] be

[17:20] here, y'all are going to see me.

[17:23] I just don't want you to

[17:26] forget the unhoused. These are

[17:29] our friends, our neighbors, maybe

[17:30] we

[17:32] don't know their names, but we know

[17:33] that they don't

[17:35] have a safe place to rest their

[17:38] head at night. And so just don't forget

[17:39] them.

[17:44] one other thing off

[17:47] that

[17:50] topic is, [ inaudible ] it's on

[17:53] the agenda, red light cameras.

[17:56] if you're not breaking the law, why

[17:57] are you afraid of

[17:58] the cameras? They're a good thing.

[17:59] thank you.

[18:00] >> all

[18:02] right. Thank

[18:05] you, ms. Mobilebly.

[18:08] it's very

[18:09] difficult for those of us who serve at

[18:11] the local level to forget about

[18:13] the homelessness in our community,

[18:14] we see them, we're around them.

[18:17] yes, this board is

[18:20] very compassionate board and every

[18:21] board

[18:24] meeting we have, we

[18:27] are passing new, contractual

[18:29] relationships to address those issues

[18:30] in

[18:32] our community. Perhaps more than most

[18:35] communities within the state of florida.

[18:36] and

[18:39] sometimes without a lot of help

[18:42] from tallahassee. So thank you

[18:45] for being thankful this morning.

[18:48] we'll move to the

[18:51] next

[18:52] speaker.

[18:53] >> good morning, everyone.

[18:54] I'm david

[18:55] segal. Can't tell my joke anymore.

[18:57] I live

[19:00] at 1868 corner

[19:03] view lane in orlando. First of

[19:06] all, I would like to thank the

[19:09] commission for their

[19:12] legal activity against

[19:18] whatever the

[19:20] draconian 180 bill is. I was going

[19:21] to suggest if you look

[19:23] at the florida constitution you may

[19:24] find

[19:27] a greater ally than the approach

[19:28] you're using. Just two things. There's

[19:30] three levels of things going on

[19:33] here. There's the state

[19:34] masters, there's the county commission

[19:36] and oftentimes you do the same thing.

[19:39] you want to increase your own power.

[19:40] home

[19:42] rule is really not in

[19:45] our constitution. It's

[19:46] an interesting, like I said I know

[19:48] the points being argued

[19:51] are kind of --well, one, they haven't

[19:52] been

[19:53] challenged before, so you've got problems

[19:54] there.

[19:56] so I would say that first thing, if

[19:57] that's your

[20:00] argument, maybe you should look to

[20:02] ways to being sure there is home rule

[20:03] in things that you

[20:05] do. When you appoint people to the

[20:09] tdt or crc they

[20:11] are a political situation, reflections

[20:12] of your own will and that's just the way

[20:13] it is.

[20:15] and if

[20:17] you, again, if you look in the constitution,

[20:18] the ultimate power

[20:21] is the people. The

[20:23] first big section in there says all

[20:24] the power of the state government

[20:27] are invested in the people. Doesn't

[20:28] say

[20:29] that about the county or anything

[20:30] else. If you kind of hook

[20:32] the county, other than saying we're

[20:33] elected, by

[20:36] the way you select commissions or

[20:37] things

[20:39] like that, you can make the

[20:42] argument to the court that you are dealing with

[20:43] home rule.

[20:45] last thing I

[20:48] will

[20:51] say someone mentioned the tdt

[20:52] money, last time someone tried to touch

[20:54] that, even republicans, they

[20:57] kind of got burned, so I would

[21:00] thank commissioner scott, your comments

[21:03] years ago, on kind of

[21:06] sticking with this the

[21:11] statute as very wise. Thank you.

[21:12] >> thank

[21:13] you. Move

[21:15] to our next speaker,

[21:18] please.

[21:19] >> good morning. My name is

[21:20] jake

[21:24] petrosi. I you in

[21:27] windmere. Thank you, mr. Mayor

[21:29] and commissioners for your service

[21:30] and

[21:32] commitment to the community. It is

[21:33] commendable and we

[21:36] really appreciate

[21:39] it. I have a

[21:42] rather urgent comment about public

[21:43] safety

[21:45] issues. On november 7th a high schooler

[21:48] at olympia was struck by a vehicle

[21:49] in

[21:51] a crosswalk.

[21:54] it is my understanding from research

[21:57] 74% of pedestrian incidents happen

[21:59] outside of the crosswalk while 26%

[22:03] happen inside crosswalks.

[22:05] that's kind of scary, but it gives

[22:06] us a

[22:08] good opportunity. The smaller the

[22:09] area the better it can

[22:12] be controlled, the

[22:15] safer we can

[22:18] make it. There are no school

[22:20] signs in that area. It is 45 miles

[22:21] an hour. It

[22:24] takes the average car about 229

[22:27] feet with human reaction

[22:30] time factored in to stop, to come

[22:31] to

[22:33] a complete stop at

[22:36] 45 miles

[22:39] an hour. There are no

[22:41] flashing pedestrian signs. Tease the

[22:42] only public entrance

[22:45] to olympia high school, I believe.

[22:46] I

[22:47] just wanted to bring this to your

[22:48] attention because it's a matter

[22:51] of time before

[22:53] tragedy strikes there again. I understand

[22:55] there's a process to

[22:57] government to get things done with

[22:58] analysis and

[23:01] procedures for reductions of

[23:02] speed, but there's a school there

[23:06] and I believe there should be a school

[23:07] zone

[23:09] sign that shouldn't take very long to figure

[23:12] out or throw up a possible flashing

[23:13] light pedestrian sign at that crosswalk where students walk

[23:16] every morning.

[23:19] I am not on a crusade

[23:21] for pedestrian safety, but I am passionate

[23:22] about

[23:23] student safety and getting our kids

[23:25] to school every day, and I

[23:26] think we can all agree on the. Thank

[23:28] you very much for your

[23:31] time.

[23:32] >> thank you, mr.

[23:33] petrosky and we have several members

[23:34] of

[23:36] our transportation and engineering

[23:37] department here listening

[23:39] carefully to what you said. We'll

[23:40] investigate and

[23:41] take appropriate action. All right.

[23:43] dr. Moyer.

[23:45] >> good morning. My name is dr. Jim

[23:46] moyer.

[23:49] I'm an

[23:50] elected water conservation district

[23:52] 2

[23:55] supervisor. I live in north

[23:58] ocowey. I have a list

[24:01] of thank yous this

[24:03] morning, post-thanksgiving or november.

[24:06] it seems like --there it is. I always

[24:10] want to thank orange

[24:11] county and their partnership with

[24:13] the orange soil and

[24:16] water

[24:17] conservation district administration.

[24:18] especially mr. Miles back here who

[24:19] does

[24:22] an

[24:25] outstanding job, I also want to thank ms.

[24:28] almeda in the audience for all

[24:31] she does for the veterans here.

[24:34] I personally choose to

[24:36] recognize my fellow veterans daily,

[24:37] but orange county

[24:40] does

[24:43] an outsanding job

[24:45] recognizing veterans. I want to thank

[24:46] the people of

[24:49] lockhart who allowed me to do a

[24:50] presentation, not just because it was for

[24:52] 25

[24:55] minutes. I want to thank winter

[24:57] garden. He did an article in orange

[25:01] soil and water conservation district.

[25:03] I want to thank commissioner moyer

[25:04] for

[25:07] allowing me to join her

[25:10] at her fourth quarter district 2 meeting.

[25:13] I want to thank the

[25:16] breakfast club

[25:18] for hosting it orange county water

[25:19] soil and

[25:22] water conservation district

[25:25] fundraiser. Thank you

[25:27] for representing lopez for sending

[25:28] her staff. The

[25:31] picture here she

[25:34] encouraged us to take.

[25:37] I

[25:40] thank orlando district

[25:44] 3, miguel from representative lopez's

[25:49] office, commissioner nesta,

[25:52] ogburn, pastor

[25:55] heart, and several other people, farm

[25:57] bureau executive director mike, et cetera.

[25:58] thank you and god bless you all.

[26:07] >> thank you.

[26:10] onto the next speaker.

[26:11] >> that was

[26:12] our last registered speaker.

[26:13] >> thank

[26:14] you so all of our

[26:15] speakers this morning. We will move

[26:16] forward on our agenda at this time

[26:19] and move to the consent agenda and ask

[26:20] the

[26:22] administrator to present the concept

[26:25] agenda.

[26:27] >> thank you, mayor. >> we do not

[26:28] have any changes so

[26:31] staff presents it

[26:34] as submitted.

[26:37] >> so move. >> second. >> all right.

[26:40] commissioner gomez says she was first.

[26:42] all right.

[26:43] >> second. >> who is the

[26:44] second.

[26:45] >> commissioner uribe is the second on

[26:46] the motion. All in

[26:49] favor let it be known by saying yea.

[26:52] >> opposed no.

[26:54] motion passes and it is uman muss.

[26:55] I would like

[26:56] to highlight some of the items that

[26:58] we just passed on the

[27:00] consent agenda, especially given some of

[27:04] the commentary this morning. Our mental

[27:05] health

[27:06] and homeless division continues to

[27:07] innovate with new

[27:10] and exciting ways to

[27:13] serve some of orange county's

[27:15] most vulnerable citizens. Working

[27:16] with matthew's hope,

[27:19] we recognized minister scott,

[27:21] the division will convert a transit

[27:22] bus into overnight mobile

[27:24] emergency shelter providing sleeping

[27:25] accommodation for

[27:28] unsheltered individuals county wide.

[27:31] the total cost of the bus conversion as well

[27:34] as the delivery of social services

[27:35] to

[27:37] these individuals who suffer from

[27:38] homelessless

[27:40] while they are in our care

[27:43] is

[27:46] $787,000 in one year. We anticipate that

[27:49] the mobile emergency shelter will

[27:52] serve approximately 2,000

[27:55] individuals annually. Orange county

[27:58] head start will be working with big

[27:59] smiles

[28:01] florida to offer mobile on-site

[28:04] dental services for all students all of

[28:07] the students, services will include

[28:08] dental

[28:11] exams,

[28:13] cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants

[28:16] and follow-up care. All services are

[28:18] provided at no cost to the program

[28:20] families. These are

[28:21] families within our orange county

[28:23] head

[28:24] start program. The county identified

[28:26] the affordable

[28:28] housing trust fund as a funding source for

[28:32] the rebuilding together central florida

[28:35] safe at home program.

[28:38] and reserved $460,000 for minor repairs

[28:41] of single-family homes.

[28:44] the program anticipates

[28:46] completing repairs to at least 15

[28:49] owner/occupied single-family homes,

[28:51] with very, very or moderate income

[28:53] households where at least

[28:56] one household member is either

[28:59] a senior citizen or

[29:02] disabled. Repairs are focused

[29:03] on increasing safety so these seniors

[29:05] can age in place

[29:07] and allow those who are disabled to

[29:08] have

[29:11] full accessibility of

[29:14] their homes. We approved

[29:17] the sand lake road safety

[29:20] improvements project. These

[29:22] operational improvements will add

[29:23] east and

[29:26] westbound right turn lanes between

[29:29] rialto drive reducing the

[29:32] potential of side-swipe cashes.

[29:35] the upgrades along with

[29:37] other access management will eliminate

[29:39] several existing conflict points.

[29:41] the construction

[29:44] of

[29:45] a 10-foot wide shared use path on

[29:47] the south side of

[29:50] the road they will provide a safety facility

[29:51] for

[29:53] pedestrians and recreational

[29:56] cyclists.

[29:57] also, as part of the orange county

[29:59] vision zero initiative,

[30:02] the public works is applying

[30:04] a comprehensive strategy to provide

[30:05] safe facilities for

[30:07] all roadway uses and eliminate conflict

[30:08] points

[30:11] that can lead to more severe

[30:14] crashes.

[30:17] this project is another step to help

[30:18] our

[30:20] county eliminating all

[30:23] roadway fatalities

[30:25] and serious injuries. So that's good

[30:26] news for

[30:29] our community.

[30:32] so sometimes when you hear criticism

[30:33] by

[30:34] the state of florida about how we

[30:35] might

[30:38] be spending your dollars, general

[30:41] tax dollars, without those dollars, we

[30:42] could

[30:44] not do these types of things within

[30:45] our

[30:46] community. So this is as a direct

[30:47] result of what we

[30:50] hear from you, the citizens who

[30:51] come before us sometimes during public

[30:53] comment you bring

[30:55] different issues that you want to

[30:56] address, almost all of those

[30:59] issues that you bring to us,

[31:01] require some type of financial solution.

[31:02] and this is

[31:05] where within our budget where we

[31:06] have flexibility to address these

[31:08] myriad of issues. This is

[31:11] how we do it. So keep that in mind

[31:12] as

[31:14] you hear some other

[31:17] narratives that sometimes come

[31:19] out for other reasons. So with that,

[31:20] we're going to move to

[31:23] our discussion

[31:26] agenda. Carey mathis, award-

[31:29] winning manager from the

[31:34] procurement division be will be -- our

[31:35] items.

[31:36] >> I want

[31:38] to recognize matthew's hope. Thursday

[31:39] night in district

[31:41] two we are hosting a homeless

[31:44] services town hall thursday night

[31:45] 6:00 p.m. At the center

[31:47] and we will have the bus there

[31:48] if people want to come and tour one of

[31:50] these sleeper busses.

[31:52] thank you for the opportunity for

[31:53] a little

[31:56] plug for lisa gram and

[31:58] matthew's hope we will have that thursday

[31:59] night

[32:02] at 6:00 p.m. Thank you. Way to go

[32:05] as you're leaving. See you soon.

[32:06] >> all

[32:07] right.

[32:08] ms. Matthews, you're recognized.

[32:10] >> thank you. Good morning, mayor

[32:11] commissioners. The

[32:13] procurement committee has evaluated

[32:14] proposals for security

[32:17] guard services for

[32:20] utilities. Requesting one firm and

[32:23] two ranked

[32:26] alternates. Commissioner uribe was

[32:27] assigned.

[32:29] >> commission are uribe do you have

[32:30] a

[32:32] potential motion.

[32:33] >> I move fort selection

[32:34] of

[32:36] aps american protection services and

[32:39] investigations with 386. 74

[32:41] points with security alliance llc

[32:42] with

[32:45] 315. 66

[32:48] points, and fidelity

[32:50] security agency llc with 297 points

[32:51] as

[32:53] a ranked alternate as well as a requested

[32:54] action

[32:55] on this.

[32:56] >> second, scott. >> we have a

[32:57] motion and a second.

[33:00] all in favor let it be known

[33:02] saying yea.

[33:03] >> yea. >> opposed no.

[33:04] motion

[33:06] passes. It is unanimous.

[33:09] we'll move forward move to the

[33:12] next discussion item,

[33:15] each year during this time

[33:18] of year the board takes under

[33:20] consideration nomination for vice

[33:24] mayor and this would be the vice

[33:26] mayor position for 2026 calendar year.

[33:27] to

[33:30] give the

[33:31] board perspective for the last six

[33:36] years beginning in

[33:39] 2020, we had district 5 commissioner

[33:42] serve as the vice mayor,

[33:45] 2021,

[33:47] 2022, district 3, 20 --correction,

[33:51] 2022, district 3,

[33:54] 2023, district

[33:57] 4, 2024,

[34:00] district 1, and 2025, is

[34:03] district 6. So

[34:05] commissioner michael scott is currently

[34:06] serving as the year

[34:09] comes to an end and we'll

[34:12] take

[34:15] up nominations for 2026.

[34:16] >> commissioner

[34:17] scott

[34:18] has nominated commissioner semrad.

[34:19] >> I

[34:20] second that.

[34:21] >> okay. >> we have a

[34:22] second

[34:24] on that. There are no further

[34:27] nominations. Are you ready

[34:30] for the vote all

[34:33] in favor for

[34:34] commissioner semrad from district

[34:36] 5 serving, say

[34:39] yea. Opposed no. The vote passes it

[34:42] is unanimous.

[34:43] congratulations commissioner semrad.

[34:45] with that comes

[34:48] other duties that

[34:51] you will be

[34:54] required to during the year and

[34:57] 2026, what I'm doing, I

[35:00] would

[35:03] be on the road quite a bit

[35:05] throughout florida and it's important for

[35:06] the voice mayor

[35:09] to help cover me on the road doing part

[35:10] of

[35:11] the people's work. Thank you very much.

[35:12] >> thank you, mayor.

[35:14] with that let's all give commissioner

[35:15] scott a round of applause for the wonderful year.

[35:16] [ applause ]

[35:21] thank

[35:24] you, commissioner scott.

[35:25] >>

[35:27] and now we'll move forward

[35:30] on our agenda

[35:33] to

[35:36] the next item, ms.

[35:39] mark will be coming forward to present

[35:40] the red

[35:42] light camera program

[35:45] summary report for fiscal year

[35:48] 2024/2025, no specific action required, this

[35:49] is

[35:50] something that is mandated legislatively

[35:51] that each year we have

[35:54] to come forward, and

[35:57] he has to actually read

[36:00] the summary of what occurred with

[36:01] the

[36:03] automated red light enforcement program in

[36:04] the last

[36:06] year. So with that, mr. Marks,

[36:09] you're recognized.

[36:10] >> thank you, mayor.

[36:12] good morning, mayor and commissioners.

[36:13] my

[36:15] name is jer rald marks. I'm a project

[36:16] manager in

[36:18] the traffic engineering division of

[36:19] public

[36:20] works and traffic engineering oversees

[36:21] the red light camera

[36:24] program. As of july 1st

[36:27] , 2024, the state of florida has implemented

[36:30] changes to florida statute

[36:33] 316. 0083, also known as the

[36:36] mark 1 bill act. These changes require any

[36:37] local

[36:39] government or entity operating

[36:42] a red light camera program to

[36:45] publicly summarize and read

[36:47] aloud its annual report. This report

[36:48] is submitted each

[36:50] year. It's in a questionnaire format

[36:51] we send to the state, but this

[36:54] is the first year it's required to

[36:55] be put into a

[36:58] report and read to the public

[37:01] and allowed for public comment.

[37:02] the presentation provides a summary

[37:04] that

[37:05] allows the public to comment as well.

[37:09] so the purpose is to provide a written

[37:10] summary

[37:13] that must be read

[37:19] aloud that complies with the

[37:21] new legislation, florida stat today

[37:25] 316.0083.

[37:27] the overview has the statistics of the

[37:28] number of

[37:31] notice of violations

[37:34] which you'll hear me refer to as

[37:35] novs, captured when a vehicle has

[37:37] entered into

[37:38] the intersection and the light has

[37:40] turned red.

[37:41] uniformed traffic citations hear me

[37:43] refer to those

[37:46] as utcs and the

[37:48] utcs when goes unanswered for a period

[37:49] of

[37:51] time, that notice of violation is

[37:53] converted into a uniformed traffic

[37:55] citation or utc and the

[37:57] fines are increased with that and

[37:58] then if

[38:00] that still goes unanswered, the owner,

[38:03] the registered owner, is the driver's less

[38:06] is suspended and the registration

[38:07] put

[38:08] on hold. And then we'll talk about

[38:10] the

[38:11] revenue dispersement and thatthat

[38:13] moneys that come from

[38:16] the citation goes to a

[38:18] different variety of pots and some

[38:19] of those are required

[38:21] to send to the state and some of those

[38:24] we use for the program itself and

[38:25] improvements within our safety system.

[38:34] okay. So orange county revenues

[38:35] fund the --some of the projects we

[38:37] have, so the money

[38:39] that we received from things we used

[38:40] for

[38:41] intersection improvements in district

[38:43] one a turn lane addition

[38:46] at seidel

[38:48] and bowery creating issues with some

[38:49] of the

[38:52] residents. A traffic circle, the

[38:54] first picket at the stop, at sherrington

[38:55] and

[38:58] shorecrest. We were having cut-

[39:01] through traffic

[39:04] on lee road and in that area so

[39:06] this traffic circle slows down the

[39:07] traffic as

[39:10] this approach

[39:13] the intersection. The bottom is

[39:16] a raised intersection on

[39:19] powers drive in district 6 at the

[39:22] park and issues with people exceeding

[39:25] the speed limit and so we constructed

[39:28] a raised crosswalk

[39:31] with the rapid rectangular

[39:34] beacons at the park and

[39:36] made a huge difference in vehicles

[39:37] traveling on powers

[39:40] drive through that area. A corrected

[39:41] report

[39:42] is being read into the record today

[39:43] and these statistics match

[39:46] the numbers I have mentioned earlier reported

[39:47] to

[39:49] the state every year and the questionnaire report.

[39:50] so

[39:51] this presentation is for informational

[39:52] purpose only. No

[39:54] action is required and public comment

[39:55] is allowed after

[39:58] the

[40:01] reading of this

[40:07] report. Okay.

[40:09] the orange county red light program

[40:10] supports the vision

[40:13] zero initiative by enhancing safety

[40:14] intersection

[40:15] safety, reducing red light violations

[40:17] and advancing the goal of eliminating

[40:19] traffic fatalities

[40:22] and serious injury on county roadways.

[40:25] the orange county currently

[40:27] operates 57 red light cameras at 35

[40:30] intersections located within unincorporated

[40:31] areas of the county.

[40:34] effective july 1st, 2024,

[40:37] florida statute 316. 0083 was

[40:39] amended to require municipalities

[40:40] and jurisdictions

[40:42] to operate red light camera programs

[40:43] to provide a report of

[40:46] program results to the local

[40:48] governing body. This report must be

[40:49] presented both

[40:52] as written presented

[40:54] and written summary read aloud at

[40:55] a

[40:58] public meeting. The table below contains

[40:59] the

[41:00] required information for the july

[41:01] 21st --july

[41:05] 1st, 2024 through june 30th,

[41:08] 2025,

[41:10] reporting period. The number of notice

[41:11] violations

[41:14] issued, 79,471 and that's a

[41:17] dated number from the

[41:20] 79,569 that was published.

[41:22] including 542 right turn on reds.

[41:26] the rtor stands for r turn on

[41:28] red. The number of violations paid

[41:29] for this

[41:32] reporting period 44,470 and

[41:35] we've added the included 357

[41:38] for right turn on reds.

[41:39] the number of notice of violations

[41:41] contested during this period

[41:44] was 111. The number of notice

[41:47] of violations that were upheld

[41:49] contested but upheld were 71, including

[41:52] three right turn on reds. The number

[41:53] of notice

[41:54] of violations dismissed from the ones

[41:59] that were contested were 9. And the

[42:00] number

[42:02] of notices of violations issued

[42:05] as uniformed traffic

[42:08] vietations is 21,750

[42:11] corrected from the 31,019.

[42:14] we've corrected the including

[42:17] 177 right turn on red from

[42:20] 117. And the number of pending

[42:23] issuance violations that were

[42:26] issued as or

[42:29] pending for uniformed traffic citations

[42:30] are

[42:32] 1,935. Below it has

[42:35] a couple notes, rtr, right turn

[42:38] on red, new statistic required for

[42:40] reporting. Orange county has two intersections

[42:41] we monitor the right

[42:43] turn on red. The fines for the notice

[42:44] of

[42:46] violations are $158. And then the

[42:47] increased fine when it turns

[42:50] to a utc or uniformed

[42:53] traffic citation is $262. Due to

[42:55] the overlap of within the reporting

[42:56] period and when

[42:57] the violations are collected versus

[42:59] when paid and versus

[43:02] when the violations are issued,

[43:04] the data won't match exactly. A violation

[43:08] could have occurred back in 2019 and

[43:11] is not paid until the period

[43:14] and if it's only recorded during the

[43:15] reporting period

[43:16] it won't show up. The numbers won't

[43:17] match. The table shows

[43:20] how the funds

[43:23] collected

[43:24] $9,444,436 were distributed and their

[43:26] amounts. The

[43:29] general revenue fund received

[43:32] $3,453,700. Department of health

[43:34] emergency mel services trust fund

[43:35] received

[43:38] $493,610, the

[43:41] brain and spinal cord injury trust

[43:42] fund

[43:44] received

[43:47] $147,993 and the orange county

[43:50] revenue was

[43:52] 5,339,673. Orange county's revenue

[43:56] was allocated as follows,

[43:59] 2,364,560 was paid for vendor

[44:00] services, 150,000 of that covered

[44:02] costs

[44:05] and salaries for contract

[44:07] administration, $1. 2 million was

[44:08] used for

[44:11] contract enforcement, the orange county sheriff's

[44:12] office

[44:14] and $50,000 spend on

[44:15] miscellaneous equipment and items for

[44:17] the program costs.

[44:19] the remaining orange county revenue

[44:20] and the amount of

[44:23] 1,575,113

[44:25] was placed in public works budget

[44:26] and used

[44:29] for multiple traffic related safety

[44:32] prompts to achieve zero vision goal,

[44:35] performing studies, pedestrian

[44:38] crosswalk improvements and new

[44:40] signal installation at intersections

[44:41] and

[44:44] saw some of those on the slide that

[44:45] was

[44:47] the traffic de vices there. Data shown

[44:50] and --data shows a reduction of approximately

[44:53] 36% in total crashes at

[44:55] intersections monitored by red light

[44:56] cameras since

[44:58] the program's inception since 2013.

[44:59] with that,

[45:00] that concludes the report mandated by the state.

[45:05] >> any questions? >> stand by. I'm

[45:07] going to open it up for public comment

[45:08] before we go

[45:11] to the board of county

[45:12] commissioners for any questions or comments.

[45:14] do we have members of the public

[45:17] present who wish to be heard on this

[45:18] item?

[45:20] it appears there are none. With that

[45:21] we

[45:23] go to commissioner wilson

[45:27] followed by commissioner uribe.

[45:28] >> thank you. I thank you. This is

[45:29] interesting for me because this is

[45:30] a

[45:31] requirement under state law. I think

[45:33] it's important for

[45:35] us to share this interestingly enough,

[45:36] the

[45:38] investment that were made because, you

[45:40] know, what I would believe is something we

[45:42] would like to

[45:44] see a shrinking amount of people to

[45:45] continue

[45:46] to obey the traffic laws. Hopefully

[45:48] after

[45:50] being cited. To see the intersections

[45:51] invested in

[45:53] in both of those to me look like the

[45:54] ideal

[45:55] intersection the raised crosswalk,

[45:57] the things the investments

[45:59] we struggle to finance, and so having

[46:00] that

[46:01] is something that we can discuss with

[46:03] the public if they have concerns.

[46:05] I appreciate the information and I

[46:06] know it's

[46:08] a strange mandate from the state,

[46:09] but, you

[46:11] know, I think silver lining here I

[46:12] think it's a really

[46:13] good thing for us to take back to

[46:15] the public and appreciate the efforts

[46:17] by you and your team.

[46:18] >> thank you,

[46:20] commissioner.

[46:21] >> commissioner uribe.

[46:22] >>

[46:23] I appreciate the update and I know

[46:24] we've spoken

[46:25] on this before and what I'm going

[46:27] to share is not new to

[46:29] you. Have there been any new installations

[46:30] of

[46:32] red light camera locations around

[46:33] the county?

[46:35] >> not that we have since 2019 was

[46:38] the last one at university and sundry

[46:39] was the last

[46:42] one.

[46:43] >> all right. And if

[46:45] possible, I would like to

[46:46] see a map because one of the things you and

[46:48] I discussed it tends to

[46:51] be in working class areas a lot.

[46:53] and district 3 we have them in taft

[46:54] and pine

[46:57] castle, we have them all

[46:59] very dense in areas very specific

[47:00] and I would think

[47:02] that now with the different traffic

[47:03] patterns and the

[47:06] growth, there would have been an an

[47:08] laization to really explore at other

[47:09] locations

[47:12] instead of isolating them all in certain

[47:13] communities which I think needs to

[47:15] be looked at. If you

[47:16] could, I would love to see when is

[47:18] the last time we've

[47:20] done a study of these and --

[47:21] >> okay.

[47:22] >>

[47:23] of locations and traffic. When I was

[47:24] told --I got this

[47:26] information when I was first elected.

[47:27] it was 2018.

[47:29] that when I asked why are there so

[47:30] many in

[47:32] district 3 and district 6, I was told well,

[47:33] that's

[47:35] where all the traffic patterns are.

[47:38] well, we've known in seven and a half

[47:39] years there's been

[47:41] tremendous amount of growth, but when I look

[47:42] at

[47:44] taft, mine castle I've got so many

[47:45] red cameras around

[47:47] my home, I love off boston trail,

[47:48] my cartels

[47:50] me, warns me, red light camera approaching,

[47:51] red light

[47:53] camera approaching, that's how dense

[47:54] they are in certain

[47:56] areas. I don't think that's fair and

[47:57] you look

[48:00] at the county as a whole if we're

[48:09] and see what and it's

[48:11] been 2016 you said or 2017?

[48:12] >> when

[48:13] we did the

[48:14] last study 2018, correct.

[48:15] >> okay.

[48:17] then where are we now? Because it's --

[48:18] >> right

[48:21] now the red light camera the rfp about

[48:22] to

[48:23] go up for advertisement and part of

[48:24] that is that

[48:27] the vendor we work with the vendor

[48:29] to look at areas of traffic concerns

[48:30] and so we work

[48:32] with the sheriff's office, we work

[48:33] with signal 4

[48:35] and look at the areas where the commuters

[48:36] are coming in and going

[48:38] to and look at where the accidents

[48:39] are happening and so

[48:42] we take that into account and use

[48:43] that

[48:44] for our data for our red light camera

[48:45] analysis when we look

[48:48] for new locations for

[48:51] red light cameras. With this new contract

[48:54] advertised and new vendor or

[48:56] existing whomever wins the contract

[48:57] is an opportunity to

[49:00] look at new areas and apply

[49:02] these counter measures for running

[49:03] red lights.

[49:04] >>

[49:06] how many cameras are there

[49:08] in whole across orange county.

[49:09] >>

[49:10] 57 cameras.

[49:11] >> yeah. If I could.

[49:12] I remember when I saw this when I was

[49:13] first

[49:15] elected there was a dense

[49:18] in my area. You know

[49:21] and also district 6 and 3

[49:22] butt against each other, there was

[49:24] a bunch in that area right

[49:27] there. I would love to see this broken

[49:28] down further.

[49:29] thank you. Thanks for your data and

[49:30] updates.

[49:31] >> thank

[49:36] you,

[49:39] commissioner.

[49:42] >> commissioner

[49:44] maribel gomez cordero.

[49:45] >> thank you.

[49:46] >> I have simple question.

[49:48] the first one

[49:52] is, does the county has any

[49:53] new intercession plan for new red

[49:55] light cameras?

[49:56] >> so with

[49:57] the new contract we plan on we can

[50:01] get expanding the program.

[50:02] currently right now there is over

[50:04] about

[50:06] 650 intersections signalized, only

[50:07] 35

[50:10] have cameras with the 650

[50:13] plus

[50:16] intersections, more than 1200

[50:19] approaches and we will

[50:22] look at those within the next

[50:25] rfp intersections to apply

[50:28] these counter measures to.

[50:30] that's based off the data I was talking

[50:31] about, the

[50:32] crash data, the growth in the area

[50:33] and things of that nature as well.

[50:36] >> I'm going to the data. Nynex question

[50:37] is, is

[50:39] there any data on how many violators

[50:40] are

[50:43] cars from out of

[50:45] state versus cars here locally?

[50:46] >>

[50:47] we

[50:48] don't have that data. We can definitely look

[50:49] at it.

[50:50] like the camera doesn't track whether

[50:52] it's out of state

[50:55] or in state. It just tracks

[50:56] the violations. I believe there's

[50:58] a way within the system we can

[50:59] tell how many are florida addresses

[51:00] and where the addresses are coming

[51:01] from.

[51:02] a lot of times when people move to

[51:04] florida they don't change

[51:05] their addresses so it's still registered

[51:07] to an out-of-

[51:09] state place. That's something that we can

[51:10] look at as well

[51:12] how many are local versus how many are

[51:16] out of the area.

[51:17] >> thank you. Thank

[51:19] you so much.

[51:22] >> commissioner moore. >> good morning.

[51:25] the revenue that has come in,

[51:26] $5 million, we can track that right

[51:28] back to improvements made in

[51:29] that area or near there for safety?

[51:31] >> yes. >> okay.

[51:34] all right. That was my question. Thank

[51:35] you.

[51:37] >> all right. With that, mr.

[51:40] marks,

[51:43] the general direction is if you can

[51:45] provide the board with information about

[51:46] the specific

[51:49] locations where the cameras are located

[51:52] and we look forward to

[51:55] the rfp learning more about

[51:58] the incidents and the

[51:59] data. Perhaps to include whether they

[52:01] are out of state or

[52:03] locals, et cetera to the extent you

[52:04] can. We

[52:06] look forward to that in the next update.

[52:07] with that

[52:09] I thank you very much for your time.

[52:10] we're going to move forward

[52:13] on our

[52:16] agenda. The next item mr.

[52:19] glenn kramer, manager

[52:21] of our utilities support dives will

[52:22] be coming forward to present

[52:25] the water and waste water

[52:28] rate study and this will apply

[52:29] an actionable item. You are recognized.

[52:33] >> thank you, mayor. Good morning.

[52:34] good morning

[52:36] commissioners. Comptroller diamond, mr.

[52:37] brooks. I will

[52:39] be presenting our water and waste water study for you.

[52:46] we'll talk

[52:49] about background on our utilities

[52:50] finances

[52:51] and look at fiscal initiatives we

[52:52] have implemented to

[52:55] address improving the finances, and

[52:56] then I'll

[52:58] turn the presentation over to andy

[53:01] burnham with our rate consultant to

[53:02] present

[53:04] the results of our water and

[53:06] waste water study and the customer

[53:07] impacts.

[53:09] after that come back and briefly talk

[53:10] about a few

[53:12] other rate changes we would like to

[53:13] make to

[53:16] our

[53:18] wastewater rate schedule while we're

[53:19] considering

[53:22] and changing it and talk about the

[53:23] next

[53:25] steps and requested

[53:28] actions. In our background

[53:31] we wanted to go over the current utilities

[53:33] finances and basically we are on a

[53:34] five-year

[53:36] rate plan that was developed back

[53:37] in

[53:40] 2022. This was developed to

[53:43] achieve a parody between our residential

[53:45] and commercial effective rate. They

[53:46] were out of

[53:49] balance and a subsidy from the residential

[53:50] side to

[53:52] the commercial side. After implementing

[53:54] this rate plan it was designed to

[53:55] go

[53:58] for five years from fiscal year '24

[53:59] through fiscal

[54:01] year '28. We're in the third year

[54:02] of

[54:03] this plan. At the time it was projected

[54:04] to provide

[54:07] sufficient revenue to cover our

[54:10] future expenses

[54:13] and, in fact, it was designed to be

[54:15] revenue positive taking more revenue

[54:16] from

[54:19] the commercial side. While looking

[54:21] at our rates and that plan and in the current

[54:22] plan we'll

[54:25] be proposing today, we

[54:28] always strive to consider

[54:31] our

[54:34] customers and our residents that have

[54:37] to pay these rates. We're

[54:41] proud to keep them low even with

[54:43] our proposed rate plans we're not

[54:46] proposing to go high compared to our

[54:47] neighbors in the area or compared

[54:50] to

[54:52] counties around the state. That will

[54:53] be

[54:54] more explained in detail after we talk

[54:56] about

[54:59] the customer

[55:02] impacts. What has happened

[55:03] since we established this 2022 rate

[55:07] plan which began in fiscal year '24

[55:08] is we had some

[55:10] unprecedented inflationary pressures on

[55:11] the

[55:13] system that came as part of the post-pandemic

[55:14] economic

[55:17] conditions.

[55:20] they turned out to be at first

[55:22] tried to absorb them but unsustainable.

[55:25] demonstrating the rate plan is no

[55:26] longer sufficient

[55:29] to meet

[55:32] our financial needs. I had briefings

[55:33] with you about a year ago to discuss

[55:35] the utility

[55:36] finances and some of the things we

[55:38] wanted to

[55:41] do to addresses the

[55:42] new environment we're operating in.

[55:44] some of these cost increases I

[55:47] have several metrics from the operations

[55:50] side and our capital

[55:51] improvement side. The table shows

[55:53] four metrics or categories

[55:55] on our operating side that feed directly

[55:58] into producing water, treating waste

[55:59] water,

[56:02] reclaimed water,

[56:03] and they are just integral to the

[56:05] costs of our system. Those

[56:08] are electric, maintenance, chemicals,

[56:11] and biosold

[56:13] lids disposal. In fiscal year 2020 on the chart

[56:14] we have

[56:16] our expenditures from that area, from

[56:17] that time.

[56:20] we also have our actual

[56:21] expenditures from fiscal year 2025

[56:23] to compare to

[56:25] them. So it shows that electricity

[56:26] has had

[56:29] an annual average growth rate of

[56:32] 8. 6% across this five-year period.

[56:35] maintenance has

[56:37] gone up by 9%9% then chemicals and

[56:41] biosolids up double-digits as

[56:43] an annual average increase. This is

[56:44] despite the fact

[56:46] that we have competitively bid contracts,

[56:47] purchased

[56:49] chemicals and disposed of the biosolids.

[56:52] with trying to get the best prices

[56:53] available these are going

[56:56] up dramatically. Our capital improvement

[56:59] program is likewise seeing these

[57:01] increases. We're installing one of

[57:04] the metrics we use to cost and estimate

[57:05] the cost of

[57:08] it is how many dollars per

[57:11] inch diameter per linear foot of the

[57:12] pipe is

[57:14] being installed, and so the cost metric

[57:17] in 2020

[57:20] were usually ranging from

[57:23] 10 to $20 that would --was being

[57:26] determined in that range based on

[57:28] the actual condition in the field.

[57:29] in

[57:32] 2025, this cost has gone up close

[57:35] to $40 per

[57:38] inch diameter

[57:41] which ranges annual

[57:44] average --average increase. We

[57:47] had actually been able to

[57:50] identify a couple

[57:56] replacement

[57:59] projects --that was cost of it

[58:02] $19 per inch diameter

[58:04] installed and the one we did in 2025

[58:05] was

[58:08] $78 per inch

[58:10] diameter per foot installed, 32, almost

[58:11] 33%

[58:13] annually for each of those five years.

[58:17] we also looked at a couple of pump

[58:18] stations

[58:20] for master pumppump stations, large and

[58:23] expensive, back in 2020 we could install

[58:26] one for $5. 8 million, for

[58:29] 2025, we are looking at a cost

[58:32] the $13.3 million. Likewise with our

[58:33] duplex

[58:35] stations these are smaller, able to

[58:38] identify a couple rehab

[58:41] projects in

[58:44] 2025, pump

[58:47] station costs --and to

[58:49] further illustrate the point we have

[58:50] two

[58:53] data points in this area

[58:56] for building a new waste water facility

[58:57] back in

[58:59] 2026, we built

[59:02] the reclamation facility that was a five facility and

[59:03] cost

[59:05] $111 million to build at that time.

[59:06] we're now

[59:08] planning to expand on that into

[59:11] double the size of it to

[59:15] 10 mgd

[59:18] where the first five cost

[59:20] $111 million, second five years later

[59:21] is going to

[59:24] cost

[59:27] $184 million.

[59:30] our current rate structure.

[59:32] this is an output of one of our financial

[59:34] models and demonstrates this point

[59:36] and goes back to fiscal year

[59:37] 2011 up through the current fiscal

[59:39] year and

[59:40] then projects our results for fiscal year '26.

[59:45] the blue line is the operating revenue that

[59:48] is generated from operating our

[59:50] water and waste quarter system, the red line

[59:51] represents

[59:54] the expenses incurred to operate

[59:55] that system. As you can see they've

[59:57] gone up

[59:58] over time and had increase in customers

[1:00:00] over time and

[1:00:03] with rate increases and customer

[1:00:06] increases expected to go up

[1:00:08] however the increase in waste water --

[1:00:11] excuse me in the expenses has been

[1:00:14] particularly higher especially in

[1:00:15] years

[1:00:18] after covid. It's

[1:00:21] very noticeably going up from

[1:00:23] 2022 to 2023 to years not captured

[1:00:24] in our

[1:00:27] rate study. So the --

[1:00:30] that operating revenue is represented on

[1:00:32] the green line and that is just the

[1:00:33] operating

[1:00:34] revenue subtracting out the operating expenses.

[1:00:39] net operating

[1:00:41] revenue basically is what is left

[1:00:42] over after we

[1:00:44] paid the bills to operate the system.

[1:00:45] and

[1:00:47] that revenue is generally applied

[1:00:48] in three

[1:00:50] areas. First and foremost it goes

[1:00:51] to paying debt service.

[1:00:53] second used for nets operating revenue

[1:00:54] is to

[1:00:55] pay for the annual transfer to the

[1:00:57] general

[1:01:00] fund based on a payment of

[1:01:02] taxes calculations. Then the third

[1:01:03] use would

[1:01:05] be to help fund our capital improvement

[1:01:08] program. So that purple line represents

[1:01:09] our net operating

[1:01:12] revenue that is available for capital

[1:01:15] improvements. Back in

[1:01:18] 2011 to 2015 the line was $40 million or

[1:01:19] so

[1:01:21] and back then that was a substantial

[1:01:24] contribution to our improvements because

[1:01:25] we

[1:01:26] only spent about $80 million at that time.

[1:01:30] since then

[1:01:33] it's gone down and our capital improvements

[1:01:34] as

[1:01:35] a program has gone up as far as how much

[1:01:36] we're having to spend on

[1:01:39] it. We're implementing more and

[1:01:41] larger projects, there are several

[1:01:42] large

[1:01:44] projects that began at the beginning

[1:01:45] or

[1:01:47] were supposed to begin sometime during

[1:01:48] earlier in the

[1:01:49] pandemic that had to be delayed until

[1:01:51] now and we are

[1:01:53] simultaneously executing those and

[1:01:54] delivering on

[1:01:56] these projects while delivering on

[1:01:57] the projects that

[1:01:59] needed to be started about now. As a

[1:02:00] result,

[1:02:03] in 2025, our

[1:02:05] overall expenditures for the capital

[1:02:06] improvement

[1:02:09] program were $180 million. In fact,

[1:02:12] we're expecting 2026 to surpass that

[1:02:15] and be over $200 million.

[1:02:18] so when we talk about having

[1:02:21] an extra 25 to $30 million of

[1:02:22] net operate revenue available to help

[1:02:24] with the

[1:02:26] cip funding, that not near as significant

[1:02:27] now as

[1:02:30] it used to be. This

[1:02:32] is why we're getting into what we

[1:02:33] have begun

[1:02:36] calling a debt cycle to where

[1:02:37] we don't have the net operating revenue

[1:02:39] to pay for a cip, and

[1:02:42] then have to borrow more

[1:02:45] money to find the cip for all the

[1:02:46] necessary projects

[1:02:47] that raises our debt service and means we

[1:02:48] have more debt service

[1:02:51] to pay out of our net

[1:02:53] operating revenue which leaves less

[1:02:54] money for the

[1:02:57] next round of expenditures. It goes

[1:02:58] in this cycle

[1:02:59] and we are trying to break that cycle

[1:03:03] and get out

[1:03:06] of it.

[1:03:09] that brings me to our

[1:03:15] fiscal initiatives. We wanted to get

[1:03:18] out of this debt cycle where we

[1:03:20] are borrowing increasing amounts of

[1:03:21] money. We're approaching

[1:03:24] it several

[1:03:26] ways. Some were from the revenue side.

[1:03:27] before I get

[1:03:30] into the slide on the expense side

[1:03:31] one thing that

[1:03:33] I wanted to mention is that our

[1:03:37] budget process is helpful in

[1:03:39] obtaining our costs. It wasn't listed

[1:03:40] as

[1:03:41] a fiscal initiative we came up with

[1:03:43] new to address this

[1:03:44] problem because we've had this budget

[1:03:46] process in place

[1:03:49] for many years. Basically

[1:03:50] every division in the utility is expected

[1:03:52] to start at

[1:03:55] a 0% increase with our budget.

[1:03:57] sometimes we --we are in costs that are

[1:03:59] nondiscretionary and they have to

[1:04:01] go up

[1:04:04] and we can't

[1:04:07] control

[1:04:10] that. And prioritizing what

[1:04:11] needs to be spent. Sometimes that

[1:04:13] works. Other times

[1:04:16] we

[1:04:17] just have to raise the budget some.

[1:04:19] when it

[1:04:22] comes to expanding on

[1:04:23] a program or when we have to do things

[1:04:25] that

[1:04:27] don't happen every year like purchasing

[1:04:28] equipment through a capital

[1:04:31] outlay section of the budget

[1:04:32] or making major repairs on some of

[1:04:34] our

[1:04:37] infrastructure, these things get

[1:04:39] reviewed individually and sometimes

[1:04:40] they're approved if super important

[1:04:42] and they have to be done, other times

[1:04:43] they're

[1:04:44] delayed, sometimes downside and other

[1:04:46] times the answer is

[1:04:49] just no. We aren't going to

[1:04:51] do that at this time. This budget

[1:04:52] process before

[1:04:55] it comes to the board for review

[1:04:57] and budget work sections we're working on

[1:04:58] cost

[1:05:01] constainment. Back to

[1:05:04] the fiscal initiatives last year,

[1:05:07] we find our cfp approval process.

[1:05:09] in prior years our engineers would

[1:05:10] analyze the

[1:05:11] projects that need to be done and

[1:05:13] analyze the system,

[1:05:16] what refurbishments and rehabilitations

[1:05:17] to

[1:05:18] infrastructure needs to be made and

[1:05:19] also look at what projects

[1:05:21] need to be in place to meet growing

[1:05:22] areas of the

[1:05:24] county and make sure that we are able

[1:05:25] to

[1:05:26] serve those areas as the growth happens.

[1:05:28] they would come up

[1:05:31] with a list of projects,work

[1:05:33] with consultants on estimating how

[1:05:34] much

[1:05:37] those projects would cost and

[1:05:39] put all of these vetted and legitimate

[1:05:40] projects into

[1:05:42] our budget. Since that time, that's

[1:05:43] what we

[1:05:44] used to do. In recent years we've

[1:05:46] been refining this process

[1:05:49] going through a second level

[1:05:51] prioritization. We realize now we

[1:05:52] can't afford every

[1:05:55] project

[1:05:57] that needs to be done. We have had

[1:05:59] the second level of prioritization

[1:06:01] review added to

[1:06:03] the process so we're pushing out projects

[1:06:04] and

[1:06:07] delaying projects and sometimes just

[1:06:08] saying that's a good project to do, but

[1:06:09] we don't have the funding so it's

[1:06:10] on hold indefinitely.

[1:06:15] the other thing we did to work on

[1:06:16] our costs we

[1:06:19] arranged with the comp

[1:06:20] trollers office to supplement our

[1:06:21] debt service payment with capital

[1:06:22] charge

[1:06:24] revenue. Now as you probably recall

[1:06:25] chapt charges

[1:06:28] can only be spent on expansion projects

[1:06:29] but

[1:06:31] if those projects are debt

[1:06:34] funded, then they --

[1:06:36] debt service portion that goes to

[1:06:37] the

[1:06:39] expansion projects can then be paid

[1:06:40] through

[1:06:42] capital charge revenue. Making this

[1:06:43] change was

[1:06:45] helpful it saved our reserve revenue to

[1:06:46] be used

[1:06:49] for other needs, delayed our bonds

[1:06:51] issue by several months and it created

[1:06:52] a savings of

[1:06:54] not having to pay that extra interest

[1:06:55] on

[1:06:57] bonds by delaying their issue. The

[1:06:58] third thing

[1:07:00] that we did was limited credit card

[1:07:04] payments to $2500. We

[1:07:06] have several large customers that

[1:07:07] have utility bills in the tens

[1:07:10] of thousands of

[1:07:13] dollars each month. They

[1:07:16] are in the habit of using corporate credit cards

[1:07:17] to

[1:07:18] pay for these utility bills. They

[1:07:19] get the benefits and

[1:07:22] perks and points and cash back dollars

[1:07:23] that come

[1:07:25] with those cards they use and that

[1:07:27] benefit gets paid for through bank

[1:07:28] charges that

[1:07:31] come to the utility to

[1:07:34] pay. We were able to limit how much

[1:07:35] we would

[1:07:37] allow them to

[1:07:40] pay on credit card to

[1:07:43] $2500

[1:07:46] so it doesn't affect our residential

[1:07:49] or commercial customers. It's

[1:07:52] an annual savings of over $6,000.

[1:07:55] we did a few things to

[1:07:58] work on the revenue side. Last year we came to

[1:08:01] the board --early this year

[1:08:04] in january came to the board with

[1:08:05] meter charges that

[1:08:07] became effective on february 1st.

[1:08:09] we adjusted the charges to recover

[1:08:11] the current cost that we have

[1:08:13] of purchasing a meter and the cost

[1:08:14] of the

[1:08:15] labor and other materials to install

[1:08:17] the meter. This

[1:08:18] is going to be providing an estimated

[1:08:21] $900,000 annually now that we're fully

[1:08:23] covering the cost of

[1:08:25] our meter installations. We came to

[1:08:26] the

[1:08:28] board in february with updated reclaimed

[1:08:29] water

[1:08:31] rates. These were effective on october

[1:08:35] 1st of this year. We

[1:08:36] established conservation tiers for

[1:08:38] rates for the first

[1:08:41] time on our reclaimed water

[1:08:43] side but for the purposes of this

[1:08:44] presentation, the important thing

[1:08:47] that we did was that we based

[1:08:49] the rates on full cost recovery. Up

[1:08:50] to that

[1:08:52] point reclaimed water was recovering

[1:08:53] about 72 to

[1:08:56] 73% of the rates or excuse me of

[1:08:59] their expenses of producing and

[1:09:01] distributing the reclaimed water,

[1:09:02] so we wanted

[1:09:05] our rates to cover that full cost so

[1:09:07] it wouldn't be subsidized by waste

[1:09:10] water rates achieved with our new

[1:09:11] rates

[1:09:12] and projected increase in revenues

[1:09:14] is $5.

[1:09:16] 3 million annually. Last thing we

[1:09:19] did on the revenue side was to update

[1:09:20] our

[1:09:22] capital charges directed by the board

[1:09:23] to update them every

[1:09:26] four to five years to make

[1:09:27] sure they are capturing our current

[1:09:29] and future costs in the five-year

[1:09:32] cip and wanted to make sure that

[1:09:33] we're capturing all the cost increases

[1:09:35] in the new projects so

[1:09:37] that we can try to make sure growth

[1:09:38] is paying its

[1:09:41] own way. The capital

[1:09:42] charge revenues could increase as

[1:09:44] much

[1:09:47] as 17 to $18

[1:09:50] million if the

[1:09:53] development activity fiscal year

[1:09:55] 2025 continues into fiscal year 2026

[1:09:56] and they became effective

[1:09:59] on april 1st of the year. Last thing

[1:10:02] I wanted to mention is that we

[1:10:04] issued bonds $450 million that was done

[1:10:08] in may of this year and that

[1:10:09] is an additional $150 million that is

[1:10:11] available for cip funding now.

[1:10:17] this chart has been updated

[1:10:20] to show what effects

[1:10:22] of these cost saving initiatives and

[1:10:23] revenue

[1:10:25] initiatives will be on our finances.

[1:10:26] we

[1:10:29] restate the timeline at the

[1:10:32] bottom to cover fiscal years 2016

[1:10:35] through 2031. The green line

[1:10:37] represents our net operate revenue

[1:10:38] and with the

[1:10:39] revenue initiatives that we've already

[1:10:41] put in place it goes

[1:10:44] up more, which is a good thing.

[1:10:47] we need

[1:10:49] the additional revenue. But the interesting

[1:10:50] part the

[1:10:53] revenue for the cip doesn't go up

[1:10:55] along with the debt operating revenue

[1:10:56] it continues

[1:10:59] to go down

[1:11:02] from fiscal years '27, '28,

[1:11:05] '29, '30 because still issue

[1:11:07] more debt. We haven't produced enough

[1:11:08] net operating revenue

[1:11:11] to make a

[1:11:14] significant impact on, so

[1:11:16] more debt service represented by the

[1:11:17] purple line continues to

[1:11:18] go up dramatically and because that

[1:11:20] continues to go

[1:11:22] up we don't have any additional revenue to

[1:11:23] contribute to the cip.

[1:11:35] sorry. Forgot one

[1:11:37] thing I wanted to mention on this

[1:11:38] current plan

[1:11:41] because we are issuing a lot of debt we

[1:11:42] are

[1:11:44] falling below our target minimum metric

[1:11:45] for

[1:11:47] debt service coverage. The target

[1:11:48] is

[1:11:50] two times to have make sure that the net

[1:11:51] operating revenue we

[1:11:53] produce is twice the amount of our

[1:11:54] debt

[1:11:56] service. On this plan it falls below

[1:11:57] that which

[1:11:58] would make issuing debt more expensive

[1:11:59] and the

[1:12:01] market might not support it because it

[1:12:02] would mean that our

[1:12:05] utility is getting less and

[1:12:08] less

[1:12:11] financially

[1:12:14] sound. A

[1:12:17] few examples of projects that are

[1:12:20] currently delayed or not

[1:12:23] fully budgeted in our five-year

[1:12:25] cip because of the cost constraints.

[1:12:26] the first one

[1:12:29] the hamlin water reclamation

[1:12:32] and master pump station. That prompt

[1:12:35] is the one I referred to costing

[1:12:37] $184 million. It's currently should

[1:12:38] have started

[1:12:41] now and should be in our

[1:12:44] five-year budget, but we can't afford

[1:12:45] the

[1:12:47] $97. 4 million that

[1:12:49] would incur in this first five years

[1:12:50] in our five-year cip and that's been pushed out.

[1:12:57] our southern

[1:12:59] water reclamation facility phase 6

[1:13:01] a, another project we should be starting

[1:13:03] soon and we can't afford

[1:13:05] it so that $72 million has to be pushed

[1:13:08] out into the future. Same situation

[1:13:09] with the

[1:13:11] eastern regional water supply facility

[1:13:14] lab improvements, needed for many

[1:13:15] year, but we

[1:13:17] need to push that out. We also have

[1:13:18] several new

[1:13:20] projects that have come up that we

[1:13:21] can't add to the

[1:13:24] five-year cip at this

[1:13:25] time, improvements to our water supply

[1:13:27] facility, $23 million is

[1:13:30] unaffordable so we pushed it

[1:13:33] out, we like to start planning

[1:13:35] for future pump station renewal and

[1:13:36] replacement

[1:13:37] projects and can't afford that so we're pushing it out.

[1:13:43] improvements to ground storage tanks

[1:13:45] and facilities we need

[1:13:48] to push out as well as the new

[1:13:51] structure at our southern water reclamation

[1:13:53] facility. So this gets us to the water

[1:13:54] and

[1:13:56] wastewater rate study and turn this

[1:13:57] over

[1:13:58] to andy to walk you through the study.

[1:14:06] . For the record,

[1:14:08] andy burnham. I've had the opportunity

[1:14:09] to support the

[1:14:11] utilities on occasion over the past

[1:14:12] 20 years now

[1:14:15] in financial planning and rate

[1:14:17] related endeavors. I would like to

[1:14:21] go through the

[1:14:22] fundamentals we conducted with orange county staff,

[1:14:24] and put context to it

[1:14:26] in terms of understanding how that

[1:14:27] translates to customer

[1:14:29] impacts but also give you information

[1:14:30] about other

[1:14:32] utility rates to compare that again

[1:14:33] their

[1:14:35] increases and how your cost of service

[1:14:36] compare to

[1:14:38] theirs for residential and commercial

[1:14:39] customers.

[1:14:41] when we embark on rate studies for

[1:14:42] communities throughout

[1:14:44] florida and the country we start with understanding our

[1:14:45] goals

[1:14:48] and objectives. It's pretty

[1:14:50] simple, build upon the financial foundation

[1:14:51] the utilities have

[1:14:54] and recognize our

[1:14:55] paradigm costs to make sure we're

[1:14:57] operating sufficiently, revenues

[1:14:59] covering expenses to maintain a high

[1:15:00] level of service

[1:15:01] at the lowest possible prices that we

[1:15:03] can for

[1:15:05] that high level of service and we're

[1:15:06] doing

[1:15:08] so equitably and building on the plan that

[1:15:09] glen

[1:15:10] mentioned previously that sought to

[1:15:12] establish equity between the

[1:15:15] effective rates per thousand gallons

[1:15:18] for residential and commercial customers.

[1:15:21] we evaluated existing data of the

[1:15:22] system,

[1:15:24] current fund

[1:15:26] balances, revenues and expenses and

[1:15:27] key assumptions

[1:15:29] that would drive rates and revenues

[1:15:30] needed over the next

[1:15:32] few years and key assumptions that

[1:15:33] affected that.

[1:15:35] those being the capital spending that

[1:15:36] was included and the

[1:15:38] timing of that spending. We've spent

[1:15:39] a lot

[1:15:41] of time looking at historical trends

[1:15:42] and how you execute

[1:15:44] your capital plans to factor in the

[1:15:45] cash

[1:15:48] flows of those capital needs adequately in

[1:15:49] the study

[1:15:51] and reviewing the historical

[1:15:54] information on trends and operating expenses

[1:15:56] to make sure we're comfortable with near

[1:15:57] term and longer

[1:15:58] term projections of those amounts.

[1:16:00] and we also identified

[1:16:02] and established the financial pillars

[1:16:03] as glen mentioned

[1:16:05] from a debt perspective making sure we

[1:16:06] have

[1:16:09] adequate ratios of our net revenue

[1:16:10] to

[1:16:12] our principle and

[1:16:14] interest payments are important as

[1:16:15] how we leverage debt and what

[1:16:17] are the terms of that debt. The higher

[1:16:18] those

[1:16:20] ratios the less debt we issue and the

[1:16:22] debt that we issue is going to be at

[1:16:24] the

[1:16:26] most favorable rate in terms, and

[1:16:27] we want

[1:16:30] to make sure we have adequate liquidity

[1:16:31] reserves

[1:16:32] for unplanned events or emergency

[1:16:33] conditions that may occur,

[1:16:35] especially in our environment in florida,

[1:16:36] to mitigate our

[1:16:38] risks and manage our cash flow during

[1:16:39] the challenges that

[1:16:42] could emerge and make sure we manage

[1:16:44] that. And one of the first things

[1:16:45] we do is a

[1:16:46] diagnostic assessment when we put in

[1:16:48] the data these assumptions

[1:16:50] and key financial pillars what do

[1:16:51] we see. These

[1:16:54] two charts depict a couple key metrics.

[1:16:57] the one on the left our debt service

[1:16:58] ratios

[1:17:00] of net operating revenue to our

[1:17:03] annual principle and expenses on our

[1:17:04] debt. The

[1:17:06] black line represents that

[1:17:09] target we would like to

[1:17:12] achieve. The information we have for

[1:17:15] the utility we fall below that. You

[1:17:16] can

[1:17:18] see the numbers for

[1:17:21] 28' through 31

[1:17:24] 'about 1.5. Let alone trying

[1:17:27] to get to that 3. 0

[1:17:30] target that's consistent

[1:17:32] with many of our past coverage ratios

[1:17:33] investors

[1:17:36] are used to seeing. We have

[1:17:38] challenges there. Because of the challenges

[1:17:39] we see on coverage it's in

[1:17:41] part because we don't have revenue

[1:17:43] generation to fund

[1:17:44] enough of our capital, which means

[1:17:46] we're having to increase our reliance

[1:17:48] on debt. If we kept with the status

[1:17:49] quo

[1:17:51] rate plan chart on the right shows how

[1:17:52] much of our

[1:17:54] five-year capital plan by year we

[1:17:55] would need to support debt

[1:17:58] so by the time we get to

[1:17:59] 2031 talking about issuing almost

[1:18:01] $600 million of debt

[1:18:03] over just that five-year time period which

[1:18:04] is

[1:18:05] double what we have on the system

[1:18:07] today in terms of

[1:18:10] outstanding bonds. So it's a

[1:18:13] significant shift and change

[1:18:16] in

[1:18:18] highly veraged system. What we did

[1:18:19] is

[1:18:20] developed a plan of increases consistent

[1:18:22] with those objectives

[1:18:25] to make sure we had adequate coverage

[1:18:27] on our rates, revenue to support our

[1:18:28] capital needs but

[1:18:29] also did so with equity in mind between

[1:18:31] the effective

[1:18:34] rates per

[1:18:36] thousand gallons of residential and

[1:18:37] commercial customers.

[1:18:38] modifying the rate plan in place today

[1:18:40] to adjust the

[1:18:43] fixed and variable

[1:18:44] charges for commercial and residential

[1:18:45] customers for water and sewer service

[1:18:46] and this

[1:18:48] table presents the detailed plan of

[1:18:49] increases for

[1:18:52] 27 to 2031 in the first column,

[1:18:54] middle column shows and compares that to

[1:18:55] the current level

[1:18:57] of increases identified in the existing rate

[1:18:58] plan approved

[1:18:59] today and the column on the right

[1:19:01] shows the variance

[1:19:03] or incremental amount of the recommended increases

[1:19:04] what

[1:19:07] that represents above what's

[1:19:09] been approved if the five years rate

[1:19:10] plan. For some there's

[1:19:13] not a change. For residential

[1:19:14] water metric rates no change recommended

[1:19:16] for that rate.

[1:19:18] or for commercial volume metric charges

[1:19:19] for

[1:19:22] waste water a 1% increase above what's

[1:19:25] been improved. The net impact of these

[1:19:28] adjustments we'll get into a moment

[1:19:29] but for the average residential customer

[1:19:31] it means

[1:19:34] over

[1:19:36] 5% a year for the next few years.

[1:19:37] for the entire

[1:19:39] system on average this represents

[1:19:40] about a

[1:19:43] 7. 7% increase

[1:19:45] in revenues each year. We're not alone

[1:19:48] in terms of that level of increase

[1:19:49] in rates

[1:19:51] being needed to cover our current

[1:19:52] costs in today's environment.

[1:19:55] as I mentioned we do this work

[1:19:56] throughout florida as well as across

[1:19:58] the country and grab some recent

[1:20:00] examples of agencies, you know, either

[1:20:01] locally

[1:20:04] or other join systems in florida that

[1:20:06] have done rate adjustments to give

[1:20:07] you a sense

[1:20:10] other agencies are looking at similar levels to

[1:20:13] address fundamentally challenges in terms

[1:20:14] of

[1:20:15] increased costs of operations and

[1:20:16] capital and addressing those needs over

[1:20:18] the next few years. Again, you can see

[1:20:19] many of

[1:20:21] these increases are comparable to

[1:20:22] or if not higher

[1:20:25] than the 7. 7% increase that I was talking

[1:20:34] it was

[1:20:37] done based on your needs. To make

[1:20:39] sure we had adequate revenue to immediate

[1:20:40] the

[1:20:42] capital needs, fund in sustainable

[1:20:43] way, the

[1:20:45] recommended rate plan would avoid

[1:20:46] about $250 million

[1:20:48] of additional borrowing versus the

[1:20:49] status quo.

[1:20:51] think about the interest expenses you

[1:20:52] would pay

[1:20:55] on that $250 million that's

[1:20:57] a phenomenal amount of savings associated

[1:20:58] with this plan. You can see

[1:21:01] the orange bar that debt service levels

[1:21:02] off.

[1:21:04] it doesn't

[1:21:06] continue to increase. It levels off

[1:21:07] at 2031

[1:21:10] and we create capacity for that

[1:21:12] blue line at the bottom to cash more

[1:21:13] of our capital

[1:21:16] in a sustainable manner going forward

[1:21:17] to

[1:21:19] help us ensure long-

[1:21:22] term affordability. The plan was developed

[1:21:25] to ensure or try

[1:21:27] to achieve the equity in terms of

[1:21:28] effective rates

[1:21:31] per thousand gallons comparable

[1:21:33] for residential and commercial customers

[1:21:34] over time.

[1:21:36] this chart depicts where we are today

[1:21:37] when you

[1:21:40] take the bill and --for

[1:21:43] waste water and divide it by the

[1:21:46] volumes, the effective rates and the

[1:21:47] black

[1:21:49] lines the system average and we get on

[1:21:50] the

[1:21:52] target in 2030, and 2031 and for water

[1:21:55] close to having that equity achieved

[1:21:56] by

[1:21:58] 2031 and this plan builds on

[1:22:00] that goal or objective established in the existing rate

[1:22:01] plan we have today.

[1:22:07] . This

[1:22:10] plan would meet the needs of the utility

[1:22:11] system and

[1:22:12] understand what impacts would be to

[1:22:13] customers and how it

[1:22:16] is this compare relative to other

[1:22:17] utilities

[1:22:19] not that it drives your decision, but

[1:22:22] it's important to understand the context.

[1:22:25] built out a table that shows for low

[1:22:26] volume

[1:22:29] user a typical high

[1:22:30] volume user what would be the impacts

[1:22:32] on their water bill

[1:22:34] by the recommended adjustments. For

[1:22:35] that

[1:22:36] lower volume user at 4,000 gallons

[1:22:38] of water use you can

[1:22:39] see that increase would be less than

[1:22:41] $3 and by

[1:22:44] 2031 less than $4. About a

[1:22:47] 3 to $4 increase for the lower

[1:22:49] volume user. The typical would see

[1:22:50] less than

[1:22:53] $4, by 2031 that increase $4. 65

[1:22:55] on their bill. For the typical user

[1:22:56] about a 4

[1:22:59] to $5 increase. For higher

[1:23:01] volume users it would be 5 to $6 increase

[1:23:05] on their bill over

[1:23:07] time. And while the percentages may

[1:23:08] seem larger we

[1:23:11] have to appreciate that we

[1:23:13] have the lowest rates in the area

[1:23:14] and even when

[1:23:15] you consider county systems across

[1:23:17] the state. We did a lot

[1:23:19] of benchmarking to show that, so we

[1:23:22] did aa comparison of neighboring or

[1:23:25] regional cities to say what's the

[1:23:26] water bill at

[1:23:28] 7,000 gallons for a typical residential

[1:23:29] customer

[1:23:31] the blue bar, corresponding sewer

[1:23:32] bill

[1:23:35] and identified the average

[1:23:38] with the orange line running

[1:23:41] across. Where we would be in

[1:23:43] '27 with the proposed increase. For

[1:23:44] all these agencies this

[1:23:46] is a snap shot of their 26' rates.

[1:23:49] for winter garden, recall from the

[1:23:50] table

[1:23:52] I flashed they have a 20% increase next

[1:23:53] year.

[1:23:55] we're likely not going to change our

[1:23:56] position on the survey because that

[1:23:57] bill

[1:23:59] for winter garden will increase

[1:24:01] in '27. We're trying to give you a

[1:24:02] snapshot of where you

[1:24:03] stand today and how you might move

[1:24:05] but there's a lot

[1:24:07] of movement in utility rates in subsequent

[1:24:08] years that would

[1:24:10] affect that. We're comparable locally.

[1:24:11] when we

[1:24:13] look to other county systems throughout

[1:24:14] the

[1:24:16] state, we see that we have some of

[1:24:17] the lowest, if

[1:24:20] not the lowest bills for

[1:24:23] residential customers at 7,000 gallons

[1:24:24] amongst other county

[1:24:25] systems throughout florida. I think

[1:24:26] there's an update to this.

[1:24:29] we are the lowest. Broward

[1:24:31] county is higher than shown here.

[1:24:32] we

[1:24:34] looked at commercial customers and

[1:24:35] found similar results

[1:24:38] for a 2

[1:24:41] inch

[1:24:44] commercial customer, versus

[1:24:46] where we stand for local cities. This

[1:24:47] doesn't

[1:24:49] factor in anticipated increases for others

[1:24:50] next year. We're among the lowest

[1:24:51] in

[1:24:53] the area. Locally for

[1:24:56] commercial customers and if we take that again

[1:24:57] a

[1:24:59] broader cross section of similar sized

[1:25:02] agencies generally speaking we have

[1:25:03] amongst

[1:25:04] the lowest rates amongst those types

[1:25:05] of systems in

[1:25:07] florida as well. And if it's of interest

[1:25:08] we did,

[1:25:10] there's not many of these, kind of

[1:25:11] a large bill

[1:25:12] comparison for an 8 inch customer

[1:25:14] with a significant water

[1:25:17] use and, again, very similar findings

[1:25:18] locally we have some of

[1:25:19] the lowest bills in the area and then

[1:25:20] as we look

[1:25:23] at the county systems again we are

[1:25:24] among

[1:25:26] the lowest across florida

[1:25:28] for the county utility systems. A lot

[1:25:29] of information at you and I

[1:25:31] will be happy to come back to this

[1:25:32] but glen wanted to

[1:25:34] touch on other related items before we

[1:25:35] get to the question and answer portion.

[1:25:47] >> just

[1:25:50] to conclude the

[1:25:52] presentation and get to the very end

[1:25:53] of it

[1:25:54] we wanted to talk about three rate

[1:25:56] changes that we would like

[1:25:59] to make on our waste water

[1:26:02] scale. The first one is to update

[1:26:03] our

[1:26:05] wastewater environmental sur charges.

[1:26:08] these are sur

[1:26:10] charges paid by customers that have

[1:26:11] specific

[1:26:14] nutrients listed here in

[1:26:17] abbreviated

[1:26:19] form that are, can be accepted up to

[1:26:20] a certain level but after

[1:26:22] that level we need to charge them for

[1:26:23] the treatment they require.

[1:26:26] the charge is expressed

[1:26:29] in dollars per 100

[1:26:32] pounds of the nutrient sent to our

[1:26:35] waste water for treatment.

[1:26:38] these charges were being updated at

[1:26:39] the

[1:26:41] instigation of an internal audit from

[1:26:44] the comptroller's office looking at

[1:26:45] our environmental compliance program

[1:26:47] and one of the things they pointed

[1:26:48] out was

[1:26:50] that the revenue generated by these

[1:26:51] charges

[1:26:53] do not pay the entire cost for the

[1:26:55] environmental compliance program.

[1:26:57] therefore, the suggestion

[1:26:59] was either reduce the activity to

[1:27:00] lower costs

[1:27:02] which was not the way we wanted to

[1:27:03] go

[1:27:05] with environmental compliance or reallocate

[1:27:06] and look

[1:27:08] at the cost structure and recalculate

[1:27:09] the

[1:27:12] rates. We engaged our

[1:27:15] engineering consultant to

[1:27:18] reanalyze and recalculate these

[1:27:20] nutrient levels and how much they

[1:27:21] are costing from the

[1:27:22] treatment. You can see from the chart

[1:27:24] the fire, chemical

[1:27:27] oxygen demand is going up about

[1:27:29] 20% with new updated charge total

[1:27:33] suspended solids up 9%,

[1:27:35] total nitrogen didn't need much adjustment,

[1:27:36] only going

[1:27:39] up 1. 5%, and total phosphorous

[1:27:40] charge needed the greatest adjustment at 45%.

[1:27:46] the second change we would like to

[1:27:48] do is include a new fee

[1:27:50] for a lateral installation or repair,

[1:27:51] this

[1:27:53] fee listed at cost. What happens occasionally

[1:27:54] is

[1:27:56] that a developer might ask our field

[1:27:57] services division

[1:28:00] to install a lateral from our waste

[1:28:02] water force main to their plumbing

[1:28:03] for their

[1:28:04] development. That's not part of our

[1:28:06] responsibility, but

[1:28:09] we wanted to be cooperative

[1:28:10] and helpful and make sure we can recover

[1:28:12] our costs for that.

[1:28:13] our business practice is to build

[1:28:15] back for that cost when

[1:28:18] this happens, but we wanted to insert

[1:28:19] a

[1:28:20] fee into our rate schedule so it can

[1:28:21] be a

[1:28:24] board approved fee

[1:28:26] we're charging to them. Because the

[1:28:27] conditions in the

[1:28:29] field vary job to job not a way to establish a specific fee for

[1:28:30] costs.

[1:28:38] third create a new environmental program

[1:28:41] reinspection fee. We have technicians

[1:28:42] that go

[1:28:45] to restaurants and other customers

[1:28:47] that have grease traps and inspect

[1:28:48] them to

[1:28:50] make sure they're cleaned out. If

[1:28:51] it's not cleaned out they would

[1:28:53] go back a second time to inspect it

[1:28:54] and if it's not

[1:28:57] cleaned out they would

[1:29:00] go back a third time

[1:29:03] and if not cleaned out at that point they would

[1:29:06] be issued a fine of $500.

[1:29:08] we're incurring costs to have that

[1:29:09] inspector go out

[1:29:12] a third and second time so in

[1:29:13] order recover that cost and perhaps

[1:29:15] provide a little bit of

[1:29:17] financial incentive to our customers

[1:29:18] to get the

[1:29:19] grease trap cleaned the first time, we

[1:29:21] would like to have

[1:29:24] a reinspection fee

[1:29:27] so that when we have to go

[1:29:30] out, we would charge them $48 based

[1:29:33] on our 2025 costs

[1:29:36] and charged at one hour minimum.

[1:29:42] for our next

[1:29:51] step --part of the

[1:29:54] state of florida process

[1:29:56] for us to increase our rates. The

[1:29:57] first step

[1:30:00] is going to be

[1:30:02] just to be approving preliminary rate

[1:30:03] schedule. With

[1:30:05] your vote today if everything is passed

[1:30:06] nothing will

[1:30:09] change.

[1:30:12] it's only going to be

[1:30:14] after a public hearing that the rates

[1:30:15] would

[1:30:17] change. Therefore, we have scheduled

[1:30:18] a public hearing or will be

[1:30:21] on january 27th of next year.

[1:30:24] and that would be for the

[1:30:27] final adoption if the board

[1:30:30] chooses to do so. We would conduct

[1:30:32] customer outreach. We found that this

[1:30:33] is very

[1:30:36] effective in prior rate

[1:30:39] changes, especially ones where

[1:30:42] they go up more than the 3% indexes

[1:30:44] we might do and do several things

[1:30:45] to reach out to the

[1:30:48] customers and one we can include is

[1:30:50] communicating what mr. Burnham has

[1:30:51] shown you we

[1:30:53] have some of the lowest rates for

[1:30:54] water and waste water in

[1:30:57] the area and even though no customer

[1:30:58] wants to receive

[1:30:59] a rate increase and we don't want

[1:31:00] to give them

[1:31:02] a rate increase to help them understand

[1:31:03] it is

[1:31:05] necessary and they're getting one of

[1:31:06] the best deals

[1:31:09] in central florida. Finally the if

[1:31:10] everything

[1:31:12] is passed the rates would become effective

[1:31:15] october 1st of next year. We found

[1:31:17] many commercial customers especially

[1:31:18] appreciate the long

[1:31:21] runway leading up to the rate increases

[1:31:22] to plan their

[1:31:24] budgets and get ready for the adjustments

[1:31:27] that they need to make. That

[1:31:30] brings us to

[1:31:32] the requested action. We have two

[1:31:33] resolutions for your

[1:31:36] consideration. One is a resolution

[1:31:37] with

[1:31:38] a preliminary water charge schedule

[1:31:40] and the second

[1:31:42] is a resolution with a preliminary

[1:31:45] waste water charge schedule. So this

[1:31:46] concludes

[1:31:47] our presentation. Mr. Burnham and

[1:31:49] I are available for

[1:31:52] any questions you may have.

[1:31:55] thank you.

[1:31:56] >> all right.

[1:31:58] I'm going to start

[1:32:01] off, if I --I think slide

[1:32:04] 12st and maybe

[1:32:07] 22 showed different

[1:32:10] costs between the municipalities

[1:32:11] within the areas compared to orange county

[1:32:13] and the way I

[1:32:16] read it,

[1:32:19] the average residential customer

[1:32:21] uses 7,000 gallons during the billing

[1:32:22] cycle, is

[1:32:25] that correct?

[1:32:26] >> that's

[1:32:28] correct. Per month.

[1:32:29] >> and if

[1:32:31] I look at this chart, orange

[1:32:34] county average cost

[1:32:37] is somewhere around 0

[1:32:39] bucks for that person?

[1:32:40] >> that's correct.

[1:32:41] >> I live

[1:32:43] in unincorporated orange county

[1:32:44] but I don't have orange county water I

[1:32:46] have orlando utilities

[1:32:49] and for me, the chart says

[1:32:52] because I have orlando

[1:32:55] utilities, I pay more. It

[1:32:58] looks like slightly 80 bucks.

[1:33:00] >> correct. >> so I pay basically

[1:33:04] if I

[1:33:06] was using the average gallons per

[1:33:10] month paying about

[1:33:13] $10 more a

[1:33:16] month or 10% more. Thereabouts

[1:33:18] for what I'm use in unincorporated orange

[1:33:19] county.

[1:33:22] so even

[1:33:24] with the rate increases that orange

[1:33:25] county

[1:33:28] is proposing

[1:33:30] today, it still will be below I'm

[1:33:31] going to

[1:33:32] say orlando utilities commission,

[1:33:34] right?

[1:33:35] >> that's correct. >> I feel like I'm paying too

[1:33:36] much.

[1:33:43] I'm going to

[1:33:46] open it up for questions.

[1:33:47] commissioner wilson and moore and

[1:33:49] uribe

[1:33:52] and commissioner semrad, commissioner maribel

[1:33:53] gomez

[1:33:54] cordero cordero.

[1:33:55] >> thank you. Thank

[1:33:56] you so much for

[1:33:57] this comprehensive amount of information.

[1:33:58] I am so sorry I didn't

[1:34:00] make it to the briefing but did get

[1:34:01] this wealth of

[1:34:03] information because that's what you

[1:34:04] all always

[1:34:06] do and I'm grateful for the work.

[1:34:07] I think my first meeting

[1:34:09] with utilities may have said are we

[1:34:11] short changing ourselves? I said I

[1:34:12] think we're short changing ourselves.

[1:34:16] I'm concerned about this.

[1:34:18] and there was a look amongst like

[1:34:19] we've been talking about

[1:34:22] it. I

[1:34:24] understand this is an uncomfortable

[1:34:25] conversation but seeing

[1:34:27] the costs impose on the utility that

[1:34:28] is not something that we

[1:34:31] have control of. Right. What do we

[1:34:34] do then? Do we

[1:34:35] take a shortcut shortcutsomewhere?

[1:34:36] those of us who studied what happened

[1:34:37] in flint, michigan,

[1:34:39] know you don't take shortcuts when

[1:34:40] it comes to

[1:34:42] water. I think, you know, I support,

[1:34:45] obviously, this incremental resolution

[1:34:46] in moving forward

[1:34:49] with this. I do always also have that

[1:34:52] glint on it about conservation and

[1:34:53] see opportunity

[1:34:54] there for greater conservation and

[1:34:55] would like to say

[1:34:57] that as we continue to move this conversation

[1:34:58] forward with the

[1:35:01] public, let's really lean on

[1:35:02] that because, you know, talking about

[1:35:04] native plantings and how we

[1:35:07] can decrease our reused water, talking

[1:35:09] about what we can do, you know, even

[1:35:10] with adapting our

[1:35:13] shower head, those are the things we

[1:35:14] can

[1:35:15] provide as an education professionally

[1:35:16] as an easy

[1:35:18] investment in going out to the public that

[1:35:19] will then say, you

[1:35:22] know, this will help. This will help

[1:35:23] your

[1:35:25] bill, us overall as a

[1:35:28] community, and I do think

[1:35:31] that --I

[1:35:32] think it's important also because of

[1:35:34] the crazy doge stuff

[1:35:37] was there any inspection into these

[1:35:38] costs

[1:35:40] we're incurring from chemicals

[1:35:43] and potentially equipment things that we

[1:35:44] have no ability

[1:35:46] to try to shortcut on? Was

[1:35:48] there any inspection of that during

[1:35:49] the doge?

[1:35:51] >> none to my knowledge. The only

[1:35:52] thing is when they

[1:35:55] were asking for contracts and

[1:35:57] purchasing information that we provided.

[1:35:58] >>

[1:36:00] just wanted to make sure you weren't

[1:36:01] doing minority and women

[1:36:04] owned businesses with that. The

[1:36:06] part that is important to understand we

[1:36:07] are trying much like any business in

[1:36:09] the utilities division is a business,

[1:36:10] in that it's covering

[1:36:13] its expenses in the west way it can t

[1:36:17] and that the reinis vestment

[1:36:20] into its those cips, that

[1:36:21] is why orange county utilities has

[1:36:23] been the best and

[1:36:26] I do have my --I get my orange

[1:36:28] county water. It's in this cup right

[1:36:29] here.

[1:36:31] I just want to tell you that I support

[1:36:32] the

[1:36:33] way that you're approaching this and I

[1:36:35] believe that it's a reasonable

[1:36:38] ask and I support it.

[1:36:39] >> thank

[1:36:40] you, commissioner.

[1:36:41] >> commissioner

[1:36:42] moore.

[1:36:43] >> yes. It seemed

[1:36:44] like a lot of your expenses

[1:36:46] were adding towards 50% more, if I

[1:36:47] was doing a

[1:36:49] quick rounding, but if you can go

[1:36:50] back to

[1:36:53] the rate, the

[1:36:55] customer impacts which I believe is

[1:36:56] on

[1:36:59] page 20. I'm

[1:37:00] trying to understand then exactly

[1:37:02] how you got to

[1:37:03] that amount. Those amounts look --

[1:37:05] listen, I'm not happy about

[1:37:07] this for our people at all, but --

[1:37:08] so

[1:37:11] I don't want this comment

[1:37:14] misconstrued but seems those

[1:37:17] increases maybe don't cover the

[1:37:19] increasing costs.

[1:37:20] >> this is on a

[1:37:21] monthly

[1:37:22] bill and so it depending on how much

[1:37:26] water is used, to commissioner wilson's

[1:37:29] point, if we have effective

[1:37:31] outreach for the environmental conservation

[1:37:34] water conservation, then the bills

[1:37:35] can be

[1:37:37] lower closer to that 4,000 level that's

[1:37:38] listed at

[1:37:41] the top versus the 7,000

[1:37:42] gallon listed in the middle or the

[1:37:44] 12,000 for a

[1:37:47] high user.

[1:37:48] >> I understand. Is

[1:37:49] it because your operational costs

[1:37:53] have not gone up as much as when you're

[1:37:54] having to hire companies on the capital

[1:37:56] side? The operational hasn't gone

[1:37:57] up

[1:37:58] as much as the capital?

[1:37:59] >> they've

[1:38:00] both gone up

[1:38:01] tremendously. The fact that this looks

[1:38:02] like in one respect

[1:38:05] a small

[1:38:06] increase, compared to the huge increases

[1:38:08] we're having on operations, just

[1:38:11] the fact that we have so many

[1:38:13] customers. 150 to 200,000 customers

[1:38:17] so a little bit from

[1:38:18] everybody contributes to the capturing

[1:38:20] of those costs and being

[1:38:22] able to pay for them.

[1:38:23] >> there's nothing

[1:38:24] more important than

[1:38:25] water. After a hurricane, you know,

[1:38:26] we

[1:38:27] survive barely without power. But

[1:38:29] you can't go

[1:38:31] very long without water. So that day

[1:38:32] that

[1:38:34] water is being a cheap commodity seems

[1:38:35] like it's going

[1:38:38] away. There is an

[1:38:40] easier way to explain to the public

[1:38:41] you took a

[1:38:43] deep dive, which we need because we're

[1:38:45] responsible to look at that level,

[1:38:47] but is there an easier, quicker way

[1:38:50] to explain to them why the increase

[1:38:53] in these costs?

[1:38:54] >> I

[1:38:56] think the costs have increased mainly after

[1:38:58] the pandemic because there were a

[1:38:59] lot

[1:39:01] of supply chain issues and so it was hard

[1:39:02] to get

[1:39:05] materials. It

[1:39:07] was hard the shipping with the increasing of

[1:39:08] the

[1:39:11] gas prices since the pandemic

[1:39:12] distributed to the shipping costs

[1:39:14] getting

[1:39:16] materials to the site. The fact is

[1:39:17] that in

[1:39:19] our industry the cost we are facing

[1:39:20] is not the same

[1:39:23] costs that a consumer faces.

[1:39:26] we did look at

[1:39:29] the cpi, one year of

[1:39:31] inflation, and coming back down since

[1:39:32] then, now it's

[1:39:35] around

[1:39:38] 3% or so, so

[1:39:41] what their experiencing for

[1:39:43] purchasing food and services for their

[1:39:44] household is a separate

[1:39:46] set of costs we have to purchase for

[1:39:47] the production

[1:39:49] of water, the treatment of waste water,

[1:39:50] given

[1:39:53] the chemicals, the regulatory requirements we

[1:39:56] have to follow to dispose

[1:39:59] of biosolids, all of the distribution

[1:40:01] system that is buried under the ground

[1:40:02] an nobody

[1:40:05] sees, but needs to be maintained and

[1:40:06] then just to

[1:40:08] be building the expense of

[1:40:10] water and waste water facilities needed

[1:40:11] to serve our

[1:40:13] current customers to make sure it

[1:40:14] stays good working order but

[1:40:17] then also to serve the new customers

[1:40:20] coming out and --

[1:40:21] >> aren't there labor

[1:40:22] costs as

[1:40:23] well? When you look at the cost for

[1:40:24] your

[1:40:26] 5 million gallon a day plan from

[1:40:29] 110 going from memory 168, that

[1:40:32] is a tremendous increase. You're saying some

[1:40:35] of that is parts but there is a labor

[1:40:36] component to this

[1:40:38] as well?

[1:40:39] >>

[1:40:41] yes. It all works

[1:40:43] together to increase costs and these are

[1:40:44] the estimates and

[1:40:47] bids we're getting from our contractors,

[1:40:48] so they're

[1:40:49] trying to cover their costs and of

[1:40:50] course this is

[1:40:52] a capitalistic society so they're

[1:40:53] going to try to make money

[1:40:56] doing it. At the end of the day since

[1:40:57] competitively

[1:40:59] bid they're going to try to put one

[1:41:02] of their best cost forward to get

[1:41:03] the job

[1:41:05] versus trying to make money and not

[1:41:07] get the job if their cost estimate

[1:41:09] too

[1:41:10] high.

[1:41:11] >> we competitively bid these

[1:41:12] projects.

[1:41:13] a lot of this coming from the private

[1:41:15] sector

[1:41:18] side, perhaps labor short

[1:41:21] ams,

[1:41:24] inflation, supply chain. I heard yesterday

[1:41:25] a comment there was so much more money

[1:41:27] coming from

[1:41:29] the federal government in terms of

[1:41:30] infrastructure

[1:41:32] that you think that any kind of impact

[1:41:33] in

[1:41:36] driving these costs up?

[1:41:37] >>. >> when the money was coming in

[1:41:39] in the form

[1:41:42] of grants, like arpa,

[1:41:43] that did help to fray some of the

[1:41:45] costs over time. Now most of

[1:41:47] that money has dried up and it's harder

[1:41:49] to find grant money to do some of

[1:41:51] the projects we would like to

[1:41:54] do. We look hard, but

[1:41:55] we have challenges in that area.

[1:41:56] >>

[1:41:57] well, to go back to

[1:41:59] the conservation side, you briefed

[1:42:00] me yesterday and I

[1:42:02] was in complete shock and so you modified

[1:42:04] my behavior already when I turned the

[1:42:06] water onto make

[1:42:07] the coffee this morning, I said I

[1:42:09] am

[1:42:10] not wasting water until this gets

[1:42:12] hot so I

[1:42:14] had my jug to water my plants outside.

[1:42:15] I didn't

[1:42:17] want to waste one drop after I heard

[1:42:20] this situation and made me start thinking

[1:42:21] about all the ways I

[1:42:23] could personally save. I don't think

[1:42:24] there's

[1:42:26] a family out there this is going to

[1:42:27] be easy

[1:42:30] on. I was curious if there'sthere's

[1:42:32] any, you know, body of work that could

[1:42:36] help us understand the whole family

[1:42:37] took five minute showers, you know,

[1:42:39] how many in your

[1:42:41] household, how many gallons you would

[1:42:42] save. I think we

[1:42:45] owe it to the public to help

[1:42:48] them quantify how to save money and

[1:42:50] usage and, of course, water is not

[1:42:54] an unlimited commodity. We

[1:42:55] know you're looking at brackish water

[1:42:57] conversions. Is there any --

[1:42:59] you've got a consultant. Anything

[1:43:00] out

[1:43:01] here when you tell people look, if

[1:43:03] you, you know, do this, that

[1:43:06] and the other we can get the use

[1:43:08] down to then accommodate for this

[1:43:09] increase?

[1:43:10] >>

[1:43:12] commissioner, I'm sure there is and I

[1:43:14] know we have a water conservation

[1:43:15] group better

[1:43:17] in touch with that body of work than I

[1:43:19] am and that is something we can look

[1:43:21] into with the messaging

[1:43:23] we're doing as we're doing customer

[1:43:24] outreach to

[1:43:27] provide more of those ways to conserve

[1:43:30] water and lower bills and the impact of the

[1:43:31] rate

[1:43:32] increases.

[1:43:33] >> I can think of several

[1:43:34] that

[1:43:36] I do at home with --I was telling

[1:43:39] commissioner wilson no more saint

[1:43:40] augustine grass and I don't have an

[1:43:41] irrigation system. Everybody is like

[1:43:45] are you going to do it? No. I am

[1:43:47] happy to not have that bill. Simple

[1:43:48] thing when watering

[1:43:50] my plants I have no irrigation system I

[1:43:54] have a nozzle on it and so I don't

[1:43:55] waste

[1:43:56] the water in between the plant. I

[1:43:57] think

[1:44:00] we need to help people because they're

[1:44:02] going to suffer and the bills that

[1:44:03] are going up at the grocery

[1:44:04] store and everywhere else is tough

[1:44:06] on our people. I think we

[1:44:09] owe it to them if we're

[1:44:11] going to have to do this, then we

[1:44:12] owe it to

[1:44:15] them to figure out how to

[1:44:18] conserve. Thank you.

[1:44:21] >> thank you. >> all

[1:44:23] right. Commissioner uribe.

[1:44:24] >> so I

[1:44:25] wanted to expand

[1:44:27] on that education part. What we do

[1:44:30] always see is --I'm

[1:44:32] also a victim of ouc, I said that

[1:44:33] out

[1:44:36] loud, when we talk about electricity,

[1:44:38] saving electricity all the time, insulating,

[1:44:39] doing all

[1:44:41] these things and we need to be more

[1:44:42] proactive.

[1:44:44] this is a hard wake-up call and I

[1:44:45] think we've all sat here

[1:44:48] and realized we had a great deal for

[1:44:49] a

[1:44:50] long time, and I kind of want press

[1:44:51] a little bit more

[1:44:54] on that because I

[1:44:56] think a lot of times educating I bet

[1:44:57] most people don't

[1:44:59] realize, I've heard people who have

[1:45:00] ouc like I

[1:45:03] do, how is it our tax and fees are higher

[1:45:06] than what we spend on water. We're

[1:45:09] always saying that. It is much more

[1:45:12] inflated. Do people realize what --

[1:45:13] have

[1:45:15] you analyzed your family and looked

[1:45:17] at educating this is your trend of

[1:45:18] what your family does.

[1:45:21] these are good times, hard times,

[1:45:23] to help? It seems like if you're going to

[1:45:24] be a high

[1:45:26] user you're going pay more.

[1:45:27] >> correct.

[1:45:28] >> I

[1:45:30] think a lot of times, that message

[1:45:31] is great

[1:45:33] way for you guys to do some of your

[1:45:36] outreaches to kids, education. Because I

[1:45:38] always guilt my son as he leaves the

[1:45:39] water on when

[1:45:42] he brushes his teeth. So --but I tell

[1:45:44] him differently, he's taking the food for

[1:45:45] the fish away by leaving

[1:45:48] the water on so

[1:45:51] long. But when we talk about --when

[1:45:54] you've talked about getting bids

[1:45:57] and I understand traditionally that

[1:45:59] people always say, you know, whenever

[1:46:01] you look at a government bid

[1:46:03] it's higher than what the private

[1:46:04] market

[1:46:06] is, has your team or a consultant

[1:46:10] looked at what the trend is

[1:46:12] on a private sector as far as public

[1:46:15] contracts and private sector contracts?

[1:46:16] are

[1:46:19] we really in there. Granted I do

[1:46:20] understand that there is a much more

[1:46:22] bond requirement and

[1:46:24] liability and all that, but is there

[1:46:25] a --

[1:46:28] is there a point that people or

[1:46:29] bids are taking advantage of the private

[1:46:31] sector versus the public

[1:46:32] sector when it comes to funding? I

[1:46:34] would love for us

[1:46:36] to look at that because it seems that

[1:46:37] we just end up --

[1:46:38] this is coming from a contractor's

[1:46:40] wife,

[1:46:41] that you end up paying more when you

[1:46:42] look at it one way and look at it another.

[1:46:52] we weren't charging for inspections before?

[1:46:53] >> that's correct. >> we never were

[1:46:55] charging?

[1:46:56] >> for that

[1:46:57] program there was not a fee for the

[1:46:58] inspection however there was

[1:46:59] a fee to be part of the program that

[1:47:01] was part of their monthly

[1:47:03] bill.

[1:47:04] >> okay. Now I think that's

[1:47:05] good because

[1:47:06] if a lot of time if they're not in

[1:47:07] compliance and we have

[1:47:09] to go back out, certainly I mean there's

[1:47:10] a

[1:47:12] cost to us. We're paying the worker.

[1:47:13] he's not

[1:47:15] going out for free. We're paying the

[1:47:16] workers or should

[1:47:19] be. My last thing is, and you

[1:47:22] all know this, pump stations.

[1:47:24] when doing development, we realize there

[1:47:25] was a

[1:47:26] particular project in my district

[1:47:28] where they

[1:47:30] were going to connect to the big sewage

[1:47:31] and so

[1:47:32] forth and it was going to be more

[1:47:34] cost efficient for them

[1:47:36] and us, but ultimately they weren't

[1:47:37] able to connect to

[1:47:39] obt. What happens is it ended up putting a lot

[1:47:40] of

[1:47:43] pressure on a pump station outdated

[1:47:45] from the '70s or '80s which is being

[1:47:46] done

[1:47:48] because our roads are blocked off,

[1:47:49] but my

[1:47:51] whole point is, financially we end

[1:47:55] up incurring a lot of

[1:47:57] that and how is that analyzed? Is

[1:47:58] there a

[1:48:01] way to analyze in the predevelopmental stage to have

[1:48:04] some accuracy on that? Because

[1:48:07] it ended up being a cost, a burden cost on

[1:48:09] the county, much sooner than expected, it

[1:48:10] was on

[1:48:13] the five-year, ten-year

[1:48:15] plan, but because of the amount of

[1:48:16] putting

[1:48:19] in 112 more units to a pump

[1:48:22] station over 30 years old, where did

[1:48:23] that

[1:48:25] cost get absorbed?

[1:48:27] financially, are there times we are

[1:48:28] incurring costs that should

[1:48:31] not be our costs or some of

[1:48:34] that costs should be deviated

[1:48:37] to the development being put onto

[1:48:40] us and causing us a lot more cost

[1:48:41] and

[1:48:42] water pump stations and utilities?

[1:48:46] if I could get

[1:48:49] a response?

[1:48:52] >> commissioner, I know

[1:48:55] that that may be a misconception, but

[1:48:58] I think in

[1:49:00] that particular case, in your district there was

[1:49:01] a

[1:49:04] development that connected into an

[1:49:06] existing system, there was a system

[1:49:07] of

[1:49:08] initial capacity in that case and they

[1:49:10] were

[1:49:12] allowed to connect and the rest of

[1:49:13] the infrastructure

[1:49:16] was built out. That

[1:49:19] was not an issue. Pretty

[1:49:22] much development wise

[1:49:24] speaking orange county utilities development

[1:49:28] pays its own way for all of it. They

[1:49:30] pay capital charges with those capital

[1:49:31] charges which are similar

[1:49:34] to impact

[1:49:36] fees, build a water treatment expansion

[1:49:37] and we

[1:49:38] build the infrastructure that they're connecting

[1:49:40] to. For instance,

[1:49:43] a new

[1:49:46] subdivision has to build all of

[1:49:47] the pipelines within the subdivision

[1:49:49] like they build the roads and

[1:49:52] build into our standards and we inspect

[1:49:53] those

[1:49:54] pipelines and donate those to us with

[1:49:55] a one-year

[1:49:57] warranty for any repairs or anything

[1:49:58] that has to happen

[1:50:00] during that year after we receive

[1:50:01] them. So then we

[1:50:04] operate those pipelines

[1:50:07] and they also if they have to connect

[1:50:08] to our system

[1:50:10] we evaluate the

[1:50:13] capacity at the connection point

[1:50:15] and unless we have capacity that is

[1:50:16] success capacity at a

[1:50:19] connection point, we do not tell them you

[1:50:20] have to

[1:50:22] extend the pipeline further down sometimes

[1:50:23] beyond one

[1:50:25] mile or up to one mile in

[1:50:28] those subdivisions. Places like

[1:50:31] horizon, master

[1:50:34] plan, big

[1:50:37] village, the developer

[1:50:38] build subdivision they would have

[1:50:43] to build not only the pipeline, they

[1:50:44] would

[1:50:46] have to build the pipeline to the

[1:50:48] size of the village size so sometimes

[1:50:49] it's like chicken

[1:50:52] or the egg. One developer wants to

[1:50:53] go

[1:50:54] first, and he doesn't want to build

[1:50:55] a mile pipe because

[1:50:58] he has to

[1:50:59] build that full size development so he's

[1:51:01] going to have

[1:51:04] to collaborate

[1:51:07] with the neighbors, among

[1:51:09] themselves three or four or five build

[1:51:10] a larger pipeline or

[1:51:12] the first one because of tunes builds

[1:51:13] a pipeline at

[1:51:15] a higher costs and then the others

[1:51:19] connect to the pipeline. But we don't

[1:51:20] pay for that.

[1:51:22] some cases beyond that when the developer

[1:51:23] is

[1:51:24] building the pipeline at their own

[1:51:25] cost we

[1:51:28] actually come here with development over

[1:51:29] sizing

[1:51:31] agreements and in a way it is us who

[1:51:32] take advantage of

[1:51:34] the developers. They're building a

[1:51:35] 12

[1:51:37] inch pipe and we know that down the

[1:51:38] road

[1:51:40] 10, 15 years, we need --there's going to

[1:51:41] be

[1:51:42] more development down the road and

[1:51:44] instead of a 12 inch pipe

[1:51:46] put a 16 inch pipe. Doesn't seem like

[1:51:47] much

[1:51:49] but the difference in cost is from

[1:51:50] 12

[1:51:52] to 16 the difference in cost is 33%

[1:51:53] because

[1:51:55] it's based on the diameter. The difference

[1:51:59] in capacity is double. So we pay an

[1:52:02] incremental cost of 33%

[1:52:05] and we get double capacity

[1:52:07] in four additional subdivisions or

[1:52:08] things to come down

[1:52:11] the road. Bottom line from

[1:52:14] our

[1:52:15] utility, I can tell you in our case

[1:52:17] development pays

[1:52:20] its own way. It is not this increase

[1:52:21] in my opinion are not due to development.

[1:52:23] we

[1:52:25] just increased our capital charges

[1:52:26] last

[1:52:29] april effective last

[1:52:31] april and I believe the increase is

[1:52:35] almost 50%.

[1:52:38] like 40% it went up for development

[1:52:39] to

[1:52:41] pay their own way. Mostly the

[1:52:42] operations that we have because operating

[1:52:44] costs

[1:52:47] went up a

[1:52:50] lot, certain amount of

[1:52:52] money for projects we needed, existing

[1:52:53] customers we serve

[1:52:56] a million people so we need

[1:52:57] additional electriciticle pumps that

[1:52:59] go bad,

[1:53:02] old, we have to repaint the

[1:53:03] tanks, refurbish tanks, refurbish

[1:53:08] all kinds of things. We used to have

[1:53:09] say

[1:53:11] $80 million for projects or $60

[1:53:12] million but as operation costs go

[1:53:14] up, then instead

[1:53:17] of 80 we have 60, then we have 50,

[1:53:18] 40.

[1:53:20] we keep going down in the amount

[1:53:22] of money we have left for projects.

[1:53:23] we sill have to let's say

[1:53:26] our

[1:53:29] projects were $80 million. Instead

[1:53:32] of going down

[1:53:35] going 80 to 100 last year,

[1:53:37] $200 million worth of projects, they

[1:53:38] have

[1:53:39] been going on in construction but

[1:53:43] the amount left from the operation

[1:53:44] cost,

[1:53:47] the operation revenues is less and

[1:53:50] less and it's every year

[1:53:53] going diminishing that amount whereas

[1:53:56] the projects are

[1:53:57] increasing. Because of that we borrow money

[1:53:59] and we figure okay, we'll pay down

[1:54:00] the

[1:54:02] road when

[1:54:03] we increase the rates. For a while

[1:54:05] not only have to do

[1:54:06] that, we do a little bit of catch-up.

[1:54:08] we

[1:54:11] had the lowest rates

[1:54:14] among counties in florida, the bottom

[1:54:17] 3% of counties.

[1:54:18] >> okay.

[1:54:19] I had another follow-up question.

[1:54:20] so you

[1:54:23] put this chart out that gets

[1:54:26] us through 2031. Do you feel that it

[1:54:29] will sustain where we're going? Do we see

[1:54:30] supplies

[1:54:31] and materials have leveled off? When

[1:54:32] you look at the other part

[1:54:34] of construction, things have leveled

[1:54:35] off pretty

[1:54:37] much. There was a time it was growing

[1:54:38] and it seems like it's

[1:54:41] still high, but it doesn't seem like

[1:54:44] it's continuing to increase.

[1:54:46] do you guys feel that we're going

[1:54:47] to --the

[1:54:50] last thing you want to do

[1:54:52] is get to a point where we're back

[1:54:53] in this

[1:54:55] place five years from now.

[1:54:56] >> I think

[1:54:57] construction

[1:54:59] costs like you saw the

[1:55:02] cpi he was

[1:55:04] staying there was a significant inflation in

[1:55:05] the cpi.

[1:55:08] some of that had to do with housing, some

[1:55:11] of that had to do with components of

[1:55:14] the price index, but

[1:55:16] the construction cost was much higher

[1:55:17] than normal inflation.

[1:55:20] >> right. >> if

[1:55:23] you saw 9%

[1:55:25] on the cpi on the construction it

[1:55:26] was a higher

[1:55:28] price. Commissioner moore hit it on

[1:55:29] the nail. There was a lot

[1:55:32] of incentives from the federal government

[1:55:33] a

[1:55:35] lot of those things because of maybe

[1:55:36] post

[1:55:37] pandemic, because there was so many

[1:55:38] projects

[1:55:40] nationwide, here we have housing,

[1:55:41] house prices went

[1:55:44] up a lot, there was all kinds of housing

[1:55:47] construction, there was all

[1:55:50] kinds, and the labor and the materials

[1:55:51] for

[1:55:53] construction went up a lot. That is

[1:55:54] not the

[1:55:57] case anymore, so those increases

[1:55:59] year to year, were much higher in

[1:56:00] the

[1:56:03] last five years than they

[1:56:04] have been in the 20-some years I've

[1:56:06] been here at the county.

[1:56:09] we've seen them

[1:56:12] stabilizing now, so I think we

[1:56:15] need to catch up. Those prices

[1:56:18] haven't come down.

[1:56:19] >> my

[1:56:20] question goes back to you're doing

[1:56:21] a

[1:56:22] prediction, asking for reoccurring

[1:56:24] increases over the next

[1:56:26] five years, my biggest question to

[1:56:27] you, by

[1:56:28] making this commitment now, and I

[1:56:30] believe we have to get ahead of

[1:56:33] this, we have 11

[1:56:35] months, yeah, okay. We really have I

[1:56:36] believe this is

[1:56:39] a perfect time to really take and

[1:56:40] educate because if you continue your

[1:56:41] trends of using water the way you

[1:56:42] do

[1:56:45] now, one, it's running short, two,

[1:56:47] you're going to see this increase

[1:56:50] hit you in october of 2026. I'm going

[1:56:51] to sign up

[1:56:52] to come out to my community so we

[1:56:54] can start educating and

[1:56:56] learning how to read their bill and

[1:56:57] how they

[1:56:59] can do this. The question goes back

[1:57:00] to five years down the

[1:57:02] road are we back here saying oh, we

[1:57:03] just didn't

[1:57:05] have enough come in so this commitment

[1:57:06] we make

[1:57:08] as a board, will be able to sustain

[1:57:09] and

[1:57:11] help us continue with those costs

[1:57:12] and project

[1:57:13] improvements over the next five or

[1:57:15] ten

[1:57:18] years?

[1:57:19] >>

[1:57:21] that's

[1:57:24] correct. We

[1:57:26] have inflation factors built into the

[1:57:27] model.

[1:57:29] we aren't expecting the costs to remain

[1:57:30] flat. They should

[1:57:31] be sufficient to fund everything for the next

[1:57:33] five years.

[1:57:34] >> okay.

[1:57:36] >> caveat that is your best estimate.

[1:57:38] >> yes. >> I won't be here but you'll

[1:57:42] be here.

[1:57:43] >> yeah. We can never

[1:57:44] say what the world will happen.

[1:57:45] >>

[1:57:46] correct.

[1:57:47] >> if it stands

[1:57:48] as we look today, you feel comfortable

[1:57:49] with this?

[1:57:50] >> yes.

[1:57:51] if we get back to a normal

[1:57:52] economy, normal inflation for the

[1:57:54] next five years, this plan

[1:57:56] should be sufficient.

[1:57:57] >> understood.

[1:57:58] thank you. Thanks

[1:57:59] for all the data. I would love to

[1:58:00] see that market rate information just

[1:58:03] to have some knowledge on it would

[1:58:05] be great. Thank you.

[1:58:06] >> commissioner

[1:58:09] semrad.

[1:58:10] >> thank you, mayor.

[1:58:12] I am a little hoarse, so one, I just

[1:58:13] thank you

[1:58:14] to your team. You guys, I always ask

[1:58:15] a bunch of questions

[1:58:17] and you have the answers and I appreciate

[1:58:18] that. Just

[1:58:20] a reminder to the board like how great it

[1:58:21] is to

[1:58:24] have a public asset in

[1:58:26] water, waste water, because [ inaudible ]

[1:58:27] and they pay four

[1:58:29] times the rate of others and their

[1:58:30] sewer system

[1:58:32] is a mess. Those people are begging to

[1:58:33] be in orange

[1:58:35] county utilities. So thank you for

[1:58:36] all that

[1:58:38] you do. I talked to you briefly yesterday

[1:58:39] I'm a little perplexed

[1:58:42] by the model the forecasting

[1:58:45] model of the five-year plan. I understand

[1:58:47] that there was an external factor

[1:58:48] with the

[1:58:50] pandemic, but I --in terms of looking

[1:58:51] forward, because

[1:58:53] we know external factors are always

[1:58:54] going to shock a

[1:58:59] model, you know, is there hoy can

[1:59:00] we improve that model?

[1:59:02] do we need to forecast different indexes?

[1:59:03] do

[1:59:04] we need to do different supplies?

[1:59:06] we

[1:59:09] can have a base scenario

[1:59:10] forecast, stress case and the black

[1:59:12] swan the

[1:59:14] pandemic, do we have multiple versions

[1:59:15] of models

[1:59:18] to deflect to so that

[1:59:21] we can try to stabilize, you know,

[1:59:24] it's just do we have -- I'm --I just

[1:59:27] don't understand the model.

[1:59:28] >> I will

[1:59:29] defer

[1:59:30] that part of the question to mr.

[1:59:32] burnham to discuss his company's model that

[1:59:33] was

[1:59:35] used for the rates development, but

[1:59:36] before he answers

[1:59:39] that I did want to say

[1:59:42] that we did run several

[1:59:45] scenarios for what it would take to

[1:59:46] meet the

[1:59:48] needs of the utility, looking at

[1:59:50] what those rate increases might be

[1:59:51] and we tried

[1:59:54] not to take the highest, best

[1:59:56] scenario for the utilities, meaning we

[1:59:57] would be flush with cash

[1:59:59] and spend it on whatever we wanted.

[2:00:00] we want to

[2:00:02] be sensitive to the community and

[2:00:06] the rates that they have to pay, so

[2:00:07] leading into

[2:00:08] that one of the models we ended up

[2:00:09] going with did not

[2:00:12] have the highest rate increases

[2:00:14] on it, and it does make sure we are

[2:00:15] not

[2:00:18] overcorrecting here by raising the

[2:00:20] rates too much to where we are just

[2:00:21] flush

[2:00:24] with cash. This will be a bit tight

[2:00:27] going through it, as I said so commissioner

[2:00:28] uribe,

[2:00:30] we do have confidence that outside

[2:00:31] of

[2:00:33] another black swan event, that the

[2:00:35] inflation factors built in should

[2:00:36] be sufficient to cover

[2:00:38] the rate requirements for the next

[2:00:39] five years.

[2:00:42] but at the same time, we still want to

[2:00:45] be sensitive to our end customers

[2:00:46] and

[2:00:48] not raise the rates too much to the

[2:00:49] effect

[2:00:51] of as mr. Burnham was pointing out

[2:00:52] in his part

[2:00:55] of the presentation, that

[2:00:56] our ultimate goal would be to get

[2:00:58] back over 3. 0

[2:00:59] as a debt service coverage. This rate

[2:01:01] plan

[2:01:02] does not get us there in the five

[2:01:04] years. We have to go

[2:01:07] out one more year to the sixth

[2:01:10] year before we can achieve that.

[2:01:12] we stay above our minimum requirement

[2:01:13] of

[2:01:15] 2. 0, which is very good, but it comes

[2:01:18] back to we didn't want to present

[2:01:19] a

[2:01:20] rate plan to the board that would

[2:01:21] be too generous to the utility and

[2:01:22] not

[2:01:25] be sufficiently considering the

[2:01:28] outcomes to

[2:01:30] our community.

[2:01:31] >> and relative to

[2:01:32] your point

[2:01:33] about the modeling and stress tests

[2:01:34] and scenarios and I think

[2:01:37] it also goes back to

[2:01:39] commissioner uribe's point. We have

[2:01:40] macro economists that

[2:01:42] do inflation forecasting for operations

[2:01:43] and

[2:01:45] maintenance expenses and construction

[2:01:46] expenses an

[2:01:47] within an 18 month forecast period

[2:01:48] they've got a high accuracy rate.

[2:01:49] the

[2:01:51] inflation assumptions that staff has

[2:01:52] used are based

[2:01:53] on comprehensive growth rates from

[2:01:55] your recent history

[2:01:57] adjusted for known and measurable

[2:01:58] changes and we

[2:01:59] compare that against our forecast

[2:02:01] for inflation that over the near

[2:02:03] term, we feel very confident about

[2:02:04] our ability

[2:02:06] to work within this plan. As you go

[2:02:07] further out in time

[2:02:09] that cone of variability starts to

[2:02:10] widen and so

[2:02:12] that's where we start to look at stress

[2:02:13] tests

[2:02:14] and assumptions but where part of

[2:02:15] this comes back to your utility staff

[2:02:16] to

[2:02:17] stay on top of changing conditions

[2:02:19] and monitor

[2:02:22] events no one could have

[2:02:25] predicted the pandemic and

[2:02:28] outcomes. We had to respond to it.

[2:02:30] we qualified data and feel as confident

[2:02:31] as we can for

[2:02:32] our projections for the near term

[2:02:34] used averages for longer

[2:02:37] term assumptions but made sure

[2:02:39] we identified the mechanisms to make

[2:02:40] changes if things

[2:02:42] don't occur as projected. Potentially

[2:02:43] coming back

[2:02:46] and the rate plan or

[2:02:47] potentially adjusting your capital spending plan

[2:02:49] or how

[2:02:50] you fund capital or looking at other

[2:02:52] financing or funding mechanisms.

[2:02:55] you have a number of different

[2:02:58] levers you can pull to help

[2:03:01] make sure this financial plan

[2:03:02] meets your bottom line financial requirements.

[2:03:04] the rating agencies

[2:03:07] an investment community loves to see certainty and the

[2:03:10] indications of adopting a five-year

[2:03:13] plan signifies strong

[2:03:15] proactive financial management but

[2:03:16] doesn't mean if things go different

[2:03:18] than projected that you don't have

[2:03:19] the ability to come

[2:03:21] back and amend things. I think the

[2:03:22] commitment here is

[2:03:25] trying to adhere to the plan as much

[2:03:27] as reasonably possible, but again

[2:03:28] not precluding

[2:03:30] a conversation to come back if it's

[2:03:31] appropriate to have

[2:03:33] a conversation about adjusting rates

[2:03:34] if things

[2:03:35] occur materially different. In the

[2:03:37] past years where the

[2:03:38] 3% indexing we haven't exercised that

[2:03:40] as a utility because we didn't need

[2:03:43] it. This could go both ways. I think

[2:03:44] it's part

[2:03:45] of your financial management practices

[2:03:46] are going

[2:03:47] to mitigate that risk.

[2:03:48] >> I heard

[2:03:49] you say that

[2:03:51] you use averages, but I teach statistics,

[2:03:52] so when

[2:03:54] we use an average we can say a swimming

[2:03:55] pool has an

[2:03:58] average depth of 3. 5, but I might

[2:03:59] jump in the

[2:04:00] part of the pool where I can't swim

[2:04:01] and it's 20 feet

[2:04:04] but the average is this.

[2:04:06] do you do modeling using your terms

[2:04:07] because the year

[2:04:10] of '21, '22 presented much

[2:04:13] different inflationary data, so do

[2:04:15] you take into consideration the terms

[2:04:16] to make the model

[2:04:18] more accurate? I don't know how we

[2:04:19] got so

[2:04:22] far off?

[2:04:23] >>

[2:04:25] the conditions and the outcomes in

[2:04:26] the

[2:04:27] data measure after the pandemic that

[2:04:28] reflect the supply

[2:04:29] and demand changes as a result of the

[2:04:31] pandemic we took that data with

[2:04:33] grain of salt and looked at what caused

[2:04:34] those variances and

[2:04:36] made sure to normalize those parameters

[2:04:37] when we do

[2:04:39] our regress model. This is getting

[2:04:40] technical, but we

[2:04:43] looked to normalize what are the causes

[2:04:45] and trends that drive those costs

[2:04:46] and predict those drivers

[2:04:48] going forward as a measure of estimating

[2:04:49] those inflation

[2:04:52] factors. We tend to normalize the

[2:04:54] periods with looks even in cash flow

[2:04:55] model

[2:04:57] a normalization period that takes

[2:04:58] out outliers of

[2:05:01] periods that reflect nonstandard or

[2:05:04] atypical conditions to normalize

[2:05:07] those used for forecasting and done

[2:05:09] at a specific level. By category,

[2:05:10] by department,

[2:05:12] and in some cases look at specific

[2:05:13] type

[2:05:15] of expenses like chemicals different

[2:05:16] than labor and other

[2:05:18] components. There's a fair degree

[2:05:19] of analysis done. It's not

[2:05:22] just a simple overall average. It's

[2:05:24] categorical and targeted to line items

[2:05:25] when we look at those trends.

[2:05:28] >> I hear normalizing so smoothing

[2:05:29] the data.

[2:05:30] smooth the behavior --

[2:05:31] >> smooth the

[2:05:32] data,

[2:05:33] adjust for known and measurable changes.

[2:05:35] >> when we smooth the data we

[2:05:37] get more errors in the forecast. That's

[2:05:39] what my point is. I think we need

[2:05:41] to --my team and

[2:05:44] I will dig more into that. I had

[2:05:47] another

[2:05:50] question pertaining to

[2:05:52] impact fee. So I hear development

[2:05:53] pays

[2:05:56] for itself today, but there's

[2:05:58] operational costs on those pipes put into

[2:05:59] the ground. And

[2:06:00] so over the course of time, we see

[2:06:02] that those need repair.

[2:06:04] today it pays for the pipes but eventually

[2:06:05] there

[2:06:06] needs to be improvement. Do we have

[2:06:08] any such model in the industry

[2:06:11] of utilities where we take

[2:06:14] into consideration long-

[2:06:16] term operational costs through the

[2:06:17] developer?

[2:06:20] >> in the practice of

[2:06:22] utilizing capital charges for those

[2:06:23] investments

[2:06:25] they're limited to the capital facilities

[2:06:26] themselves

[2:06:28] whether existing assets previously

[2:06:29] built

[2:06:30] or new assets being constructed and

[2:06:32] the replacement

[2:06:34] of those assets and maintenance of

[2:06:38] no those assets are done through

[2:06:40] rate related mechanisms. There have

[2:06:41] been

[2:06:43] some communities that have availed

[2:06:44] themselves of service availability

[2:06:46] charles that try to capture some of

[2:06:47] the

[2:06:48] maintenance costs of keeping capacity

[2:06:50] in a state of readiness

[2:06:52] for development when it occurs but

[2:06:53] those aren't as

[2:06:55] common in industry practice as are

[2:06:56] the defaults

[2:06:59] of leveraging capacity charges for

[2:07:01] cost of infrastructure and rates for

[2:07:02] recovering costs

[2:07:05] and operating costs.

[2:07:06] >> okay.

[2:07:07] >> predominant industry model. >> I

[2:07:08] will ask my team to

[2:07:09] follow up with you on the information

[2:07:11] of

[2:07:14] those communities.

[2:07:16] and then the other thing I just wanted

[2:07:17] to kind

[2:07:20] of emphasize is,

[2:07:21] when you talk about affordability

[2:07:23] I hear we're the

[2:07:25] lowest but when we talk about cost

[2:07:26] of living that's

[2:07:28] a construct that includes many aspects

[2:07:29] of a

[2:07:31] person's life and what they spend

[2:07:32] their money on.

[2:07:35] I know the utilities is low, but there's

[2:07:38] a lot of other things that are high.

[2:07:41] so it's not in reference to your

[2:07:44] study or this

[2:07:46] rate, at some point of the county we

[2:07:47] should do an

[2:07:49] affordability analysis to look at

[2:07:50] what small little we've

[2:07:52] had trash go up, storm water, we've

[2:07:53] had now

[2:07:55] wastewater, reclaimed water and little

[2:07:56] by little,

[2:07:59] things start ticking up

[2:08:01] and orange county becomes less affordable

[2:08:05] for people to

[2:08:08] live

[2:08:11] in. One

[2:08:13] last question. These are in reference to

[2:08:14] the other

[2:08:17] two action items on the

[2:08:20] screen. The

[2:08:21] environmental program reinspection

[2:08:23] fee, I

[2:08:25] worked a lot of years in restaurants.

[2:08:26] grease trap

[2:08:29] does heavy duty damage on sewer lines

[2:08:30] when

[2:08:32] not maintained. I don't think

[2:08:35] that we should be giving grace to, you

[2:08:36] know,

[2:08:38] you go out and get maybe one warning,

[2:08:39] right.

[2:08:41] shouldn't be like one warning a

[2:08:44] year. You get one warning of business

[2:08:46] existence. That's just passing the

[2:08:47] burden

[2:08:49] onto the taxpayer the rate user as

[2:08:50] well. I think that

[2:08:52] we need to be more strict than just

[2:08:53] charging for the

[2:08:55] inspection. Yeah, charge for the inspection

[2:08:56] county

[2:08:58] is sending somebody out there to do

[2:08:59] a

[2:09:01] job, but I don't support giving waivers

[2:09:04] to violations particularly when passing

[2:09:08] the buck onto taxpayers.

[2:09:09] >> thank

[2:09:10] you. We discussed this yesterday in

[2:09:11] the briefing and

[2:09:14] we're compiling information for you

[2:09:17] on that. It looks like it is common

[2:09:20] to offer a charge for a

[2:09:23] reinspection and not do

[2:09:26] a fine of a magnitude of

[2:09:29] $500 up front. We'll

[2:09:30] finish getting that information for you.

[2:09:32] >> I get it. It's

[2:09:33] not common but in this condition right

[2:09:35] now, it's

[2:09:38] also not common to raise trash, storm

[2:09:39] water,

[2:09:41] reclaimed water,

[2:09:44] wastewater, you know, it's --there's --

[2:09:45] you

[2:09:47] know, I mean situations change. External

[2:09:48] shocks

[2:09:49] happen and I think that we need to

[2:09:50] be diligent in making

[2:09:52] sure businesses are responsible for

[2:09:53] maintaining their

[2:09:54] pipes, but it's not people picking

[2:09:56] up

[2:09:59] that bill.

[2:10:01] thank you.

[2:10:02] >> commissioner gomez corridor.

[2:10:08] --cordero.

[2:10:09] >> thank you.

[2:10:11] for you, your team and all

[2:10:14] the things that you all do, services

[2:10:18] and always available

[2:10:21] to us, you know.

[2:10:23] getting the services to the resident.

[2:10:25] I have three questions, these are

[2:10:27] like straight to the point.

[2:10:29] you know, answer it and then the residents

[2:10:30] will

[2:10:32] know that's what you mean. I just

[2:10:33] wanted to

[2:10:36] know, what is the

[2:10:37] overall impact for the average resident of orange

[2:10:39] county. How

[2:10:40] many extra money will they have to

[2:10:42] pay? Is

[2:10:44] that what we have here in slide number

[2:10:45] 20?

[2:10:46] >> that's correct. >> okay. >> depending

[2:10:48] on their usage.

[2:10:51] if they use more water and

[2:10:52] wastewater services they will have higher impact.

[2:10:54] overall it's an average of

[2:10:57] 5. 2%

[2:11:00] increase per year on the water

[2:11:03] and

[2:11:06] wastewater bill.

[2:11:07] >>

[2:11:09] and then if this is approved, it

[2:11:12] will start in october of 2026? Right?

[2:11:14] >> basically yes. In answer to your

[2:11:15] question.

[2:11:17] one point is that what is being asked to

[2:11:18] be

[2:11:19] approved today is just the preliminary

[2:11:21] rates. Nothing will

[2:11:22] happen with today's approval. It's

[2:11:24] only after we

[2:11:25] have the public hearing and we have

[2:11:27] a final approval the rates will

[2:11:30] change. Yes, they will be effective

[2:11:32] october 1st, correct. That's what

[2:11:33] public

[2:11:35] wants to know. Saying that I wanted

[2:11:38] to also ask you, what is the plan

[2:11:39] to explain

[2:11:42] and inform the residents about what's

[2:11:43] going to happen? Because they have --

[2:11:45] I mean there is

[2:11:48] enough time. But, you know, they

[2:11:51] have been a skin here and conscious of

[2:11:53] the wastewater, you know, how the

[2:11:57] misuse of it. How d what is

[2:12:00] the plan?

[2:12:03] what will you do in order to

[2:12:06] continue educating

[2:12:09] our residents to save water and

[2:12:12] be in a better --

[2:12:13] >> we have several

[2:12:15] things we commonly do for

[2:12:18] rate increases. When they're not the

[2:12:19] normal

[2:12:21] just 3% indexing. We sent

[2:12:22] out postcards to customers to let

[2:12:24] them know what's going on. There can

[2:12:27] be additional letters and e-

[2:12:29] mails, customer contact for our top

[2:12:30] customers. They

[2:12:33] will be getting the highest increases

[2:12:34] because they

[2:12:36] are our

[2:12:39] highest

[2:12:42] users. We

[2:12:45] have notification

[2:12:47] of rates going up and what we've done in

[2:12:48] the past is have

[2:12:50] a dedicated phone number that customers

[2:12:51] can

[2:12:53] call specifically asking questions about

[2:12:54] the rate increase

[2:12:57] and we've also set up a

[2:12:58] bill calculator on the website so

[2:13:00] that a customer can go in and

[2:13:03] type in their usage and see what the

[2:13:05] change in their bill would be. On

[2:13:06] top of that we can

[2:13:09] look into things we've discussed here this

[2:13:12] morning like customer

[2:13:14] outreach for the environmental concerns

[2:13:15] as far as water

[2:13:17] conservation and do more of an educational

[2:13:18] job

[2:13:20] there to help our customers learn

[2:13:21] ways to cut their

[2:13:24] water bill and

[2:13:27] wastewater bill.

[2:13:28] >> I was just thinking

[2:13:29] like, you know, I know you all send

[2:13:30] postcards and e-mails

[2:13:32] and letters and people do boom and

[2:13:33] that costs a lot of money.

[2:13:36] we know that,

[2:13:39] right. I was thinking I think said

[2:13:41] it as well, things that you can come

[2:13:42] and talk to the people,

[2:13:45] people have questions, you can answer

[2:13:48] right there, and how to read a

[2:13:51] bill, which is one that

[2:13:54] commissioner wilson said. Sometimes -- I

[2:13:55] know we

[2:13:56] can go one on one and call and they

[2:13:57] will explain or

[2:14:00] whatever but I'm saying just to, you

[2:14:01] know,

[2:14:03] develop that good relationship with

[2:14:04] the residents in

[2:14:05] the community better because you all

[2:14:06] have a good relationship, I

[2:14:09] just think that we should

[2:14:12] be a little bit more, you know, one-on-one.

[2:14:15] I'm just thinking

[2:14:17] postcardpostcard letters --I'm just

[2:14:18] saying.

[2:14:19] >> thank you for

[2:14:20] the suggestions. That's something we

[2:14:21] can workshop and

[2:14:24] look into.

[2:14:25] >>

[2:14:26] my last question is, how will other

[2:14:27] counties and cities react

[2:14:30] to price pressure? Are all

[2:14:31] counties expected to increase prices

[2:14:33] soon as well?

[2:14:37] >> as we displayed the

[2:14:38] chart on the screen there are actual

[2:14:40] several that have

[2:14:41] published rates with multiple rate

[2:14:43] increases, multiple years

[2:14:46] of rate increases

[2:14:49] and they are higher than 6%. We

[2:14:50] didn't try to put all of the ones increasing

[2:14:52] on there,

[2:14:55] just the ones hitting 6%

[2:14:58] or higher.

[2:15:01] the rate increase

[2:15:03] is fairly common right now.

[2:15:04] >> as

[2:15:05] I mentioned

[2:15:06] a lot of conversations are about similar

[2:15:09] challenging circumstances about increased

[2:15:13] costs significantly greater

[2:15:15] than what was in the past. Many communities are looking

[2:15:19] at similar levels of rate adjustments.

[2:15:21] I will run back to that slide quickly

[2:15:22] here to give

[2:15:24] you a sense. Hillsborough county they

[2:15:27] have a multiyear ordinance approved

[2:15:28] that

[2:15:31] has a 5% increase plus an inflation

[2:15:32] adjustment and pass through increase

[2:15:34] in purchase water costs.

[2:15:37] so that was a

[2:15:40] proved a few years ago. Toho

[2:15:43] approve 7. 5% for the nexty years

[2:15:45] and 4% thereafter and so as you kind

[2:15:46] of

[2:15:48] look around at other utility systems

[2:15:49] especially ones in high

[2:15:52] growth areas, jea for duval has had

[2:15:55] a rate adjustment approached for

[2:15:57] the last two years they're having

[2:15:58] similar

[2:15:59] conversations about similar levels

[2:16:01] of increases because it's not that

[2:16:02] a

[2:16:04] utility is uniquely necessarily incurred

[2:16:06] different levels of cost increases.

[2:16:07] we're all

[2:16:08] grappling with the same levels of

[2:16:10] increases in costs and the numbers

[2:16:12] are comparable but not altogether

[2:16:13] different.

[2:16:15] indian river county another example

[2:16:16] last year had to

[2:16:19] do a 20% increase. This year 12% and

[2:16:20] then

[2:16:22] their outlook for 5 to 7.

[2:16:24] 5% increases thereafter. These increases

[2:16:28] are very common right now and really

[2:16:31] necessary to maintain utility

[2:16:32] service provision. In today's cost

[2:16:34] environment we're not necessarily

[2:16:35] assuming it's going to continue to

[2:16:37] increase significantly like it

[2:16:38] has in the past, but it's not coming

[2:16:40] down. We have

[2:16:41] to reflect the cost of doing business

[2:16:46] in our paradigm.

[2:16:47] >>

[2:16:49] my last

[2:16:52] question, this is --I think --

[2:16:55] you know that

[2:16:57] also things as commissioner uribe

[2:16:58] said, things sometimes --

[2:17:01] no, it was wilson, that we don't think

[2:17:03] about like when you have a break in

[2:17:04] equipment or you have

[2:17:07] to replace and

[2:17:10] so do you have like those funds, you

[2:17:12] know, separated just for that? If you have

[2:17:13] to replace

[2:17:14] something, are you going to buy it

[2:17:16] new? Replation it?

[2:17:19] how do you manage

[2:17:22] with that

[2:17:28] when --

[2:17:29] >> so as far as breaks in the

[2:17:31] equipment or things that need to be

[2:17:32] replaced or

[2:17:34] prepared, when it comes to forecasting

[2:17:35] plan

[2:17:37] maintenance, we have budgets

[2:17:40] planned for that and include contingencies.

[2:17:41] we

[2:17:42] never know what's going break and

[2:17:43] need to be

[2:17:46] repaired. We handle most of that in

[2:17:47] our operating

[2:17:49] budget for repairs that come up

[2:17:51] and then for long-term planning that's

[2:17:52] when we look at

[2:17:55] doing things in the cip when a

[2:17:58] portion of the plan, maybe the entire

[2:18:01] plan, needs an overall refurbishment

[2:18:02] where we

[2:18:04] can be proactive about planning those projects

[2:18:07] in advance. Yes,

[2:18:08] carry contingency money in the budget

[2:18:10] and when that

[2:18:12] is not enough for handling some of

[2:18:13] the repairs we

[2:18:15] cut back to make sure we can keep

[2:18:16] the system repaired and

[2:18:19] running and

[2:18:22] in good condition.

[2:18:25] >> thank you.

[2:18:28] >> commissioner scott.

[2:18:31] >> thank you. Going back

[2:18:34] to commissioner

[2:18:35] cordero's question when you talk about

[2:18:37] you forecast, you know, your operational

[2:18:39] repair, are you guys forecasting with

[2:18:40] a specific number of years,

[2:18:43] five years, ten years, or forecasting to

[2:18:44] the equipment life

[2:18:46] cycle?

[2:18:47] >> it's many of it is

[2:18:48] done to the equipment life cycle.

[2:18:49] for

[2:18:52] example, with large pieces of equipment this

[2:18:53] is more on the

[2:18:55] solid waste site but

[2:18:58] not in the water waste water system

[2:19:01] as much, but they have a plan to where they

[2:19:02] will

[2:19:03] purchase a piece of equipment, very

[2:19:04] large or expensive,

[2:19:07] hundreds of thousands of dollars for

[2:19:10] the equipment, after a certain amount

[2:19:11] of

[2:19:12] time when it ends the life cycle they

[2:19:14] will plan

[2:19:16] for refurbishment of that equipment to

[2:19:18] be recapitalized and work for another

[2:19:20] five years or so and after

[2:19:23] a certain number of

[2:19:24] refurbishments it would be considered

[2:19:26] not worth the repair

[2:19:28] and refurbishment anymore and disposed

[2:19:29] of

[2:19:31] and replaced with new equipment that would

[2:19:32] be

[2:19:35] similar is.

[2:19:36] >> on slide

[2:19:37] 28, you were talking about the installation

[2:19:38] at cost. I

[2:19:40] want to make sure I understand what

[2:19:41] you're saying.

[2:19:43] you didn't quantify a dollar amount

[2:19:44] because it

[2:19:45] changes on the scope of work and scale of

[2:19:47] the project, right?

[2:19:50] >> that's correct. And the conditions in the field.

[2:19:52] >> so it's also logistically from

[2:19:53] a time

[2:19:55] management standpoint allows you guys

[2:19:58] greater flexibility not having to

[2:19:59] schedule a rate hearing with

[2:20:01] us and go back and forth, right?

[2:20:02] >> that's

[2:20:03] correct. We wouldn't also want to

[2:20:05] put forth

[2:20:07] a generic rate to do the service that would

[2:20:08] be an

[2:20:10] average because in some cases it would

[2:20:11] not cover its cost

[2:20:13] and other cases it would be more over

[2:20:14] recovering

[2:20:17] the costs. So

[2:20:18] the most fair thing to do for the

[2:20:20] developer who is asking us to do this

[2:20:22] work is build them for the cost of

[2:20:23] that

[2:20:26] specific project.

[2:20:27] >> so what is

[2:20:28] the contingency if I'm a developer

[2:20:29] of, you

[2:20:32] know, let's just say maybe a two

[2:20:35] or three apartment units, right, and

[2:20:38] then I do not agree with the

[2:20:40] costs that you have provided me and

[2:20:41] maybe I

[2:20:42] might have a reference for what I

[2:20:44] believe is a similar project

[2:20:46] with another developer? How do you

[2:20:47] mitigate that? Come

[2:20:49] back to us or try to negotiate?

[2:20:50] >> we

[2:20:51] would work

[2:20:52] it out with the developer. That wouldn't

[2:20:53] be something we

[2:20:56] need to bring back to the

[2:20:58] board. Basically just to reiterate

[2:20:59] these are not

[2:21:01] common occurrences. It's something

[2:21:02] that occasionally happens. It's

[2:21:03] a responsibility of the developer

[2:21:05] to put

[2:21:08] the lateral in any, so

[2:21:10] it's unusual circumstances they might

[2:21:11] ask our

[2:21:14] field services staff to do it.

[2:21:15] >> okay.

[2:21:17] I'm good.

[2:21:20] >> all right. With that just

[2:21:23] as a

[2:21:25] reminder, we'll be having the public

[2:21:26] hearing

[2:21:29] in january 2026. That

[2:21:32] is when we'll take the final action.

[2:21:35] but today, there is a

[2:21:37] requested action on the screen. We

[2:21:38] have a motion

[2:21:40] by mr. Scott.

[2:21:41] >> second. >> second

[2:21:42] by commissioner gomez

[2:21:44] cordero. All in favor let

[2:21:47] it be known saying yea. Yea. Opposed

[2:21:49] no.

[2:21:50] >> if I may real quick should

[2:21:51] be

[2:21:52] approval and execution as opposed

[2:21:53] to what's says

[2:21:56] just approval.

[2:21:57] >> no. I said

[2:21:58] move requested action should cover everything you

[2:21:59] have up there.

[2:22:00] >> that doesn't

[2:22:01] say approval and execution. It just

[2:22:02] says approval.

[2:22:03] >> all right.

[2:22:05] approval and execution.

[2:22:06] >> that was on

[2:22:07] our

[2:22:08] end.

[2:22:09] >> approval and? >> execution.

[2:22:10] >>

[2:22:11] it's noted.

[2:22:12] >> move revised requested

[2:22:14] action.

[2:22:15] >> yeah. Go ahead. >> technical

[2:22:17] error. All right. We have the correction.

[2:22:18] all

[2:22:20] in favor let it be known saying yea.

[2:22:23] opposed no. Motion passes and it is

[2:22:24] unanimous.

[2:22:26] all right. Thank you all. We're

[2:22:29] going to move to

[2:22:30] the final item this morning. I'm going

[2:22:32] to

[2:22:34] get this one done and be done before

[2:22:35] noon.

[2:22:37] commissioner wilson.

[2:22:38] >> we got this.

[2:22:39] we can do

[2:22:41] it. I believe in

[2:22:43] us. So very briefly, because that's

[2:22:44] something I have

[2:22:47] to say to myself in order to stay

[2:22:49] brief, this request you all got the

[2:22:50] memo

[2:22:53] it lays out sort of

[2:22:56] a starting point.

[2:22:58] understanding that we have committed

[2:23:02] sewer, we are fulfilling that in ways

[2:23:03] big and

[2:23:05] small. I believe we are looking at

[2:23:08] potentially updated added new

[2:23:11] or opportunities to address micro

[2:23:13] mobility devices and micro mobility

[2:23:14] usage in the

[2:23:17] county, that the timing is

[2:23:20] now. So I believe that

[2:23:23] ebikes, e-scooters, I think anything

[2:23:26] motorized

[2:23:29] you can use on a trail hasn't been contemplated

[2:23:32] in our ordinances. We did do the pilot

[2:23:33] program for

[2:23:35] the vendors several years ago, but

[2:23:36] it

[2:23:38] didn't address the everyday usage

[2:23:39] we're seeing

[2:23:40] from scenarios sort of across the

[2:23:41] county. Basically

[2:23:44] what my ask is, is to get

[2:23:47] your feedback on this and understanding

[2:23:48] and then direction

[2:23:50] for staff understanding this is

[2:23:53] a very complex issue and that we need

[2:23:54] to

[2:23:55] get data. We have to start every ordinance

[2:23:57] a good amount

[2:23:59] of data. Having an understanding of

[2:24:00] what's going

[2:24:02] on out there with crashes, hospital

[2:24:04] responses, law enforcement reports.

[2:24:06] I know law enforcement hasn't

[2:24:07] been required to distinguish whether

[2:24:09] a bicycle accident

[2:24:11] was an ebike, but, you know, if there's

[2:24:12] another

[2:24:15] source of data we can

[2:24:17] draw from I believe that it would

[2:24:18] be

[2:24:21] the best for any safety

[2:24:24] measure

[2:24:27] . The where who and what.

[2:24:29] the areas we're hearing the difficulty.

[2:24:30] orange county

[2:24:31] public schools had a discussion about

[2:24:33] the

[2:24:34] usage coming to and from school. I

[2:24:36] will tell you I

[2:24:38] think that there are tremendous mobility

[2:24:39] benefits

[2:24:42] in the usage of

[2:24:43] micromobility devices. Anywhere you

[2:24:45] see kids using micromobility devices

[2:24:46] to get to school they're not sitting

[2:24:48] in a car

[2:24:49] by themselves or with one other person

[2:24:51] that gets them

[2:24:52] out of the car line. I don't want

[2:24:54] to inhibit that

[2:24:55] usage. But I think we have to figure

[2:24:57] out how to make

[2:24:59] sure everyone that's out there on

[2:25:00] our

[2:25:03] trails, sidewalks and

[2:25:06] other spaces feels safe.

[2:25:09] so the other

[2:25:12] piece I wanted to

[2:25:15] make sure we

[2:25:18] were looking at

[2:25:20] is the state, several proposals, having an

[2:25:21] understanding

[2:25:24] of where state law

[2:25:27] is, going, and

[2:25:29] hopefully to be able to work in conjunction.

[2:25:30] I know there

[2:25:32] had been discussion about a bill that

[2:25:33] required

[2:25:35] a minimum age and minimum speed limit.

[2:25:39] if the state takes that up as

[2:25:42] a preemption I will cheer them

[2:25:44] on. This is a place where preemption

[2:25:45] makes sense,

[2:25:47] minimum age, minimum speed and we

[2:25:48] can, you know,

[2:25:51] help potentially build upon that for whatever other

[2:25:52] safety

[2:25:54] measures might

[2:25:57] be necessary.

[2:26:00] I've heard from people who --

[2:26:02] educational opportunities, something

[2:26:03] ops would

[2:26:06] work through with them. Helmets are, obviously,

[2:26:09] an issue for I believe anybody that

[2:26:11] is on a device and think about the

[2:26:12] speed of

[2:26:15] these devices it makes the most sense that would

[2:26:16] be a

[2:26:17] requirement. I have mixed feelings

[2:26:18] about the

[2:26:20] minimum age thing and I would be curious

[2:26:21] to hear

[2:26:23] your thoughts on it because someone

[2:26:24] with a

[2:26:27] learner's permit to me should be able to

[2:26:30] use a scooter. Should it go 30 miles

[2:26:33] an hour. No. The idea of making sure that

[2:26:34] that

[2:26:36] those modifications that take the

[2:26:39] scooters, e-scooters and bikes up

[2:26:40] above

[2:26:42] a certain speed is part of the research

[2:26:45] and consideration.

[2:26:48] but it's really very --as far

[2:26:51] as what types of modifications

[2:26:54] or what kinds of measures we

[2:26:57] could or should take first.

[2:26:59] I understand some research required

[2:27:00] will take a lot of

[2:27:03] time. I'm glad to see

[2:27:06] ops representative still in the

[2:27:08] room. I think if you have the ability

[2:27:09] to tap into the

[2:27:12] brilliant people in

[2:27:15] our public works right

[2:27:18] now working on zero emission initiatives

[2:27:20] get them engaged in this we may be

[2:27:21] able to get to some of

[2:27:24] these things soon enough. Whether that

[2:27:27] is educational or

[2:27:30] outreach, whether that is additional

[2:27:33] signage in places we need to have

[2:27:35] some information from staff about

[2:27:38] what, where that would be the most

[2:27:39] beneficial.

[2:27:41] obviously, we would look towards our

[2:27:42] school

[2:27:43] districts, school areas. I know one of

[2:27:45] the frustrations we

[2:27:48] heard this morning from

[2:27:51] somebody who wanted a school zone

[2:27:53] near a high school. There are no high

[2:27:54] schools with school

[2:27:57] zones. They don't get the same designations.

[2:27:58] that

[2:28:00] doesn't mean we can't

[2:28:02] exanother opportunities to provide

[2:28:03] shire visibility better

[2:28:05] crossings and if you're adding something

[2:28:09] that's motorized whatever level that

[2:28:12] motorization is, possibility for that to

[2:28:13] be

[2:28:15] safer in and out from a school.

[2:28:17] I want to get feedback from you all

[2:28:21] and potentially

[2:28:23] give direction to staff about what

[2:28:24] we want to see

[2:28:26] come back in research in the next

[2:28:27] steps. Looking

[2:28:30] for opportunities

[2:28:33] in things such as the data behind

[2:28:34] where

[2:28:36] the collisions are happening and what

[2:28:37] we think would help and benefit prevent

[2:28:38] that in the future.

[2:28:45] >> all right. There are

[2:28:47] questions or comments by members of

[2:28:49] the board.

[2:28:51] we'll start with commissioner uribe

[2:28:52] followed

[2:28:55] by commissioner

[2:28:57] scott, gomez cordero, moore and semrad.

[2:29:01] >> commissioner wilson

[2:29:02] you wrote this. I've been talk about

[2:29:04] this for a long time when

[2:29:06] we did the ucf overlay. I've done

[2:29:10] a little research

[2:29:12] on this. I would guess, yes, we need

[2:29:13] to

[2:29:15] move forward. Number one, I'm worried

[2:29:16] there

[2:29:18] may not be a lot of data. I recently

[2:29:19] saw someone

[2:29:22] get hit by a car, but they

[2:29:23] exchanged insurance, the guy gave

[2:29:25] him --and no

[2:29:27] policeman ever came. So I would be

[2:29:28] curious to

[2:29:31] see how that data will come up.

[2:29:34] but ultimately, we --

[2:29:36] enforcement, how do we get --I remember

[2:29:37] when we did

[2:29:39] the golf carts which was was that

[2:29:40] like

[2:29:43] six years ago when we did the

[2:29:45] golf carts, and it's been some time

[2:29:46] and we

[2:29:49] had difficulty getting

[2:29:50] enforcement and law enforcement to

[2:29:52] take on something else

[2:29:55] like golf carts that are very

[2:29:57] predominant now in our neighborhoods.

[2:30:00] I believe that if we don't get enforcement

[2:30:01] these

[2:30:02] great intentions go nowhere. Of course

[2:30:04] that starts

[2:30:06] with parents and children and so forth.

[2:30:07] when you talk about

[2:30:10] speed, obviously, a maximum speed

[2:30:13] and I would love for us to look at

[2:30:15] other cities and states around the

[2:30:16] country doing something

[2:30:19] like this. I was recently in

[2:30:22] miami for a florence and

[2:30:24] was stunned that the scooters are

[2:30:25] on

[2:30:27] roads with cars and they act like

[2:30:28] they're in a vehicle

[2:30:30] the way they ride their scooter. I

[2:30:31] was terrified. With

[2:30:34] no helmets. In business clothes, I mean this

[2:30:35] is

[2:30:37] how people get aroundaround

[2:30:40] miami because of the amount of

[2:30:41] traffic but I was almost terrified for

[2:30:43] the people I

[2:30:45] had to go around who are just driving

[2:30:48] these scooters like they're a car.

[2:30:49] there's a lot

[2:30:52] of mindset about

[2:30:55] that. I do

[2:30:58] worry that younger people,

[2:31:00] right, so they don't think it can

[2:31:01] happen to them and it

[2:31:04] would be nice to see some sort

[2:31:06] of structure but ultimately if we

[2:31:07] can't

[2:31:10] enforce it or cause machines to have

[2:31:13] a maximum speed, we're kind of like

[2:31:14] great

[2:31:15] intended leaders but not able to do

[2:31:16] anything. I would love to

[2:31:18] see something like that happen. Again, I

[2:31:19] would love

[2:31:21] the legislature to take the lead on

[2:31:22] this so it could be

[2:31:23] statewide as opposed to you can do

[2:31:25] it

[2:31:28] in oceola but can't do it in

[2:31:31] orange. Lastly I have a big issue

[2:31:32] with

[2:31:33] the school zones and high schools and

[2:31:34] not to put a lot of pressure on

[2:31:37] ocps who is here, I had

[2:31:40] a student die at 16 at roque

[2:31:42] ridge and we learned the hard way there

[2:31:43] was

[2:31:45] none. I will give credit to orange

[2:31:46] county putting up

[2:31:48] the beacon with the speed and got

[2:31:49] hit by a car and

[2:31:52] we had to get it

[2:31:55] replaced. But they are the ones

[2:31:58] that walk a lot because busses are

[2:32:00] harder to maneuver kids in high school

[2:32:01] than

[2:32:04] in elementary school, much more

[2:32:07] compact and kids are going to magnet

[2:32:08] programs and going to

[2:32:09] schools not necessarily in their jurisdiction.

[2:32:10] I

[2:32:13] didn't realize how much that's changed and commissioner

[2:32:16] moore you'll realize this, I was

[2:32:18] watching peanuts the movie and the

[2:32:19] kids would go outside and play

[2:32:22] with the kids from school

[2:32:25] and my son said man I

[2:32:28] wished I lived near kids who went

[2:32:29] to my school.

[2:32:31] that's no longer. We see

[2:32:34] kids walking bikes and more. We should

[2:32:37] really look at high schools

[2:32:39] becoming the high schools being a

[2:32:40] zone because you

[2:32:43] have a major school olympia, I have

[2:32:46] a major score school oak ridge, and we

[2:32:47] have a

[2:32:48] ton that are growing and we don't

[2:32:49] want to see

[2:32:52] a fatality or injury.

[2:32:55] >> really the latest information,

[2:32:57] this sort of bubbled up in my district

[2:32:58] at horizon

[2:33:00] which interestingly the design there

[2:33:01] was to allow

[2:33:04] more people to be able to bike and

[2:33:05] walk to

[2:33:07] school because every village has its

[2:33:08] own school

[2:33:10] structure, but we know how this works.

[2:33:11] particularly

[2:33:12] in a rush and high school students

[2:33:13] so they try to get

[2:33:16] there as fast as they can. It's dark

[2:33:17] often in

[2:33:19] the morning. The safety thing is paramount.

[2:33:22] I think interestingly so that you're

[2:33:23] like went

[2:33:25] down my checklist of the same sort of

[2:33:26] things

[2:33:27] I felt like were important which included

[2:33:29] that rules on

[2:33:31] riding them on sidewalks versus streets

[2:33:32] for

[2:33:34] these motorized devices, education

[2:33:37] and signage are things we can tackle.

[2:33:39] >> my last thing maybe we can roll

[2:33:41] in

[2:33:43] dot because they tend to have pedestrian

[2:33:44] with the vision zero

[2:33:46] and instead of waiting for someone

[2:33:47] to do home rule maybe we

[2:33:48] could advocate and I would be happy

[2:33:50] to gets somebody to put

[2:33:51] in legislation that would help us

[2:33:53] make this a

[2:33:54] state issue and no more fatalities

[2:33:56] because of this. I

[2:33:58] think it's great. Thank you. Good

[2:33:59] job.

[2:34:02] >> commissioner scott. >> thank

[2:34:05] you, mayor. Thank you, commissioner

[2:34:08] wilson for this topic. I

[2:34:09] agree with what you say as it relates

[2:34:11] to safeguards

[2:34:13] around other high school students,

[2:34:14] more

[2:34:15] so because we have crossing guards

[2:34:17] and school

[2:34:20] busses for our younger people,

[2:34:21] but when you talk about the high school

[2:34:23] students no one is

[2:34:24] looking out for them even when they

[2:34:26] should be looking out for

[2:34:28] themselves. Kids have the headphones

[2:34:29] on or on their phones

[2:34:32] or do both and then boom you get

[2:34:34] in a car accident. Just one thing

[2:34:35] I wanted to share with

[2:34:37] you, I don't know how we're able to

[2:34:38] do

[2:34:41] this here locally, but I

[2:34:44] think figuring out ways that

[2:34:45] we partner with the school district

[2:34:47] to provide education on the short

[2:34:49] term and looking more long term what would

[2:34:50] we

[2:34:53] do from an

[2:34:54] advocacy level, perhaps something

[2:34:56] with --for

[2:34:58] children in terms of the speed these

[2:34:59] kids

[2:35:00] can jail break the scooters. I don't know

[2:35:02] how they do

[2:35:04] it. It takes like five minutes. They

[2:35:05] take off any

[2:35:07] speed safe guards and get them toes

[2:35:08] go a fast

[2:35:10] as 40 miles per hour. These are kids

[2:35:11] right here.

[2:35:13] how does it go so fast. That's easy.

[2:35:17] dah-dah-dah. Boom, took off. Okay.

[2:35:20] I thought they were set at 10 or 15

[2:35:21] but they're able to do technology

[2:35:23] and make them go

[2:35:25] way faster than they should be. Thank

[2:35:26] you for

[2:35:29] bringing up the topic and look forward

[2:35:30] to

[2:35:31] whatever solution staff comes up with.

[2:35:32] when I say short

[2:35:35] term, maybe six months to a year, we

[2:35:36] can figure out how we through our

[2:35:38] children and family

[2:35:39] services departments, citizens commission

[2:35:41] for children with our

[2:35:44] partners, develop some type of educational

[2:35:45] program

[2:35:46] either directly with our staff through

[2:35:47] partners or

[2:35:49] in conjunction and talk wit the kids.

[2:35:50] they

[2:35:52] ignore the signage. Have one ear out.

[2:35:53] what we can

[2:35:56] do to actively engage these kids when they

[2:35:57] are

[2:35:58] going to school in the scooters in

[2:35:59] the wee hours of the morning they

[2:36:02] know to slow down and look and cross

[2:36:04] the street. Things that we remember.

[2:36:05] look

[2:36:07] twice and cross. Walk your bike across

[2:36:08] the street.

[2:36:09] all those things we remember growing

[2:36:11] up.

[2:36:14] thank you for the topic.

[2:36:15] >> commissioner

[2:36:17] gomez cordero.

[2:36:18] >> thank you. I wanted

[2:36:20] to say commissioner that one of my

[2:36:23] initiatives, because it happens in

[2:36:24] my

[2:36:26] district a lot,

[2:36:29] boulevard, is the kids, you

[2:36:32] know, riding the scooter to school

[2:36:34] and so on, sometimes they are distracted,

[2:36:35] they hit the car

[2:36:38] or the car hits them. It happens a

[2:36:39] lot.

[2:36:40] what I did I didn't wait for anything.

[2:36:41] I called

[2:36:43] public works. I called metro plan.

[2:36:44] I

[2:36:47] called ebike.

[2:36:50] I call the school member and so --

[2:36:52] residents very concerned about it

[2:36:53] and

[2:36:56] now we coordinating the campaign,

[2:36:57] but in

[2:36:59] that area. To see how we can alleviate

[2:37:02] but also educate especially the parents

[2:37:03] because

[2:37:05] the parents buy a scooter like commissioner

[2:37:06] said,

[2:37:08] here you go. Go to school. No instruction,

[2:37:11] no direction, no nothing. And then

[2:37:12] they

[2:37:13] just, you know.

[2:37:14] >> one of the things

[2:37:15] I wanted to

[2:37:17] ask, did you all ever discuss a registration.

[2:37:18] that was one of

[2:37:20] the things that came up in some of

[2:37:21] the

[2:37:23] conversations with residents

[2:37:25] should there be a registration where

[2:37:26] you fill out

[2:37:29] who thor on

[2:37:32] is, the person operating it and your

[2:37:33] device gets a

[2:37:34] sticker to indicate registration.

[2:37:36] did you talk

[2:37:37] about that?

[2:37:38] >> no, we haven't talked

[2:37:39] about that. I think that would

[2:37:41] be through the school right?

[2:37:42] >> no.

[2:37:43] I don't know. I don't know this is --

[2:37:45] this is why we need help.

[2:37:47] I was going to say why we would need

[2:37:49] help getting that information what things

[2:37:51] fall into

[2:37:52] which jurisdiction. The other with

[2:37:54] an educational campaign we would

[2:37:56] have to work with our partners at

[2:37:58] ocps. Understanding better what you're

[2:38:00] hearing in your community is

[2:38:03] really

[2:38:06] helpful.

[2:38:07] >>

[2:38:09] yeah.

[2:38:10] >> commissioner moore.

[2:38:11] to add to some of the things you've

[2:38:12] already brought up

[2:38:14] it's massive conversation. I went

[2:38:15] to a

[2:38:16] bike walk conference in winter garden

[2:38:18] couldn't go this year

[2:38:20] and what I was stunned about was that some of

[2:38:21] the state

[2:38:24] laws are not even there to

[2:38:25] protect cyclists when they're hit.

[2:38:27] so

[2:38:30] they can't put a claim on

[2:38:31] the insurance, the car insurance,

[2:38:34] the auto insurance, for any offer

[2:38:36] that medical bills. It has to

[2:38:38] go back on their own personal insurance.

[2:38:39] that

[2:38:41] is something that really has to be

[2:38:42] addressed

[2:38:44] as well and it's a state issue. This

[2:38:45] is not

[2:38:47] at our jurisdiction. I remember back it

[2:38:51] was probably around 2012 I

[2:38:53] was on the school board that it was

[2:38:56] haled as the best advent ever that

[2:38:57] driver's education was

[2:38:59] taken away from the schools and given to

[2:39:00] the safety

[2:39:03] council.

[2:39:05] well, I don't think it was. Because

[2:39:06] now when you

[2:39:08] see the students are accessing more

[2:39:09] driver's ed and

[2:39:12] training,

[2:39:14] it's the ones whose parents have the

[2:39:15] greatest needs and

[2:39:17] we can't get to don't get the driver's

[2:39:18] ed

[2:39:21] training. I had five fatalities in

[2:39:23] district 2 with teen drivers just

[2:39:26] in november and it's just absolutely, you

[2:39:29] know, heartbreaking. And then another

[2:39:30] piece that I think we

[2:39:33] have to bring up here is, you

[2:39:35] know, humberto, sitting back here,

[2:39:36] your staff,

[2:39:38] is struggling to keep up with what

[2:39:39] we need to do

[2:39:41] to make our roads safer and I know

[2:39:42] there's probably

[2:39:45] a whole body of work that must be

[2:39:47] done to what the sidewalks potentially

[2:39:48] would be

[2:39:50] changed, pavement markings dealing

[2:39:51] with

[2:39:54] scooters, what have you. If

[2:39:57] we're going to givego this route we

[2:39:59] have to give him adequate support

[2:40:00] and staffing and

[2:40:01] financing because he's already got

[2:40:03] a job that's incredibly

[2:40:05] difficult. I'm assuming that a lot

[2:40:06] of the standards

[2:40:09] are going to have to be derived and

[2:40:10] developed from the federal government

[2:40:12] and

[2:40:13] so I don't know if it's in the uniform

[2:40:15] code or any of the green books

[2:40:17] or any of those things those documents

[2:40:18] you

[2:40:20] use, so there's just so many pieces

[2:40:21] to this.

[2:40:24] you've got school board to public

[2:40:27] works and what have you. I wish

[2:40:29] the legislature maybe we can go up

[2:40:30] and lobby.

[2:40:32] we used to do that as a school board.

[2:40:33] it would be

[2:40:36] fun to go up with you all. Could

[2:40:38] we at least have helmets, at least

[2:40:39] that

[2:40:42] insurance side fixed.

[2:40:44] and then the school board, you know,

[2:40:45] we're going to

[2:40:47] need some education coming from the

[2:40:48] schools. I know

[2:40:50] they don't want to take responsibility

[2:40:51] for anything

[2:40:54] outside that school property. They're -- the school

[2:40:55] board

[2:40:57] is going to consider it ourour

[2:40:58] responsibility the minute that scooter

[2:41:00] is off their property. We have to

[2:41:01] work

[2:41:02] together. We have to have more of

[2:41:03] a collaborative

[2:41:06] approach because they're all of our

[2:41:07] children.

[2:41:09] they don't just belong the school board on their

[2:41:11] property or a county or city road.

[2:41:12] I

[2:41:14] hope you're considering this being

[2:41:15] county wide.

[2:41:18] if we have to do some ordinance changes

[2:41:21] let's have a comprehensive orange

[2:41:23] county structure not have it different

[2:41:24] in every

[2:41:26] one of these municipalities because that

[2:41:27] is not a good --

[2:41:29] >> that would make it difficult for the school

[2:41:30] board and

[2:41:32] everyone else it has to be county wide.

[2:41:33] I hope when we get to

[2:41:36] that. I'm not sure that's a question

[2:41:39] for

[2:41:45] buy ram.

[2:41:46] >> county wide was the goal.

[2:41:47] I think it's

[2:41:48] something what does that look like

[2:41:49] and, you

[2:41:51] know, we would need to rely on of

[2:41:52] not just

[2:41:54] our departments but start there. But

[2:41:55] then

[2:41:57] also law enforcement and our school

[2:41:58] partners.

[2:41:59] >> clearly

[2:42:00] what I'm seeing in my

[2:42:03] district is I'm particularly

[2:42:06] the boys 8th through juniors

[2:42:09] in high school have this newfound

[2:42:10] freedom and you're

[2:42:11] seeing them going out in packs trying

[2:42:12] to get to the

[2:42:15] state parks and I see them riding down

[2:42:16] the

[2:42:18] roads. I'm excited for them because

[2:42:19] now

[2:42:21] you're not waiting on mom to

[2:42:24] drive you. It's exciting but at the

[2:42:25] same time

[2:42:27] I'm not seeing any helmets and not

[2:42:29] seeing any of them paying particular

[2:42:31] attention to rules and

[2:42:34] those sorts of things.

[2:42:37] so that's where --and

[2:42:40] you're a former school

[2:42:42] board member but hope that first week we

[2:42:43] can develop

[2:42:45] a module about safe walk and biking

[2:42:46] to school and the more

[2:42:48] of them that do this, this is good,

[2:42:49] right,

[2:42:51] not so many parents in the pick-up

[2:42:52] line. It's

[2:42:55] better for us with road capacity

[2:42:56] and congestion and mornings and afternoons.

[2:42:58] it's a good

[2:43:00] thing. This is a good thing if we

[2:43:03] can impress on these young people

[2:43:04] the importance of

[2:43:06] being safe. You know that's tough.

[2:43:07] again my

[2:43:10] two that died, it was

[2:43:13] a 17-year-old driver, three fatalities

[2:43:16] on welch road and 18-year-old

[2:43:17] driver who killed two people, one

[2:43:19] in their

[2:43:21] 80s and one in the 90s. They were

[2:43:22] both young

[2:43:25] male drivers in that range. I

[2:43:27] hope we can go back and talk about

[2:43:29] driver's ed coming back to the high

[2:43:31] schools and this is

[2:43:33] a comprehensive conversation. Byrum,

[2:43:34] I hope there will

[2:43:35] be a champion here because there's

[2:43:37] so many

[2:43:39] tentacles and aspects it's something you

[2:43:42] can handle staff can handle with all

[2:43:43] of our other responsibilities and I

[2:43:45] will be curious to hear the response.

[2:43:46] this is

[2:43:48] a massive undertaking.

[2:43:49] >> I want to

[2:43:50] be clear this is

[2:43:52] a two-step process. This is very

[2:43:55] broad. The thought was

[2:43:58] today interest and support.

[2:43:59] we would now begin to actually go

[2:44:03] through it and identify who is responsible

[2:44:04] for what

[2:44:06] and begin to gather a clear sense

[2:44:07] of

[2:44:10] what might fall under state, what

[2:44:12] might fall under the sheriff's office,

[2:44:13] ocps and

[2:44:15] orange county and then come back in the

[2:44:16] spring and have

[2:44:18] a conversation with the board about

[2:44:19] those

[2:44:22] efforts, what specifically areas that would

[2:44:23] be under

[2:44:25] the purview of the board, other areas

[2:44:28] you may

[2:44:30] explore, and then begin to develop

[2:44:31] and work

[2:44:34] on those specific issues that may

[2:44:37] be

[2:44:40] policy related.

[2:44:42] this is, obviously, of great interest,

[2:44:44] significant interest, important, but it

[2:44:46] is --

[2:44:48] I mean this is very comprehensive

[2:44:49] in its reach.

[2:44:52] that's the first

[2:44:54] step and a conversation we've asked

[2:44:55] commissioner wilson after this

[2:44:58] step we go to the next step

[2:45:01] which is to begin to organize this

[2:45:04] in a fashion what falls

[2:45:05] under which area. That would be done

[2:45:07] in

[2:45:10] conjunction with

[2:45:12] conversations working with orange

[2:45:13] county

[2:45:14] sheriff's office. We would all take

[2:45:16] notes. I heard a few others you mentioned

[2:45:19] as well. But that would

[2:45:22] be done in

[2:45:24] conjunction in discussions to help

[2:45:25] this out so

[2:45:27] when we come back to the board it's

[2:45:28] a

[2:45:31] comprehensive approach not just one

[2:45:34] perspective but others who need to

[2:45:35] be at the table.

[2:45:37] >>. >> commissioner semrad. >> thank

[2:45:39] you, mayor. Thank you, commissioner

[2:45:40] wilson. This is

[2:45:43] an important topic and our --

[2:45:45] we've got two school board members

[2:45:46] and district five member gallo

[2:45:49] and vanos both have come to

[2:45:52] district 5 and expressed a lot of

[2:45:53] concern

[2:45:55] regarding the school zones and the

[2:45:58] kids' usage and safety features as

[2:46:00] well. I'm grateful the school board

[2:46:01] was here and I

[2:46:04] have the two e-mails

[2:46:07] from

[2:46:10] stephanie and

[2:46:12] angie making sure orange county has

[2:46:13] a seat at the table. One

[2:46:16] thing we haven't talked

[2:46:19] about so far is

[2:46:22] that I've

[2:46:25] almost been hit by my kid riding

[2:46:27] an ebike on the sidewalk going more

[2:46:28] than

[2:46:31] 20 miles per hour. It's --and we have

[2:46:32] to talk about

[2:46:34] our shadow population which is about

[2:46:37] 210,000 tourists a day and that they're

[2:46:38] coming

[2:46:40] in from all these different locations

[2:46:41] from around the

[2:46:43] state and outside the state and country,

[2:46:45] so being able to create some type

[2:46:47] of a safety framework

[2:46:49] where we can communicate to those

[2:46:50] tourists, and

[2:46:52] I see the tourists on international

[2:46:53] drive and

[2:46:54] other areas by the convention center

[2:46:56] where some of them don't know how

[2:46:58] to safely operate them and they don't

[2:47:01] know how to brake, not break the machine,

[2:47:02] but

[2:47:03] to stop the machine so they kind of

[2:47:05] hop off and

[2:47:07] it goes into the grass. So we have

[2:47:10] to, you know, like it is a comprehensive

[2:47:11] approach but we have

[2:47:13] to also consider we have a very large

[2:47:15] shadow population that doesn't live

[2:47:17] amongst us

[2:47:18] to receive those mainstream lessons

[2:47:19] that we could do in the schools or

[2:47:20] do

[2:47:21] through the sheriff. Somehow we have

[2:47:23] to communicate with

[2:47:25] our tourism stakeholders as well these

[2:47:26] are

[2:47:27] presenting issues that are dangerous

[2:47:28] for them and dangerous for the people

[2:47:29] who live

[2:47:30] here as well. Thank you.

[2:47:31] >> thank

[2:47:32] you so much

[2:47:34] commissioner for bringing that up I

[2:47:35] think you may

[2:47:38] have been copied on it some

[2:47:39] communication from the idrive chamber

[2:47:41] that

[2:47:43] articulated what you're saying and

[2:47:44] supportive

[2:47:47] of any movement

[2:47:48] towards, you know, some more guidelines.

[2:47:50] they're

[2:47:52] different because those are vendors

[2:47:53] and we have

[2:47:56] an ordinance we adopted in '22 to

[2:47:59] regulate the vendors for

[2:48:01] those residential micromobility devices.

[2:48:05] and so I will kind of

[2:48:07] defer to byrum on whether we can get

[2:48:08] separate information.

[2:48:10] that was a pilot program. You should

[2:48:11] have

[2:48:13] some information become from that.

[2:48:14] >> actually a

[2:48:17] meeting tomorrow I believe or this

[2:48:20] week later this week thursday

[2:48:22] with the idrive areas to those areas

[2:48:26] where we are

[2:48:28] tracking those experiences. That is

[2:48:32] a very I would

[2:48:35] say very specific stage of discussing.

[2:48:36] there's overlap with some of those

[2:48:38] concerns and that could be

[2:48:39] very informative to this effort as

[2:48:41] well. I want you

[2:48:43] to know we are specifically working

[2:48:44] with tracking

[2:48:46] on those matters concerning the program

[2:48:47] down in idrive area.

[2:48:49] >> that's great to know. I will say

[2:48:50] you're right. It does

[2:48:53] have the overlap and if I had a dry

[2:48:54] erase

[2:48:56] doing a diagram here the descriptions

[2:48:58] of the things that concern those businesses

[2:48:59] have

[2:49:00] been similar to the concerns that

[2:49:02] we hear from

[2:49:05] residents about drives that are

[2:49:07] exceeding speed strollers or wheelchairs

[2:49:08] or weaving in and out

[2:49:11] of pedestrians. Stopping and leaving

[2:49:14] a device, specific to

[2:49:16] the rentals just wherever it can be

[2:49:17] an

[2:49:20] impediment for somebody

[2:49:21] who needs access. Leaving it on a

[2:49:23] ramp for a crosswalk can keep

[2:49:26] somebody else from using that crosswalk.

[2:49:29] it will be interesting to see the

[2:49:32] outcome and help

[2:49:35] inform.

[2:49:36] >> byrum, I think there's quite

[2:49:37] a bit of

[2:49:38] work to be done here and sometimes

[2:49:40] when we've had difficult issues or

[2:49:41] complex

[2:49:44] issues as a community, we've created

[2:49:45] these

[2:49:47] task forces, but whenever we

[2:49:50] do that, because of sunshine

[2:49:52] laws et cetera, sometimes it inhibits

[2:49:53] the free flow

[2:49:56] of information. I

[2:49:59] do believe that this is

[2:50:00] something that law enforcement really

[2:50:02] needs to

[2:50:05] be significant part of and

[2:50:08] perhaps thethe orange chiefs' group can

[2:50:11] be part of those

[2:50:13] conversations, especially if we're talking

[2:50:14] about doing something that

[2:50:17] is as county

[2:50:20] wide implications.

[2:50:22] also, we have wonderful asset in our

[2:50:23] chance the

[2:50:26] okay children's safety

[2:50:29] village, that does a lot

[2:50:32] of training and awareness

[2:50:34] of bicycle safety and pedestrian safety

[2:50:35] and a number

[2:50:38] of things on the campus that they

[2:50:41] have so I believe that it's probably

[2:50:44] most appropriate at this point to

[2:50:45] keep

[2:50:47] the conversations

[2:50:50] at a staff level

[2:50:53] and look

[2:50:56] within, you know, public works perhaps

[2:50:59] even with public safety

[2:51:02] where deputy county

[2:51:05] administrator danny banks

[2:51:08] to maybe help pull this together

[2:51:12] and reach across different

[2:51:15] disciplines that may have

[2:51:18] some to hear and let

[2:51:20] the work group, we heard a representative

[2:51:21] from

[2:51:24] the school district here earlier

[2:51:27] today, that clearly they wanted to be

[2:51:30] a part of the conversation so it's

[2:51:32] multiple disciplines involved in this

[2:51:35] conversation, but I think we'll continue

[2:51:39] to have some conversation at the

[2:51:40] county administration level about

[2:51:42] how to engage

[2:51:45] the groups, take the wisdom

[2:51:48] of the board

[2:51:51] here today, and let's try

[2:51:53] to move the needle. This isn't something I

[2:51:54] think can

[2:51:57] be done in the short term, but it

[2:52:00] will take

[2:52:03] some time. There are,

[2:52:06] obviously,

[2:52:08] legislative considerations, we do

[2:52:10] here, other jurisdictions around the

[2:52:12] state is experiencing

[2:52:14] the same thing and thethe is going

[2:52:15] to

[2:52:17] believe they have some regulatory

[2:52:18] authority in

[2:52:20] this to make sure that there's standard,

[2:52:21] a

[2:52:24] standard across the

[2:52:27] state, on how this could be

[2:52:29] addressed proactively. We know there

[2:52:30] may be

[2:52:33] an

[2:52:36] enforcement component to driving

[2:52:39] compliance to

[2:52:41] reducing injuries and improving safety at

[2:52:42] the same

[2:52:45] time but I would hate to

[2:52:48] see it so punitive

[2:52:51] to where youth children

[2:52:53] are getting citations and those types

[2:52:54] of things. We

[2:52:57] have to think through that.

[2:53:00] there are as I see

[2:53:03] as many

[2:53:06] adults who are out around

[2:53:09] here in downtown I

[2:53:12] see them drive these micromobility

[2:53:15] devices with a lot of risk

[2:53:18] and a --it's like a thrill ride

[2:53:21] for them.

[2:53:24] I've seen on several occasions on

[2:53:27] I drive where it

[2:53:28] appears it's a parent riding, you

[2:53:30] know, standing up on a

[2:53:32] micromobility device an they have

[2:53:33] a one

[2:53:36] or two, sometimes

[2:53:38] three, riding these micromobility

[2:53:39] devices it's like

[2:53:42] a thrill ride and no one has on a

[2:53:45] helmet

[2:53:48] any kind of safety, associated.

[2:53:51] I look at the parent and say

[2:53:54] wow, a

[2:53:57] parent is really taking quite a

[2:54:00] risk with a child.

[2:54:03] I think there's a lot of work

[2:54:06] here

[2:54:09] as we move forward.

[2:54:11] we'll roundtable it and look to danny

[2:54:12] and others

[2:54:15] to take the lead on this and get

[2:54:18] it to a point where --with

[2:54:20] some recommendations about how we

[2:54:21] move

[2:54:23] forward. Great conversation today.

[2:54:27] 11:59. We

[2:54:30] beat the noon deadline. We're going to

[2:54:31] go

[2:54:33] into recess and we will reconvene

[2:54:34] at

[2:54:35] 2:00 p.m. For the afternoon portion

[2:54:36] of

[2:54:37] our meeting. I thank you all.

[2:54:38] >> thank you all very much.

[2:55:37] >>> good afternoon, everyone. Let me

[2:55:38] welcome you back to

[2:55:40] the meeting of december 2nd, 2025.

[2:55:43] as we begin this afternoon, we will

[2:55:44] start with

[2:55:47] our landland

[2:55:50] issues. We're up to item regarding

[2:55:53] planning

[2:55:56] ask zoning.

[2:55:59] and ms. O'hara is

[2:56:02] going to

[2:56:05] lead us off.

[2:56:06] >> good afternoon, mayor and commissioners.

[2:56:08] on november 6th, 2025, the board

[2:56:11] of zoning adjustment heard 12 cases.

[2:56:14] ted were recommended

[2:56:21] for approval. One was recommended for denial.

[2:56:22] and one case was continued to the december 4th public hearing.

[2:56:23] the appeal deadline was november 21st, and

[2:56:26] no

[2:56:27] appeals were received. It's my understanding that

[2:56:29] commissioners would like to pull the

[2:56:30] case

[2:56:32] 2511 for

[2:56:34] a board called hearing. This zoning division is working

[2:56:35] on scheduling that for a separate public hearing.

[2:56:41] so with

[2:56:44] the exception of case ba 25

[2:56:47] pulled,

[2:56:49] 2508033 which was continued, we request that they

[2:56:50] accept the recommended action and findings.

[2:56:53] >> we have

[2:56:56] a motion for approval. Do

[2:56:59] I hear a second? Second.

[2:57:02] all in favor let it be known by

[2:57:05] saying aye? Motion passes.

[2:57:06] it is unanimous. Thank you. We're

[2:57:08] going to move to the next

[2:57:11] item on ourour

[2:57:13] agenda. This is a-1 for this afternoon.

[2:57:17] this is the

[2:57:20] public hearing. This is a petition

[2:57:23] to vacate. Deputy director of public

[2:57:25] works to frame this item. You're recognized.

[2:57:26] >> thank you, mayor. This

[2:57:29] is a petition to vacate

[2:57:35] ptv

[2:57:38] 25-08022 from jonathan on

[2:57:41] behalf of

[2:57:44] 88 magnolia and charles

[2:57:50] wolsonovich. That request they vacate a

[2:57:51] portion of the unopened and

[2:57:52] unapproved broadway known as palm

[2:57:53] avenue that lies between

[2:57:56] three residential lots

[2:57:59] located within the subdivision

[2:58:01] containing approximately 0.258 acres.

[2:58:02] the property

[2:58:05] lies south of west

[2:58:08] colonial drive. The real estate

[2:58:09] management, environmental protection,

[2:58:11] jerg, transportation planning and

[2:58:12] roads

[2:58:14] and drainage divisions

[2:58:17] have no objections to the request.

[2:58:18] all utility providers have

[2:58:20] provided

[2:58:22] letters of no objection. Approval will have no adverse

[2:58:23] affect on orange

[2:58:26] county and staff has no objection to the

[2:58:27] request. The requested action is approval

[2:58:29] of

[2:58:31] ptv-25-08-022. The parcel is located in

[2:58:32] district 1 and I'm here to answer any questions.

[2:58:38] >> thank you. Is

[2:58:41] the

[2:58:42] applicant present? Would you like to come forward

[2:58:44] and make any comments? Okay, no

[2:58:47] comments. Do we have members of the

[2:58:48] public present

[2:58:50] that

[2:58:51] wish to be heard on this item?

[2:58:52] >> we have no speakers on this

[2:58:53] item.

[2:58:54] >> we'll close

[2:58:55] the public and going to potential

[2:58:56] motion.

[2:58:57] >> I'd like to make

[2:58:58] a motion to approve.

[2:58:59] >> second. >> we

[2:59:00] have a motion and

[2:59:02] a second. All in favor

[2:59:04] let be known by saying aye? Motion passes.

[2:59:05] it is unanimous.

[2:59:08] with that, we'll

[2:59:11] move to the next item on our agenda

[2:59:14] b-2, shoreline alteration.

[2:59:16] item will open the public hearing

[2:59:17] on this item and

[2:59:20] call on our environmental programs

[2:59:23] administrator

[2:59:25] to frame this item.

[2:59:26] >> good afternoon,

[2:59:27] mayor and commissioners.

[2:59:29] today I'm presenting after the

[2:59:32] fact

[2:59:36] shoreline alteration application

[2:59:39] sadf-25-02-006. S had this is

[2:59:42] for replacement vinyl sea wall.

[2:59:44] here is a location map of the property.

[2:59:45] it's shown in red for you.

[2:59:48] the property is at 3513

[2:59:50] tcu boulevard on the western shoreline

[2:59:51] of

[2:59:54] lake

[2:59:55] irma. Here's anner y'all photo outlined in yellow.

[3:00:04] june 14th of 2024, epd received a

[3:00:06] complaint that a

[3:00:08] new sea wall was being constructed

[3:00:09] at the property

[3:00:12] without a

[3:00:15] permit.

[3:00:16] staff determined that the property owner had constructed a

[3:00:17] replacement seawall directory waterward

[3:00:18] of

[3:00:21] an existing

[3:00:22] seawall, which requires a permit.

[3:00:23] the existing concrete seawall was

[3:00:24] constructed

[3:00:27] under 2006 and

[3:00:29] 2007, however, we did not find a permit for that existing wall.

[3:00:30] accordingly on

[3:00:33] june 21st,

[3:00:34] 2024, epd issued a notice of violation

[3:00:36] for the

[3:00:39] unorzed

[3:00:42] seawall. It required the property owner

[3:00:43] reert remove the seawall or submit an application

[3:00:45] for

[3:00:47] the shoreline dredge and fill permit

[3:00:48] to I attempt the permit after the fact.

[3:00:50] december 9 theth of 2024, the case

[3:00:54] was

[3:00:55] presented to the special magistrate due to lack

[3:00:56] of response from the property owner.

[3:00:57] the special

[3:00:59] magistrate issued an order that the unauthorized

[3:01:00] seawall either be removed or a permit be

[3:01:03] I applied for after the

[3:01:06] fact. There was a penalty of

[3:01:09] $4,871.

[3:01:10] 75 assessed. However, the special

[3:01:15] magistrate ruled not to apply the penalty

[3:01:16] in their order. On february 20th of this

[3:01:18] year, epd received the

[3:01:21] application for shoreline

[3:01:24] alter

[3:01:26] ration and dredge film permit. Here are the existing conditions

[3:01:27] with the vinyl seawall.

[3:01:30] as you can see being

[3:01:32] installed on the photo on the left,

[3:01:33] there's a concrete seawall.

[3:01:36] that's the old wall. And you

[3:01:38] can see they have also put in some

[3:01:39] new

[3:01:42] plantings that

[3:01:43] installed on the right. Here is the site

[3:01:51] plan.

[3:01:52] the applicant is requesting authorization for after the fact

[3:01:53] of approximately 34 feet of replacement vinyl

[3:01:58] seawall, which is shown in red. The southern end of the seawall

[3:02:02] abuts an adjacent wall to the south.

[3:02:03] the northern end of the wall ends

[3:02:05] approximately 11 feet from the property

[3:02:06] line at an existing boat ramp that they have.

[3:02:12] here

[3:02:13] is a cross section of the seawall.

[3:02:24] some considerations for

[3:02:27] you. Chapter 15, article

[3:02:29] vi, notification of the public hearing

[3:02:30] was sent to property

[3:02:33] owners within

[3:02:34] 500 feet and we received no objections.

[3:02:36] our finding is

[3:02:41] pursuant to code, epd has evaluated the permit

[3:02:42] application and required documents and has made

[3:02:45] a

[3:02:46] finding that the request is consistent

[3:02:47] with section 15-218. And finally, our

[3:02:49] action requested is acceptance of the

[3:02:52] findings and recommendation of the epd staff and approval

[3:02:54] of after

[3:02:57] the fact shoreline alteration

[3:03:00] sadf-25-02-

[3:03:02] 006, subject to the conditions listed

[3:03:03] in the staff report. That concludes my presentation.

[3:03:04] >> thank you.

[3:03:12] >> with that, is the aptly kabt present?

[3:03:15] would you like to

[3:03:18] nak

[3:03:21] make any comments? So because we

[3:03:24] had to take that as no comments unless you

[3:03:27] want to make them, you'll have to

[3:03:30] come to the podium.

[3:03:32] so that do we have members of the

[3:03:33] public present that pish to

[3:03:35] be heard?

[3:03:36] >> we have no speakers for

[3:03:37] this item.

[3:03:39] >> then

[3:03:41] we'll close the public hearing at

[3:03:44] this time. We'll go to the district

[3:03:45] commissioner. Commissioner?

[3:03:46] >> thank you,

[3:03:47] mayor.

[3:03:48] I move for the requested action.

[3:03:49] >> we

[3:03:50] have

[3:03:51] a motion and a second. All in favor

[3:03:52] let it be known by

[3:03:54] saying aye? Opposed, no.

[3:03:57] motion

[3:03:59] passes. It is unanimous. All right.

[3:04:00] we'll move

[3:04:03] to the next item. We'll

[3:04:06] open the public hearing on item

[3:04:10] c-3. Our planning administrator will

[3:04:11] be framing this item. You are recognized.

[3:04:12] >> thank

[3:04:15] you, mayor. This item is case

[3:04:21] dp-25-03-057. Property is in

[3:04:24] the quadrangle planned

[3:04:26] development track 16w student housing

[3:04:27] development plan.

[3:04:30] request here is to develop a roughly

[3:04:33] 2.

[3:04:36] 38 acre site located to construct

[3:04:37] a

[3:04:39] student housing development with

[3:04:42] approximately 447 bedrooms. Here we

[3:04:45] have

[3:04:47] the property and the map. It's a high density

[3:04:48] residential, which allows student

[3:04:51] housing

[3:04:53] the property is zoned pd district.

[3:04:54] the planned development

[3:04:57] land use plan for this

[3:05:00] property

[3:05:01] specifically allows and recently approved I by this board for a

[3:05:02] student housing development of this

[3:05:03] size and scale. Here we

[3:05:06] have aerial map showing the property

[3:05:07] or subject

[3:05:09] parcel is currently undeveloped surrounded

[3:05:12] by a mixture of commercial,

[3:05:15] office, and other student

[3:05:19] housing uses

[3:05:20] in the area. University of central florida

[3:05:22] just off site to

[3:05:24] the east there. Here we have the general site

[3:05:25] plan. Again, request is for approval

[3:05:26] of this

[3:05:28] site

[3:05:29] plan. This is coming to the board due

[3:05:31] to the code requirement that all

[3:05:32] student housing development plans

[3:05:34] receive

[3:05:37] final consideration

[3:05:38] of approval by the board of county commissioners.

[3:05:39] however, again, this board has previously

[3:05:40] proved the land use and zoning changes to allow for

[3:05:41] this specific development.

[3:05:46] so with that,

[3:05:48] recommendation is to make a consistency with the

[3:05:49] comprehensive plan

[3:05:52] and approve the tract 16ben

[3:05:53] student housing development plan subject

[3:05:55] to the

[3:05:58] conditions listed under the recommendations

[3:06:00] of staff. They are available for questions.

[3:06:01] >> all

[3:06:04] right.

[3:06:06] thank you, sir. Is the applicant on this

[3:06:07] item

[3:06:08] present? All right. She's coming forward.

[3:06:10] >>

[3:06:11] rebecca wilson, here on behalf of

[3:06:13] the applicant. Happy

[3:06:15] to answer any questions you all may

[3:06:16] have.

[3:06:18] nick is right. We have to bring each

[3:06:20] one of these student housing projects

[3:06:22] three times. That's why you keep

[3:06:24] seeing me up here. I appreciate it.

[3:06:25] >> all right.

[3:06:28] if you'll standby for a moment.

[3:06:31] do we have

[3:06:32] members of the public present that wish to be hear on

[3:06:33] this item?

[3:06:34] >> we have no speakers.

[3:06:35] >> we'll close the public hearing.

[3:06:37] we'll go to the district

[3:06:40] commissioner, commissioner

[3:06:41] wilson for a potential motion.

[3:06:42] >>

[3:06:43] I would be happy to

[3:06:46] second.

[3:06:47] >> thank

[3:06:49] you, mayor.

[3:06:52] thank you.

[3:06:53] I just need to say on the record for

[3:06:55] our quad rang until that

[3:06:58] area. We

[3:07:01] have businesses that

[3:07:02] are there. If you speak to research park,

[3:07:04] they are not

[3:07:06] digging all the student housing. I know there's a lot of

[3:07:07] variables that play

[3:07:10] into a company

[3:07:12] choosing to relocate, but it was an area that's for

[3:07:13] mixed use. I know I said

[3:07:16] this last

[3:07:18] time. I want to say it again. We have to move away from the

[3:07:19] concrete block of student housing and use

[3:07:20] the

[3:07:22] land in the most economically impactful

[3:07:24] way. Losing businesses because of

[3:07:28] student

[3:07:31] housing moving in is --

[3:07:34] they are moving.

[3:07:36] so it's concerning. I'm looking forward to

[3:07:37] seeing mixed

[3:07:40] use coming in in the future. I

[3:07:43] have communicated that with nick and team and everybody.

[3:07:45] I move for requested action. Thank you.

[3:07:46] >> all right.

[3:07:49] we have a motion I

[3:07:52] by

[3:07:53] commissioner. Seconded by scott. All in favor let it be

[3:07:55] known by saying aye.

[3:07:57] motion passes. It is unanimous. All

[3:08:02] right. We'll move to the next sum.

[3:08:03] this is d-4. We'll open the public

[3:08:04] hearing on this item.

[3:08:07] we're going to call on

[3:08:09] the assistant project manager from

[3:08:10] our zoning division.

[3:08:12] he'll come forward to frame this item.

[3:08:16] you're

[3:08:19] recognized.

[3:08:20] >> thank you, mayor.

[3:08:21] I'm james gray, assistant project

[3:08:22] manager

[3:08:25] with

[3:08:28] the zoning division.

[3:08:33] here today with the zoning manager.

[3:08:34] ift of

[3:08:36] representatives from the florida association

[3:08:37] of ror ri here

[3:08:39] as well. And representatives from

[3:08:40] code compliance. I don't

[3:08:43] know if we have a representative

[3:08:45] from orange county sheriffs office here, but

[3:08:46] all

[3:08:48] of us are available to answer questions later on.

[3:08:54] looking today to propose some chapter

[3:08:55] 38

[3:08:58] zoning code

[3:09:00] amendments to bring the county into

[3:09:01] compliance

[3:09:04] with the senate bill 564,

[3:09:06] which requires the county and all

[3:09:07] counties and

[3:09:10] jurisdictions within florida

[3:09:12] to adopt a standard process for reasonable accommodation

[3:09:13] requests.

[3:09:20] just looking for that power point.

[3:09:22] >> so james, is this

[3:09:25] the first time --

[3:09:26] >> I have, yes.

[3:09:27] it's my first time here in front of

[3:09:28] the bcc.

[3:09:29] >> that's what I thought.

[3:09:30] welcome, james.

[3:09:32] >> thank you. >> it won't be your last.

[3:09:41] it has nothing to do with the fact that the powerpoint won't

[3:09:43] come up.

[3:09:55] how long have you been in

[3:09:56] zoning?

[3:09:57] >> zoning, about three and a

[3:09:58] half years.

[3:09:59] >> so you've been around.

[3:10:00] >> then I was in planning for about six months.

[3:10:01] >> all right.

[3:10:07] you're relatively poised. Usually the first time

[3:10:08] people come to

[3:10:10] the board of county commissioners, they

[3:10:11] are really

[3:10:12] nervous.

[3:10:13] >> I will say I'm not nervous.

[3:10:20] >> all right.

[3:10:23] so there we go. We have

[3:10:26] a

[3:10:27] powerpoint.

[3:10:28] >> okay. Once again, just to

[3:10:29] address the requirements

[3:10:32] of senate bill 954

[3:10:34] reasonable accommodations that was

[3:10:35] effective

[3:10:38] as of july

[3:10:41] of this year. So

[3:10:44] we'll look at some

[3:10:46] background of senate bill 954 requirements.

[3:10:47] proposed chapter 38 amendments to

[3:10:50] meet those

[3:10:51] requirements, and then the requested

[3:10:53] action. Senate bill 954

[3:10:56] was

[3:10:57] effective on july 1st of this year.

[3:10:59] it amends section 397. 487 of

[3:11:00] florida statutes, which deal with

[3:11:02] substance abuse services.

[3:11:05] it requires jurisdictions to

[3:11:06] adopt an ordinance to establish proceed

[3:11:08] juries for the

[3:11:09] review and approval of reasonable

[3:11:11] acome requests for

[3:11:14] certified recovery residences

[3:11:17] by january 1st, 2026.

[3:11:18] it's important to note here that the

[3:11:20] senate bill

[3:11:23] is

[3:11:24] addressing reasonable accommodations and

[3:11:25] only addresses them with regard to

[3:11:26] certified recovery residences.

[3:11:28] but what you're going to see here

[3:11:29] is there's two

[3:11:30] distinct concepts at work. There's

[3:11:32] that of the

[3:11:33] reasonable accommodation and that of

[3:11:35] recovery of residences.

[3:11:41] so what is a recovery residence?

[3:11:44] commonly referred to as a sober living

[3:11:47] facility,

[3:11:49] where individuals live together as a

[3:11:50] family and receive off-site treatment for substance

[3:11:51] abuse disorders.

[3:11:52] they provide housing to a protected

[3:11:53] class, so

[3:11:54] all residents are considered to have

[3:11:56] a disability under the

[3:11:59] fair housing act and the americans

[3:12:02] with disabilities act, ada.

[3:12:05] so they get all of the same

[3:12:08] rights, all of the same

[3:12:11] considerations that somebody who

[3:12:14] relies on a wheelchair for

[3:12:15] mobility, somebody on dialysis, somebody

[3:12:17] with

[3:12:18] vision impairment, all of those same rights.

[3:12:19] local jurisdictions under this bill

[3:12:23] are limited in how

[3:12:25] they regulate and we're limited because

[3:12:26] you're dealing

[3:12:29] with a protected class here. And these

[3:12:30] facilities

[3:12:32] are commonly located in single-family

[3:12:35] homes in

[3:12:38] residential areas

[3:12:40] and neighborhoods. Contrast that against a

[3:12:41] certified recovery residence, a recovery

[3:12:42] residence

[3:12:44] that holds a

[3:12:45] valid certificate of compliance and is actively managed by a

[3:12:47] certified recovery

[3:12:50] residence administrator.

[3:12:51] certification is encouraged by the starkts but it is

[3:12:53] not mandatory. Certification

[3:12:56] is

[3:12:57] also conducted through the florida association

[3:12:59] of recovery residences.

[3:13:02] and farr is the sole

[3:13:04] organization that certifies recovery

[3:13:05] residences in

[3:13:08] florida. With regard to reasonable

[3:13:10] accommodation requests, these requests

[3:13:14] can cover a

[3:13:17] variety of circumstances. We have the one for recovery

[3:13:18] residences, which address how the residents

[3:13:19] of a ror ri residence are a family

[3:13:20] despite

[3:13:23] not meeting

[3:13:24] the code definitions. A code definition

[3:13:26] provides that a family is

[3:13:29] two or more related people related

[3:13:30] through

[3:13:31] blood, marriage, adoption, or no more

[3:13:32] than

[3:13:35] four

[3:13:38] unrelated

[3:13:41] people.

[3:13:42] typically, the request for accommodation in these

[3:13:43] situations is to treat the residents as a family the

[3:13:44] same way we would address

[3:13:46] any other single family. It allows

[3:13:47] a a

[3:13:49] greater number of unrelated people

[3:13:50] to dwell together in

[3:13:52] a single home than would otherwise

[3:13:56] be permitted by code. We also get requests for

[3:13:57] emotional support

[3:13:59] animals,

[3:14:00] which allows for types of animals to

[3:14:01] be located on a property where they

[3:14:04] may not be otherwise be permitted by code.

[3:14:05] this applies also

[3:14:06] to development standard variances.

[3:14:08] if somebody needs to put

[3:14:11] up a

[3:14:12] wheelchair ramp it might encroach into the setback, a

[3:14:13] reasonable accommodation would cover that as well.

[3:14:20] the current process, which is not

[3:14:23] codified, but it is the

[3:14:26] process that we currently have requires a cover letter

[3:14:29] that

[3:14:30] states the nature and purpose of the reasonable accommodation.

[3:14:32] what is it and why do you need

[3:14:35] it. Depending on the request, there

[3:14:38] might be additional

[3:14:40] documentation such as a floor plan, a letter from a health

[3:14:41] care practitioner, proof of compliance

[3:14:42] with the state and

[3:14:43] local requirements for licensing and

[3:14:44] vaccinating

[3:14:47] each emotional support

[3:14:50] animal.

[3:14:52] those requests then go to the zoning

[3:14:53] manager or the county attorney's office

[3:14:56] to review the

[3:14:59] request and for compliance with the fha and ada.

[3:15:00] the zoning manager then issues a letter approving or denying the

[3:15:02] request.

[3:15:08] senate

[3:15:11] bill 954 requires the

[3:15:12] county to adopt an ordinance establishing procedures for the

[3:15:14] review and approval of reasonable

[3:15:15] accommodations. It

[3:15:17] only addresses certified

[3:15:20] recovery residences only.

[3:15:26] it must through this bill establish

[3:15:27] a

[3:15:29] written

[3:15:30] application process. The process may not require

[3:15:31] public hearings required by law and

[3:15:32] requires kipt sit

[3:15:35] with the fair housing amendments act and

[3:15:36] the ada.

[3:15:38] so here

[3:15:41] are the proposed chapter 38

[3:15:44] amendments. To amend section 38-140

[3:15:47] , which is reserved vacant, to add

[3:15:50] a reasonable accommodation process,

[3:15:51] which

[3:15:52] includes recovery residences, emotional

[3:15:54] support animals, and any other

[3:15:56] requests for reasonable accommodations.

[3:15:59] so the proposed ordinance does not

[3:16:02] only address those certified recovery

[3:16:03] residences.

[3:16:06] it does require certificate fate fist indication or documentation

[3:16:09] for recovery residences.

[3:16:11] it prohibits fees associated with the request or appeal, but

[3:16:12] it does

[3:16:13] establish an appeal process because

[3:16:14] it's a zoning manager determination

[3:16:17] that would go through the board of

[3:16:18] zoning adjustment

[3:16:21] that

[3:16:22] would be a public hearing, but for the

[3:16:23] appeal only. The process would largely follow

[3:16:24] our existing unofficial

[3:16:27] process. So this is not adding a

[3:16:28] new use or anything like that. It's just codifying what we're

[3:16:30] already doing.

[3:16:35] pzc hearing on november 20th, there was

[3:16:36] the

[3:16:37] ordinance recommended for approval

[3:16:39] unanimously

[3:16:41] with no changes. And the next steps,

[3:16:45] january

[3:16:46] 1st, 2026, is the effective date of

[3:16:48] the ordinance. That

[3:16:51] concludes the presentation. I am here and everybody else I

[3:16:52] mentioned before is also here to

[3:16:53] answer any questions you may have.

[3:16:57] >> all right.

[3:16:59] standby, james. Do we have anyone

[3:17:00] from the public present?

[3:17:02] >> we have no speakers registered

[3:17:03] for this item.

[3:17:06] >> all right. Then

[3:17:09] we'll close the public hearing

[3:17:12] portion. Before I

[3:17:15] go to commissioner for a

[3:17:18] motion,

[3:17:19] I'll entertain questions or comments from

[3:17:21] the board.

[3:17:22] >> thank you.

[3:17:23] I have a question. Thank you so much

[3:17:24] for

[3:17:27] the presentation.

[3:17:30] I have a

[3:17:33] simple question. Okay. How is the county working to

[3:17:34] make sure these changes don't cause

[3:17:36] any delays to project

[3:17:39] getting approved since there are

[3:17:40] already developers feel like it takes too

[3:17:42] long?

[3:17:43] >>

[3:17:44] I don't know I understand the question.

[3:17:45] >> with

[3:17:48] all the

[3:17:50] changes, will this be --what will

[3:17:51] cause

[3:17:54] delay in the projects?

[3:17:55] >> so commissioner,

[3:17:56] I think that your question is maybe

[3:17:57] somewhat

[3:18:00] unrelated to the ordinance

[3:18:02] itself. So this isn't really going

[3:18:03] to impact any

[3:18:05] developers at all. Typically what

[3:18:06] we get for reasonable accommodations

[3:18:09] are

[3:18:11] existing single-family homes wrrks a business just want thes

[3:18:12] to move in and operate a

[3:18:14] recovery residence in those single-

[3:18:18] family

[3:18:20] homes. This actually is an administrative process.

[3:18:21] so if anything, it's going to make the process

[3:18:24] faster. There's no

[3:18:26] public hearing process. All of that.

[3:18:27] does that answer your question?

[3:18:28] >> yes, thank you.

[3:18:33] >> all right. Commissioner?

[3:18:36] >> how are we currently

[3:18:39] handling these? We have always been

[3:18:40] very

[3:18:42] responsive to assist people who may

[3:18:43] need

[3:18:45] help.

[3:18:46] I have known you fwies have got on the phone with

[3:18:48] applicants and people. Is this

[3:18:51] something extraordinary for us.

[3:18:52] I know someone with an emotional animal and they got help.

[3:19:00] currently, we're already

[3:19:01] helping individuals that may need

[3:19:03] some

[3:19:04] additional systems who are like that.

[3:19:06] if you could share more.

[3:19:07] >>

[3:19:09] yeah we are. In the last three

[3:19:12] years, we have had 12 or 13 requests

[3:19:15] for reasonable accommodation for

[3:19:18] certified recovery residences. We're

[3:19:21] also evaluating the reasonable accommodation

[3:19:22] request

[3:19:24] for the emotional support animals.

[3:19:26] those don't always get approved depending

[3:19:27] on the

[3:19:30] animal, but with

[3:19:33] the

[3:19:42] certified

[3:19:45] recovery residences, 13 approved in the

[3:19:46] last three years.

[3:19:47] there are the not certified recovery residences as well.

[3:19:48] sometimes they don't come in the way they should depending on how

[3:19:49] the house. This is something we're

[3:19:50] already doing.

[3:19:51] all this bill is requiring is to actually

[3:19:52] put it in

[3:19:53] the code the process.

[3:19:54] >> that's what I

[3:19:55] was getting

[3:19:57] at. I was always known us to be very

[3:19:58] responsive to

[3:20:00] people who need assistance. And

[3:20:03] I know the commissioner asked if it's going to change

[3:20:04] anything in the process. You said it

[3:20:05] actually would help move this along.

[3:20:06] so would a

[3:20:08] person have to come and identify themselves

[3:20:09] as

[3:20:12] needing

[3:20:13] special accommodations? Can you run us through a

[3:20:14] typical scenario of a constituent

[3:20:15] that would

[3:20:18] be coming in?

[3:20:19] >> sure. The only ones that I

[3:20:20] have received since I have worked

[3:20:21] here a little

[3:20:24] over eight years are requests

[3:20:26] for emotional support animals or requesting

[3:20:27] for

[3:20:30] recovery

[3:20:33] residences. And usually it starts

[3:20:36] with the code

[3:20:38] of compliance. Someone calls in and says my

[3:20:39] neighbor has a goat or a chicken or

[3:20:40] whatever.

[3:20:42] and they say this is my emotional

[3:20:43] support

[3:20:45] animal. If you're asking

[3:20:46] for reasonable accommodation, you

[3:20:48] need

[3:20:51] to submit the documentation as a result of that.

[3:20:52] so we ask them to send a letter in

[3:20:53] to

[3:20:54] me explaining

[3:20:56] what they are asking for in the case of

[3:20:57] emotional support animals, we ask

[3:21:00] that they identify what

[3:21:03] each animal -- we ask that a health

[3:21:06] care practitioner identifies what

[3:21:07] each animal does

[3:21:08] for the individual. Each animal has

[3:21:10] to be an

[3:21:11] emotional support animal for that

[3:21:13] person. It

[3:21:16] can't

[3:21:17] just be I have 50 chickens and I want to have them

[3:21:18] all. So the practitioner has to specifically

[3:21:19] outline

[3:21:22] typically the animals have

[3:21:27] names. Usually they are cute. And

[3:21:31] so

[3:21:32] they outline what chuck does for the individual, and

[3:21:34] then I consult with the county

[3:21:35] attorney's office to confirm they

[3:21:37] are meeting those

[3:21:39] standards of the fair housing act.

[3:21:43] and then I write them a letter

[3:21:45] back saying we're giving you this reasonable accommodation.

[3:21:46] with recovery

[3:21:48] residences, it's typically a similar

[3:21:49] thing where either

[3:21:52] someone

[3:21:53] just knows if it's a company that's done it

[3:21:55] before

[3:21:56] they come in and ask. Then it's a similar thing.

[3:21:57] they provide a letter. They provide

[3:21:59] us documentation. And then I consult

[3:22:01] with the county attorney's

[3:22:04] office and we write them

[3:22:06] a letter backing. The difference here is we're

[3:22:09] codifying the process so that people actually know there is a

[3:22:10] process.

[3:22:11] so before it was kind of like, oh,

[3:22:12] I don't know what to do or how to

[3:22:13] do it

[3:22:15] or whatever. We're actually putting it in

[3:22:16] the code

[3:22:18] now so it's clear for anyone who might

[3:22:19] want the to

[3:22:20] utilize that process.

[3:22:21] >> perfect.

[3:22:22] thank you.

[3:22:26] >> just while I'm here, one point of clarification.

[3:22:28] the effective date of

[3:22:30] the ordinance is not january 1st.

[3:22:31] it will

[3:22:32] likely become effective prior to january

[3:22:34] 1st. I'm guessing

[3:22:37] about 10

[3:22:39] to 15 days after the adoption of the public

[3:22:40] hearing. Once we receive it from the

[3:22:41] state,

[3:22:42] but I think it's about 10 to 15 days.

[3:22:49] >> commissioner scott?

[3:22:51] >> I just had a quick question. If

[3:22:55] someone made a

[3:22:58] complaint reference to

[3:23:01] code violation,

[3:23:02] you were going to investigate and

[3:23:04] meet with the practitioner or thought

[3:23:06] the appropriate paperwork gets approved.

[3:23:10] what

[3:23:11] follow-up is done with me as the complaint and what is

[3:23:12] shared with me? Do I know they have

[3:23:13] an accommodation?

[3:23:15] how does that work? I'm just trying

[3:23:16] to

[3:23:18] understand from a hipaa stand point.

[3:23:22] I

[3:23:25] make the complaint.

[3:23:27] >> point of clarification. I do not go

[3:23:28] and investigate. I'm looking

[3:23:31] back to

[3:23:32] them because I'm not sure what they do when

[3:23:33] they close out complaints if they

[3:23:34] notify

[3:23:37] the

[3:23:41] applicant or not megan, would you mindment coming

[3:23:42] and speaking to that and what it is they notify?

[3:23:43] >> I did know you were going to

[3:23:46] come up here today.

[3:23:49] >> megan

[3:23:51] marshal. Your question was if the --

[3:23:55] >> I made

[3:23:57] the complaint -- in team you get notice

[3:23:58] from a

[3:24:01] health provider they have accommodation.

[3:24:03] what's being told?

[3:24:04] >> as the person

[3:24:05] that made

[3:24:07] the call, you would be told that the

[3:24:10] property was placed based off a

[3:24:11] reasonable accommodation. We're not

[3:24:13] getting into any of

[3:24:16] the

[3:24:18] hardship a pa rules rules violations.

[3:24:19] everything we do is public

[3:24:21] record, so the letter that the county attorney's

[3:24:22] office writes

[3:24:25] is --I don't want to say

[3:24:28] vague, but you're

[3:24:31] stating that the information provided by the

[3:24:32] health provider was found to be in

[3:24:34] conjunction with

[3:24:37] the law, so tlrvegs there's a reasonable

[3:24:38] accommodation for the goats, chickens,

[3:24:40] that would be

[3:24:43] at that specific property. That's why we'd close the case

[3:24:46] based on that.

[3:24:47] >> with

[3:24:49] this ordinance, does it apply

[3:24:52] county wide inclusive of

[3:24:55] the municipalities?

[3:24:56] >> no,

[3:24:58] it does not. Is and you

[3:25:00] may -- I don't know if you get other municipalities

[3:25:01] or not,

[3:25:04] but I have been

[3:25:07] seeing quite a few agendas of

[3:25:09] local municipalities adopting a similar ordinance

[3:25:10] because state law requires them all to be

[3:25:11] effective by january 1st.

[3:25:16] >>

[3:25:18] okay. All right. Any other questions

[3:25:19] or

[3:25:22] comments? If there

[3:25:25] are

[3:25:28] none.

[3:25:29] >> so moved. >> second. >> all

[3:25:30] right.

[3:25:34] commissioner made the motion.

[3:25:36] all in favor?

[3:25:37] >> aye. >> motion passes.

[3:25:38] it is unanimous.

[3:25:43] all right. With that, we

[3:25:45] really do not have any other business before us

[3:25:46] this afternoon.

[3:25:49] so we stand adjourned.

2025-12-02 Board of County Commissioners

Agenda

Transcript