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--~---------- - ---- ~~ ~ April 29 1 h, 2010 The minutes have been typed on each page that they refer to. Commissioner DuPree discussed these slides and questions were held for the end of the presentation and were answered in a Question and Answer session. Meeting Minutes recorded by Linda Howard Taken long hand with backup recording by Todd Manning 1

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Page 1: The minutes have been typed on each page that they refer to. … · 2019. 3. 19. · April 29. 1. h, 2010 . The minutes have been typed on each page that they refer to. Commissioner

--~----------- ----~~ ~

April 291h, 2010

The minutes have been typed on each page that they refer to.

Commissioner DuPree discussed these slides and questions were held for the end of the presentation and were answered in a Question and Answer session.

Meeting Minutes recorded by Linda Howard Taken long hand with backup recording by Todd Manning

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Road Improvement District 3

',.Emerald Forest

~ Emerald Lakes

~ Turner Road

~Brown Road

~CR 135 (Brown Road To CR-250)

~Nash Road

Greeting by Commissioner DuPree Discussion on the different road projects in District 3 Emerald Lakes was budgeted for phase 1 of 3, unknown finish time on other 2 phases Explained process of road selection is based on :

County Engineer determines what roads and when

Input from Public Works as to# of times they have repaired a specific road

Cost of repairs is determined Turner Road has been resurfaced and completed

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Westside Community Center

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Discussed the history of need for Community Center in this particular area:

Originally was Budgeted 8 years ago

No Community Centers in District 3, three in District 1, one in all others.

Center in District 2 is in south part of County in Fort White

Location chosen on Birley Road because it borders Districts 2 and 3 and can service both Districts

This process has been in the works for 8 years, it took 8 months to find the land. Acreage is apprx 22 acres for the Center.

Design work has been done but project not yet put out to bid.

Hope to start construction in the next 90 days with full operational status within one year

Work will be done in phases to include things other centers have like ball fields

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Ellisville Utilities Designated Service

Area

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Discussion started with details of map.

Red dot is the actual well field

Red line on the outside edge of the designated Service Area defines the boundaries of the

project

Area is approx. 3.5 miles in size

County has purchased a sewage package plant on the south side of Interstate 75

North side of interstate has an outdated package plant

Work will be done with DEP to keep everything in line with regulations

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Water and Wastewater Connection Ordinance

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County Ordinance No. 2010-2 Water and Wastewater Connection Ordinance

Talk began with explanation on why the Ord. pertains to the entire County. In order for the Ord. to be applied to an area it must first be designated a Service Area by the Board of County Commissioners.

The law says that similar people in similar areas must be treated the same. This makes it very important to not set a bad precedent in Ellisville. If we waive impact fees in Ellisville we must also waive them on any future projects designated a service area.

State Statutes state that is wastewater is available in your immediate area you must hitch up to it. The reason is to try to reduce the nitrate levels in our water.

Usually the ordinances, technical manuals and design are created first and the system designed around them. We did it backwards.

We need the utilities as the core to growing industry economically in the future.

Original plan was for 1 mile of service and primarily business customers, expanded to 3.5 miles and included residential customers.

Lines must run in a loop in order to provide for fire hydrants for fire protection.

Original planning was based on DEP asking County for help in correcting bad water in the Ellisville area.

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Questions & Answers

A Rudder Team was formed with the purpose of bringing economic development to the entire County and the Ellisville area will be included in this.

Who has bad water? DEP to identify areas of "bad water."

The following 8 questions were developed by the Board of County Commissioners in response to the public inquiries received in the Board Office. They were first presented at a Board meeting and have been published in the Lake City Reporter newspaper.

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Question 1

Q. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ORDINANCE NO. 2010-2?

A. The purpose of the Ordinance is to provide for the administration, jurisdiction and enforcement of utility connections. The Ordinance provides for those utility connections that are mandatory. Also provided for is availability determinations, reservation of capacity, line extensions, conditions of service and construction of permanent. transitional and community facilities.

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Question 2

Q. WHAT AREA OF THE COUNTY WILL BE UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 2010-2?

A. The unincorporated area (all land area within Columbia County excluding the City of Lake City and the Town of Fort White) will be under the jurisdiction of the Ordinance.

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Question 3

Q. WHAT IS REQUIRED UNDER 2010-2 TO MANDATE THE CONNECTION OF A RESIDENCE OR BUSINESS TO A PUBLIC UTILITY?

A. The County, by separate Ordinance, must define and adopt a Mandatory Service Area.

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Question 4

Q. HAVE ANY MANDATORY SERVICE AREAS BEEN ADOPTED?

A. Yes. The service area is called the Ellisville Service Area. It is located at the intersection of U.S. 41 and 1-75. The service area is approximately 3.5 square miles (there are approximately 790 square miles in the unincorporated area of Columbia County).

Commission DuPree explained that one Service Area has been designated so far.

Seven areas on interest have been identified as future service areas.

The County does not intend to run water and sewer lines all over Columbia County, only in the areas designated for Economic Development. Others areas were discussed by nothing concrete has been determined.

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Question 5

Q. IN ADDITION TO THE MONTHLY USAGE (CONSUMPTION) BILLING, WILL I HAVE TO PAY OTHER CHARGES DUE TO THE MANDATORY CONNECTION REQUIREMENT?

A. Unless waived by the Board of County Commissioners, impact fees and tap fees would be required.

There are three components to the Impact Fee: 1. Impact Fee - relative to cost of building system 2. Tap Fees -fee to tie into system 3. Water Usage - actual amount of water used by

end user commercial & residential

Water Usage incorporates the costs of chemicals and maintenance of well field.

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Question 6

Q. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CUSTOMERS WITHIN THE MANDATORY SERVICE AREA 00 NOT GENERATE SUFFICIENT REVENUE TO COVER THE UTILITY DEBT?

A. Debt payment then becomes an obligation of the County as a whole.

Utilities are not cheap

Why do the utilities? We have an obligation to provide quality jobs and they need utilities to be enticed to come to this area.

How do we pay for the utilities? 1. Through service and utilities developing a self sufficient system 2. Subsidize from the rest of the County if debt obligations are not

met by users 3. Pay the deficit out of the Reserve Fund.

Currently $33 M today but has to have enough funds available to carry the County costs until tax monies start to be received.

4. Raise property taxes for everyone in the County to make up for a $3M shortfall /cut in this budget year.

ISO rating currently S in Ellisville today, installation of fire hydrants would tower that rating and create a 40% - 60% savings for each homeowner.

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Question 7

Q. I LIVE CLOSE TO A UTILITY LINE EXTENDED BY THE CITY OF LAKE CITY; WILL THIS ORDINANCE REQUIRE ME TO CONNECT TO THE CITY OF LAKE CITY UTILITY SYSTEM?

A. No.

This Ordinance in no way affects what the City of Lake city is doing.

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Question 8

Q. WHAT AREAS WITHIN THE COUNTY MIGHT BE CONSIDERED "CANDIDATES" FOR MANDATORY SERVICE AREAS?

A. Other than Ellisville, the only discussions pertaining to utilities has been with the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and economic development needs. From these discussions, potential Mandatory Service Area "candidates" might include areas in which industrial projects would be located.

A Rudder Team has been established to identify locations of interest.

They have identified 7 areas within the County that could be developed to increase Economic Development. This does not mean all 7 will be developed.

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Bascom Norris Connector Road

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The Bascom Norris connector road project was started 10 years ago.

Construction documents have been done. Only 2 parcels of land remain to be purchased by the County to make the proposed route complete.

Retention pond swap with Lowes is in the works and will save the County money by not relocating the roadway.

When the above items are completed the project will be ready to go out to bid. Estimated time to complete project is 18 months after bidding process.

Dark blue area on the right, 22.52 acre parcel is going to be used to provide fill dirt for elevating the roadway over the railroad tracks. By doing this the County will save apprx. $2M.

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Bascom Norris Connector

, Construction Plans Complete , Permits Received

, SRWMD Surface Wate< Permit , Wetlands Impact Permit (will deplete 100% of current county owned wetland mitigation

property) , Federal Corps o1 Engineers Permit (exemptions granted) , Protected Species Relocation Permit (actual relocaliOn may not start until a maximum of

30 days prior to start of construction. , CSX Construction Permit (all CSX requirements shall be included as part of general

contract requirements

, Two appraisals have been ordered for each parcel to be acquired , Lowes parcel foiwarded to County Attorney requesting letter explaining

proposed land swap to relocate retention pond. , Project Schedule to be determined by right-of-way acquisition

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County Budget Process

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County Budget Process

, Florida Statute Requirements , Fiscal year (FY) from October 1 thru September 30 , Required to have a balanced budget , Truth·in-Millage (TRIM)

1) Required notifications to property owners and general public 2) Board is required to hold two public hearings every year to

adopt millage rates and adopt the budget

, Follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)

1) Nationally recognized accounting standards

These figures are for the 2009 - 2010 budget year. October 1 to September 30 is the fiscal year.

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County Budget Process

, Formal process begins in April when budget updates begin and ends in September when the Board of County Commissioners sets millage rates and adopts the final budget

> April and May , Manager meets with departments and Constitutional

Officers , State Legislative session impacts determined

We have to plan our budget around the State Legislature and their unfunded mandates.

Unfunded mandates are rules and regulations put on the County by the Legislature with no guarantee that the State is going to help fund the project.

Example: Library funding - State pays a portion, County pays a portion. The more the State pays the less the County has to fund. If State cuts all funding, County will have to step in a pay the entire operating costs.

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County Budget Process

},. June, July, and August , Tentative budget developed for County Manager's

submission to the board , Board sets tentative millage rates for TRIM notices , Board holds public workshop(s)

, September , Two TRIM required formal public hearings are

scheduled to set millage rates and approve/adopt final budget

, Approval/adoption of financial policies and fee schedules

Programs will have to be cut to balance the budget.

Cuts will be made in the areas that will have the least impact on citizens and services.

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County Budget Overview

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FY2009-2010 County Budget Overview

:,.. No increase in Millage Rate. Millage Revenue Below the "Roll Back" Rate

, No Increase in Non-Advalorem Assessments for Fire or Solid Waste (Public Hearing was held on Thursday, September 3, 2009)

}>, Fee Increases were limited to the following: 1) Building and Zoning - Increased Fees for

Competency Cards (Approved) 2) Building and Zoning - Increased Fees for

Inspections (Proposed) 3) Increased Court Facility Surcharge Fee from $15

to $30

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0a-~~~,,. ~.. FY2009-2010 (> ,.<t

~o: .0~ County Budget Overview (Continued) .fy TO f"

~ Reduced Operating Expenses $469,908 (Includes Court Service Expenses Approved for Payment from Court Innovations)

,. Reduced Funding to Outside Agencies $77,600 ). Eliminated 11 Positions:

1) Library - 5 2) Building & Zoning - 4 (2 are though attrition.

Will fund with nonrecurring revenue until retirement)

3) "Leased" employees - 2

Reduced Operating Expenses will be controlled by the Board of County Commissioners.

The 11 positions eliminated this budget year all came from the Board of County Commissioners. No Constitutional Officers had to reduce their headcount this budget year.

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FY2009-2010 County Budget Overview {Continued)

, Eliminated FY 2008-2009 COLA Raises For a Portion of Employees. The Salary Portion of the COLA Eliminated will be Replaced with a Bonus Funded from Nonrecurring Funds

, Issues Not Finalized: , New Fee Schedule for Building Permits , Final Decision - Industrial Development , Bed Tax Increase , Final Number of Employees to have COLA Eliminated , Collective Bargaining

The Industrial Development Authority is responsible for the Economic Development of the County under the guidance of the Board of county Commissioners.

Bed Tax monies can only be spent on specific items. Not part of general fund.

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County Revenue Overview FY 2009-2010

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County Revenue Overview -, Property valuation and tax exemptions

)," 2009 Columbia County total tax property values are $4.410,307.081 (2008: $4,074,262,945)

,,2009 Columbia County total property tax exemptions are $2.224,644,026 (2008: $1,449,081,648)

)"'Over 50°/o of property values are not on the tax roles (2008: 35%)

Amendment 1 decreased the amount of money we will be receiving due to a decrease in the valuations of property.

Decreased taxes taken in by the Tax Collector equates to less money for the County budget.

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County Revenue Overview Percent of Columbia County Property

Tax Bill for General County Government Example for residential taxpayer in Lake City

FY09 Percent of Millage Rate Tax Bill

TOTAL COUNTY-WIDE 7.891 l_ (Industrial Development Authority) .124 _fl__+ 36%

TOTAL SCHOOL DIST. (7.72) 7.86 35%

TOTAL CITY (LAKE CITY) (3.9236) 4.046 18%

TOTAL SRWMD .4399 2%

TOTAL LAKE SHORE HOSP. AUTH. (2.016) 2.153 9%

GRAND TOTAL 22.5149 100%

Total City (Lake City) figure should be 3.7. (From Mayor Whit in the audience.)

The IDA Industrial Development Authority is a dependant tax authority. Depends on the County for their operating funds.

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FIRE/EMS MERGER

Lower ISO rating in the Ellisville area will equate to lower insurance bills for homeowners.

Increased staff needed to lower ISO rating. Cross training of Fire Fighters and EMS personnel will help lower our rating by giving us a greater headcount for the "combined" services.

Increase in equipment by merging the two departments will help lower the ISO rating.

This process was started in 2009 and is estimated to take 3 years to complete.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

IDA has the responsibility to create Economic Development but must get the approval of the Board of County Commissioners.

A consultant report was done to identify Lake City and Columbia County job parity. Idea is to create a multitude of jobs in many industries to keep the area from being dependant on only one industry and having an economic meltdown if one of those industries fails.

Site surveys were done to be proactive in the selling of Columbia County to the outside world. Emphasis placed on what we have to offer prospective industries to relocate to the Lake City/Columbia County area. Logistics and resources are in the forefront of this information.

Our number 1 objective is to create jobs for the young people of Columbia County so they do not have to go outside the County to find high paying jobs. Will also increase the tax base and money spent in the local area by employees and employers.

We have to control what we can.

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TAX ABATEMENT

Florida Statue 196 is a referendum that specifies that tax abatement can be offered to new business as an incentive to bring in new jobs, but must not run longer than 10 years.

Tax abatement is a very effective tool to bring industry to our area. Terms of tax abatement usually run from 5 to 10 years. Employment numbers may also be factored into this program.

There is no abatement on ad valorem school taxes.

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t•'Acoo"..:> - ~-f.:,..

~ dJ ~~ . . ~~

~~ TO~ The following is the question and answer session following the presentation. More detail can be obtained from the actual recording of this meeting.

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Dennis Grimes 177 NW Emerald Lake Drive Lake City, FL 755-3127

Q. Why was the meeting advertised for 7:30 PM when the start time was 7:00 PM?

A. Unknown; time was advertised for 7:00 PM in numerous ads, public service announcements and on the website. Will check into the issue with staff, confirmed by members of the audience.

Q. Why is Emerald Lakes and Zack Drive in such bad shape? Gave Commissioner OuPree 10 pictures of the pavement in this area. He has counted 44 potholes on these two roads. He has called for repairs on these potholes and hasn't heard back from anyone in 1 ~ years. He will start a petition to get these streets fixed.

He doesn't care about Ellisville. He is sick and tired of government being crammed down our throats.

The way to fix this ls to vote all incumbents out of office on the local, state and federal levels.

A. This is the worst area for streets in District 3. The reason is because of bad construction practices by the contractors of this subdivision before the roads were turned over to the County. At the time of construction there was no County guidelines that had to be followed, there now is. I will find out why this particular section was not repaved when the rest of it was done.

Q. What kind of accounting do we have as to how your money ($50,000) discretionary fund was spent on? How do we know what you are spending th is money on? Is this just an unaccountable slush fund?

A. There is no longer any discretionary fund for any of the Commissioners. This practice was stopped before I was made a Commissioner. Commissioner DuPree asked Stu Ulker from the audience if this was so and Mr. Lilker confirmed the answer.

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Nicolas Hemes 349 NW Calavitt Lake City FL 386-984-7979

Questions were answered in the course of the presentation.

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-- --- -----

George Rowe 286 NW Heritage Lake City, FL 386-961-9781

Q. Agreed with first speaker about pot holes in Emerald Lakes subdivision.

Who has bad water in Ellisville? What is the count of people with bad water? Is there a list of these people? Why doesn't the county help only these people instead of doing a utility project? Bailouts are a joke. Businesses should pay their own way and stand on their own.

What is the true cost of this project?

How much of a% reduction in (insurance) costs will each homeowner see?

A. I feel that government is to intrusive now and I don't like it any better than you do.

It is not my job to fix bad water. I do not know who has bad water.

We have to work with what we have to work with now and pay for it.

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Marie Fountain 597 NW Rodeo Ct Lake City FL 386-754-3770

Questions were answered in the course of the presentation.

Chose not to ask about internet service for everyone.

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Alan Ellis 3996 SW Pinemount Road Lake City, FL 386-752-7562

Q. He lives on Pinemount Road. We do not need a community center in this area.

I have a deed that gives me mineral & water rights on my property.

I do not want water & wastewater systems in my area.

A. What is the question?

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David Rountree 220 NW Palmetto Blvd Lake City FL

Q. Ellisville Utilities- How will this be paid for? Where is the money coming from.

A. Customers and/or subsidized by the County.

Need jobs and utilities to grow the Ellisville. This utility is a very small area of the County. We need to protect the aquifer and the environment. Whether we bring in jobs or not is not the issue. We need to bring in industry to help pay for utilities.

The facilities plan was done several years ago when things were booming. Originally the plan was drawn up based on 250 customers.

It becomes a grey area when the County gets involved to "fix" bad water. Who has bad water?

Project being partially funded by a $1.4M grant.

New projections are projecting a headcount of 98 people.

As bad as it is, we need to do this to bring in jobs.

Immediate needs are a storage facility, lay lines, equipment. How do we pay for this? If I can't pay for it, why be there?

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Shirley Fodor 162 NW Lake Side Court Lake City FL 386-961-8753

Q. What do I do about a noisy, bad neighbor. Traffic in and out day and night. He is running down the neighborhood with his junk and trash all over the place. Thinks they may be dealing drugs. How do I handle this? Gave Commissioner Du Pree some paperwork from the Florida Department of Corrections Offender Network website.

A. Asked the deputy at the meeting how to handle and it was recommended that Ms. Fodor talk to the sheriff's office. Especially since she thinks they may be dealing drugs from this property.

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Patrick Lee Ormand Witt Road Lake City FL 904-591-7287

Q. Do you have any business interest in any entity in the Ellisville area and stand to gain from it?

A. NO

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Gwen Oellrich 376 NW Heritage Drive Emerald Lakes SD Lake City FL 386-754-1550

Q. What ever happened to the petition they mailed back in to get streetlights put in? What about paving?

A. I will check with the Safety Director to see where the petition is. Paving has been addressed.

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Duane Sestoso 176 NW Silvrleaf Lane Lake City FL 386-758-5886

Q. Emerald lakes -What about speed bumps? It is dangerous to walk in this area in the early morning and in the evening. Street lights would be a great benefit as welL

A. Will check into lighting petition with the Safety Director. See answer to Qwen Oellrich above.

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Sheila Pasehall 176 NW Silverleaf Lane Lake City FL 386-758-5886

Question answered by other questions answered in the course of the presentation.

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Bob Roberts 602 NW Zack Drive Emerald Lakes SD Lake City FL 752-2575

Q. Street lights and paving

A. Answered already.

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Betty Rollison 11 O NW Zack Drive Lake City FL 719-9653 or 984-5683

Q. Roads in Emerald lakes & Zack Drive.

A. Already answered

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Patty Lassou 355 NW Zack Drive Lake City FL 755-9201 or 386-697-5474

Q. Roads in Emerald Lakes, pavement is only !1' "thickness. Material is not sufficient to hold traffic flow of development. Therefore causing continued potholes and unstable roadway.

A temporary road built to DOT standards is required to use 2" of paving material.

Why are our roadways allowed to use less? Will this be addressed and corrected?

A. Road issue has been covered. County roads may have a different spec then DOT roads. Roads built before guidelines were in place.

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Suzanne Herder 220 NW Zack Drive Emerald Lakes SD Section 11 Lake City FL 752-3426

Q. Roads in section II Emerald lakes.

A. Has been covered.

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Ruth Swanson Emerald Lakes 335 NW Zack Drive Lake City FL 466-1813

Q. Resurfacing of Zack Drive

A. Has been covered

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Dr. Fritz Fountain 597 NW Rodeo Court Lake City FL 754-3770

Card was not filled in with a question.

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Shirley and Horace Shepherd 974 Tompkins Street Lake City FL

Q. Paving our dirt road. How many dirt roads are there in the County by District? How can you come up with $3M for water and not pave the roads?

We do not want utilities in our area in the future.

A. Utilities are only going in the areas that have been designated as an area of Economic Development interest. We do not intend to run water lines all over the county.

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Stu Lilker Card not filled out except for name

Q. Initial plans for the Ellisville utility project was originally based on 14 people and 10 businesses. With free enterprise, why didn't the businesses build their own water plant?

A. A business does not use enough water and wastewater to pay for the utility all by themselves. Private sector is needed to help pay the total overall cost. With all of the regulations put on a utility, the private sector (business) would have a very have time being in compliance with regulations, State & Federal. One business equals the water usage of two houses.

Q. Everyone in Columbia County will be on the hook for this. Were we shovel ready when all of the easements weren't in place?

A. We were shovel ready for the phase of construction and had the rights of way in place. New easements will be paid out of tax$ until the County can expand the area.

Q. Fire service in South end of County. Why did we not pay High Springs $18,000 for fire coverage in the South end of the County? Why are we paying the cost of a fire department to give coverage to 600 families?

A. None

Thank you for being here tonight.

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Art McQuillan 240 NW Harwell Court Lake City FL 754-7228

Q. Bascom Norris - why did we start at the ends instead of from one end? Why in this particular area?

A. We needed to move the location from the original plan because we encountered muck down 200 feet. Need to build on solid ground so moved the location to a ridge line.

Q. Why not merge City and County utilities? The current system (water, gas, sewer) is equivalent to someone making a second mortgage payment. A real strong deterrent for most people. (Art is a realtor)

A. We have had discussions on this subject but couldn't develop a plan that would work.

Q. Did we get a good deal on the property? Have properties been re-appraised? Hospital taxes are to high, are they crazy?

A. Appraisals are good for 60 days only. After that the property would need to be re-evaluated. We have made efforts to get people involved but have not had very good response until the night of the vote. We have nothing to do with the Hospital Authority.

Q. Florida Crown is borrowing money to operate, how are dealing with this? A. We need jobs to feed the economy. In order to do anything you have to have the

money to do it. Everyone has to sacrifice, essential services aren't cheap. Government has to run, revenues go down, they raise your taxes, they have to operate. We (County) have to protect our economy. 50% of the people in Columbia County do not pay taxes. We can't keep shifting the burden onto the business owner to carry the costs. Things are not always black and white, there are lots of grey areas.

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James Olin 600 SW Wendy Terrace Lake City FL

Q. Utilities-You will go over budget! What is going on out there? (Ellisville)

What does the IDA tell us?

What kind of money to we expect to see come in?

The problem is the County being in the utility business. All you are doing is building more bureaucracy. The County doesn't know where they spend their money. We have to much intrusion in our lives.

A. We do not have a crystal ball. The economy was booming when the utilities project was started. Example: Merita Bread looked at coming into Ellisville area.

City capacity - sewer is at maximum capacity right now.

Where do you draw the line between government intervention and cooperation? Why vote for a bureaucracy?

James Olin - Why vote for water? How do we make the utility less of a burden when we don't know what will go there? (More of a statement than a question.)

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Jeanette Lee Ormond Witt Road Lake City FL

Lives in Ellisville Area

Q. Where is the "bad water"? No one that she knows has bad water, she doesn't have bad water. We need to know where the bad water is and why it is bad before we go forward. Merita could have gone into other vacant locations in the County.

You have a responsibility to inform the public of changes. You don't deserve support when you don't support the people.

A. Tonight is an attempt to inform the public of what is going on in District 3.

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Garry Saatmoff 137 NW Crown Jewel Glen Lake city FL 719-7362

Questions were answered during meeting.

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Larry Higsmith 127 NW Harwell Court Lake City FL 752-2973

Question on paving Zack Drive has been answered

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George Rowe No card filled out

Thank you for coming tonight and giving us this chance to talk.

Q. Why do we need the extension on Bascom Norris Drive?

What will the road be used for?

A. The 5 cent gas tax is being used to pay for this road.

We need to rethink the plan.

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Barbara Lemley No card filled out

Thank you for being here tonight.

We need people to get more involved.

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Charles Adams 477 NW Zack Drive Lake City FL 32055 752-9963

We need a speed bump on Zack Drive.

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