Loading...
2004-05-27 Joint WorkshopCITY OF OKEECHOBEE"BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ow OKEECHOBEE UTILITY AUTHORITY Fes,. -AG END I. CALL TO ORDER: • II. BOARD AND STAFF ATTENDANCE: Mayor James E. Kirk Council Member Noel A. Chandler Council Member Lowry Markham Council Member Dowling R. Watford, Jr. Council Member D. Clayton Williams, Jr. City Attorney John R. Cook City Administrator Bill L. Veach City Clerk Lane Gamiotea Board of County Commissions Chair Cliff Betts County Commissioner John Abney County Commissioner Clois Harvey County Commissioner David Hazellief County Commissioner Gene Woods • County Attorney ,Sohn Cassels County Administrator George Long County Deputy Clerk Debra Lewis OUA Board Chairperson Carl Leonard OUA Board Member Melanie Anderson OUA Board Member George Long OUA Board Member Steve Nelson OUA Board Member Elder Sumner OUA Alternate Board Member Eddie Trent OUA Alternate Board Member Harry Moldenhauer OUA Alternate Board Member Bob Oliver Executive Director L.C. Fortner OUA Attorney Tom Conely MAY 27, 2004 JOINT WORKSHOP SUMMARY OF WORKSHOP DISCUSSION PAGE I OF 2 Board of County Commissioners Chairperson Betts called the May 27, 2004 joint workshop to order at 6:03 p.m. The workshop was held at the Okeechobee County Health Department Annex Building located on Northwest 91h Avenue. Present Absent Present Present (left meeting at 6:38 p.m.) Absent Absent Present Present Present Present Absent Present Present Absent Present (also sits as City appointed member to the OUA Board of Directors) Present Present Absent Present Absent Present Present Present Absent Present Present 1 2 MAY 27, 2004 - JOINT WORKSHOP - PAGE 2 OF 2 AGENDA III. DISCUSSION. A. Discussion regarding the OUA need for assistance with Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansions and feasibility of hiring a grant writer for all three entities. IV. ADJOURN MEETING - Mayor. i PleA6 take notice and be advised that if a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Council with respect fo antimatter considered at this meeting, he/she may need to insure that a verbatim record of the proceeding is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upo c e appeal is to be base . City Clerk tapes arE`Jgr-the sole purpose of backup for official records of Clerk. -' T ESfi:- James Kirk, Mayor .� , Jjolk4l La e Ga niotea44 Clerk DISCUSSION li County Chairperson Betts advised that the Commission would like the three entities to meet every two weeks to continue working on this issue. Setting dates and times can be arranged through the administrators and directors. Mr. Betts then asked the Mayor to open the discussion. Mayor Kirk stated the City discussed the issue of sharing in the costs to hire a grant writer at their May 18 meeting. What was expressed at that meeting was, we (the City) already have a grant writer on staff. Should a grant writer be hired, the City would be expected to pay one-third of the salary, but would not get one-third of value from the employee. However, we understand we have to work a solution out, should the other two entities want to continue in that direction, and we would emphasize the position should start at the lower salary. It was also noted that one entity has to be responsible for the employee, you cannot work for three bosses. Who the employee reports to needs to be addressed. He then asked whether the OUA was moving forward with hiring a grant writer? OUA Attorney Conely responded that he agreed with Mayor Kirk. The employee will need to report only to one boss, he also stated that the boss should be the OUA. He has instructed his board that they should take the lead on this since this is basically the OUA's problem and the OUA is in the water/wastewater business. Discussion ensued between everyone present. Mr. Fortner is expecting a preliminary report regarding the exisitng wastewater treatment plant, what can be done non -construction wise and construction wise (with costs) to expand the plant. The draft is to be presented at their July 13 OUA Board Meeting. It was suggested that copies of the report could be distributed to Members of the County Commission and City Council at the same time. It is believed the information contained in the report may give a better direction for the boards to head in and time schedule. All three entities have met with their consultant, Dale Milita. He will be working towards obtaining funding and understands the Boards position. The City has also directed its grant writer/administrator to search for grants that could be obtained. The boards will meet again in joint workshop session, once the report is distributed from the OUA. The OUA will also continue with creating a job description for a grant writer. There being no further discussion, County Chairperson Betts adjourned the workshop at 6:44 p.m. � +workshop to order of bft3 p.m.,6y Cfiair Betts - - - -IY)- 2_I 2c - -- - Attdance: City: Kirk, Markham, Watford, Veach, Gamiotea. County - Betts, Abney, Hazellief, _ ds,,_Lewis;Long. OUA.-_Long,-Cmely, Trcut,_Mould uer. Loo ..F-Qdiet,kicey_ - --.-- Ha d. ' --fig-Who' is -to go fira7_Cit3_ -fast,-so we-'- L4tart-vAth-tl _- --- - - - -- 1�1a(� TS)e _ p s����j��`` �. Al expressed if we hired grant writer, city would not ♦get 1l3 value from the grant writer, and --- " - -� m is ronabl true. if hired i eni has to de r sonss`1 a ou cant work for 3-1560m w'no theyY - �- �� P Y ry ep , Y --- - r to needs to be addressed. -Though we thought they shoudl start at lower salary. ely, wee with 1 boss. since our vroblem/businessitold My board thp� should take the lead _mil - _ on it; think employee should answer to OUA a sboss. Long - budget for salary of the employee. Be s - customer base in city. LC - only few not on water, and some w/out wastewater. Betts - - son to suuaivisions in the county don t have, 200 across from wastewater piant that yuu uwi t ser ice water or wastewater wise. City's industrial park is dead on the vine. We can't make it wit out each other, and we need eachother, our board is willing to fund our portio o tie v - ---- - - --- _=Opyee because we know the imnortance. - - -- - --- - - -- - -- - - �. ---- - - -- - -"- - -- - - - — - -this, Jmo w we-iteed-ta_go ahead and move toward this, ---- we're 18-24 months from a moratorium. Ab�ey - clarify th etime line of em fini ping preliminary report if plant can be upgraded without adding construction, period of time - - - ho ' much capacity, number o fyears, costs, treated effeluient. All going to ge in report when" ei . hopefully, may be not all. at least permitting, at least worse case dollar amounts, effc luent. Engineer understand urgency to get this done? Yes, he's working dilgently to ge tdone. V to board- what then. Oki report LV i ^; �/K" 1Vr1 ��, V11LV1 111{,V :4�Y VV111V4t GL/1-V11�111VV1 LV VrNL-same -- -- - -- woidd do design? Do l' - who? Metcher and Williard. Thye desinged th eplant that's in ther now. So they sho ald have th einformation in house. LC - next. and then uut out for bid an permitting. No time for design. Depends on hats involved. Realistically can you put a time line on it? 6-9 months depends on permitting. - - --- ---- -for=J year -- -- - -- co truction. Johhn - 2 %z years, and may be ways to speed that up. Gal 5nage and capacity with what we have a proposed for coming online. We hav ea critical -si - lion to show agencies something id wri Ping . john - cerminly that can be done, know - -- - ro �pernutted and under construction. Fortner, hoped to have to my board by next meeting, de toper agreements that have been approved and those pending. Da - Ame uniting . everyone-hereneed info for that meeting, --D3Aq'I- gmat writing position oua har. sai- ithorized, time line th tpao job descriptions_ 1'(: --got__._ desi 'ption from Desoto, will adjust to meet our needs. Found they started with an outside firm. -- - — - u cl �viurG shed soon -a -1 can. DW--quite a few - - - - � �g-firers up -as Ab y's questions, give us a good idea of where we are and where we need to go. Do we think on or rm tli eoua�ures will be suftYecient to meet these immediate necks. i inu thr, jai--At- --- qu tons, George and Bill both have spoke_ with our consultants, and did they have an sug stions? Concern if its 8 months down the road before we are going to have person or trrri uta it .fu1*er owr.Land behind. George - no and yes. Terms of grant writer not going to be enough. Things folks on board can do. Bil ldn I both have spoke with consultant, during that cov�Ube inst�8f_ Il_fuuding- onesour-ce, several sources, best.interst_to, r 'bute to paroject, say 25%, will make a difference in funding awarded. Day after we last — irtel {grant writer -to FL R. al Fi�£UHf;-t rhave -touredeur fib: - - -- - - - govjelrnor office, nothing there but got a meeting with another source, lot of people involved with it. They are always looking for ways to decrease. phorphores. Genie - thats all state money, don't forget the federal dollars are there and we need to go after them. - Betts agree our consultant firm now does a good job, think this will cause more attention than they have time for with how,mueh they have on their plate. Gene - don't see any money coming from Tallahasee, with the governor they have, talked wiflibide, George, whatever approach we take, multi -'head piece to get a ho?d band ask icurrent lobbyiest, to start in the right direction, point person and dale could be tha tperson. Don't need to walk over each other. Expect we'll get feedback soon. No particular stratig,, brainstorming options, coming -back to us, hcres what we think, Dw,l; don't you think tha twould be faster. Reason we -want that way was to get so n&meving.now. DH talking with dale he thought if we did participating grants, he thinks we'd much more sucgessfull. Analysis entire debt load. County just -did $10million loan, betterthw*-board market. LC - disucssed with FL Rural Water, see what is th ebest way as well as what we need they also have interim financing, also spoke with peisoii who worked for Desoto. Bet - small window of opportunity, refinance and still LC,*, difficult to do unless we know how much I)4j, agree but may.need to pencil,in 12 million and if come in cheap-ex,,beu_we.'xe all hero's. LC i- right at least ge the ball rolling DH' - think we're all have, -the same goals -in mind. Julyl, 113 have better idea Gedige, evert though only 13 for this board, caa-LC, a, ,.:kLh, :., J,...,, ..«„ share: Betts, said we want to do this every 2 weeks do we want to meet engoeers estimated time line then would'be heipfiily f6. Lom' y - mentioned getting rid of treated wastewater, help with capacity if had that handled. LC - plant supossing 1 mgd DVS' eft at 6:35 p.m. _ If you can get rid of effefluent faster would help some, Spoke with surrounding property owners, deep well if you could get an area,, move more away from plant faster, up capacity of the plant, LC - its all partiof the report, he'wi 11aw-m-cviiujLLQ11ilations; tfris is Mraft,,...ut„ ... ,*ocf of removal and — thiss the cost. Abney - effefluent to the quality like to adams; fookinig of that,-SFWMD'1f" not wanted -us to take up part of their capacity Jung 8?9? and ask them point blank, other than they are waiting for rain to come. 6 years before they canuse. that property. Thirpk we can work toward finding other sites, reclaimed water is working good on the cost. How much more costs? Higher level of discifect. To Taylor Creek? We think so, but SFWMD says no. filtration marsh that'shoould wore and -they wold fetus. Phor removal in treatment plant itself. Urban reuse. Gold Bourses, sprinklers.' Filtration issue sounds good if you can put it back in the creek. And financiall feasible. Financiall and!,penmitable. M _ ..'. Annouce after preliminary report received, then advertise for meeting with all. Job' description continue Seel what Dale can find. Once they set a date, 6:44 p.m. MINUTES OF BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS JOINT WORKSHOP WITH MEMBERS OF OKEECHOBEE CITY COUNCIL AND OKEECHOBEE UTILTY AUTHORITY (OUA) MAY 27, 2004 The Board of County Commissioners of Okeechobee County, Florida convened a joint workshop session with members of the Okeechobee City Council and Okeechobee Utility Authority (OUA) Board at 6.00 p.m. on Thursday, May 27, 2004 at the Okeechobee County Health Department Auditorium, 1798 NW 9th Avenue, Okeechobee, Florida Chair Betts presided with the following members present: Commissioners Hazellief, Woods, and Abney Also present were. County Administrator George Long and Deputy Clerk Debra Lewis. Members of the Okeechobee City Council were present as follows: Mayor James Kirk and Councilmen Lowry Markham and Dowling Watford, Also present were City Administrator William Veach, City Attorney John Cook, and City Clerk Lane Gamiotea Members of the OUA Board were present as follows: Carl Leonard, Harry Moldenhauer, Elder Sumner, and Eddie Trent. Also present were OUA Executive Director L.0 Fortner and OUA Attorney Tom Conely Chair Betts called the meeting to order and announced the purpose for this joint workshop session was to discuss options for improving OUA wastewater treatment capacity Mayor Kirk requested that the group identify any existing problem(s) prior to attempting to "fix it" Mr. Kirk advised that the City Council felt that particular parties already working for the City, OUA, and County could help with the issues at hand. He further noted that it was a consensus by members of the City Council that should the City contribute to recommended efforts to create and fill a grant writer position, the City would most likely reap less than one- third of the benefit. Mayor Kirk advised that the City Council had agreed that any person engaged for purposes of writing grants should answer to only one (1) entity. OUA Attorney Tom Conely announced that the OUA Board had taken the initiative to prepare a proposed budget for a grant writer position Mr. Conely advised that OUA Board members had felt they should "take the bull by the horns" and move forward to take remedial action Chair Betts stressed the importance of having joint participation in this endeavor, as a failure of services at a critical level would certainly affect the County, City and OUA. He encouraged a joint effort by all three (3) entities to resolve the issues at hand • At the request of Commissioner Abney, L.C. Fortner presented a status report of recent progress to secure an engineer's report that will determine capacity and disposal options for existing OUA wastewater treatment facilities. Mr Fortner announced that the report is due by July 13, 2004 and although permitting issues may still be outstanding, necessary dollars may be available at that time to begin moving forward with the project. Mr Fortner briefly described the anticipated timeline for completion of the engineer's report, confirming that no definite schedule had yet been determined for the design phase of the expansion project. During discussion, it was agreed that completion of the entire project could require a period of two and one-half (2 '/z) years Commissioner Hazellief requested that OUA commit to provide in writing the outline capacity limits for the existing wastewater treatment facility This information, he noted could serve as a tool for South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and other entities involved in the permitting and funding processes Councilman Watford requested that OUA provide an estimated deadline for completion of the process to create and fill the grant writer position. Mr. Fortner advised of recent efforts by OUA to complete that task and asked if OUA securing such a position would prove satisfactory to all entities represented at this meeting. He further expressed concern for time involved in completing other tasks at hand and asked if consultants for the City might have resources they could contribute County Administrator Long advised of his feeling that the hiring of a grant writer alone would not offer complete resolution of the issues -at -hand. Mr. Long did agree that all parties represented would most likely have resources on board that could help solve current wastewater treatment capacity problems In review, County Administrator Long presented information with regard to the following. • Recent visit to OUA facilities by a grant writer on staff with another agency • Confirmation of interest from the Governor's office to assist in resolving the wastewater treatment dilemma experienced by OUA • An opportunity to address SFWMD regarding wastewater treatment issues at its meeting scheduled for June 9th Commissioner Hazellief expressed optimism regarding SFWMD's reception of the information to be presented He noted that SFWMD is always interested in efforts to reduce phosphorus loadings in Lake Okeechobee. City Administrator Veach stressed the importance of approaching legislators at this time regarding wastewater capacity and water utility service problems There was discussion of 2 anticipated feed back from the legislative delegation and of the need to take advantage of every available opportunity. Commissioner Hazellief advised of his recent conversation with Dale Milita (legislative consultant representative to all three (3) entities) and of his view that chances are better now than before for securing grant funding to improve wastewater treatment services. During discussion between Commissioner Hazellief and Mr. Fortner, it was agreed that a preliminary figure of $12 million should prove an appropriate estimate for needed wastewater treatment facility improvements. In response to County Administrator Long, Mr. Fortner confirmed that the engineer's report might possibly be available for review sometime in late June 2004. Chair Betts recommended that a joint meeting between all parties involved be called as soon as the engineer's report is made available. Councilman Markham requested, and received from Mr Fortner, confirmation of permitted wastewater treatment facility capacity in the amount of 1.1 million gallons per day. Mr. Fortner further advised that the lack of available wastewater disposal sites has limited the permitted capacity There was brief discussion between he and Councilman Markham regarding the available methods for disposing of treated wastewater products and to what degree each method may / may not assist in resolving current dilemmas. Councilman Watford left the meeting at 6.38 p.m. In response to an inquiry from Commissioner Abney, Mr. Fortner advised of plans by OUA to approach SFWMD to request the use of local Stormwater Treatment Areas (STA) for the disposal of treated wastewater products. Commissioner Hazellief initiated discussion regarding possibilities for creating a filtration marsh for the deposit of treated wastewater into Taylor Creek. There was further discussion of urban use of the product for golf course and residential irrigation purposes. Chair Betts announced that upon receipt of the preliminary engineer's report by OUA, a joint workshop would be scheduled to review and discuss its content. alkaCl Sharon Robertson, CI k Board of County Commissioners Okeechobee County, Florida i ABe r , Chairman Boar of County Commissioners Okeechobee County, Florida 3 `ram-----•r----�.„.� The Okeechobee News RECEIVED P.O. Box 639, Okeechobee, Florida 34973 `' (863) 763-3134 j U-�1!l Published Daily STATE OF FLORIDA COUNTY OF OKEECHOBEE Before the undersigned authority personally appeared Judy Kasten, who on oath says she is publisher of the Okeechobee News, a DAILY Newspaper published at Okeechobee, in Okeechobee County, Florida; that the attached copy of advertise- ment, being a in the matter of \ o s"6� in the 19th Judicial District of the Circuit Court of Okeechobee County, Florida, was published in said newspaper in the issues of Affiant further says that the said Okeechobee News is a newspaper published at Okeechobee, in said Okeechobee County, Florida, and that said newspaper has heretofore been published continuously in said Okeechobee County, Florida each week and has been entered as second class mail matter at the post office in Okeechobee, in said Okeechobee County, Florida, for a period of one year next preceding the first publication of the attached copy of advertisement; and affiant further says that she has neither paid nor promised any person, firm or corporation any discount, rebate, commission or refund for the purpose of securing this ad ertisement for publication in the said newspaper. Sw 6t.d subscriod before me this day of \__ A.D. 20 �rge� Karmen R. Brown Notary Public, State of Florida as Commission #DD272118 a ) ate_ Expires: Jan 17, 2008 Bonded Thru Atlantic Bonding Co., Inc (Y L Pueuc NOTICE a