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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final September 22, 2020 A motion was made by Commissioner O'Bryan, seconded by Vice Chairman Flescher to: 1) Delay the Sector 7 Beach and Dune Project for one year; 2) Continue to work on obtaining more easements; 3) Authorize staff to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to obtain extensions on the grant funds; and 4) Reject all bids. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Chairman Adams, Vice Chairman Flescher, Commissioner Zorc, Commissioner O'Bryan, and Commissioner Solari G. Utilities Services 12.G.1. 20-1985 Recommended Action: Attachments: 4730 40th Avenue, Gifford Gardens Property Utility Account Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) consider the various options presented. Staff recommends that the impact fee allocation be eliminated, the general fund not be used to preserve this impact fee investment, and the system be permanently disconnected, which would immediately stop any recurring service availability charges. Direct IRCDUS to write off the remaining delinquency charges against utility bad debt and release the utility lien. Staff Report Director of Utility Services Vincent Burke sought direction from the Board regarding the former Gifford Gardens property, slated for affordable housing development. He recounted that the County purchased the property in 2020 with an existing utility lien, as well as (55) multi -family Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) which continued to accrue service availability charges. Director Burke referred to staffs memorandum of September 8, 2020 as he summarized different recommendations for resolving the property's utility issues. The Commissioners sought and received clarification from Director Burke on the various recommendations, and discussed the community's need for affordable housing. Commissioner Solari stated his support of a one-time creative solution, as detailed in Option 6 in staffs memo, with the utility lien removed after the recommended actions were performed. Commissioner O'Bryan objected to the portion of Option 6 which called for recalculation of ERU fees, as it would not make -whole the Utility's debt. A motion was made by Commissioner Solari, seconded by Commissioner Zorc, to approve staffs recommendations to: 1) Allow a one-time creative solution for the County -owned property in order to develop affordable housing; 2) Retain (22) single-family ERU's and recalculate the past due service availability fees based on only those ERUs retained; 3) Write off the Utility's bad debt; 4) Pre -pay (24) months of service availability fees on the (22) single-family ERUs to avoid the accrual of charges; and 5) Release the utility lien against the property after the recommended actions are performed. The Indian River County Florida Page 14