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News Articles1(1 Military — Page 7 Okeechobee New Vol. 98 No. 109 Briefs City Planning Board will meet tonight, at City Hall, 55 S.E. Third Ave. Lawn watering restrictions set Because of a critical water shortage, lawn watering has been restricted. Residents whose address- es are even numbered can water from 4 until 8 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays. Odd numbered addresses can water from 4 until 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Vehicles and boats can be washed between 4 and 8 a.m. and between 5 an p.m. on the above days. Washing must be done on, or must drain to, a non -paved surface. It must be done using a hose with an auto- matic shut -off nozzle or low - volume pressure cleaner. Violators could be subject to a fine. County -wide burn ban issued Due to drought conditions and heavy frost damage to vegetation, a county-wide burn ban has been issued. The ban will include, but not be limited to: campfires, bonfires, burn barrels and the burning of yard trash and fireworks. The ban will be in effect until further notice. Violation of the burn ban is punishable by a fine not exceeding $500, imprison- ment in the county jail for a Thursday, April 19, 2007 5N Plus City OKs imp act fees pact By Chauna Aguilar Okeechobee News The Okeechobee City Council . met Tuesday, April 17, and approved an interlocal agreement with the Okeechobee County School Board and Okeechobee County to collect impact fees. The city board also heard from a city resident concerning the El Amigo De Todos Rodeo. The Council approved the interlocal agreement presented by the Okeechobee County School Board that involves that board, the county and the city in order to implement the collection and other issues in accordance with the Okeechobee County school impact fee ordinance. According to the interlocal agreement, the city will be required to: collect the applicable school impact fee as provided by the ordinance; maintain all records of school impact fees col- lected and provide a monthly copy of those records to the county and School Board; remit to the School Board all the funds collected as school impacts fees; notify the county administrator when there is a request for a development per- mit for a residential use that is not designated in the ordinance schedule; notify the county administrator when there is an offer to donate or construct part of a school capital improvement project by a developer in the city; and, on Oct. 1 provide the county and School Board with financial reports and information on the collection of the fees by the city. The school impact fees will be collected at the building permit stage. The main issue that concerned the Council was that the city has yet to have their impact fees final- ized because the consultant has not finished the impact fee study. According to City Administra- tor Brian Whitehall, prior to last Thursday — when the Okee- Clean sweep: 30 code violations discovered chobee County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved their impact fee ordi- nance — Mr. Walter Keller, of Wal- ter H. Keller, Inc., had told him that when he finished the county's he would get back to working on the city's fee study. Mr. Keller told Mr. Whitehall that he needed to perfect a map that indicates the public works improvements —which are in the See Fees — Page 2 Board members are reappointed by City Council By Chaim Aguilar Okeechobee News While the Okeechobee City Council had additional citizens to appoint to the citizen board vacancies, they chose to reap- point all current board mem- bers. The council chose to reap- point the Code Enforcement Board members to serve a three - year term beainnino Ma' 1 vacancy on an enforcement board shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term of office. If any member fails to attend two of three successive meetings without cause and without prior approval of the chair, the enforcement board shall declare the member's office vacant, and the local governing body shall promptly fill such vacancy. The Code Board has asked to Code Enforcement Officer Gina Gehring charged Orieta Wireman with having fire and safety hazards on U.S. 441 S.E. property. If the property is not in compliance by May 10, a fine of $100 a day could be imposed for every day of noncompliance. George Etchison was cited for having a shed on a county right OT Denneaytuvauar. According to Code Enforce- ment Officer Beth Albert, Charles Griffis has a derelict mobile home and a derelict shed on his N.E. 30th Avenue property. Mr. Griffis asked for 60 days to finish cleaning the property. In effect, Mr. Selmi granted that request. Mr. Griffis was time, a fine could be imposed in July. Since Jerriston Mason had made some progress toward cleaning up his S.W. 19th Lane property, he is facing a $100 -a- day fine if his property is not completely cleaned up by May 10. pending for the aemouuon o. a condemned structure, they were given until May 10. At that time, if the property is not in compli- ance, they could be fined $50 a day. Post your opndons ou the Fublk IssuesFanrm at www.newsrap.corn Reporter Pete Gawda maybe reached at pgawda @newszap.can. Fees Continued From Page 1 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) — and he needed to work on nar- rowing the rates a IilIle bit. Mayor James Kirk stated that he "... would hate to be collecting the impact fees for the school and county and still not have the city's impact fees done yet." In other business, the Council heard from city resident Diana Heil concerning the El Amigo De Todos rodeo which is held at 706 S.W. Second St. The last rodeo at this location was held Sunday, March 25, according to Mr. Whitehall. Mr. Whitehall stated that prior to the event he had a meeting with the owners, the people run- ning the rodeo and his depart- ment heads to discuss what was expected throughout the event. Those issues concerned safety and security, alcoholic consump- tion, post -event cleanup and noise — to name a few. Mr. Whitehall also expressed dissatis- faction with the event through a letter and e-mail to the owners concerning several of these issues. • Ms. Heil addressed the Council concerning the volume from the announcer's microphone, safety issues and the rodeo set up. Ms. Heil said she lives-less than a mile from the event and could hear every word that came out of the announcer's microphone dur- ing the entire event. She went on to explain that because of the noise level, she and her daughter had decided to drive around to see what was happening. At the rodeo she real- ized that they also had bull riding events in close proximity to near- by homes and businesses. She also had issues with the opaque fencing that surrounded the event and the fact that there were no clear entrance and exit signs. According to Mr. Whitehall, the city is in the process of meet- ing with Chief of Police Denny Davis to set up guidelines that will enable them to enforce sound requirements. Volume checks from nearby roads and sidewalks to determine the decibel level that marks the point where disinterested parties could be have not been effective with the current equipment since road noise alone makes the level go above 80 decibels. Mr. Whitehall went on to say that trash was a major issue after the last event due to the wind. While they did dean .. up the area where the event was held, the wind had already blown trash throughout the residential neigh- borhood prior to the clean up, which took place a couple days after the event. The administrator has issued a memo to the city's general servic- es department to not grant a license to them again based on issues including volume, debris, items present at the event that were not included in the applica- tion, and unsafe seating. Councilman Dowling Watford stated in response to the com- plaint that while he appreciated Ms. Heil's concerns, the decibel level of events such as the Speck- led Perch Festival will surpass 80 decibels. "They (the rodeo) are a busi- ness and they have a right to do business. They are legally there and they have a right to do busi- ness," he said. "1 think we proba- bly need to address that but 1 don't know if we can eliminate it. If we ever permit another one, we will have to address that issue. If they don't meet the criteria (set by the city administrator) then we can control that." Mayor Kirk stated the city should be very firm on the viola - tions,and noise level. "If they don't meet all the crite- ria to that satisfaction then they will not receive a permit," he said. Another issue brought up dur- ing the meeting was about alco- hot consumption. At the event alcohol was allowed to flow freely to and from the event which poses a safety issue. In the future the applicant will also be required to stop this from happening, either by hiring secu- rity or by some other method. `Any reasonable safety requirement that is necessary 1 believe we can impose, and that would include alcohol," said John Cook, the city attorney. He went on to say that the city will have to clearly state in the permit, if one is given again, that if any guideline within the permit is violated the event will be shut down immediately. In other business, the Council: • gave Mr. Cook an overall evaluation of 3.3 out of 5, and Mr. Whitehall a 4.7 out of 5. • approved the temporary street closing of Southwest Fifth Avenue between North and South Park Streets for the renaming cer- emony of Osceola Street at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 21. Festivities will be held from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. which will include Seminole Indian vendors present from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. • approved the resolution regarding the 457 deferred com- pensation plan, which is a retire- ment plan that offers special ben- efits to government employees. Post yofropinions in the Mc Issues Fonrm as wuxa.cam RepataQemnaaggdlarmaybe reachedatcaguikrngnewszap.com. Members Continued From Page 1 been absent six times. The Code Board tentatively has 12 meetings per year unless one is cancelled due to not having any cases to go before the board. This gives a total of 36 meetings in total fora three -year term. The practice in the past has been that an excused absence or absence with consent only required a phone call to Code Board secretary Sue Christopher. Now Code Board members will have to call Ms. Christopher, who will then have to call the chair to get approval in order to have an excused absence. Mayor Kirk expressed on behalf of the City Council to "please do The City Planning Board/Board of Adjustment and Appeals mem- bers will also be reappointed to their current positions. Doug McCoy and Terry Burroughs will remain regular members and Epi- fanio Juarez will remain an alter- nate member for threeyears begin- ning May 1, 2007, and ending April 30,2010. While the Planning Board has not voiced issues with absences as the other board, city records indi- cate that Mr. McCoy has had eight absences, Chairman Burroughs has had two absences and Mr. Juarez has had three absences. This board also meets 12 times per year, totaling 36 meetings per three -year term. Flo sryiour opinima cr the Purr& Issues Fonan at wvnw.nertrsrap.com RepurterChawaaAgugamrybe reachedatcasuilar@newszop.com Changes Continued From Page 1 Mace development in the north- west section of town. nf.eo, -hnhee City Council accommodate the recreation ele- ment in the comprehensive plan. The applicant currently does not offer any recreational space within the site plans that are currently under review in preparation for the Technical Review Committee. interest to promote improved development patterns. This rewrite of the PUD regula- tions has been an ongoing process in order to create regula- tions that properly safeguard the city's interests. The board will also hear from Mr. LaRue is recommending denial due to the inconsistency with nearby land uses which are single family and the inconsisten- cy with the comprehensive plan. The planner goes on to state that the change could be detri- mental to the surrounding resi- tal, she is expected to make a full recovery. "It appears she's gong to make it through," he said Wednesday, Apri118. "She's trying to recover at this point" Arrested in the case was Franklin A. Brown, 37, N.W. 12th St., in Okeechobee. Brown is charged with attempted felony murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Fol- lowing his arrest on those charges, he was arrested on a warrant charging him with the felony of violation of probation - driving while license suspended. He is being held without bond in the OkeechobeeCountyJail. Brown was arrested Monday, April 16, after he allegedly shot Ms. Epps once in the facial area with a small caliber handgun. The gun, said Detective Faulkner, has not been found. He said the search for weapon is continuing in the Platt's Bluff area Detective Faulkner said Ms. to Brown. He paid 850 for the weapon, added the report_ Detective Faulkner said since Ms. Epps is improving, he plans on interviewing her again and gleaning more information on the events of that night. 11 do another interview with her at a later date," he said. The attempted felony murder charge fled against Brown came about because he allegedly com- mitted the crime while in the commission of a felony, namely possession of a firearm by a con- victed felon. According to his file, Brown was convicted on a charge of pos- session of cocaine in 1995. His record also indicates that he has been arrested on such felony charges as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (1996), aggravated battery (1997) and two counts of sale of cocaine and two counts possession of cocaine (1998). Today's Weather L�i ®a Fonts Pressure jibs Cole warm Stationary Low Hof, 'IN -AL. 11111110.11186‘ MINIM Okeechobee Forecast Thursday: Partly sunny with the high in the lower 80s. The wind will be from the northwest at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the north around 10 mph in the afternoon. Thursday right Partly cloudy with the low in the upper 50s. The wind will be from the northeast at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the north- west after midnight. Extended Forecast Friday: Mostly sunny with the high in the lower 80s. The wind will be from the northwest at 5 to 10 mph becoming north 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Friday night Mostly clear with the low in the upper 50s. Saturday: Partly sunny with the high in the upper 70s. Saturday night Partly cloudy with the low in the upper 50s. Swday: Partly sunny with the high in the lower 80s. Sunday nigh: Mostly clear with the low in the upper 50s.