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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998 12 02 Minutes CALNO COUNCIL OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN SEMINOLE COUNTY DECEMBER 2. 1998 The Council of Local Governments in Seminole County held a meeting on Wednesday, December 2, 1998 at 7:00 p.m., County Services Building, 1101 East First Street, Room 3024, Sanford, Florida. CALL TO ORDER. INVOCATION. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:10p.m. A moment of silent prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance followed. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioner Cindy Gennell, Winter Springs Councilman Tom Hagood, Jr., Oviedo Commissioner Eddie Rose, Altamonte Springs Commissioner Michael Blake, Winter Springs Dr. Stephen Caldwell Wright, Seminole Community College Commissioner Dave Henson, Casselberry Commissioner AI Clark, Casselberry Commissioner Linda Hart, Casselberry Commissioner Brady Lessard, Sanford Commissioner Gary Brender, Lake Mary Commissioner Grant Maloy, Seminole County Also Present: Carlton Henley, Chairman Seminole BCC Mayor Larry Dale, City of Sanford Jay Marder, City of Sanford Gary Kaiser, Seminole County Chris Grasso, Seminole County Stan Stevens, Citizen Phil Tua, Citizen Member Absent: Commissioner Ron Sargent, Longwood APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 4. 1998 MINUTES Commissioner Gennell asked if there were any corrections or changes to the minutes. Hearing none, minutes were accepted as submitted. TREASURER'S REPORT Commissioner Brender reported the balance of the account was $668.03 and there have been no deductions and no additions. PROGRAM B: Update on the Education/Government Cable Channel TV Commissioner Gennell reported that CALNO had been working on this for the past couple of years to get an agreement in place to effectuate a channel for government and education use. She stated an agreement had been circulated in an attempt to accomplish this. Mr. Chris Grasso, Information Technology Services Director, for Seminole County gave an update on this issue. He stated an agreement had been put together with Time Warner to secure Channel 9 in Seminole County similar with what Orange County had and an agreement had been signed and went live with the first broadcast at the November 10, 1998 Board of County Commissioners meeting. Mr. Grasso stated the character generator being used right now only has the capability of running about 15 minutes. This is being upgraded to be able to run 45 and a PC has been ordered to be put in place which will allow them to run much longer blocks of time. By the end of January, the intent is to be able to get to a two or three hour block of time and then repeat it. Mr. Grasso stated as information is received from the CALNO members the program would grow and grow. Regarding the CALNO agreement, Mr. Grasso stated based on the County's existing code and Time Warner's agreement if the County were to become a part of the group the overall responsibility would be the County's but the day to day operations would transfer to CALNO. The County Attorney's office has advised that we can't do that based on the existing code and Time Warner contract. So a committee was formed made up of all the same people and the County, and is proposing the Board pass a resolution recognizing CALNO to work directly with the County. Discussion followed from the members regarding this subject. PROGRAM A: Presentation Bv Dr. Stan lev Marshall. Chairman of the James Madison Institute Commissioner Maloy introduced Dr. Stanley Marshall from the James Madison Institute. He stated this organization is located in Tallahassee and has a lot of input with the state legislators. They have recently gotten more involved at the local level. Dr. Marshall stated that their mission was to try and influence public policy and to limit government, to use free markets rather than government if you can, individual liberty coupled with individual responsibility, and to use old fashion values from the Constitution. Dr. Marshall stated The James Madison Institute is not and can not be partisan. They have a board of 17 members. The James Madison Institute does not endorse or oppose candidates or specific pieces of legislation. He says their mission is to inform and educate. They support school vouchers on a limited basis. The institute has advocated charter schools for five or six years. They have also advocated an experimental program in school vouchers. Dr. Stanley stated the reason they support this idea is that it's the poor people and minorities that are deprived of a good education in so many of our schools. This mainly occurs in the larger cities. If your child is assigned to a school by the district that is totally unsatisfactory, there are three things you can do about that if you have the money. You can move to another district, you can send your child to a private school or you can home school. But if you are poor you can't do this. That's why Dr. Stanley feels the vouchers need a fair trial. Regarding House Bill 35, Dr. Stanley stated they looked at this and feels it is an unfunded mandate of the worse kind. He stated he had written a paper on this subject that will be published before the end of the month in their journal. This Bill is forcing the cities a very sizeable increase in their budget to cover these costs that they have nothing to say about. Dr. Stanley discussed the takings of private property by the state without compensation. He stated within the past 10 years the Department of Environmental Regulation has redefined the navigability of lakes and streams in Florida. The state is now in the process of suing property owners to reclaim that property for the state without compensation. Commissioner Gennell asked as to how Dr. Stanley's organization is funded. Dr. Stanley stated by contributions from corporations, foundation and individuals, most of it from individuals. They have never taken any government contracts. Dr. Stanley stated they must remain free of politics of any kind. Commissioner Maloy distributed a booklet from the Heartland Institute. Dr. Stanley stated his organization was founded 10 years ago. He left the presidency of FSU in 1976 and founded a business in Tallahassee and sold that 10 years later. He ran for Commissioner of Education in 1986 but did not win. A graduate student of Dr. Stanley's had mentioned there were a couple of new state level "think tanks" in California. Dr. Stanley felt this was a movement that was going to have some force in this count~. The James Madison Institute started in the spring of 1987. They were the i or 8th one of these organizations in the country, there are now 45. All of the organizations are independent of one another but meet two or three times a year to exchange ideas. This network of organizations will provide information on all kinds of public policy issues usually at the state or local level. Dr. Stanley stated the standard membership is $100, but they put in a $25 feature for students and others that can't afford the $100. Whether or not you become a member, Dr. Stanley stated he would be glad to forward any publications at no charge. Dr. Stanley's e-mail is www.iamesmadison.orQ. NEW BUSINESS Commissioner Gennell stated she noticed in the paper that Sanford is asking all the cities to pass a resolution in support of domestic air service. Commissioner Lessard and Mayor Dale stated it is both the airport and the city asking for this. Mayor Dale stated a sample resolution will be sent to all cities. Commissioner Gennell stated she had only received one response back from one city regarding the Local Option Gas Tax. Commissioner Maloy distributed a memorandum answering previous questions asked by CALNO members regarding this tax. He also handed out a memorandum regarding the distribution of local option gas tax proceeds for each city. Commissioner Gennell tentatively scheduled the County to come in February to discuss the local option gas tax issue with the CALNO members. Commissioner Maloy stated the County appropriated over a million dollars for road improvements in the Oviedo/Geneva area. The County is also looking into over the next five years or so to try and pave every dirt road in the County. Commissioner Gennell stated next meeting is January 6, 1999 and that is when the programs for the coming year will be scheduled. Commissioner Gennell asked if it would be agreeable to all to suspend the government cable television agreement that has been worked on for about a year. It was the consensus of all to do this. Commissioner Gennell asked if there was any interest any doing a resolution regarding the Fire Pension Bill. She stated she feels if it comes down and doesn't get undone in its current form, that ultimately we will see the end of city fire and police departments. After discussion by the CALNO members, a motion was made by Commissioner Maloy to authorize Chairman Gennell to represent CALNO before the state delegation in opposition to increasing pension fund costs to cities. Motion was approved. REPORTS FROM MEMBERS Dr. Stephen Caldwell Wright. Seminole Community Colleae The groundbreaking for the Oviedo campus is Friday, 12-4-98, at 2:00 p.m. The basketball teams are doing well. The girls are #21 in the nation and one of the girl's is ranked #6. Grant Malov. Seminole County No report. Eddie Rose. Altamonte Sprinas The Olympic Committee has come up with a large sum of money for a program called Sports for Life. It's a project to try and discourage kids from smoking. Anyone interested can call Johnson Boar at the Central Florida Sports Commission. The city has already scheduled a function in the fall. Linda Hart, Casselberry The Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held on Friday, 12-4-98. Adult entertainment will be an item on the city's agenda for Monday 12-7-98. Gary Brender. Lake Mary The Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held at the park in front of City Hall on Saturday, 12-5-98, at 6:00 p.m. On January 4, 1999 the 46A bridge over 1-4 will be closed for about six months while they reconstruct the four-lane bridge over 1- 4. Rinehart Road is substantially complete, most of the west side has been paved. The city had a golf tournament a couple weeks ago and raised about $26,000 toward the park plan for the trailhead at Rinehart Road and Lake Mary Blvd. Crescent Industries is coming before the City Commission tomorrow night for a new six story building in Primera. The city is also beginning a road paving project with $250,000 in this year's budget to accomplish this. Timacuan has a new 310-unit apartment complex, which will be under construction soon. Lake Mary Preparatory School which is a private non-denominational K through 12 is under construction. Tom Haaood. Jr.. Oviedo No report. Bradv Lessard. Sanford The police chief recently announced his retirement so the city will be taking on a national search for a new police chief. Tony Vanderworp, new City Manager, is doing a great job. The referendum for the new conference center passed so that is moving along. Property values and occupancy rates in the city continue to soar, particularly in the downtown area. The tour of homes is coming up Saturday, 12-5-98. The Heritage Festival was a wonderful success. Cindy Gennel!. Winter Sprinas The Holiday Parade was held last week and it was very nice. There are a couple of developments coming up one on 434 which is part of the Tuskawilla PUD (254 apartments). There is a new grocery store and a couple commercial businesses coming in also on 434. The city is finalizing the code for the downtown center and going through the processes of actually enacting zoning to accomplish this. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.