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)ZI <br />INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA <br />AGENDA ITEM <br />s Assistant County Administrator / <br />Department of General Services <br />Parks and Recreation <br />Date: September 13, 2022 <br />To: The Honorable Board of County Commissioners <br />Through: Jason E. Brown, County Administrator <br />Michael C. Zito, Assistant County Administrator <br />Beth Powell, Parks and Recreation Director <br />From: Wendy Swindell, Conservation Lands Manager <br />Subject: Updated Draft Environmental Lands Program Guide for the November 2022 <br />Environmental Land Bond Referendum <br />DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS: <br />On March 8, 2022, the County Administrator provided the Indian River County Board of County <br />Commissioners (`BOCC") with a proposed resolution authorizing an Environmental Land Bond <br />Referendum for the November 8, 2022 ballot. Resolution 2022-016 was passed by majority vote. <br />The Resolution calls for a Bond Referendum Election for the issuance of general obligation bonds <br />as follows: <br />To acquire and permanently preserve environmentally significant lands to restore the Indian <br />River Lagoon, protect water resources, natural areas, wildlife habitat, drinking water <br />resources, and construct public access improvements related thereto, shall Indian River <br />County be authorized to issue general obligation bonds up to $50,000,000, maturing within <br />20 years from each issuance, not exceeding the legal maximum interest rate, payable from <br />ad valorem taxes, with full public disclosure of all spending through annual independent <br />audits? <br />The Board further directed Staff to update the Environmental Lands Program Guide (ELP Guide) <br />and to return with a proposal for a working group to serve the functions of what was previously <br />known as the Land Acquisition Advisory Committee. A framework for the newly proposed <br />Environmental Land Acquisition Panel structure is presented in the Draft ELP Guide. <br />Staff has been working to update the ELP Guide with supporters of the referendum, while also <br />researching other Florida environmental lands acquisition programs. Manatee County and Sarasota <br />County are actively engaged in environmental lands acquisition programs. Both counties have <br />acquisition processes that have been successfully implemented and their staff has provided <br />feedback used to assist in the development of the County's updated Draft ELP Guide. <br />316 <br />