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Board of County Commissioners <br />Meeting Minutes - Final May 12, 2020 <br />Commissioner Solari and Vice Chairman Flescher added that past elections have <br />seen a much higher percentage of voters turnout for the General Election in <br />November; therefore, they felt that November would be a more appropriate time to <br />place the referendum on the ballot. Attorney Reingold confirmed the <br />Commissioners recollection by providing the comparison numbers related to voter <br />turnout for the 2012 and 2016 Primary and General Elections. <br />Dr. David Moore, Superintendent, School District of Indian River County (SDIRC), <br />presented several reasons for needing solid answers regarding the future dollars <br />coming to the SDIRC, and he requested that the referendum be placed on the <br />August 18, 2020 Primary Election ballot. <br />Commissioner Solari suggested voting on the approval of the referendum first, <br />followed by discussion and a vote related to placing the referendum on the <br />November 3, 2020 General Election ballot. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Solari, seconded by Commissioner Zorc, to <br />approve the School Board of Indian River County's request to call an election for a <br />referendum to be placed on an upcoming ballot. The motion carried by the following <br />vote: <br />Aye: 5 - Chairman Adams, Vice Chairman Flescher, Commissioner Zorc, Commissioner <br />O'Bryan, and Commissioner Solari <br />Commissioner O'Bryan understood the urgency mentioned by Dr. Moore, however <br />he agreed with Commissioner Solari and Vice Chairman Flescher to wait until the <br />General Election for a higher voter turnout at the polls, which would also provide <br />additional time to educate the public on the importance of the referendum. <br />The following citizens spoke in support of placing the referendum on the August <br />18, 2020 Primary Election ballot: <br />Dr. Fran Adams, Former Superintendent, SDIRC <br />Ray Oglethorpe, Founder, The Learning Alliance <br />Barbara Hammond, CEO, The Learning Alliance <br />Jennifer Freeland, Vice President, Indian River County Education Association <br />(IRCEA) <br />Tiffany Justice, School Board of Indian River County <br />Suzanne D'Agresta, Attorney, School Board of Indian River County <br />Laura Zorc, Chair, School Board of Indian River County <br />Liz Cannon, President, IRCEA <br />Discussion ensued among the Commissioners, Attorney Reingold, County <br />Administrator Jason Brown, and Dr. Moore, which included the expiration of the <br />current 0.5 millage for the SDIRC, timing restrictions for placing a referendum on <br />Indian River County Florida <br />Page 5 <br />