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Home My WebLink About11/25/1992SPECIAL MEETING Thursday, November 25, 1992 The Board of County Commissioners of Indian River County, Florida, met in Special Session at the County Commission Chambers, 1840 25th Street, Vero Beach, Florida, on Thursday, November 25, 1992, at 9:00 o'clock A. M. Present were Carolyn K. Eggert, Chairman; Richard N. Bird, Vice Chairman; Fran B. Adams; Kenneth R. Macht; and John W. Tippin. Also present were James E. Chandler, County Administrator; Charles P. Vitunac, County Attorney; and Deputy Clerks Barbara Bonnah and Diane Albin. The hour of 9:05 o'clock A. M. having passed, the County Attorney announced that this Public Workshop has been properly advertised, as follows: VERO BEACH PRESS -JOURNAL Published Daily Vero Beach, Indian River County, Florida COUNTY OF INDIAN RIVER: STATE OF FLORIDA Before the undersigned authority personally appeared J. J. Schumann, Jr. who on oath says that he is Business Manager of the Vero Beach Press -Journal, a daily newspaper published at VeroBeach in Indian River County, Florida; that the attached copy of advertisement, being a in the matter In the /Court, was pub- lished in said newspaper in the issues of A� �o T /i GW Affiant further says that the said Vero Beach Press -Journal is a newspaper published at Vero Beach, in said Indian River County, Florida, and that the said newspaper has heretofore been continuously published in said Indian River County, Florida, each daily and has been entered as second class mail matter at the post office in Vero Beach, in said Indian River Coun- ty, Florida, for a period of one year next preceding the f irst publication of the attached copy of advertisement; and affiant further says that he has neither paid nor promised any person, firm or corporation any discount, rebate, commission or refund for the purpose of securing this advertisement for publication in the said newspaper. Sworn to and subscribed before this " day of 19 •(Business Manager) (SEAL) I&" Pt.l:lic, slate f Flor•Irkt Ab► caaaei-can imm 29„ IM PUBLIC NOTICE The Board of CM-ft�ners of Rive cwmty will hold PUBLIC WORKSHOPS in the Cachwrber AdmInIsIrallon Bt . 184 n Slr�tntererested are trIM to attend and pwiliipste In the toom" =.- November 19, 1992 - 9:00 A.M. - Sewer and water overview Wr ay November 25, 1992 - 9•AO A.M. - As- sessment Praedu for Sever and Wates Thursday, December 3, 1992 - 9:00 A.M. - SM waste Septage/SWdp Overview ThtasdDecember 17, 1992 - 7:00 P.M.- Expla- ay ed o "', Utft , Solld Wester A Wednesday December 23, 1992 - 9:00 A.M. -Ove Eff Icy f Services. Bud�BUMenagegant o Sere ces, Personnel, R sk MenapemenY end GolflReasallom Anyone who may wish lo appeal any decision which may be made at thisInseth will need to enue which a verbatim reedand evil upthe proceedInp s which theappeal b basedt y Y Myane who needs a special eaaanmode- thtyr ntar "DIsab ay cwftd� (Ao� Coadtrnator w Caun- 587-9000 x408 at West hags In advance of meeting. 848342 Nov. 12,1992 BOOK SS f pG, �� BOOK 88 The Chairman called the meeting to order and announced that this is a workshop only. Utilities Director Terry Pinto came before the Board to present a review of assessment methods and procedures. Director Pinto explained that assessment methods should be distributed equitably and in proportion to the benefits received by the respective property owners. When one property owner's assessment is reduced all the other property owners' assessments must be increased to recover the total cost of the project. An information packet was distributed to the Board, including a summary of assessment procedures, a review of the three major assessment methods (square footage, front footage, and per unit), rules for calculating assessments on larger parcels of property, and examples on each of the three methods. Director Pinto commented that the square footage method is the method currently being used in Indian River County and is the only method that has held up in Court. The Board, sitting as an Equalizing Board, has authority to grant special exceptions for unusual circumstances. Director Pinto reported that the County's responsibility to provide water and sewer service to urban service areas is defined in the County's Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Priorities are established based on lot sizes and identified problem areas. Assessments are based on the service to individual pieces of property, and impact fees cover the cost of master plan lines that benefit the entire system. Discussion ensued regarding the fairness of square footage assessments charged to owners of oversized lots with one home, and Director Pinto explained that the person could sell and the next owner could build additional houses on the property. Deed restrictions are not useful because they can be removed, and spot zoning is not desirable. Administrator Chandler agreed that the square footage method is generally the most equitable way to allocate assessments. Commissioner Bird asked about the time period for paying off the assessment. Director Pinto replied that people can take up to ten years to pay them off. He added that completion of a project generally takes a year or more, and the property owners are not assessed until the project has been completed. Chairman Eggert asked if anyone had any questions that specifically related to this workshop. John Tripson, 5060 12th Street, asked about the fee structure on a project currently under way in South County. 2 M M Director Pinto responded that the fee structure would depend on the total cost of the project and lot sizes in the area. Steven Pitiak, 3621 West Derry Drive, asked if a surcharge is considered a tax and under what Florida Statute can the County levy the tax. Attorney Vitunac advised that the surcharge is not a tax, it is a charge to recover the capital costs incurred by the developer from whom the County purchased the system. There are several chapters in the Florida statute that give counties this power. Jerry L. Smith, 3645 3rd Street, asked for an explanation of the two -acre rule. Director Pinto explained that the two -acre rule is used for large pieces of land, whereby the frontage is multiplied by a fixed 150 -foot depth. The minimum assessment for those parcels is for two acres. Eric John, 136 Sue Avenue, Sebastian, asked why assessments could not be paid over 20 or 30 years instead of 10 years, and Director Pinto explained that if the County bonded projects beyond 10 years a much higher interest rate would be charged. Harry Bond, 328 Heritage Boulevard, asked why the utilities bills in Heritage Village went from $8 to $50 per month after the County took over the franchise. Chairman Eggert reminded the public that today's discussion was limited to questions about assessment methods and procedures. She announced that the December 17 evening meeting will be for the purpose of answering all questions from the public. Mr. Pitiak was under the impression that today's meeting was for a public hearing, including an overview on water and sewer rates, and that a lot of people were here today for that purpose. Chairman Eggert responded that today's meeting was not a public hearing but a workshop for the purpose of presenting sewer and water assessment methods and procedures, and that the water and sewer rate overview was November 19. Heated discussion ensued regarding the purpose of today's workshop, and Mr. Pitiak insisted that the newspaper agenda was misleading. Chairman Eggert reiterated that the December 17 meeting will be for anyone from the public to ask questions. In addition, anyone could ask staff specific questions at any time. Robert Keating, Director of Community Development, then explained that the Comprehensive Plan defines substandard or undersized lots and urban service areas. 3 NOV 2 5 1992 Bou 88 FA E164 r NOV 2519 BOOK 8 8 Fm,c 165 Chairman Eggert mentioned that problems have been encountered when utility lines into urban service areas must go through areas that are not urban service areas, and asked if there would be any value to using a different approach. Director Keating responded that the County recently re- evaluated urban service area boundaries when amending the Comprehensive Plan and have been coordinating with the Utilities Department in the preparation of their master plan. Consideration is given to properties adjacent to roadways which already have major lines that can serve those properties. ' The Chairman asked if there was anyone from the public who had any further questions. There were none. There being no further business, the Board adjourned at 11:45 o'clock a.m. ATTEST: J. K. Barton, Clerk Carolyn Egger ' Chairman 4 M M