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appearance before the Board today, and he intended to see Sheriff <br />Gary Wheeler about it. He pointed out that he was not armed and <br />did not intend to harm anyone. He further stated that he had never <br />threatened any Commissioner with any form of bodily harm. Any harm <br />directed to the Commission will come through a courtroom. <br />Commissioner Eggert disagreed with Mr. Mensing that the <br />Commissioners considered their Board responsibilities as part time <br />work. She personally spends a minimum of 50 hours each week on the <br />job as a Commissioner and knew that every Commissioner puts in <br />quite a bit of time. Commissioner Eggert reported that she <br />receives calls at her home, and she knew that other Commissioners <br />also received calls. She has discussed this situation with <br />representatives of other counties and the complaints are handled in <br />much the same manner, especially if it involves public health or <br />welfare. The occurrence of anonymous complaints is not limited to <br />Indian River County. <br />Mr. Mensing stood corrected regarding the hours Commissioners <br />spend at their posts, but argued that he did not want to hear the <br />argument that a Commissioner cannot investigate the anonymous <br />complaints. He realized that there are cases when anonymity is <br />warranted, such as an 80 -year old couple being intimidated by a <br />neighbor who is guilty of a code violation, and there is legitimate <br />fear, but those are isolated cases. <br />Chairman Bird stated that we cannot eliminate anonymous <br />complaints because there are too many people who are intimidated by <br />a neighbor next door or down the street. He gave the example of an <br />elderly lady who was scared to death of her neighbors. She <br />reported the violations anonymously and the code enforcement <br />officers cleaned up the entire neighborhood. He agreed we all <br />prefer that people identify themselves and nobody likes a <br />tattletale, but there are some situations where the caller must <br />remain anonymous. However, no action will be taken until the <br />situation is fully investigated and a code enforcement officer <br />finds that the complaint is legitimate. <br />Chairman Bird explained that he requested the presence of a <br />security officer at today's meeting but did not ask the deputy to <br />pat down or physically search Mr. Mensing. Chairman Bird explained <br />that he requested the presence of a deputy because Mr. Mensing made <br />remarks threatening County staff and Commissioners. This was <br />brought to the Chairman's attention and he felt. obliged to <br />safeguard County staff and Commissioners. The security measures <br />were taken to avoid any potential harm. <br />Commissioner Eggert led discussion regarding Mr. Mensing's <br />allegation of trespass by a code enforcement officer. She recalled <br />21 <br />�T 121993 BOOK 90 PALMS <br />