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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final February 15, 2022 <br />added the Board at the time voted not to enforce the SJRWMD guidelines. <br />Chairman O'Bryan stated SJRWMD recently issued guidance stating local <br />governments who wanted to participate in their cost -share program must adopt <br />a local irrigation ordinance. He mentioned the County had benefited <br />significantly from their cost -share program in the past and spoke of a water <br />irrigation ordinance recently adopted by the Martin County Board of County <br />Commissioners. He stated he had forwarded the Martin County ordinance to <br />SJRWMD for their input and their legal department reached out to the County <br />Attorney's Office to relay their concerns with the ordinance. <br />Chairman O'Bryan asked for the Board's consideration to move forward with a <br />SJRWMD local irrigation model ordinance in order to continue receiving <br />cost -share dollars, and for the Board to decide whether to include the <br />mandatory or voluntary enforcement aspect in the ordinance. He noted the <br />County would still be able to apply for cost -share dollars for the current year as <br />long as the County was making progress toward adopting a local water <br />irrigation ordinance. <br />Commissioner Flescher supported the conservation of water for future <br />generations, but he felt the enforceability aspect of the ordinance would be <br />difficult. <br />Vice Chairman Earman discussed the importance of receiving cost -share dollars <br />and inquired whether the SJRWMD model ordinance could be tweaked to be <br />tailored for Indian River County. James Cannon, Intergovernmental <br />Coordinator, SJRWMD, replied in the affirmative as long as the County's <br />ordinance contained the specific language included in the model ordinance. <br />He pointed out the language contained in Martin County's ordinance conflicted <br />with the requirements set by the SJRWMD. <br />Commissioner Adams was in support of a local water irrigation ordinance and <br />felt it was a good educational tool just like the County's Fertilizer Ordinance. <br />Commissioner Moss supported a local water irrigation ordinance and felt the <br />SJRWMD model ordinance was straightforward. The only problem she could <br />foresee with the SJRWMD model ordinance was the penalties for the violations <br />were so minimal. <br />County Attorney Dylan Reingold sought and received clarification from <br />Chairman O'Bryan that the ordinance should only apply to the unincorporated <br />area of the County. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Flescher, seconded by Commissioner <br />Adams, to approve moving forward with a local water irrigation ordinance in the <br />unincorporated area of the County based upon the St. Johns River Water <br />Management District's model. The motion carried by the following vote: <br />Indian River County Florida Page 14 <br />