Infrastructure Surtax Citizen Oversight Board

Meeting #:

Date:

Monday, February 26, 2024

Time:

5:30 P.m. - 7:30 P.m.

Location:

County Administration Building - Grace Knight Conference Room

12 SE 1 Street, 2nd Floor, Gainesville, FL 32601

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1.

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 5:32 p.m.

Alachua County Members Present:  Jill Cunningham, Eric Drummond (Vice-Chair), Steve Howard, and Jack Kulas

City of Gainesville Members Present:  David Ruiz (Chair)

Incorporated Cities (not Gainesville) Members Present:  N/A

Members Absent:   N/A

Staff Present:  Claudia Tuck and Gina Peebles

Other Municipal Staff Present:  Betsy Waite

Outside Counsel:  Patrice Boyes (absent)

Chair Ruiz encouraged the public to come to the Oversight Board before going to the Board of County Commissioners with questions/comments.

2.

Approval of the Agenda

Eric Drummond made a motion to approve the agenda as presented; Steve Howard second; unanimous approval; motion carried.

3.

Approval of Minutes

Eric Drummond made a motion to approve the January 22 minutes as presented; Jack Kulas second; unanimous approval; motion carried.

4.

January 22 Meeting Motions Review

Staff Liaison, Gina Peebles, reported that our January 22 meeting did not have a quorum per our adopted Resolution, which requires a minimum of four members to be present (rather than 50%+1).  Therefore, all motions made at that meeting must be re-approved.  

4.1

Approval of Oct. 23, 2023 Minutes

Steve Howard made a motion to approve the October 23 2023 minutes as presented; Jack Kulas seconded; unanimous approval; motion carried.

4.2

Review of Quarterly Wild Spaces Public Places Municipal / County Expenditures for 3rd Qtr. (Apr., May, Jun. 2023) - High Springs

Jack Kulas made a motion to approve the 3rd quarter Wild Spaces Public Places report for High Springs as presented; Eric Drummond seconded; unanimous approval; motion carried.

4.3

Review of Quarterly Wild Spaces Public Places Municipal / County Expenditures for 4th Qtr. ( Jul, Aug, Sep, 2023)

Jack Kulas made a motion to approve the 4th quarter Wild Spaces Public Places reports for all cities (excluding Newberry) and the County as presented; Eric Drummond seconded; unanimous approval; motion carried.

4.4

Review of Quarterly Infrastructure Municipal / County Expenditures for 4th Qtr. (Jul, Aug, Sep, 2023)

Eric Drummond made a motion to approve the 4th quarter Infrastructure reports for all cities (excluding Newberry) and the county as presented; Jack Kulas seconded; unanimous approval; motion carried.

4.5

Thomas Center Renovations Pre Expenditure Review

Eric Drummond made a motion that the sectional roof partial replacement of the Thomas Center over the East Art Gallery is an approved use for WSPP funding; Jack Kulas seconded; unanimous approval; motion carried.

5.

Affordable Housing/Economic Development Pre-Expenditure Review

Community Support Services Director, Claudia Tuck, presented a pre-expenditure review of the County's Infrastructure Surtax to contract with the Florida Housing Coalition for $20,000 to provide (1) a written comparative analysis of permanently affordable/workforce housing model options using surtax dollars, actions items to implement the most plausible options and a recommendation(s) and (2) a presentation that highlights the key points and implications of the comparative analysis including the most plausible permanently affordable/workforce housing model options and recommendations to meet the County's affordable housing goals.

The County Commission earmarked 30% of their Infrastructure Surtax proceeds for Affordable Housing/Economic Development.  The Commission is interested in home ownership.  Developing a community land trust to purchase land for perpetual County ownership and issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for developers/financial institutions to build/subidize homes on the County owned land for those who qualify is a viable way to implement the Commission's direction. 

This suggestion was reviewed and approved by the Affordable Housing Committee, but the County needs an expert in the field to assist with setting up the community land trust structure.  Steve Howard made a motion that the $20,000 for the Florida Housing Coalition contract is an appropriate use of the County's Affordable Housing/Economic Development (Infrastructure) funding; Jack Kulas seconded; ; motion carried (4:1) with Eric Drummond in dissent.

6.

Review of Quarterly Wild Spaces Public Places Municipal / County Expenditures for 4th Qtr. (Jul, Aug, Sep, 2023) 

6.1

Newberry

At your January 22 meeting, you moved to send a strongly worded letter to the City of Newberry Commission advising them that their quarterly report is past due and, per the ballot language approved by voters, citizen oversight of their expenditures is required for transparency, authorizing the ISOB Chair to sign.  The report was received before the letter could be drafted and is being presented for Oversight Board review/approval.  Jack Kulas made a motion to approve the 4th quarter WSPP report for Newberry as presented; Jill Cunningham seconded; unanimous approval; motion carried.

7.

Review of Quarterly Infrastructure Municipal / County Expenditures for4th Qtr. (Jul, Aug, Sep, 2023) 

7.1

Newberry

Jill Cunningham made a motion to approve the quarterly Newberry report as presented; Jack Kulas seconded; unanimous approval; motion carried.

8.

Old Business

8.1

City of Alachua Sr. Center Project Update

The Council agreed that additional information is necessary to determine whether or not the City of Alachua's and Town of Micanopy's projects can be funded by either Wild Spaces Public Places or Infrastructure.  Eric Drummond made a motion to request Patrice Boyce research the definition of infrastructure for a public space vs. construction of a public facility and provide background for the Board to discuss; Jill Cunningham second; unanimous approval; motion carried.

8.2

Town of Micanopy Thrasher Museum Project Update

9.

New Business

9.1

Attendance Tracking Report

At the September 26, 2019 Wild Spaces Public Places Citizens Oversight Board meeting, the Board made a motion to include an attendance report in each agenda packet.  Since this is a new Oversight Board with mostly new members, staff requested direction to reimplement this practice.  Steve Howard made a motion to include an attendance report in meeting packets; there being no second, the motion died.

9.2

Proposed Financial Report

The consensus of the Oversight Board was to add an additional title of "Wild Spaces Public Places" and "Infrastructure" at the top of the reports; add "2023 Cash Remaining"; and replace Revenue with Cash for consistency.  As cities and the County are currently submitting their first quarter reports, the new reports will be made available for their second quarter reports.

10.

Public Comment

Jo Beatty noted that the City of Gainesville's Possum Creek Park perimeter walking trail is in disrepair with uneven surfaces.  Betsy Waite replied that concrete is being poured in the coming weeks to provide accessibility to the restrooms.  The limerock trails are in need of maintenance, especially after it rains.  Because the trails were not constructed with recent Wild Spaces Public Places funding, it has to be done within the department's regular operating budget.

In response to Ms. Beatty's request for a Thelma Bolton update, Ms. Waite reported that the project is proceeding with a very limited budget.  Professional services are under contract for the structural elements to make it safe.  The City has a list of other desired improvements/renovations, but what can be done is contingent upon the available budget after the required improvements are completed.

Tamara Robbins asked the Oversight Board to reconsider their attendance tracking report motion to highlight vacancies and provide easy access for the public.  Sarah Bernard agreed.  Eric Drummond made a motion to include a quarterly summary  attendance report by position that shows attendance, absence, and unfilled positions; Jill Cunningham seconded; unanimous approval; motion carried.

11.

Date/Time/Location of Next Meeting

Our next quarterly meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 29 at 5:30 p.m. in the Grace Knight Conference Room.

12.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 6:42 p.m.