PASCO COUNTY, FLORIDA
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
____________________________________________________________________________
TO: Honorable Chairman and DATE: 8/7/2002 FILE: CAO02-0090
Members of the Board of
County Commissioners
SUBJECT: Suggested Resolution Establishing
An Environmental Lands Acquisition
Task Force
BOCC: 8/13/02; 6:30 p.m.; D.C.
FROM: Robert D. Sumner REFERENCES:
County Attorney
____________________________________________________________________________
It is recommended that the data herein presented be given formal consideration by the Board of County Commissioners.
DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS:
Pursuant to the Board’s direction on July 9, 2002, please find attached for your consideration a “Suggested Resolution Establishing An Environmental Land Acquisition Task Force” which has been prepared by eLAMP (Environmental Lands Acquisition and Management Program), a political action committee. The County Attorney’s Office has reviewed the suggested resolution from a legal perspective and our comments are below. The County Administrator has also provided comments which are included below.
Section 2.a. Membership and Procedures. Although the apparent goal of this section is to achieve a diverse group of members having different, but specific expertise, the proposed composition of the Task Force as set forth in Section 2.a. is quite restrictive and may actually prevent the BOCC from achieving this goal. Further, binding the BOCC to appoint individuals nominated by organizations is not appropriate and language to that affect should be omitted. Alternatively, the Board may want to consider looking at how the CAC for the Comprehensive Plan was composed and using that as a model for the composition of the Task Force. As you will recall, in creating the CAC, the BOCC appointed members fulfilling certain backgrounds and interests categories. The BOCC also appointed all members either as individual commissioners or collectively as a governmental body. Additionally, you may want to consider having a county representative as a voting member. County employees were voting members of both the Wellhead Protection Technical Advisory Committee and the Wildlife Study Technical Advisory Committee.
Section 2.b. Meetings. The meetings of the Task Force should be held in public buildings according to a set regular schedule and arranged through the County Administrator’s Office. The Public Records Act and Sunshine Law are required to be followed. All meetings of the Task Force must be publicly noticed. The County Administrator’s Office should make sure that the meetings are noted on the County’s Public Notice Agenda at a minimum. Although the Sunshine Law only requires that someone tape the meetings and prepare minutes, the County Administrator recommends that the Clerk’s office perform this function and that the County Administrator’s Office make the arrangements for have the Clerk’s office present at the meetings. The County Administrator’s Office would then distribute the meeting minutes. It is the County Attorney Office’s recommendation that the Task Force not have the ability to call special meetings as such presents a potential for violation of the Sunshine Law.
Section 2.c. Agenda. The County Administrator recommends that the agenda for the Task Force meetings be distributed by his office.
Section 2.d. Quorum and Voting. While interim reports and actions may be taken by an affirmative vote of the majority of the quorum as proposed in the suggested resolution, the County Attorney’s Office recommends that action on the final report/recommendations must be by an affirmative vote of the majority of the nine task force positions.
Section 2. e. Attendance. The County Attorney’s Office recommends that if County staff is involved in the process and attend the meetings, County staff should be task force members who vote. The County Administrator has advised that he does not have anyone budgeted to attend the meetings and that if this is the Board’s desire, he may have to adjust the budget.
Section 3. Tasks c. & d. The Task Force should make recommendations to the Board based upon its work, not make determinations, i.e., “will determine a dollar figures for potential acquisitions,” “will determine which methodologies.” Also, it is unclear in the suggested resolution how and by whom specific lands are to be considered critical or important or considered for an agricultural reserve? Finally, we are unsure whether the task force members will have the expertise to determine dollar figures for potential acquisitions
Section 3.f. If the Board determines a cost of community services study to be necessary for this Task Force to perform its function, any outside funding for this purpose must go to the County and then the County would commission the study in accordance with the appropriate county procedures and purchasing requirements.
Section 3.h. & i. These sections are vague and unclear.
Other comments: The resolution should have some language relating to the dissolution of the Task Force.
The County Attorney’s Office has also reviewed the suggested resolution for its consistency with the requirements in the Settlement Agreement for the Comprehensive Plan. The Settlement Agreement provides that the next step after the completion acceptance of the Wildlife and Habitat Study is an amendment to the comprehensive plan to adopt implementation measures for a wildlife corridor plan to connect wellfields and public lands, taking into account feasibility. Jay Exum of Glatting Jackson will be working with Wade-Trim and the CAC in the EAR- based amendments process to accomplish this. Ultimately, this process will result in goals, objectives and policies in the new comprehensive plan that will implement the Wildlife and Habitat Study and provide for implementation measures for a wildlife corridor plan. This office and the County Administrator are concerned that in order to formulate these goals, objectives and policies to implement a wildlife program as required in the Settlement Agreement, the CAC and the consultants will be working through some of the same issues as the suggested Task Force. For example, the CAC and the consultants will likely address prioritization and methods for acquisitions in coming up with the goals, objectives and policies in the comprehensive plan that implement a program. We are concerned that there is a potential for duplication of work and inconsistent results and recommendations.
1. Direct staff to make the necessary changes recommended by the County Administrator, the County Attorney’s Office and the Board.
2. Approve the Suggested Resolution Establishing An Environmental Land Acquisition Task Force.
3. Do not approve the Suggested Resolution Establishing An Environmental Land Acquisition Task Force.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND FUNDING:
The County Administrator and the County Attorney’s Office recommend that the Board approve alternative number one.
No funding is required for this item.
Attachments: Suggested Resolution Establishing An Environmental Lands Acquisition Task
Force