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BOOK 11 U PAGE"JA met with Sergeant Don Smith of the Sheriffs Departmentlast month, he stated that if the Department attempted to remove Mr. Seeley or anyone else from the rotation list they would likely find themselves in a law suit. (EXAMPLE) They are probably right. So the Sheriffs Department is very reluctant to take any enforcement action. However, in the mist of all this, there is one gutsy Sheriff's representative, Captain Bob Waters, who spoke to me very unofficially when he stated that in his previous community, tow truck operators like any other business operated out of their business locations. It is telling that in his present recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners Mr. Keating states that "staff feels (emphasis added by author) that the extended parking of tow trucks in residential areas is not a pervasive problem and that the county's regulations should not be changed... staff feels that existing regulations are adequate." Staff would not have the need to use the word "feel" had they any basis in fad for their recommendations. Webster defines "feel" as decision based on emotion. If staff had determined the facts, the prior statement would likely have had the word "think" substituted for "feel". Webster defines "think" as "using the mind". The real question here is not Mr. Seeley or myself, but the county's decision making process as it effects everyone in this community. It's a poor example of our public trust when our officials make decisions based on their "feelings" instead of the fads. I am considerably more upset about the fad finding and recommendation process here than I am about tow trucks per se. I may be a single representative of this community but I hope I speak for the whole community when I say that I expect out of my public officials decisions based not on politics or feelings but on research and fad. It causes me to wonder if this lack of fad finding is common to our local government or if this an isolated occurrence? I think we can do a lot better in this matter. Neither tow truck operations nor any other commercial businesses need to be located in residential neighborhoods. This county has ample commercial property available and does not have to thrust businesses into residential neighborhoods. Thanks for the opportunity to speak. Commissioner Adams disagreed that decisions were not based on_ facts, and Commissioner Ginn inquired whether there were reasons these operators do not operate from a business location. Community Development Director Bob Keating responded that staff .had met with the Sheriff's Department regarding their requirements and had never felt that it was staff's obligation to second-guess law enforcement. Tow truck operators are allowed to keep these trucks in residential areas because of response time to an emergency. The Sheriff's Department is not the only department that has a rotation list. Each municipality, as well as the Highway Patrol, also keeps a list. The cities of Titusville and Melbourne have regulations very much like ours while Brevard County does not allow it. Director Keating continued that Mr. Sigler's complaint regarding wrecked vehicles will be addressed as that is not allowed and is a violation of the County's rules. Presented with adequate documentation, staff could deal with this problem. William Koolage, 11 Vista Gardens Trail, felt that allowing tow trucks in residential neighborhoods decreases property values. FEBRUARY 25, 1997 30