DRAFT MOTION MINUTES - Volusia County ECHO Grant Review Panel 9 AM, February 22, 2012 County Council Chambers DeLand, FL

Transcription

1 DRAFT MOTION MINUTES - Volusia County ECHO Grant Review Panel 9 AM, February 22, 2012 County Council Chambers DeLand, FL Members Present Gene Gizzi Chair Andrew Gygi Vice Chair Jeffrey Ault Regina Bateman-Santilli Erik Halleus James Morris Damien Richards J. Pendergast Staff Present Margaret Hodge ECHO Program Coordinator Sedrick Harris ECHO Program Administrator Bruce Page Assistant County Attorney Public Donna Ross interested citizen Linda Dorian Citizen Charles Matousek Citizen Harlan Paul - Citizen Gorden Meyer Citizen Cindy Todd Citizen Alison Curtiss Citizen Ed Connor Citizen Jim Frost Atlantic Center for the Arts Paul Wetzel City of Daytona Beach Paul Johnson City of Orange City Scott McGrath City of Deltona Public Loretta Moisio City of Ormond Beach John Noble City of Ormond Beach Robert Carolin City of Ormond Beach Stefan Sibley City of Ormond Beach Bob Hully Stetson University Jeff Altier Stetson University Al Allen Stetson University Sidney Johnston Stetson University Paul Harlan Stetson University Earl Ziebarth Bulldog Boosters Juit Ruiz West Volusia Police Athletic League Nick Conte DeLand Area Chamber Jack Becker Mainstreet DeLand Theresa Brooks City of DeLand Michael Pleus City of DeLand Robert Apgar City of DeLand Rick Hall City of DeLand Peter Woods City of New Smyrna Beach Gail Henrikson City of New Smyrna Beach Pam Brangaccio City of New Smyrna Beach Martha Layman City of New Smyrna Beach Kent Donahue City of Port Orange Kelly Cragen City of Port Orange John Fletcher City of DeBary Kassandra Blissett City of DeBary Jimmie Seelbinder City of DeBary Tom Van Detley City of DeBary Call to Order Mr. Gizzi called the meeting to order at 9:05 AM and asked that roll call be taken. Mr. Morris was not present during roll call but arrived 5 minutes later. Approval of Minutes Mr. Gizzi then asked if all of the board members had an opportunity to review the two sets of minutes that had been sent to them. He asked that those for January 25 be considered first. Mr. Gygi made a motion to approve the minutes; seconded by Mr. Halleus. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Mr. Gizzi then asked for a motion on the February 8 minutes. Mr. Gygi made a motion to approved the minutes; seconded by Ms. Santilli. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Staff Report

2 Ms Hodge said that in the Committee folders is a list of the 25 grants that are going to the County Council for an extension. Grant Review Questions Mr. Gizzi reviewed the process for today s meeting. Ms. Hodge mentioned that the first thing that needs to be done is to determine the status of the Exceptional request. Then you go into ranking and review each applicant in the order the applications were received. She mentioned that any application with a score of 80 or higher would go to the County Council with the recommendation from this Review Panel. All applications that scored between 70 and would still go to the County Council but without the recommendation of this Panel. Applications that scored below 70 would not go forward to the County Council. Ms. Hodge further explained that the questions asked of the Exceptional applicant at this time are only to determine whether they rate as an Exceptional Grant. All other questions for ranking can be asked during their normal question and answer session. This only refers to the definition of the Exceptional Grant as defined by the Guide which she proceeded to read to all. If the application is approved to be the Exceptional definition, the applicant must also rank in either number one or two position to maintain the Exceptional status. The Exceptional applicant is the City of DeLand application Mr. Gizzi asked Mr. Morris to begin. Mr. Morris asked for someone else to start as he wanted to read the materials in the file. Ms. Santilli was asked to comment and she had no questions. Mr. Halleus asked about marketing plans which was answered. Mr. Gygi had no questions. Mr. Pendergast had no questions. Mr. Ault said that the resolution said that ECHO grants are for high quality user oriented outdoor recreational opportunities. He said he does not see that in this grant. He said that he felt Pop Warner football would no longer play at this venue. Ms. Brooks said that was not the case and that representatives from both Pop Warner and PAL are present and in support of this proposal. Mayor Apgar commented on how there are many fields in the DeLand area to support all of the teams desiring a playing field. Mr. Ault continued saying that the Pop Warner demographic is what ECHO is supposed to be supporting and he feels that will be left out. Ms. Hodge interjected that ECHO is for more than the demographic of what Pop Warner is. It is for all of the citizens of Volusia County. After Ms. Hodge s explanation of what ECHO was promoted to the public as, Mr. Ault thanked Ms. Hodge for her comment but said that he is using his own belief on what ECHO is. Mr. Richards asked for a brief explanation of what is meant by County-wide. Mr. Morris said that the component he doesn t see is the paramount and critical aspect of this grant. He continued saying that he feels that attendees would probably stay in Seminole or Orange County rather than the East side of Volusia County. Mr. Pleus said that Earl Brown Park is and always has been a regional park that serves all of Volusia County. He continued stating how the improvements to the park would benefit all of Volusia County. Mr. Gizzi voiced concern about the construction of Spec Martin versus the development of the rest of the project. Mr. Hall mentioned that much of the project would be done simultaneously. The flow chart was looked upon as a worst-case situation that they should easily surpass.

3 Mr. Gygi made a motion to accept the grant application as an exceptional grant; seconded by Mr. Halleus. At this time, a member of the audience asked if they could speak prior to the vote on this grant. A discussion ensued with Mr. Page saying that history of this board has always been to have the public input at the end of the meeting; however, the board is the one who determines if they want to hear input at this time. The Chair asked the gentleman who asked to be heard to please stay while the Board discussed the topic. The Board agreed to accept public input; however, the individual who first asked to speak left the chambers and did not return. Mr. Gygi amended his motion to approve this grant as an Exceptional grant adding the words pending input from the public ; seconded by Mr. Morris. The vote of approval was unanimous. Multiple residents from the county stood and presented their topic(s) of importance to the Panel which addressed appraisals and taxes. The vote to make this an Exceptional Grant was 6-2 with Mr. Morris and Mr. Ault saying, No. The application moved forward as an Exceptional Grant. A short break was taken until the digital recorded registered 1:22:45 (hours: minutes: seconds). City of Port Orange Grant, Application All Children s Park Phase I; Kent Donahue & Kelly Cragen. Discussion on Gamble Place issue. Discussed what the City is doing with Phase I of the All Children s Park. The average score was The time of the recording at the beginning of the next application is 1:59:00. Atlantic Center for the Arts, Application Mark & Margery Pabst Visitor Center Enhancements James Frost. Questions pertaining to sound issues that currently exist and how sure are they that this acquisition will correct the problem. They said their discussion with their sound consultant stated that if the sound panels on the sides of the facility do not dampen the sound sufficiently, additional panels in the ceiling will definitely finish the job. The average score was The time of the recording at the beginning of the next application is 2:14:00. City of New Smyrna Beach, Application Holland Park Acquisition Ms. Gail Henrickson, Peter Woods, Pam Brangaccio, and Martha Layman from the City of New Smyrna Beach. They announced that the seller of the parcels has verbally agreed to sell the properties for the appraised value. Ms. Henrickson stated that the map provided shows where the properties lay and that these properties could be used as a Trailhead where none exist in southeast Volusia County. The pricing for the ECHO portion was reduced to $275,000. The closing costs seemed high according to several of the board members. New Smyrna Beach will look into this. The average score was The time of the recording at the beginning of the next application is 3:13:00 City of DeLand App Earl Brown Park Improvements/Spec Martin Stadium Renovation Attendees include Bob Hully, Jeff Altier, Al Allen, Sidney Johnston, and Paul Harlan Stetson University; Earl Ziebarth Bulldog Boosters; Juit Ruiz West Volusia Police Athletic League;

4 Nick Conte DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce; Jack Becker Mainstreet DeLand; and Theresa Brooks, Michael Pleus, Robert Apgar, and Rick Hall City of DeLand. Mr. Ault said he had an issue in that there was not sufficient detail in the Grant Application. Ms. Brooks said that she had worked closely with ECHO staff and that due to the limits placed on the amount of space in the application by the ECHO Guide, they were unable to give details on the multiple points of this project. Much discussion ensued regarding the lack of funding that Stetson was putting into the project. It was stated that Stetson will be spending over $6 million on ancillary fields and practice facilities. Another main point mentioned is that Stetson could always purchase some property which would then come off the tax rolls. Mr. Morris said that he loved the project, he feels that this is the right project at the right time and that DeLand is the right city for this project; however, he does not believe that the funds should come from ECHO and that his score will reflect this. The average score was After voting, it was evident from the higher scores given to two of the previous applicants, that this score of would not place this grant in the top two (a requirement for an Exceptional grant); therefore, Ms. Hodge said that the grant would move forward at the $400,000 level of a standard grant. She stated that the applicant had agreed on the ECHO application that if they did not receive the Exceptional amount, they would accept the reduced grant amount. Mr. Gizzi asked if the applicant could come back next year and ask for ECHO funds for other parts of this complex that are not being funded by this reduced amount. Ms. Hodge answered to the affirmative. Mr. Gizzi stated that they would take a lunch break of approximately 40 minutes. The time of the recording at the beginning of the next application is 4:45:20 City of Ormond Beach, Application Skate Park Expansion Loretta Moisio, John Noble, Robert Carolin, and Stefan Sibley City of Ormond Beach. Multiple panel members questioned the liability issue. It was stated that all users of the park have to sign a waiver. When Ms. Moisio mentioned that they would be using a management company to run this skate facility, Ms. Hodge interjected saying that their application did not reveal this and that she needed additional information on who they are planning to use as the company has to be a non-profit like the company that is managing the skate park in New Smyrna Beach. Ms. Moisio responded that they have been working with and are looking at the same company that New Smyrna Beach is using. Ms. Hodge said that the company in question is affiliated with the Skate Park industry and is a non-profit. The average score was The time of the recording at the beginning of the next application is 5:06:45. City of DeBary, Application Rob Sullivan Community Park Improvements John Fletcher, Kassandra Blissett, Jimmie Seelbinder, and Tom Van Detley City of DeBary. A few questions pertaining to field usage were asked and answered. The average score was The time of the recording at the beginning of the next application is 5:21:50.

5 City of Orange City, Application Mill Lake Park Paul Johnson. Mr. Gizzi noted a difference between the expense chart and the budget (3.1) was $33,950 which seemed to be listed twice in the budget. Mr. Johnson agree and will correct the chart. Mr. Morris asked if this facility will be used to bring people in from other than Orange City. Mr. Johnson responded saying that Orange City is in the middle of the west side and it puts on many different activities that draw from the whole county. Mr. Morris then questioned the parking for these activities. Mr. Johnson said that during current high attendance activities such as their Halloween event and the University High School pep rally, the other parks and the side streets provided the parking to support those events. When asked who the Grant Coordinator is, he said Ms. Glenda Snyder is the new Grants Coordinator for the City of Orange City. The average score was This part of the Agenda ended at 5:53:40. Public Participation There was no public participation at this time. Discussion Mr. Gygi wants to agenda discussion in the future on the policy of having the Exceptional grant ranking in the top two. He said that this places the decision of an Exceptional grant in the hands of two people one low vote that gets thrown out and another low vote that brings the average score down sufficiently to make the ranking below the top two. Mr. Richards asked that the procedure for the Emergency Historic Acquisition be put on the agenda for discussion. Mr. Richards also requested a place to access electronic files for information. When Ms. Hodge brought up the Water Access Workshop scheduled by the County Council for March 22, Mr. Gygi that the ECHO Committee be brought up to speed on what their roll will be with Water Access. Ms. Hodge said this should be known after the March 22 workshop. Mr. Morris made a motion to move the recommendations forward to the County Council; seconded by Mr. Richards. was unanimously agreed. Next Meeting Mr. Morris made a motion that the next meeting is tentatively set for April 25 at 3 PM in the County Council chambers; seconded by Mr. Gygi. The motion passed by unanimous consent. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 3:25 PM. Gene Gizzi Chair Date Margaret Hodge Program Coordinator Date