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CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY.
THIS IS A WORKSHOP, UM, ON FRIDAY.
UH, AND I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY, REDEEM JUSTICE FOR ALL.
UM, MS. EVANS, HAS THIS BEEN ADVERTISED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT? SOUTH CAROLINA? YES, MA'AM.
I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA FOR SO MOVED TODAY, THE 14TH MOTION BY COUNCILMAN PASSMAN.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? A SECOND IT.
SECOND BY VICE CHAIRMAN TAVER.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR BY SHOW OF HANDS TO APPROVE THE AGENDA.
WE HAVE ONE MEMBER ONLINE AND THE REST OF US ARE HERE.
UH, DO WE HAVE'S MR. GLOVER? UH, RIGHT.
AND NOW WE HAVE MR. GLOVER HERE TOO.
SO DID WE HAVE ANYONE SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? NO, MA'AM.
THE FIRST THING ON THE AGENDA IS DUSKY ISLAND FERRY.
OH, YOUR FAVORITE THING, HUH? YEAH.
I'M HERE TO KICK EVERYBODY'S DAY OFF WITH EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE SUBJECT, BUT THIS IS A GOOD ONE.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CAPITAL NEEDS.
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SOME FUTURE PLANNING.
UM, OPERATIONS ARE RUNNING SMOOTHLY, AND WE'VE MADE THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE HAVE DISCUSSED OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS AT REBUILDING BUCKINGHAM'S DOCK.
AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
WE, AND, UH, AND PUTTING THE GATE AT CC HAGUE AND EVERYTHING IS COPACETIC.
SO WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IN EMBARKATIONS, AND THEN WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FUTURE PLANS AS WE DISCUSSED AT A COMMITTEE MEETING LAST MONTH.
UM, BECAUSE I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY, WHICH YOU'LL KNOW, BUT THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE, WHICH WILL BE SOME UPCOMING PROJECTS THAT YOU'LL SEE IN.
THAT'S WHY THIS IS UNDER THE HEADING OF CAPITAL FACILITY NEEDS.
AS WE KNOW, THIS IS WHERE WE WERE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS THAT, UH, BUCKINGHAM LANDING AND DUE TO, UH, LAWSUITS AND ZONING QUESTIONING, UH, WE WERE FORCED TO MOVE OUT OF THERE.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, AS WE DISCUSSED, OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS, WE HAVE REPLACED THAT FLOATING DOCK THAT'S 120 FOOT FLOATING DOCK THAT IS NOW IN TIP TOP SHAPE.
FROM THERE IN AN EMERGENCY CASE WE WENT TO, WHICH HAS TURNED INTO A VERY FUNCTIONAL SITE, PINCKNEY ISLAND.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S A LARGE PARKING AREA.
UH, THIS IS OPERATING WELL TODAY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, AND FORTUNATELY, THERE WILL BE A NEW BRIDGE, FORTUNATELY FOR THE BRIDGE, UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE FERRY, IT'S LIKE A BINGO GAME.
UM, THE, UH, A LOT OF THE STAGING AND THE BRIDGE ARE ACTUALLY GONNA HIT RIGHT HERE AND FORCE US IN A COUPLE YEARS TO HAVE TO HAVE A RELOCATED FERRY OPERATION.
SO, AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OTHER PLACES EVEN BEFORE WE GOT HERE WHERE WE HIT WALLS.
BUT THOSE ARE THE PLACES WE HAVE TO REVISIT FOR WHERE IT GOES.
JARED, WHEN IS IT GONNA START? 2028.
SO THAT SOUNDS LIKE A FAR, SOUNDS LIKE IT'S A LONG WAYS AWAY, BUT AS WE DISCUSSED YESTERDAY, PLANNING, PERMITTING, ET CETERA, TAKES TIME.
AND SO HERE ARE A COUPLE PLACES THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED AND THAT WE THINK THAT WE NEED TO GO.
INITIALLY, WHAT WE DID BEFORE WE WERE FORCED TO GO AN EMERGENCY CASE TO PINKNEY IS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE CROSS ISLAND LANDING.
AND AS YOU KNOW, WE HAD APPROVED PLANS FOR THIS SITE.
THERE'S ANOTHER SLIDE THAT'LL SHOW THE OTHER SITE, BUT TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THAT BRIDGE IS WHERE THE PROPERTY THAT WE OWN.
WE ALSO HAVE AN EASEMENT FROM S-E-D-O-T THAT JARED WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN GIDDING, WHICH IS WE CAN HAVE OPERATION AND PARKING UNDER THE BRIDGE, WHICH IS TECHNICALLY THEIRS, BUT WE HAVE ALL THAT.
AND THERE'S AN APPROVED PLAN, AND IT'S FUNDED TO BE RIGHT THERE.
THE PROBLEM, WHICH IS USUALLY THE PROBLEM WITH THE FERRY IS PARKING.
AND SO THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE PICTURE IS THE PROPERTY THAT WE INTENDED TO ACQUIRE.
BUT AS WE'VE LEARNED, EVERYBODY'S LEAST FAVORITE C WORD CONDEMNATION TAKES TIME BECAUSE
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THEY CAN CONTEST IT AND THEY CAN APPEAL IT.AND THIS HAS BEEN TIED UP IN THAT PROCESS, WHICH IS WHY WE HAD TO GO TO PINKNEY ISLAND NEXT.
THIS IS STILL IN THE CONDEMNATION PROCESS.
THERE'S STILL LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, BUT IT COULD BE SIX TO EIGHT YEARS.
I MEAN, SO THAT'S WHY THIS IS, WHILE THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE CAN MAKE AND WE SHOULD MAKE TO THE LEFT HAND PICTURE OF THE LANDING ITSELF TO MAKE IT A, A HIGHER FUNCTIONING LANDING, AND TO BE A PLACE THAT IF WE REALLY HAD TO GO IN EMERGENCY, WE COULD GO THERE.
THE CROSS ISLAND'S STILL VIABLE AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL FACILITY ITSELF.
NEXT, WE OWN THAT ACRE, THE LITTLE TRIANGLE, I BELIEVE THAT'S RED.
THAT ACRE IS NOT THAT YOU'D HAVE A BUNCH OF THINGS ON IT, BUT IT GIVES US ACCESS.
SO WE ALSO OWN THAT DOCK THAT YOU SEE AT THE TOP, WHICH IS NOT BIG ENOUGH OR GOOD ENOUGH THAT YOU'D RUN A FERRY ON IT, BUT IT IS AN EXISTING DOCK THAT YOU COULD IMPROVE OR REPLACE A ROOF UP.
BUT IN A PERFECT WORLD WHERE THAT TRIANGLE, IT GOES LIKE THIS, YOU WOULD BUILD A DOCK, SEE THOSE TWO PIECES OF WOOD OUT THERE IN THE, IN THE WATER.
AND SO YOU WOULD THEN, YOU COULD EITHER BEEF UP THE ONE THAT'S CLOSER TO THE MARINE ON THE LEFT OR GO STRAIGHT OFF THAT PIECE OF LAND TO HAVE A PROPER EMBARKATION POINT THERE.
SO THE PROBLEM HERE AS IS WE JUST TALKED ABOUT AT CROSS ISLAND IS PARKING.
BUT WE HAVE HAD POSITIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD.
WE ARE ENGAGING AN ENGINEER RIGHT NOW TO MORE OFFICIALLY DRAW UP HOW PARKING WOULD LOOK.
IF, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS IS, THIS IS JUST NORTH OF 2 78, AND YOU SEE THOSE POWER LINES, THERE HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDATIONS OVER TIME TO JUST, LET'S JUST PUT A BUNCH OF PARKING UNDER THE POWER LINES.
AND THERE CAN BE SOME PARKING UNDER THE POWER LINES, BUT THE POWER LINE RESTRICTION IS, IT'S OWNED BY SANDY COOPER.
AND THEY RESTRICT OVERNIGHT PARKING.
AND AS WE KNOW, DAY PARKING IS GOOD, BUT OVERNIGHT PARKING IS REQUIRED FOR THE FERRY TO OPERATE.
SO I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE DOCUMENT, YEAH.
JENKINS ROAD IS AT THE TOP OF THE END OF THAT ROAD.
THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE, LEMME GO BACK TO A SCREEN AND SHOW YOU A LITTLE SOMETHING.
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION, BY THE WAY, HANK.
THE, THE OTHER PART OF THE, OF THAT WHY THAT ACRE IS IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE WE KNOW THE PARKING IS A LITTLE WAYS AWAY.
AND THERE WOULD BE, WHETHER IT'S GOLF CART OR WHATEVER HAP HAS TO HAPPEN, THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN HAVE SOME HANDICAP SPOTS.
BUT THE BIGGER PART IS THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN CREATE A BULB HEAD TURNAROUND.
SO PEOPLE CAN GO UP, DROP OFF THEIR STUFF, AND THEN GO BACK AND PARK.
SIMILAR TO WHERE WE'LL TALK ABOUT ON THE DUSKY SIDE OF HOW THAT CAN OPERATE.
SO THIS ALLOWS FOR THE OPERATION TO HAVE THE PROPER DROP OFF AT THAT LOCATION.
BUT THE PARKING IS, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED YARDS DOWN THE ROAD.
ARE ARE BOTH SIDES THERE UNDER THE POWER LINES? NO.
SEE, THE POWER LINES ARE UNDER WHAT I'VE DRAWN THOSE POLYGONS.
THE POWER LINES ARE RIGHT THERE, UHHUH.
SO THEY'VE ASKED US TO KIND OF TUCK IT CLOSE TO THE POWER LINES AND DO IT IN A WAY THAT'S NOT A CLEAR TREE, YOU KNOW, JUST ASPHALT JUNGLE, THE TOWN, THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD SAYING, LOOK, WE, WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS, BUT SHOW US WHAT IT'S REALLY GONNA LOOK LIKE AND THAT YOU'RE NOT JUST GONNA COME CLEAR CUT AND PUT A BUNCH OF ASPHALT.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE IT WORK? MM-HMM
AND IN FACT, I'M GONNA SHOW YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS ENVISIONED.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE VERY RIGHT SIDE OF THAT SCREEN ON YOUR RIGHT, YOU SEE A COUPLE CARS UNDER THE TREES.
THAT'S HOW HAGUE POINT'S PARKING LOOKS OVER ON, UH, THE CIRCLE WHERE THEIR IN EMBARKATION IS, THERE ARE WAYS TO DO IT UNDER AND WITHIN AND AROUND AND, AND MAINTAIN SOME CANOPY.
BUT ON THE JENKINS ISLAND AREA RIGHT THERE, GOOD NEWS IS THERE'S NOT A LOT OF THOSE BIG GRAND TREES THAT YOU WOULD SEE IN OTHER AREAS.
SO THAT IS ON THE MAINLAND SIDE.
AND APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY PARKING SPOTS WOULD BE? WELL, OUR PROPOSAL, WE'VE ASKED THEM TO DRAW AT LEAST 300 MM-HMM
WE CURRENTLY HAVE JUST UNDER THAT AT PINCKNEY, BUT THERE WILL BE GROWTH OVER TIME.
SO WE'RE GONNA SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE IN THOSE AREAS, BECAUSE AS YOU GET A LITTLE BIT FARTHER TO THE NORTH, AND YOU KNOW, TO THE LEFT IS WHERE, UH, PS D ONE HAS THEIR REVERSE OSMOSIS PLANT AND A BIG WATER LINE.
ABOUT HOW MANY ACRES IS THAT? OH, I DIDN'T MEASURE I DREW THOSE LAST NIGHT.
I'VE GIVEN, IT'S ABOUT, IT'S ABOUT SIX ACRES.
IS WHAT WE, WHAT WE'VE ASKED FOR.
THERE'S, I'VE DRAWN SO MANY DIFFERENT POLYGON ON THIS PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT, UH, AND, AND WE'VE MADE THIS REQUEST SEVERAL TIMES.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE REALLY HAD GOOD TRACTION.
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THE OPEN AREA THAT, THAT C HA SIX ACRES.SO IT, YES, IT THE WHOLE CC HA, BUT THAT INCLUDES DRIVEWAY AND SOME COVERED AREAS.
AND PART BANK UP TO THE ROAD IS SIX.
I'LL BE HONEST, I DREW THAT A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN SIX ACRES.
THE POSITIVE IS THIS, THIS IS ABOUT TO BE OURS.
THE NEGATIVE IS WE THOUGHT THAT WAS GONNA BE 90 DAYS AGO.
UM, BUT IS THERE A LASER ON THIS THING? WHAT YOU TRYING TO POINT TO? SO, IF LASER, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT AT JENKINS, THE GOOD PART ABOUT THIS PROPERTY IS THE MIDDLE AND RIGHT HAND SIDE CAN BE CONFIGURED FOR WAY BETTER PARKING AND FLOW.
AND THAT'LL BE THE SECOND PHASE.
WE'VE ALREADY FUNDED THE REPAIRS OF THE ACTUAL DOCK IN HERE TO MAKE IT SAFE.
THE NEXT PHASE IS TO MAKE THAT SITE A LITTLE BIT BETTER FOR PARKING AND FLOW.
BUT THE GOOD PART IS THE WAY IT'S ALREADY SET UP, AS YOU SEE, AS IT GETS CLOSER TO THE DOCK ITSELF, THEY HAVE THE SIMILAR SETUP WHERE YOU GO, YOU TURN AROUND AND DROP OFF YOUR STUFF, AND THEN YOU GO PARK AND WALK.
SO IT'D BE A A, IT'S GONNA BE A VERY FUNCTIONAL SITE.
I'VE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND.
THEY ASK ME ON A, IT'S NOT OVERSTATING IT DAILY BASIS.
WHEN WILL YOU OWN IT? WHEN WILL YOU OWN IT? WHEN WILL YOU OWN IT? AND WE HAVE, UH, LIKE I SAID, THE CONTRACTOR READY TO START WORKING RIGHT AWAY ON REPLACE THE DECKING TO MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE FOR WHEELCHAIRS AND WAGONS, REPLACE RAILINGS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO IMMEDIATELY CLOSE, SEE THE FOUR SMALL GANGWAYS THAT ARE THIS SIDE OF THE FERRY DOCK.
THOSE ARE GONNA HAVE TO CLOSE IN THE SHORT TERM BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT SAFE.
AND WHEN I'VE SAID THAT TO THE PUBLIC INDIVIDUALLY, I THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA BE MAD BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE PARK THEIR BOATS THERE, PEOPLE USE IT.
THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THERE HAS TO BE SOME RESTRICTION IN THE SHORT TERM TO MAKE THIS PLACE SAFE.
AND SO, AS FAR AS EMBARKATIONS, I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE, BUT ALSO THE NEXT THING.
SO THE NEXT THING WILL BE JENKINS AND CROSS ISLAND.
THERE IS FUNDING THAT YOU GUYS APPROVED AT CROSS ISLAND FROM ARPA.
THAT HAS TO BE, IT NEEDS TO BE SPENT THERE.
SO THAT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO MOVE FORWARD.
'CAUSE THAT WOULD MAKE YOU, WE, AS YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE, LET'S SAY WE GO TO JENKINS AND A STORM HITS IT.
WHAT DO YOU DO? LET'S SAY THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY IT'S GREAT TO HAVE BUNKY CAMP, BUT THERE HAS TO BE, YOU HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO HAVE OPTIONS.
AND THAT'S WHERE I'M GONNA GO NEXT.
THE COUNTY'S FOCUS, AS WE'VE DISCUSSED HERE, AND WE'VE MADE CLEAR TO OTHER PARTNERS.
REMEMBER A COUPLE WEEKS, A MONTH OR SO AGO WHEN I TALKED ABOUT THE REGIONAL STUDY, THAT'S WHAT WE'LL FINISH WITH.
THEY'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT MORE STOPS OVER TIME.
OUR, OUR FOCUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT MAXIMUM DUSKY.
IF THERE'S A BIGGER STUDY, IT'S A BIGGER OPERATION.
IT'S A BIGGER THING THAN JUST BEAUFORT COUNTY.
BEAUFORT COUNTY IS SERVING THE CITIZENS THERE.
SO THIS IS WHAT I'LL FINISH WITH.
THIS ACTUALLY KICKS OFF MONDAY.
THE SOUTHERN CAROLINA ALLIANCE HAD THEIR EXECUTIVE BOARD VOTE TO FOOT THE UPFRONT BILL FOR THIS STUDY TO GET IT STARTED.
SO THAT'S WHY IT'S KICKING OFF MONDAY BECAUSE AS WE'VE SEEN THINGS TAKE TIME THAT THEY KNOW THAT THIS IS URGENT.
THERE WILL BE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY SOUTH CAROLINA, DOT, SOUTH CAROLINA PARKS, RECREATION AND TOURISM, SOUTHERN CAROLINA THEMSELVES.
THEY'LL REACH OUT WITH JASPER COUNTY AND THEY WILL MAKE, AS I SAID LAST MONTH, A SMALLER ASK TO US, BUT NOT IN AN URGENT MANNER.
'CAUSE THEY KNOW THAT COUNTIES IN TOWNS CAN'T JUST PULL MONEY OUTTA THE HAT.
SO IT'LL BE THROUGH A BUDGETING PROCESS THAT WE COULD BUILD IN, IN A LATER DATE.
THAT'S WHY THEY SAID WE'LL FRONT IT AND WE'LL TALK TO YOU, WE'LL TALK LATER.
'CAUSE THIS DOESN'T JUST TALK ABOUT FERRIES AND IT DOESN'T JUST TALK ABOUT DUSKY.
IT'LL HAVE, THE PROPOSING IDEA IS TO CONNECT, AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME, I'VE READ THROUGH ALL THE STUDIES FROM SAVANNAH FOR MATERIALS, POTENTIALLY FROM THEIR FIELDS CUT, WHICH IS AT THE END OF THE JASPER REPORT PROPERTY MM-HMM.
PROPERTY AND UP INTO NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY UP INTO BEAUFORT.
AND THE REASON STATE DOT HAS GOTTEN INVOLVED IS THEY CAN START, THEY'RE STARTING TO SEE THE BENEFIT OF WATERBORNE TRANSPORTATION.
IT'S STILL A HEAVY LIFT TO GET THEM TO REALLY DO IT.
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PUSH, IS TO SAY, THIS IS BIGGER.SO IF WE CAN SHOW THROUGH THIS STUDY AND THE IMPLEMENTATION, BEAUFORT COUNTY AND THE REGION CAN BE A PILOT THAT THEY COULD REPLICATE IN CHARLESTON OR THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THE COAST IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
IS, IS THE GEORGIA PORT AUTHORITY GOING TO BE PART OF THIS STUDY? I DO NOT BELIEVE SO.
BUT THE, BUT THAT IS THE JOB OF BOTH DANNY BLACK MM-HMM
BECAUSE THE PRO THE PROPERTY AT FIELDS CUT IS TECHNICALLY OWNED BY THE GEORGIA PORTS.
BUT BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, JASPER COUNTY, WHICH ANDY HUM, WHICH IS THEIR ADMINISTRATOR, DANNY BLACK AND TOM DAVIS HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN HOW THIS DISCUSSION WORKS.
AND THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY ACCELERATE ACCESS TO THAT.
I JUST WANNA SHOW YOU WHAT THIS WAS, KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT THE UPCOMING PROJECTS WOULD BE, AND THEN I'LL SHARE RESULTS AS THIS PROGRESSES.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE PRETTY QUICKLY.
IT'LL PROBABLY HAVE RESULTS IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.
WELL, I'M JUST WONDERING IF MARK, HE'S ONLINE, IF HE HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT DUSKY FIRST.
MARK, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR NOPE.
SO,
HE HAS STAYED ON TOP OF WITH, WITH MIKE'S BACKING.
AND, UM, HE, HE HAS DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB PUTTING ALL THIS TOGETHER.
AND, AND NOT JUST HAVING ONE PLAN, BUT HAVING MANY PLANS AND LOOKING AT THIS THING, UM, OVERALL.
SO AGAIN, HANK, HANK HAS BEEN THE ONE THAT'S ORCHESTRATED THIS.
AND, UM, AGAIN, THE PRESENTATION SO FAR, UM, HANK YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
WELL, THAT, I'M GLAD YOU SAID THAT 'CAUSE IT'S OVER
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS? I, I KNOW THAT THE GEORGIA PORT AUTHORITY HAD MEETINGS SEVERAL YEARS AGO ABOUT FERRY SERVICE TO THE ENTIRE REGION.
AND THEY WENT SO FAR AS TO HAVE, UH, A CONTRACTOR WHO WAS GOING TO, UH, PROVIDE HIGH SPEED FERRIES THAT COULD GET PEOPLE FROM SAVANNAH TO ANY OF THE PORT, INCLUDING DUSKY BUFORD, UH, HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
SO, NO, WHEN YOU MENTIONED THAT, YOU MENTIONED SPECIFICALLY THE PORT AUTHORITY.
THEY, THEY ARE NOT, IT'S, TO MY KNOWLEDGE DIRECTLY INVOLVED, BUT THERE ARE OPERATORS AND POTENTIAL FUTURE OPERATORS THAT DO HAVE THESE VESSELS.
MS. BROWN, JUST QUICK QUESTION.
FORGOT WHAT I WAS GONNA ASK MR. JIM, MS. JIM, JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON THIS QUESTION HERE.
UM, FOR SAVANNAH COMING TO BEAUFORT, BLAH BLAH, ARE THEY GOING SOUTH AS WELL IN THAT STUDY? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
THIS IS, THIS IS NOT JUST A ONE WAY, THIS IS TO HAVE A TRUE, TRUE FERRY SYSTEM, WATERBORNE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IS WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO SHOW HERE.
IN, LIKE I SAID, BUT ADDITION TO FERRIES, IT'S ALSO ABOUT BARGING MATERIALS AND PROPERLY SUPPLYING THINGS RIGHT.
'CAUSE THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY TALKING ABOUT CUTTING THE TRAVEL TIME.
FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE SAVANNAH AREA WHO WORK ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND, COULD LITERALLY CUT THEIR TRAVEL TIME BY 40 MINUTES.
SO THERE, THERE'S A, THERE'S A PROJECT OUT THERE.
THE, THESE NEW VESSELS, UH, THEY REALLY ALMOST LOOK LIKE THEY FLY HYDROFOIL OUT OF THE WATER.
UM, THEY CAN GO, WHAT WAS THE NUMBER? I THINK IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE MORE THAN 20 KNOTS.
I BELIEVE IT WAS LIKE CLOSE TO 30.
AND, AND, UH, IT WAS GOOD SPEED FROM BEFORE, RIGHT? NO, NO, NO, NO.
THIS IS NOT THIS, THIS IS DIFFERENT.
IT'S A, ANYWAYS, BUT THERE'S MO THERE'S BEEN A CONVERGENCE OF INTERESTS YEAH.
FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT POTENTIALLY WOULD BUILD THINGS HERE ALL THE WAY TO OPERATORS THAT WOULD WANT TO DO THAT.
AND THERE ARE OPERATORS RIGHT NOW IN SAVANNAH THAT WOULD LIKE TO COME THIS WAY AND BE PART OF A CIRCUIT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE FACILITIES.
UM, THERE'S A GROUP, AS WE KNOW ON DUSKY, VERY INTERESTED IN PROVIDING A FUTURE FERRY SERVICE.
HAVE WE GIVEN THEM, UH, ANY KIND OF, UH, INCLUSION IN THE, UH, DISCUSSIONS REGARDING ALL OF THIS? HAVE WE BRIEFED THEM ON IT? HAVE WE BROUGHT THEM IN ON IT? THEY BROUGHT IT.
THEY, THEY BROUGHT US IN ON IT.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS? I THINK WE'RE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
NEXT IS, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER THAT, MIKE, ARE YOU GONNA DO THAT ONE? I START THIS OFF.
SO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER,
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UM, WE WANTED TO TOUCH ON THIS JUST BECAUSE THERE'S SOME IMPACTS.WHEN WE, UH, WENT OUT WITH THE GO BOND THERE, THERE WAS SOME DESIGN DOLLARS INCLUDED IN THAT.
I BELIEVE THAT WAS IN ANTICIPATION OF A POTENTIAL CAPITAL TAX SALES TAX REFERENDUM IN 2026.
'CAUSE IT WAS PUT IN AT THE TIME, PRIOR TO THE 2024 TRANSPORTATION REFERENDUM.
WELL, AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS EARLIER THIS YEAR, OF DISCUSSING A POTENTIAL CAPITAL SALES TAX REFERENDUM, WHICH WE'RE NO LONGER MOVING FORWARD WITH, WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON TO DISCUSS THIS, WE DID HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH SHERIFF TANNER ON HIS THOUGHTS ON A LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER.
AND THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE COOLER TRACT.
SO HIS THOUGHTS WERE IN OUR CONVERSATIONS THAT HE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY WANNA PUT A HEADQUARTERS THERE OR NECESSARILY A DETENTION CENTER.
BUT HE WAS INTERESTED IN 9 1 1, UH, COMMUNICATIONS DISPATCH AND, AND POTENTIALLY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS THERE.
IN ADDITION, UM, WE, I, I BELIEVE IS, UH, ONE OF THE CONDITIONS OF PURCHASE OF THE, OF THE PROPERTY.
WE WERE REQUIRED TO PUT IN EMERGENCY, UH, EMS SERVICE THERE.
SO WE'VE HAD THOSE DISCUSSIONS AND I WAS JUST, UH, SPEAKING WITH JOHN PRIOR TO THIS.
UM, WE COULD LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, EMS SITE THERE, WE COULD LOOK AT THE OTHER OPTIONS THE SHERIFF MENTIONED.
BUT THEN THE QUESTION BECOMES, WHERE DOES THAT FALL IN OUR LIST OF PRIORITIES FOR CAPITAL? AND SO WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE GOING FORWARD, THE TRANSPORTATION REFERENDUM, WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME DESIGN WORK, UM, WITH WHAT WE JUST DISCUSSED, WHICH WAS WE DO HAVE FUNDING FOR THAT FOR, FOR EMS POTENTIALLY FIRE, UH, POTENTIALLY, UH, THE OTHER ITEMS WE DISCUSSED WITH THE SHERIFF.
AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO CONSIDER WHERE THAT WOULD BE FUNDED DOWNSTREAM.
BUT RIGHT NOW WE REALLY DON'T HAVE A COST ON, ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS. SO WE WOULD NEED TO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT AS PART OF THAT, WITH THE LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER AS PART OF THAT FUNDING, THAT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT IN THERE FOR DESIGN.
I DON'T REMEMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I BELIEVE IT WAS NINE AND HALF, NINE AND A HALF MILLION.
OUR PROPOSAL WOULD BE TO TAKE SOME OF THAT AND USE THAT FOR THE ENGINEERING ANALYSIS FOR, FOR THE TRANSPORTATION REFERENDUM, BECAUSE WE THINK, I DON'T BELIEVE IT WOULD, WOULD BE IN THE ORDER OF NINE AND A HALF MILLION TO DO AN RFP FOR WHAT WE JUST DISCUSSED.
BUT WE'LL, WE WILL LOOK AT THOSE AND, AND COME BACK TO YOU ALL.
UM, AND THEN WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TRANSPORTATION, GET OUR COST ESTIMATES COMPLETED, AND TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION NOT ONLY TO THE COMMISSION, BUT THEN ULTIMATELY TO THE, TO THE VOTERS ON THE BALLOT.
WE WOULD HAVE, UH, GOOD COST INFORMATION FOR PROJECTS FOR, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFICITY I THINK THE VOTERS ARE GONNA DEMAND ON A LIST OF PROJECTS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION REFERENDUM.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL INVITE, UM, JARED, IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR ON THE LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER.
BUT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHERE WE'RE AT ON THAT.
WE DO HAVE A FIRM, I BELIEVE THAT'S ALREADY UNDER CONTRACT FOR THAT.
I'M SORRY, BEFORE WE GO TO THAT, THE OTHER THING I THOUGHT THE SHERIFF, UM, TALKED ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT, THEY ARE RUNNING OUTTA ROOM FOR, UM, EVIDENCE.
I DID MENTION THAT HE DID MENTION EVIDENCE STORAGE AND DNA, THOSE WERE, I I WAS, I OMITTED THAT, BUT HE DID MENTION THAT TO US.
SO THOSE WOULD BE ALSO, HE HAS ALL THE SHERIFF THERE, BUT HE NEEDS THESE OTHER THINGS.
AND THOSE WOULD BE CENTRALLY LOCATED CORRECT.
I THINK, WHICH IS PART OF HIS SHERIFF.
SO, UM, AS PART OF THE PURCHASE, THERE WAS A COUPLE REQUIREMENTS, BUT TWO SPECIFIC ONES.
ONE, WE HAVE UP TO 10 YEARS TO CONSTRUCT A EMS STATION OR THAT, THAT ADDITIONAL PARCELS, IT WAS SIX ACRES THAT WAS OUT OF THE PUD GOES BACK TO OLD FIELD.
UM, SECONDLY, UM, OLD FIELD, PART OF THE CLOSING DOCUMENTS IS THAT WE HAVE TO CONSTRUCT A SECOND ENTRANCE.
SO WHATEVER OUR DRIVEWAY IS INTO THE SITE, WE HAVE TO TAKE IT A COUPLE HUNDRED EXTRA FEET AND TIE INTO OLD FIELD.
UM, SO THOSE ARE TWO THINGS THAT, UM, WOULD MAKE SENSE IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME TYPE OF DESIGN.
TO YOUR POINT YESTERDAY, MR. GLOVER, AS FAR AS, UM, HAVING PLANS AND NOT DOING ANYTHING, THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN, THE TOP TWO PROJECTS WERE PUBLIC WORKS AND EMS HEADQUARTERS.
UM, HERE ON DEPOT ROAD, ATTACHED TO THAT IS ALSO THE EVIDENCE LOCKER.
UM, THE DNA LAB PRESENTLY IS THREE BUILDING, THREE TRAILERS SHOVED TOGETHER.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF HARMONIES THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE THAT IF WE COULD, EVEN WITHOUT A ADMINISTRATION, UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER, HAVING SOME OF THESE FUNCTIONS RIGHT THERE, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND DISPATCH WERE ALL THESE THINGS WERE DISCUSSED.
WHETHER THAT'S ONE BUILDING A SETTER, A SERIES OF BUILDING, UM, THAT WOULD BE JUST PLANNED OUT.
AND I THINK WE HAVE THE FUNDING, LIKE I SAID, IN PLACE WHERE WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CONCEPTUAL PLANNING.
LET'S, LET'S LOCK DOWN WHAT WE, WHAT WE WANT ON THIS COOLER TRACK.
AND THEN, UM, WHETHER WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD INTO ACTUAL PLANNING FOR
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THE EMS STATION OR WHAT THAT WOULD BE CAPITAL, I WAS GONNA SAY THERE'S A POTENTIAL FOR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BLUFF AND FIRE, UH, TO, TO LOOK AT WHETHER THEY'D BE INTERESTED IN EXPANDING SERVICES THERE, AS WELL AS ALONG WITH THE, ALONG WITH EMS. OH, OKAY.ANY QUESTIONS? AND, AND TAB YOU OR SOMEBODY MENTIONED? UM, WE, SO WE DO, WE DID PUT THIS OUT TO R-F-P-R-F-Q.
THEY'VE BEEN ON HOLD NOW FOR A YEAR AND A HALF OR SO.
WE'D HAVE TO CHECK WITH PROCUREMENT AS FAR AS IF THAT CONTRACT IS STILL, UM, IN, IN TERM OR EXPIRED.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, SO WE DO HAVE A FIRM, IT'S MOSLEY ENGINEER, MOSLEY ARCHITECTS, UM, AND ALLIANCE ENGINEERING WAS THEIR SUBCONTRACTOR.
SO THE, THAT WOULD BE THE FIRM, UNLESS WE HAVE A PROCUREMENT ISSUE, WE'D HAVE TO GO BACK OUT.
BUT DO YOU HAVE, DO YOU HAVE TO REDO THE SCOPE NOW TOO FOR THAT RP WELL THE SCOPE WAS PRETTY BROAD.
UM, WHEN WE PUT THAT OUT, IT WAS EMS AND ADMINISTRATION.
UM, AND AS, OR NOT EMS, EXCUSE ME, LAW ENFORCEMENT, UM, AND ADMINISTRATION IS, AND BASICALLY SITE PLANNING THE ENTIRE COOLER TRACK.
SO I THINK THE SCOPE WOULD BE SUFFICIENT EVEN, EVEN THOUGH THINGS HAVE CHANGED A LITTLE BIT SINCE INITIAL.
BUT, UM, THE BIGGEST THING WOULD BE THE PROCUREMENT.
IT WAS TWO OR TWO YEARS AGO OR SO.
SINCE WE PROCURED THAT, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE CONTRACT IS STILL VALID AND, UM, WE TEASE THAT OUT WITH PROCUREMENT OFFICE.
SO JUST TO RECAP, AT THIS TIME WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AN EMS THERE, EMS FIRE THERE, POTENTIALLY FIRE YES.
AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT? CORRECT.
THAT'S WHAT THE SHERIFF DISCUSSED WITH US.
SO WE COULD, UM, COORDINATE WITH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, COORDINATE WITH, WITH THE TOWN, WITH THE BLUFFTON FIRE DISTRICT.
AND I BELIEVE WE COULD GET A CONCEPTUAL CONCEPT AND PROBABLE COST AT LEAST.
AND, AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE SOME IDEA HOW TO BUDGET FOR THIS.
BUT I THINK RIGHT NOW WE DON'T, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A FIRM HANDLE WHAT THAT WOULD COST.
SO WE COULD AT LEAST GET THAT, BRING IT BACK TO YOU.
THEN WE CONSIDER OPTIONS DOWNSTREAM FOR HOW WE FUND AT LEAST THIS PART.
SO WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ON, ON THE SITE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ABOUT IT? NO, THE, YOU KNOW, I, I HAD PUT DOWN WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO KNOW, WHAT'S GOING TO GO ON THAT SITE THAT'S BENEFICIAL TO US TO LAY OUT THE PLANS OF, OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO WITH OLD FIELD AS FAR AS THE ROAD COMING IN.
'CAUSE WE KNOW THERE ARE THINGS THERE.
UH, THAT WHOLE INTERSECTION HAS TO BE CHANGED.
UM, SO I, I ABSOLUTELY SUPPORT WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW.
AND I THINK WE COULD LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, LEAVING OPEN AREAS POTENTIALLY DOWNSTREAM SHOULD WE, YOU KNOW, DESIRE, DESIRE TO EXPAND FURTHER THERE WITH WHATEVER OTHER SERVICES THE COUNTY MIGHT HAVE, MIGHT BE THERE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING WHEN THE SHERIFF SAID HE DOESN'T REALLY WANT A CENTRAL LOCATION FOR SHERIFF BECAUSE THEY'RE SPREAD AND THAT'S FINE FOR HIM.
AND SO, AND HE DEFINITELY DOESN'T WANT THE DETENTION CENTER THERE, WHICH MOST OF US WOULD GET THE DRIFT.
WHICH KIND OF LEADS YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT THE DETENTION, DETENTION CENTER DETENTION.
BUT I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE DISCUSSED IS IF YOU MOVE EVERYTHING OUT OF THE BUILDING THAT WE'RE, THE CURRENT EMS IS WE COULD POTENTIALLY MOVE EVERYTHING OUT, REMOVE THAT BUILDING AND LOOK AT A NEW DETENTION CENTER.
OF WHAT WE COULD DO ON THAT SITE.
MM-HMM
SO YOU BUILD IT WHILE YOU'RE STILL OPERATING THE OLD DETENTION CENTER.
WELL YOU STILL HAVE THE OLD, YOU KNOW, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO MOVE EVERYBODY OUT.
SO THOSE ARE SOME THINGS WE'VE DISCUSSED AMONGST THE STAFF.
I THINK THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WANNA SEE THE DETENTION CENTER MOVED IS THE CITY OF PEOPLE.
THEY ABSOLUTELY WOULD, WOULD PREFER IT TO BE MOVED.
BUT THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES I HEAR THAT FROM.
THAT'S THE ONLY ONES I'VE HEARD THAT FROM.
HOW MUCH DID WE PAY FOR THAT LAND? AND THEN THE SISTER PROPERTY THAT WE PURCHASED ALSO, THE AND HOW MANY TRACK? THE COOLER TRACT ITSELF WAS 97 ACRES AND THAT WAS $5 MILLION.
AND THEN THE, THERE WAS 18 ACRES ADJACENT TO THAT.
AND WE ENDED UP PAYING I THINK SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY, SIX HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE.
AND PART OF THE REASON THAT PRICE WAS REDUCED BECAUSE THE PED FOR OLD FIELD SAID SIX ACRES WERE TO BE DONATED.
SO WE REALLY PAID THAT FOR 12 ACRES AND SIX WERE DONATED.
SIX WITH THE OBLIGATION FOR THE FIRE STATION WITH THE OBLIGATION THAT WE HAVE TO CREATE.
AND HOW MUCH OF THIS IS ACTUALLY USABLE COMPARED TO WETLANDS? ARE WE NOW BALLPARK? UH, THERE, THERE ARE A FEW.
UM, THERE'S SOME WETLANDS AROUND THE PERIMETER, UM, IN THE FRONT UP NEAR ONE 70.
SO USABLE AC AND SOME ISOLATED WETLANDS.
THOSE I THINK CAN EASILY BE MITIGATED 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT CONNECTED TO A STREAM OR, OR REALLY FLOODPLAIN.
UM, SO USABLE ACREAGE OUT 115 IS PROBABLY A HUNDRED ACRES.
SO REALISTICALLY WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT DOING, YOU KNOW, THE FIRE STATION AND THEN I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WENT FROM AN ENTIRE LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER TO JUST THE SMALL PROJECT
[00:30:01]
NOW, WHICH I GUESS COULD BE SEEN AS A GOOD THING.BUT WE DID SPEND THE MONEY WITH THE INTENTIONS THAT WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH THE OTHER 70, 60 ACRES AT THIS TIME? I THINK GOING THROUGH THE CONCEPTUAL PLAN AND UM, AND HANK HAD MENTIONED IT BEFORE, WHEREVER HE WENT, UM, BASICALLY KIND OF CREATING FLEXIBILITY FOR FUTURE.
SO KIND OF ALMOST IN AN OUT PARCEL FASHION WE KIND OF HAVE IT SET UP WHERE WE CAN AT LEAST GET THE INITIAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE ROAD, WATER, SEWER, ALL THAT STUFF.
AND THEN IT CAN KIND OF GROW IS, THERE'S NOTHING PRESSING THAT WE HAVE TO DO WITH IT TODAY.
UM, WE'VE ALL EXPERIENCED LAND AS A HOT COMMODITY.
UM, BUT IT'S UP TO YOU GUYS IF WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING.
IT'S IN THE CENTRAL CENTER OF THE, OF THE COUNTY AND THERE'S FLEXIBILITY THERE.
ONE THING, IT'S POSSIBLE, THIS IS PHASE ONE.
UM, WE ALL KNOW THAT ONE 70 IS EVENTUALLY GOING TO NEED IMPROVEMENTS.
SO THERE'S RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION.
WE ACTUALLY BOUGHT THE LITTLE TRIANGLE PARCEL, REMNANT PROXY ON THE OTHER SIDE, UM, WHEN WE RELOCATE 4 62.
SO THE INTENT IS TO MOVE 4 62 OUT OF THE CURVE AND PUT IT IN BETWEEN THE TWO SCHOOLS, WHICH WOULD BE THE ENTRANCE INTO THIS PARCEL.
I WANNA BE CAREFUL WHAT I SAY HERE.
BUT EVENTUALLY SIGNALS ARE, AND ESPECIALLY IN THAT AREA, ARE NOT GOING TO BE SUFFICIENT.
AND SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT OVERPASSES AND INTERCHANGES.
AND SO THAT IS THE FIRST LOCATION WHERE YOU RUN INTO TRAFFIC COMING DOWN ON ONE 70.
ANYBODY THAT DRIVES THAT WAY WILL ATTEST TO THAT.
SO, UM, THE AREA BETWEEN THIS 4 62 RELOCATED AREA AND ARJUN BOULEVARD, IT CLEARS UP ONCE HE PASSED SERGEANT BOULEVARD.
THAT IS A HIGHLY CONCENTRATED AREA OF TRAFFIC AND SIGNALS ARE ALREADY FAILING AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE AND FAIL WORSE.
SO JUST KNOW THAT YOU'LL HAVE AN EXPANDED FOOTPRINT FOR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS AS WELL.
WHAT OTHER QUESTIONS WE HAVE ABOUT IT? NO, NONE.
AND WE DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, UM, I MEAN THE SHERIFF, HE'S GONNA BE AROUND FOR A WHILE, BUT NOTHING WILL CHANGE HIS MIND IF WE UM, OR YOU FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT THIS IS WHAT HE, WELL WE'LL WORK, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH HIS OFFICE AS WE GO FORWARD ON THIS.
BUT I THINK THAT OBVIOUSLY THE CHALLENGE IS IF WE'RE NOT GONNA DO CAPITAL SALES TAX AND YOU KNOW, MOVING A LARGE LAW ENFORCEMENT DOWN THERE, THE CENTER, IT'S NOT FUNDED.
AND REALLY TO, I THINK T'S POINT EARLIER, HE DIDN'T NECESSARILY INDICATE TO US HE WANTED AN ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING DOWN THERE.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, HE INDICATED TO US KIND OF ITEMS WHICH HE WANTED THERE, WHICH WERE THE, THE REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS, UH, DISPATCH, THE DNA AND THE EVIDENCE.
OUR CONVERSATION WITH HIM WAS IN APRIL I LOOKED BACK.
AND THE OTHER DAY I ASKED HIM IF HE'S CHANGED ANYTHING 'CAUSE WE WERE COMING TO BUDGET AND HE SAID, NOPE, DNA THE EVIDENCE LAB.
HOW ABOUT EOC? WELL HE DID MENTION THAT PART OF IT.
THAT'S PART OF THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
HE HE, HE KINDA LOOKS AT IT AS MORE OF A REGIONAL RIGHT.
BECAUSE THAT IS CENTRALLY LOCATED.
BECAUSE HE AT TIMES HAS TO GO UP 4 62.
SO THAT WOULD BE A GOOD, UH, PLACE FOR THAT.
UM, UM, AND PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING.
YEAH, I'LL KICK THIS OFF AND IT'S, IT IS KIND OF A TAG TEAM.
I THINK WE'LL HAVE CHUCK AND THEN, YOU KNOW, UH, JARED MAY WEIGH IN ON THIS, BUT, UM, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS, NEW PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING.
WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS AT THE STAFF LEVEL.
I KNOW MR. GLOVER ASKED ABOUT AT ONE POINT, 'CAUSE WE WERE LOOKING AT SOME OTHER OPTIONS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, COULD WE LOOK AT OTHER FACILITIES OUTSIDE OF THAT SITE.
AND I THINK BASED ON OUR, OUR LOOK, WE LOOKED AT OTHER, SOME OTHER FACILITIES, BUT I THINK WE'VE ALL KIND OF AGREED TO STAFF LEVEL THAT WE WANNA STAY AT THE CURRENT SITE AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THE NEW, UH, BUILDING.
UM, AS PART OF THAT, ORIGINALLY IT WAS BUDGET AT 40 MILLION, RIGHT WHEN I GOT HERE.
WE, WE RE-LOOKED AT THAT AND I THINK AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE REDUCED THAT TO 25 MILLION WITH THE GEO BONDS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW FOR THE PROJECT.
WE HAVE RESTARTED THE DESIGN WORK.
AND SO I'VE GOT, UH, CHUCK WHO'S WILLING AND ABLE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THAT FOR YOU ALL SO YOU KNOW WHERE THAT PROJECT STANDS.
SO WHAT I'LL DO IS GIVE AN OVERVIEW, SORT OF A SYNOPSIS OF WHERE HE, WHERE WE HAVE BEEN AND, AND A TIMELINE OF WHERE WE ARE NOW AND WHERE WE THINK WE'LL BE, UH, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
SO THE INITIAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION BEGAN ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO.
[00:35:01]
AND WHEN THAT BEGAN, IT WAS NOT CLEARLY DEFINED WHAT THE FUNDING SOURCE WAS GOING TO BE OR HOW MUCH BECAUSE WE REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE NEEDS WERE.AND WE KNEW WE NEEDED A NEW BUILDING, BUT, UH, WE NEEDED MORE INFORMATION TO MORE CLEARLY DEFINE HOW MUCH AND WHAT THE SCOPE WAS GONNA BE.
THE FIRST THING THAT, UH, THAT GROUP DID IS WORK WITH STAFF AND DID A NEEDS AN INTERNAL NEEDS ANALYSIS TO LOOK AT PUBLIC WORKS AND SAY, WHAT DO YOU NEED IN THIS BUILDING? WELL, THERE ARE THREE COMPONENTS.
YOU HAVE FLEET, YOU HAVE, UH, PUBLIC WORKS PROPER, AND THEN YOU HAVE HAVE STORM WATER, WHICH FALLS UNDER PUBLIC WORKS, BUT THEY'RE REALLY A SEPARATE ENTITY.
THEN THE QUESTION IS, DO YOU DO ONE BUILDING THREE BUILDINGS? DO YOU HAVE IT ALL AT ONE SITE? CAN YOU USE, UM, ALTERNATE LOCATIONS THAT ALREADY HAVE BUILDINGS ON IT? AND WITHIN ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF OF GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WE WOUND UP WITH A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS.
THE BIGGEST ONE IS, HOW MUCH MONEY DO WE HAVE TO WORK WITH? BECAUSE DEPENDING ON THE FUNDING ALLOCATION, THAT DEPENDS ON THE COMPLEXITY, UM, OF THE SCOPE OF WORK.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, UM, REALLY WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH AS FAR AS DOLLARS.
WELL THAT WAS NOT DEFINED UNTIL EARLIER THIS YEAR WHEN, AS MIKE SAID, $25 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED IN THE BOND.
SO THERE WAS A PAUSE WITH LS THREE P UNTIL WE HAD THE FUNDING SOURCE.
WE HAVE REENGAGED LS THREE P WE HAVE LOOKED AT MULTIPLE SITES, BOTH VACANT PROPERTIES AND PROPERTIES THAT HAD, UM, BUILDINGS ON THEM.
WE GAVE ALL OF THAT CONSIDERATION.
AND RIGHT NOW, UH, AS, AS MIKE SAID, WE ARE CENTERING BACK AT THE CURRENT CAMPUS WHERE PUBLIC WORKS IS NOW, AND THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK WITH THE $25 MILLION IS PUTTING ALL THREE COMPONENTS.
PUBLIC WORKS FLEET AND STORM WATER IN ONE BUILDING.
THE RUBIK'S CUBE IS HOW DO YOU DO THAT ON THE SITE, WORKING AROUND WHAT'S THERE NOW, MAINTAINING THE FUNCTIONALITY OF ALL THREE OF THOSE COMPONENTS WHILE YOU'RE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, TRANSITIONING AND THEN MOVING FORWARD, TEARING THE OLDER BUILDINGS DOWN ONCE YOU'RE COMPLETE.
WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH LS THREE P.
NOW THEY'RE DOING, UM, SOME SITE CONSIDERATIONS.
THERE ARE SOME COMPLEXITIES OUT THERE BECAUSE THEY'RE, IT USED TO BE, UM, I'M NOT GONNA CALL IT A LANDFILL, BUT THERE WAS, THERE WERE STAGING AREAS AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, UM, CAN MAKE CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMATIC OVER THE WHOLE SITE.
SO WE'RE DOING, UM, SOME ANALYSIS OF, UM, THE, THE GROUND THAT'S OUT THERE TO SEE WHAT CAN BE BUILT WHERE, AND WORKING WITH STAFF AND LS THREE P NOW THAT WE HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED BUDGET, A SCOPE, AND WE KNOW THAT WE WANNA STAY ON THAT SITE OF WHAT TYPE OF BUILDING WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE.
THEY'VE ALREADY MAPPED OUT THE UTILITIES.
A LOT OF THE, THE SITE WORK HAS ALREADY, UM, BEEN PUT UNDER CONSIDERATION.
SO A LOT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE TO THIS POINT.
AND WE HOPE BY THE SPRING TO HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED SCOPE FOR THE BUILDING, THE SITE, THE CIRCULATION, AND A PHASING PLAN SO THAT WE CAN COME BACK AND ACTUALLY PUT THE BUILDING PROCESS OUT, BID AND THEN MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROJECT.
NOW CHUCK, YOU SAID, UM, THERE ARE THREE COMPONENTS THERE.
PUBLIC WORKS, STORM WATER AND MAINTENANCE.
FLEET, FLEET FLEET, FLEET, FLEET VEHICLES.
SO, SO RIGHT NOW THERE IS A T-SHAPED BUILDING.
THE FRONT PART IS PUBLIC WORKS AND THEN THE PART THAT COMES OFF THE BACK ARE ALL OF YOUR BAYS FOR FLEET.
AND THEY HAVE SOME ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES.
WE'VE LOOKED AT WHETHER IT WOULD BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO RENOVATE THAT BUILDING OR BUILD A NEW BUILDING.
AND THOSE BUILDINGS WERE BUILT BACK IN THE SEVENTIES.
IT, IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT.
BASICALLY YOU'D HAVE TO TEAR 'EM DOWN AND AND REBUILD THEM.
UH, SO THERE'S REALLY NO POINT IN REHABBING THE BUILDING.
SO, UM, RIGHT NOW THEY'LL STAY WHERE THEY ARE.
UH, WE, WE CALL ONE BUILDING THE BALER BUILDING.
THERE'S ACTUALLY A CARDBOARD BALER THAT WAS IN IT, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED THE BAYLER BUILDING.
UH, THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN CONSIDERATION.
UM, IT BECAUSE IT OF ITS PROXIMITY, PROXIMITY TO THE PROPERTY LINE AND SOME CIRCULATION ISSUES THAT WOULDN'T WORK FOR FLEET.
SO THAT WILL BE TRANSITION FOR ANOTHER PUBLIC WORKS FOR OFFSETTING SOME OF THE EXISTING BUILDINGS.
LIKE I SAID, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A RUBIK'S CUBE.
THERE'S PUZZLE PIECES AND NOW THAT WE HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED FUNDING SOURCE, WE'VE IDENTIFIED WHAT IS NOT FEASIBLE, WHICH ARE ALTERNATE SITES OR EXISTING BUILDINGS.
WE'VE RECENT ON THE COMPLEX, WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT DIRECTION WE'RE PULLING THE WAGON IN.
AND, AND WE'RE GONNA CLOSE IN ON IT PRETTY QUICK.
[00:40:01]
YOU, YOU'RE GOING TO BUILD A ENTIRE NEW BUILDING, TEAR DOWN THE EXISTING BUILDING AND MOVE EVERYBODY INTO THE NEW, NEW BUILDING.WHAT'S THE TOTAL ACREAGE WE HAVE THERE, UH, ON THIS SITE? SO THERE'S FOUR PARCELS.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE ACREAGE IS? IT'S, IT'S OVER A HUNDRED ACRES.
IT IS LOT OF IS OLD LANDFILL THAT YOU CAN'T BUILD.
AND THEN DOES THAT INCLUDE THE SHERIFF'S FIRING RANGE? YEAH.
SO YOU CAN'T USE THAT OF COURSE.
REALLY, IT'S A PRETTY SMALL, SMALL, UM, AVAILABLE FOOTPRINT.
WHERE THE BUILDING IS NOW IS PRETTY MUCH WHERE THE BUILDING NEEDS TO BE OR RIGHT NEXT TO IT.
SO, AND WE'VE KIND OF, WE'VE HAD, WE TASKED THE, THE ARCHITECT TO LOOK AT THAT.
LIKE, COULD WE MOVE IT OVER HERE? COULD WE FIT IT THIS WAY? COULD WE RESHAPE IT THAT WAY? MM-HMM
UM, AND IT'S KIND OF, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK.
WE, YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT TO SEE, BUT WE'VE KIND OF, SOMETIMES THE FIRST IDEA IS THE BEST IDEA AND WE'VE EXPLORED ALL THE OTHER IDEAS AND COME BACK TO THE FIRST IDEA.
LET ME, LET ME ADD REAL QUICK.
SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS OUTSIDE OF THE LANDFILL IS THE FACT THAT OUR FUELING STATION IS THERE AND WHEN YOU GET INTO MOVING FUELING STATIONS, WE WOULD BUST THE BUDGET IN A HURRY.
SO WE HAVE TO MOVE WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF WHAT WE HAVE.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GET TOWARD THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE SHOOTING RANGE AND THE LANDFILL IS.
SO THERE, THERE'S A, A DEFINED AREA WE'RE WORKING IN.
IT'S JUST A MATTER OF DOING THE PHASING PLAN SO THAT WE CAN KEEP DOING OUR JOB WHILE WE'RE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, FILL ALL THE NEEDS AND THEN MOVE EVERYBODY AND TEAR THE OLD BUILDINGS DOWN.
AND, AND THE FACT THAT WE ARE, UH, DOING MORE MAINTENANCE NOW WE WANT TO BRING IN OTHER ENTITIES, IS THAT BEING TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT? ALL OF THAT'S BEING TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WITH THE DESIGN.
WHAT'S THE TIMELINE? SO I AM HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL BE READY TO MOVE TO THE NEXT PHASE SOMETIME LATE SPRING, WHICH IS GONNA GIVE US OUR NEXT PHASE BEING, NEXT PHASE BEING MOVING INTO CONSTRUCTION, FINAL DESIGN ON THE BUILDING, AND THEN PUTTING ALL THAT OUT TO BID.
AND THERE'S A FEW OPTIONS FOR HOW WE COULD DO THAT, BUT WE HAVE TO GET THE, THE PHASING PLAN AND THE FULL SCOPE COMPLETE IN ORDER TO GO TO THAT NEXT STEP.
AND I'M THINKING SPRING, MAYBE LATE SPRING, HAVING THAT READY TO GO TO THE NEXT STEP.
IS, IS THE ASSUMPTION THAT ONCE YOU, ONCE WE CONSTRUCT THE BUILDING, THE OLD BUILDING WOULD BE TORN DOWN? OKAY.
SO THE CURRENT PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING AND THE CURRENT, UM, FLEET BUILDING MM-HMM
WOULD NEED TO GO AWAY BECAUSE WE, THAT WOULD BECOME PART OF THE STAGING AREA AND PARKING LOT FOR THE NEW BUILDING.
AND THEN A COUPLE OF THE, THE BUILDINGS TOWARD THE REAR WOULD NEED TO BE TORN DOWN TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEW BUILDING AND THAT THE FUNCTIONALITY IN THOSE BUILDINGS WILL BE SHIFTED TO THE BAYLOR BUILDING.
AGAIN, THIS IS VERY PRELIMINARY, IT'S SOME OF IT'S HYPOTHETICAL.
THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS TO IT, BUT THAT'S KIND OF THE IDEA OF WHERE WE'RE MOVING WITH THOSE.
AND, AND RIGHT BEHIND THAT, YOU TALK ABOUT THE SHERIFF RIFLE RANGE SHOOT, UM, GUN RANGE AND STUFF.
THAT'S ALL THE WAY AT THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY.
IT'S NOT A FACTOR, BUT IN BETWEEN THE TWO, UM, YOU HAVE THE LANDFILL, RIGHT? CORRECT.
WHICH IS YOU CAN PARK THINGS ON IT.
BUT IN ORDER TO BUILD A BUILDING WITH A BUNCH OF DEBRIS BURIED IN THE GROUND, IT GETS REALLY PROBLEMATIC.
UM, UM, THAT WAS REALLY MY QUESTION.
COULD IT BE A PARKING LOT? ABSOLUTELY.
IT'S A, IT'S A DIRT FIELD WHERE THINGS ARE STAGED AND PARKED NOW.
ANY, UM, ANYONE ONLINE? MARK, LARRY, Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? LARRY DOES LARRY? NOPE, I'M GOOD.
OH, ONE ONE MORE QUESTION QUICKLY.
UM, THE DESIGN BUILDING, HOW MANY SQUARE FEET IS THAT IN TOTAL? WE'RE PROBABLY 15, 16,000.
SO THERE'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE PART AND THEN THERE'S A FLEET PART.
THE ADMINISTRATIVE PART'S PROBABLY 12 AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT EIGHT TO 10 FOR THE OTHER ONE.
SO TOTAL 20 20, 20 1000, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS AS FAR AS FLEET, THEY'RE DOING MORE WORK.
SO FLEETS, PART OF THE BUILDING IS A CHEAPER BUILD.
IT'S MORE OF A, UM, PREFAB TYPE BUILD MM-HMM
UM, SO IF WE NEED TO GET THE EXPANSION OF THAT, THAT'S WHAT'S BEING CONSIDERED RIGHT NOW AS WELL.
AND THAT WILL TAKE US HOW FAR IN THE FUTURE.
SO, UM, THE SPACE NEEDS ANALYSIS WAS 30 YEARS, SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE USING AS OUR GUIDE.
AND RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ABOUT, UM, A LITTLE OVER 6,000 SQUARE FEET WITH PUBLIC WORKS, UM, STAFF.
AND UM, SO THAT'S ALMOST, OKAY.
SO SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE'VE PUT AS A CRITERIA FOR THE DESIGNERS IS IT HAS TO BE AN EXPANDABLE BUILDING.
WE'RE NOT GONNA BACK OURSELF INTO A CORNER.
UH, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT HOW
[00:45:01]
WE RUN THE UTILITIES, UH, HOW WE DESIGN THE BUILDING, IF WE NEED ADDITIONAL CAPACITY, WE CAN EXPAND IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND THE STUB OUTS WILL BE IN PLACE SO THAT AS YOU KNOW, IN 20 YEARS OR WHATEVER, IF THE DEMAND GOES UP, WHEN THE DEMAND GOES UP, WE CAN EXPAND THE BUILDING, UH, AT A REASONABLE EXPENSE.SO ALL THAT'S BEING SORT OF BAKED INTO THE, OKAY.
AND SO THIS IS ALL HEAVY EQUIPMENT THAT WE WOULD BE MAINTAINING TRUCKS, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT FLEET HAS.
SO THE YARD WILL HAVE ALL OUR HEAVY EQUIPMENT FLEET AS IT IS NOW UNLESS THEY CHANGE, AND JOHN CAN SPEAK TO THIS, BUT IT IS MOSTLY OUR HEAVY EQUIPMENT IS OUR AMBULANCES AND UM, AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
WE, OUR YELLOW IRON, UH, A LOT OF THAT IS MAINTAINED BY CATERPILLAR OR OR WHOEVER THE MANUFACTURERS WE HAVE SERVICE CONTRACT WITH.
UM, SO WE'LL MORE THAN LIKELY STAY IN THAT SAME PARAMETER AS FAR AS FLEET SERVICES.
AND OBVIOUSLY THE SHERIFF IS THE BIGGEST USER, UH, IN THE FLEET BUILDING RIGHT NOW.
HAVE WE EVER CONSIDERED, UH, WASH BASE FOR THE HEAVY EQUIPMENT? OKAY, I'LL TALK REAL QUICK.
WOULD YOU REPEAT THAT JOE? THERE ARE JOE, QUESTION WAS WASH BASE.
WASH BASE FOR THE HEAVY EQUIPMENT.
UM, HAS THAT BEEN CONSIDERED? THERE ARE CERTAINLY LOTS OF THINGS THAT FLEET WOULD LOVE TO DO.
UM, IT'S REALLY GONNA TAKE SPACE AND MONEY MM-HMM
UM, OUR, UM, OUR FLEET SERVICES STAFF WORK ON HEAVY EQUIPMENT OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW.
THERE'S A LARGE COVERED AREA OUTSIDE THAT SOME OF THAT EQUIPMENT WILL JUST NOT FIT IN THE BUILDING.
UH, I WAS THERE A WEEK AGO, THEY WERE WORKING ON A LARGE TRACTOR THAT HAS A BACK WING MOWER THAT HAD, UM, A HYDRAULIC, THOSE ARE HAVE HYDRAULIC PUMPS THAT RUN THEM.
THEY BLEW A HOSE AND THERE'S HYDRAULIC FLUID EVERYWHERE.
A WASH BASE LIKE THAT WOULD MAKE THEIR JOBS MUCH, MUCH EASIER TO CLEAN UP THAT MATERIAL, COLLECT THAT MATERIAL AND PERFORM THAT.
BUT RIGHT NOW THERE'S JUST NO SPACE, NO CAPACITY FOR THAT.
UM, SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD DO IN THE FUTURE WOULD CERTAINLY CONSIDER THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY AND WE COULD DO A SMALLER CAR WASH FOR ALL THE VEHICLES THAT COME THROUGH BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE, WE PAY FOR THAT SERVICE FOR A PRIVATE, UM, PRIVATE OPERATIONS TO DO THAT FOR US.
UM, NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE BEFORE WE MOVE ON, IF THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON FACILITIES OR CAPITAL.
I THINK NEXT WE'RE GOING ON TO PERSONNEL.
SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE, OTHERWISE WE CAN JUST MOVE ON.
IT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION.
WE'LL GO ON TO PERSONNEL COSTS AND HEALTH INSURANCE.
I THINK, UM, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS, UH, WE'VE, I THINK WE'VE PRESENTED, YOU KNOW, THE STEP SCALE AND COLA MM-HMM
I THINK WE'RE NOT REALLY PLANNING TO PRESENT THAT AGAIN UNLESS THERE'S A DESIRE TO, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION BUDGET.
UM, JUST KIND OF WANT TO OPEN IT UP FOR THAT.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT NO, I THINK WE GAVE THEM THE DIRECTION THAT THEY NEED.
AND SO A LOT OF THESE WE'VE KIND OF HIT ON ALREADY.
UNLESS YOU ALL HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED.
WELL, JUST TO RECAP ON A STEP SCALE, IF I REMEMBER EVERY GOING LATERALLY, IT'S 2% INCREASE.
AND GOING VERTICALLY IT'S 5% INCREASE.
I'LL INVITE CATHERINE UP TO ADDRESS ANY, ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS.
SO THE GRADE GOING UP A GRADE RIGHT? IS 5%, 10% MOVING FORWARD IN THE GRADE, EACH STEP IS 2%.
UM, WHAT ELSE IF, IF I COULD, WHILE WE'RE ON THAT TOPIC, THERE WAS ANOTHER ITEM THAT WAS PRESENTED BY DR. CAMPBELL, UM, AND THAT WAS THE LONGEVITY SCHEDULE.
SO I HAVE RUN SOME NUMBERS ON THAT AND AS IT WAS PRESENTED WITH THAT RETENTION SCHEDULE WITH OUR CURRENT WORKFORCE, ASSUMING THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT SOME TYPE OF PROGRAM NEXT FISCAL YEAR, IT CAME IN AT UM, 1 MILLION.
DO YOU HAVE THAT NUMBER RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? WAS IT 1 MILLION? 1.8? NO, ONE JUST OVER 1 MILLION.
NOW I WILL POINT OUT THAT NUMBER.
I DID EXCLUDE ANY EMPLOYEES THAT ARE NOT IN COMP AND CLASS.
SO THAT IS EXCLUDING SHERIFF AND MAGISTRATE.
UM, AND IT CAME OUT TO BE 1,008,000 I BELIEVE.
IF THAT'S NOT SOMETHING PINKY CAN FUND, IF THAT'S, WELL FIRST, IF THAT'S NOT, IF YOU GUYS WANNA GO FORWARD WITH A, A LONGEVITY PLAN AND WE CAN'T FUND THAT,
[00:50:01]
WE HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO CHANGE THAT RETENTION SCHEDULE TO WHAT WE CAN'T AFFORD.SO I THINK THAT'S KIND OF ONE OTHER ITEM WE'RE LOOKING TO FOR DIRECTION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO SEE HOW WE CAN FIT THAT INTO THE BUDGET TO IMPLEMENT A LONGEVITY RETENTION PAYMENT SCHEDULE IN ADDITION TO THE MERIT PAY.
DOES EVERYONE UN KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT IMPLIES? YEAH.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? WELL, I, I WOULD CERTAINLY THINK THE, THE STEP WE'RE TAKING NOW, NO PUN INTENDED ABOUT A STEP GUIDE, UH, IS A VERY GOOD FIRST PHASE BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL BE REWARDED.
WE MAY HAVE TO HOLD OFF ON THE LONGEVITY FOR A YEAR WHILE WE IMPLEMENT THIS.
SO, UH, THAT WOULD BE MY SUGGESTION.
WHO'S THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME? MM-HMM
I THINK WE HAVE TO SEE THE WHOLE PACKAGE AND FINANCIAL IMPACT OF MM-HMM
ALL OF IT TO DECIDE ABOUT THE LONGEVITY.
WELL THE STAFF'S LONGEVITY, MERIT, UH, RETIREE BENEFITS, THAT'S A BIG CHUNK OF STUFF HERE IT IS.
AND SHE MENTIONED YESTERDAY IT WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND 500,000 FOR THE, UH, RETIREE GAP INSURANCE RETIREES MM-HMM
AND THEN, UM, TO GET OUR STEP SCALE IN THE POTENTIAL STEP SCALE IN PLACE, IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT 500 AND UH, $87,000 TO GET EVERYONE'S STEPS ESTABLISHED.
AND THEN LONGEVITY FOR ALL COUNTY EMPLOYEES THAT ARE IN OUR COMPING CLASS WOULD BE A LITTLE OVER $1.1 MILLION I WOULD SAY.
AND SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT SOME PRETTY BIG NUMBERS HERE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO, UM, IT'S KIND OF GIVING YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT BALLPARK WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO THOSE THREE THINGS COME UP TO 2.1 MILLION ROUGHLY.
WELL AND ON THE RETIREE INSURANCE, IF, IF I THINK THE CONSENSUS WAS WE WOULD GO FORWARD, UM, SO THAT $500,000 WILL NOT BE A HIT IN THE FIRST YEAR.
SO IT'LL SLOWLY GROW OVER THE, THE NEXT, I'D PREDICT FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS.
UM, BUT THAT YEAR ONE WILL NOT BE THE FULL 500,000 IF WE'RE ONLY GOING TO MAKE IT EFFECTIVE FROM 7 1 20 26 FORWARD.
THE STEP WILL MOST EMPLOYEES GET SOME KIND OF AN INCREASE IF WE GO TO THE STEP PROGRAM EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE A SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION WILL GET AT LEAST A ONE STEP INCREASE EVERY YEAR.
CAVEAT WHAT? I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
ISN'T THE ONE STEP IN INCREASE FOR THE FIRST THREE YEARS AND THEN AFTER THAT, DOESN'T IT TAKE TWO YEARS FOR A STEP INCREASE? SO WE DID NOT MIRROR LIKE THE FEDERAL PAY SCALE EXACTLY, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT OUR EMPLOYEES TO NOT BE ABLE TO GET INCENTIVIZED EACH YEAR.
AND TO YOUR POINT, AS WITH THE FEDERAL STEP SCALE, THERE WILL BE LAG PERIODS WHERE PEOPLE ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO GET A STEP INCREASE.
AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS BACK AND FORTH OF, WELL WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOES TO SUPPLEMENT THAT IS THEY DO SPOT BONUSES AND WE ARE NOT PERMITTED TO DO THE BONUSES.
SO THE STEP SCALE WE'VE PROPOSED INSTEAD OF A 10 STEP SCALE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS, WE HAVE A LARGER STEP SCALE OF 25 STEPS.
SO WE CAN ENSURE THAT EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE TO MOVE UP IN THAT STEP SCALE EVERY YEAR AND NOT IN SEGMENTS.
WHAT WAS THE PERCENTAGE ON THE STEP SCALE, CATHERINE? 2% PER STEP 5% INCREASE PER GRADE UP.
AND FOR ESSENTIALLY, ESSENTIALLY YOU'RE GUARANTEEING A 2% RAISE EVERY YEAR, GUARANTEED A 2% RAISE EVERY YEAR.
UM, FOR EMPLOYEES THAT ARE HIGH PERFORMERS IN THEIR PERFORMANCE VALUATION, THEY'D BE A TWO STEP INCREASE.
AND THEN THERE'S ALWAYS THE FLEXIBILITY.
IF YOU EVER WANTED TO INCORPORATE A ONE TO 2% COLA, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN BE LOOKING AT ANYWHERE FROM A 2% UP TO A 6% IF YOU DO COLAS AS WELL.
SO ARE THE COLAS NOT AUTOMATICALLY ELIMINATED HERE, BUT CONSIDERED EVERY YEAR? WE HAVE TO CONSIDER EVERY YEAR THAT THAT WOULD BE A CONSIDERATION FOR COUNCIL EVERY YEAR TO LOOK AT COLAS.
AND DID I UNDERSTAND YOU TO SAY THAT THERE SOME INSTANCES WHERE YOU COULD DO A TWO STEP INCREASE? CORRECT.
WHAT, WHAT'S THE CONDITIONS FOR THAT IN YOUR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION? WE HAVE GRADES.
UM, WHERE YOU ARE UNDERPERFORMING NOT MEETING EXPECTATIONS.
MEETING EXPECTATIONS AND EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS.
THE EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS WOULD BE YOUR TWO STEP.
IF YOU'RE EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS, IS THAT AN AUTOMATIC TWO STEP INCREASE? IT'S, IT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE TWO STEP INCREASE THAT THE TIMING OF WHEN YOU GET THE TWO STEP INCREASE.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE STILL WORKING WITH FINANCE ON AS TO WHETHER WE DO IT AT THE TIME THEY GET THEIR EVALUATION OR AT THE BEGINNING OF
[00:55:01]
THE FISCAL YEAR.BUT IS IT AUTOMATIC OR DOES IT HAVE TO HAVE A FURTHER RECOMMENDATION BY TWO LEVELS? OH, I'M SORRY.
I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION NOW.
UM, THEY WOULD, THE SUPERVISOR WOULD GO THROUGH A WORKFLOW THROUGH THE SUPERVISOR.
NEXT LEVEL SUPERVISOR IN HR WILL REVIEW IT AS WELL JUST TO ENSURE THAT THE EVALUATION IS UM, THOROUGH AND IT WASN'T JUST MARKING FIVES FOR EVERYONE WITHOUT THAT BACKUP COMMENTARY SECTIONS COMPLETED.
BUT IT WOULD NOT NEED TO GO FURTHER TO, I MEAN JUST TO JUST A SUPERVISOR NEXT LEVEL HR.
BUT NOT AN INDEPENDENT RECOMMENDATION BASED UPON THE EVALUATION, IT WOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY CONSIDERED BY THOSE EXTRA LEVELS AND BE GRANTED.
I WOULD ASSUME THE MOST APPROPRIATE WAY OF DOING IT WOULD BE AT THE BUDGET TIME SO THAT ADEQUATELY SHE CAN BUDGET FOR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, MID-YEAR I'M AWARDED A TWO STEP INCREASE BUT OUR BUDGET IS ALREADY SET.
FOR FOR FINANCE'S PURVIEW, YES.
IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR US TO DO IT AS A PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS EFFECTIVE JULY ONE 'CAUSE IT'S EASIER TO PLAN AHEAD.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY TO CATHERINE, WE'D WANT TO CONSIDER, SORRY, IS WHEN THE EVALUATION CYCLE IS.
IF YOU DID THE EVALUATION CYCLE PRIOR TO THE BUDGET YEAR, THEN THAT WOULD BE A WAY TO, TO LOOK AT THAT.
THAT WAS GONNA BE MY QUESTION.
IS THE EVALUATION DONE AT THEIR YEARLY MARK OF WHEN THEY STARTED? OR DO YOU HAVE AN ACTUAL CYCLE WHEN YOU DO ALL OF THEM? TRADITIONALLY, WE HAVE DONE IT A UNIVERSAL EVALUATION DATE PRIOR TO BUDGET, AND IT'S TIMED OUT WHERE WE CAN HAVE THAT INFORMATION TO BUDGET IN A TIMELY FASHION.
THERE HAS BEEN DISCUSSIONS AND DESIRE THAT FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO DO THEIR EVALUATIONS AT THEIR ANNIVERSARY DATE, AND THAT IS, LIKE I SAID, THINGS OBVIOUSLY IT MAKES MORE SENSE FOR BUDGET TO DO IT THAT TIME OF THE YEAR.
UM, AND I THINK PINKY, I CAN LET YOU SPEAK TO THAT.
I, I KNOW SHE WAS GONNA WORK WITH SOME, UM, COLLEAGUES OF HERS TO SEE WHAT OTHER COUNTIES ARE DOING ON HOW WE COULD BUDGET IT IF WE EVER DECIDED TO GO TO THE ANNIVERSARY DATE AND IMPLEMENT THOSE INCREASES AT THEIR ANNIVERSARY DATE VERSUS SEVEN ONE.
YEAH, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT MAKES SENSE TO DO IT ALL AT ONE TIME IF THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.
BECAUSE I WOULD HATE FOR SOMEONE TO GET AN EVALUATION IN SEPTEMBER, BUT WE TELL 'EM THEIR RAISE DOESN'T GO EFFECT TILL JANUARY.
SO I WOULD NOT WANNA CHANGE THE EVALUATION DATE UNLESS IT IS ABLE TO BE PROVIDED THAT INCREASE THEN.
AND I'LL JUST ADD, THE PROBATIONARY EVALUATION IS SIX MONTHS, CORRECT? YES.
SO THEN YOU WOULD PICK UP THE NORMAL CYCLE AFTER THAT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO ALL NEW HIRES GET A PROBATIONARY EVALUATION AFTER SIX MONTHS AND THAT, THAT'S EXPLAIN THE HANDBOOK UP FRONT WHEN THEY GET HIRED AT THE COUNTY, I'M ASSUMING.
IT IS, WELL, THE PROBATIONARY EVALUATION NOW, OF COURSE, WILL, I LIKE THE CYCLE FOR PAY INCREASE IN SCALE AND EVALUATION INSIDE THE DEPARTMENT.
IT WILL BE IN THE HANDBOOK WHENEVER WE ADOPT THIS AND OKAY.
THAT'LL BE A REVISION, ANOTHER REVISION TO THE HANDBOOK THAT'S RIGHT ABOVE THAT.
WELL, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.
IF YOU, UH, DO THIS, UH, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS WITH A SET DATE, HOW MANY EVALUATIONS WOULD BE DONE BY A SUPERVISOR AND NEEDED TO BE REVIEWED BY THE NEXT LEVEL? WHAT'S THE HIGHEST NUMBER RATHER THAN DOING IT ON THE ANNIVERSARY DATE, WHICH SPREADS IT OUT OVER THE YEAR? WHAT WOULD THE SUPERVISORS HAVE TO DO IF EVERYTHING WAS DUE AT ONE TIME? MR. MCKELLEN, THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE ARE HEARING FROM DEPARTMENTS THAT THEY PREFER TO MOVE TO ANNIVERSARY DATE.
I MEAN, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, EMS HAS SHY OF A HUNDRED EMPLOYEES, UM, RIGHT.
SO GRANTED THERE'S A TWO LEVEL REVIEW PROCESS.
IT'S NOT THAT ONE PERSON HAS TO DO A HUNDRED EVALS AT THE SAME TIME, BUT YOU CAN LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SAFELY SAY THAT SOME MANAGERS ARE HAVING TO REVIEW 30 TO 40 EVALUATIONS IN A VERY SMALL WINDOW OF TIME BECAUSE WE ARE DOING IT ONCE A YEAR.
AND THAT, TO YOUR POINT, THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE DO HEAR FROM MANAGERS THAT THEY WOULD PREFER TO GO TO ANNIVERSARY DATE.
BUT WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO, TO HANDLE THAT WHEN IT COMES TO HOW DO, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO BUDGET IF YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL, YEAH, I UNDERST I UNDERSTAND THE CONFLICT, BUT IT'S A BURDEN, UH, DEPENDING UPON HOW MANY YOU HAVE.
IT KIND OF STOPS EVERYTHING ELSE WHEN, BECAUSE IF YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT THESE THINGS, YOU JUST DON'T CHECK BOXES.
AND THAT REALLY CAUSES A, A PROBLEM, UH, WITHOUT REALLY ADEQUATE PLANNING.
AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, WELL, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE DOING 15 TO 20 EVALUATIONS AND THEN, AND THEN THEY'RE ROTATING UP TO A SECOND LEVEL SUPERVISOR WHO'S GETTING 45 OF 'EM, IT'S A LOT.
AND WE HAVE 1200 OR MORE EMPLOYEES HERE, SO I, I MEAN, I, MY VO VOICE IS ONLY SINGULAR HERE, BUT, UH, MY EXPERIENCE, UH, AS A MANAGER OVER A PERIOD OF TIME WAS, IT WAS EASIER TO DO THEM OVER A PERIOD OF A YEAR RATHER THAN ALL AT ONCE
[01:00:01]
IN A YEAR.'CAUSE IT STOP REALLY, IT STOPS PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT.
ANYWAY, THAT'S JUST MY, THAT'S JUST MY INPUT ON IT.
I ALWAYS PREFERRED ANNIVERSARY DATES.
UM, AND I GUESS TO GO BACK TO FINANCE, UM, IF WE DID IT ON THE ANNIVERSARY DATE, UM, COULD WE BUDGET AHEAD, UH, AFTER WE GET A HISTORY OR, OR WHAT IT WOULD COST US PER YEAR COULD BE BUDGET AHEAD SO THAT IT CAN BE DONE ON THE ANNIVERSARY DATE? WELL, THAT'S KIND OF ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO TO SEE HOW OTHER COUNTIES DO, BUT HOW MANY EMPLOYEES? WE GOT
AND THAT'S A ROTATING NUMBER SO THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COME, PEOPLE GO.
SO IT'S HARD TO KINDA PINPOINT A NUMBER OF EXACTLY HOW TO BUDGET A, DOES THAT INCLUDE THE SHERIFF? THAT DOES INCLUDE SHERIFFS.
HE'LL TAKE OUT ABOUT THREE, ROUGHLY 300.
I MEAN, IT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE COULD BUDGET AHEAD AND IF WE NEED, IF WE FALL SHORT, UH, WE MAKE UP THAT SMALL DELTA, UM, SO THAT IT CAN BE DONE, UH, ON THE ANNIVERSARY AND, AND BE MORE EFFICIENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO I JUST THROW THAT OUT THERE FOR CONSIDERATION.
YEAH, I THINK ONCE WE GET A COUPLE YEARS OF DATA, THAT WOULD BE, YEAH.
CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE COULD CONSIDER.
BUT HAVING THE DATA UPFRONT, UM, SINCE WE HAVEN'T DONE THIS IN A WHILE, WE DON'T HAVE THAT DATA RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW, HOW MANY TO ASSUME WE'RE GONNA GET THE 2% OR RIGHT.
BUT ONCE WE IMPLEMENT SOMETHING AND WE, WE GET IT ROLLING FOR TWO TO THREE YEARS, NOW YOU HAVE SOME DATA TO LOOK BACK ON, SO, SURE.
WITH THAT SAID, WE COULD STILL BALLPARK A, A HIGH NUMBER.
I MEAN, OUR RESERVE HAS CONTINUED TO CLIMB YEAR IN, YEAR AND YEAR.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING TO BUDGET THAT TO PUT IT TO THE SIDE AND IT ROLL BACK IN.
WELL, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO IS ELIMINATE THE, THE VACANCIES THAT CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR EVER GROWING FUND BALANCE.
SO IN ORDER TO DO THAT, THIS WOULD, THIS WOULD JUST ADD TO THAT.
SO FOR US TO BUDGET A HIGHER NUMBER, LIKE YOU SAID, THAT WOULD PROBABLY ADD TO THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE, UM, CONTRIBUTING TO THE FUND BALANCE EVERY YEAR.
SO YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA BE SITTING ON, ON THAT BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW EXACTLY.
LIKE IF SHE LEAVES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR AND I'VE ALREADY BUDGETED HER, HER STEP INCREASE THAT'S GONNA SIT THERE ALONG WITH VACANCY LIVES.
SO LEMME TRY TO FIND, LEMME REPHRASE THE QUESTION THEN IF, SINCE IF WE BUDGET IT, IT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO GROW THE FUND BALANCE, BUT WE KNOW WE HAVE THE EXCESS IN THERE ANYWAYS.
SO INSTEAD OF DELAYING THE PROCESS TWO TO THREE YEARS, COULDN'T WE JUST START THE PROCESS KNOWING THAT THE MONEY'S ALREADY IN THAT ACCOUNT? YES.
AND THEN, THEN OVER THOSE TWO OR THREE YEARS WE HAVE THE DATA TO KNOW WHAT THE APPROPRIATE BUDGET WOULD BE.
WE DO HAVE IT, WE DO HAVE IT RIGHT NOW TO START THIS PROCESS.
SO IF THIS IS WHAT COUNSEL WANTS US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, THEN WE WILL START THE PROCESS.
BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO ACTIVELY PINPOINT A NUMBER FOR THE ANNIVERSARY DATE.
I MEAN, I'LL BE REAL, DID THE EVALUATION ON THE ANNIVERSARY DATE AND AND ALSO IMPLEMENTED THE INCREASE AT THE SAME TIME? YEAH, I MEAN I'M A VOICE OF ONE OF 11, BUT I MEAN I HATE THE, I USE THE TERM ALL THE TIME KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD.
WE DON'T WANNA KICK THE CAN WE WANNA IMPLEMENT THIS.
I MEAN IF THIS IS SOMETHING WE CAN IMPLEMENT NOW AND YOU, WE HAVE THE UNDERSTANDING UP HERE THAT LISTEN, THIS ISN'T GONNA BE A HUNDRED PERCENT ACCURATE FOR THE FIRST COUPLE YEARS UNTIL WE COLLECT THAT DATA.
I'D RATHER DO THAT INSTEAD OF JUST WAITING TWO OR THREE YEARS.
WE'RE NOT GONNA YEAH, I THINK, I THINK THE QUESTION TO, TO THAT POINT MR. CUNNINGHAM, I THINK IT'S MORE OF ARE WE LOOKING AT DOING IT UNIVERSAL DATE? LIKE WE HAVE TRADITIONALLY OR GO TO ANNIVERSARY DATE, RIGHT.
WE'RE READY TO IMPLEMENT THE MERIT INCREASES AND THE STEP SCALE.
I THINK WHAT I'M GENERALLY HEARING, I JUST NOT TO INTERRUPT, IS THAT YOU ALL WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF AN ANNIVERSARY DATE EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE CERTAINTY ON THE BUDGET AND WE MAY OVER BUDGET ONE THE FIRST YEAR AND WE MAY MISS IT A LITTLE BIT.
BUT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT COUNSEL WOULD SUPPORT US AT LEAST LOOKING AT THE ANNIVERSARY DATE, I THINK IT REWARDS STAFF BETTER AND TAKES PRESSURE OFF YOUR MANAGERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS.
AND WE ALREADY GUESSTIMATE THE PERSONAL LEAD DOWN.
SO YOU KNOW LARRY'S POINT, IT'S VERY POSSIBLE FOR US TO DO THE ANNIVERSARY DATE.
WE WOULD JUST PROBABLY COME BACK WITH A BUDGET AMENDMENT AT SOME POINT TO UTILIZE VACANCY LAG IN THE CASE THAT WE RUN SHORT.
SO I MEAN, IT'S POSSIBLE TO DO, I'M NOT SAYING THAT IT'S NOT, IT'S JUST HARDER TO PICK THAT NUMBER WHEN RIGHT.
SO MANY DIFFERENT DATES AND AN ANNIVERSARY DATE IS GOOD BECAUSE THEN YOUR FIRST YEAR YOU'VE DONE WELL, YOU IMMEDIATELY GET THAT INCREASE.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT HELPS A NEW EMPLOYEE TO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE APPRECIATE LARRY'S POINT.
IT'S REALLY HARD ON A MANAGER TO DO ALL OF THEM.
AND WE'RE GONNA START AT JULY ONE OF THIS YEAR.
SO YOU, YOUR ANNIVERSARY DATE IS GONNA FALL SOMETIME IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
SO, WELL, IF WE MOVE FORWARD, I WOULD ACTUALLY COME TO COUNCIL AND
[01:05:01]
RECOMMEND THAT WE IMPLEMENT THE STEP PLAN BY JANUARY ONE BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT WITHIN VACANCY LAG AND IT'S ROUGHLY $590,000 TO IMPLEMENT THE STEP PLAN.AND THEN COME JULY ONE WE'LL BUDGET FOR THE MARRIAGE.
UM, NICK, SO ON OUR AGENDA IT SAYS RETIREE GAP INSURANCE, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT.
DO YOU WANNA HIT ON THAT WHILE YOU'RE UP THERE? I JUST HAVE ONE, UM, CORRECTION FOR THE RECORD.
UH, YESTERDAY I HAD MENTIONED THAT WE SUSPENDED THE RETIREE INSURANCE PROGRAM IN 2006.
IT WAS 2008, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR MISSPEAKING.
BUT JUNE 1ST, 2008, UM, COUNTY COUNCIL HAD SUSPENDED THE RETIREE INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR ANY NEW HIRES FROM THAT POINT GOING FORWARD.
AND I DID CONFIRM THAT HR WAS HAVING ALL NEW HIRES SIGN A MEMO AT THEIR NEW HIRE ORIENTATION POST SIX ONE 2008 THROUGH THE COMPLETE, UM, PROGRAM'S END DATE.
SO THEY UNDERSTOOD, WHILE YOU MIGHT HEAR YOUR COLLEAGUES TALKING ABOUT THIS, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THAT PROGRAM.
SO I JUST WANTED TO STATE THAT FOR THE RECORD AND FOR THE PUBLIC THAT IT'S 2008 THAT THE RETIREE INSURANCE PROGRAM WAS SUSPENDED FOR ANY NEW HIRES GOING FORWARD.
SO COUNTY COUNCIL VOTED AGAINST IT IN 2008.
UM, COUNTY COUNCIL ADOPTED THE PROGRAM IN 2003.
AND THEN, AND VERY QUICKLY REALIZED THIS IS COSTLY.
AND BY 2008 COUNTY COUNCIL WENT AHEAD AND SAID, OKAY, WE GRANDFATHER THOSE FOLKS IN, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THIS ANY LONGER FOR ANY NEW NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES.
BUT THEY GRANDFATHERED THOSE IN UP TO THAT POINT.
AND THEN IN 2016 IS WHEN THE PROGRAM DISSOLVED COMPLETELY EVEN FOR THOSE GRANDFATHERED PRO EMPLOYEES.
HEY, IS BRIAN THERE? I AM AND SHE'S GIVEN ME A COPY OF THE MEMO WHERE SHE EMPLOY, THEY INFORMED ALL THE EMPLOYEES AND I'VE GOT THE RESOLUTION WHERE COUNSEL YEAH.
WHEN, UH, WE HAD ALL THESE LAWSUITS, WERE ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THE LAWSUITS, EMPLOYEES THAT WERE HIRED BEFORE 2008? YES.
WELL THEY WERE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RETIREMENT BECAUSE THEY WERE EMPLOYED DURING THAT TIME UP UNTIL, UH, 2008.
SO THEY'D BEEN HIRED BEFORE THAT AND THEY WERE, UH, RELYING UPON THAT RETIREMENT INSURANCE.
SO THEY WERE ALL A PARTY TO THAT SUIT.
BUT THEN THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE ALSO INVOLVED IN SETTLEMENTS AS YOU KNOW, THAT SECOND GROUP THAT DIDN'T JOIN THE LAWSUIT.
BUT COUNCIL AGREED TO REACH A SETTLEMENT WITH THEM AND SETTLE WITH THEM.
BUT THEY ALL HAD TO FIT THE CRITERIA THAT COUNCIL DEVELOPED, UH, TO WHERE THEY WERE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT, UH, RETIREE INSURANCE, UM, BECAUSE OF THEIR EMPLOYMENT.
AND WHICH MEANS, WHICH MEANS THEY WERE ALL HIRED BEFORE THEY STOPPED IT IN 2008.
SO ALL THESE PEOPLE WERE WORKING HERE PRIOR TO THAT YEAR.
ALL BEFORE JUNE 1ST, 2008? YES.
NEXT IS HEALTH INSURANCE RATE INCREASE.
THAT'S YOU AGAIN? YEAH, WELL WE DISCUSSED THIS IN, UM, YESTERDAY MORE THAN WE INTENDED.
WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DISCUSS IT TODAY, BUT AS MENTIONED YESTERDAY, WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING A REVIEW OVER THE ENTIRE HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM BECAUSE I DON'T EVEN WANNA SAY THAT NUMBER OUT LOUD AGAIN.
'CAUSE TAB MIGHT HAVE A HEART ATTACK, BUT WE'RE JUST GONNA I GOT IT.
WE'RE GONNA REVIEW THE OVERALL PROGRAM JUST TO SEE WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, UM, FOR THE EMPLOYER SIDE AS WELL AS THE EMPLOYEE SIDE, UM, TO SEE WHAT, WHERE WE NEED TO FIX WHAT WE NEED TO FIX.
AND THE LAST TIME THERE WAS AN INCREASE AGAIN WAS FY 24.
AND, AND WE INCREASE, BUT THERE STILL MAY BE, EXCUSE ME, THERE STILL MAY BE PEOPLE WHO STARTED WORKING HERE BEFORE 2008, WHICH ISN'T REALLY UNUSUAL CONSIDERING YOU MAY HAVE A 25 YEAR, 30 YEAR CAREER AND THEY'D BE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIRE FOR HEALTH BENEFITS WHEN THEY RETIRE.
MR. MCALLEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WE'RE ON CURRENT EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFITS.
THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
IF THEY WERE HIRED BEFORE 2008, THEY'RE STILL ELIGIBLE.
THIS IS THIS FOR CURRENT HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS AND GAP INSURANCE.
SO HOW MUCH IS INSURANCE GOING UP THIS YEAR FOR HEALTHCARE? WAIT A MINUTE.
DID YOU, ARE YOU, ARE YOU SAYING THAT MY QUESTION IS NOT VALID? WELL, YOU, ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT RETIREES? OF COURSE WE'VE MOVED ON TO CURRENT EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE.
NO, I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING WHO STARTED BEFORE 2008.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY RETIRE? THEY'LL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RETIRE AGAIN.
SO IF, IF WE ARE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE GAP INSURANCE, THEY WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A DEFINED CONTRIBUTION REIMBURSEMENT
[01:10:01]
PRIOR TO THEM BECOMING MEDICARE ELIGIBLE AT THE AGE OF 65.IS THAT ANSWER IT, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE, 'CAUSE WHAT WE TOOK AWAY YESTERDAY IS THAT WOULD GO INTO EFFECT JULY 1ST NEXT YEAR.
SO ANYBODY RETIRING AFTER THAT DATE YES.
WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GAP INSURANCE AFTER JULY 1ST.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING MR. MC? IT'S NOT ASKING, THAT'S NOT WHAT HE'S ASKING.
YEAH, I, AS I UNDERSTAND YOUR BIDEN'S STILL WORKING.
WHO WAS HIRED BEFORE 2008? WHAT ARE THEY ELIGIBLE FOR? IF THEY ARE STILL WORKING HIRED PRIOR TO 2008, THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE CURRENT EMPLOYEE BENEFITS THAT WHETHER THEY WERE HIRED PRIOR TO 2008 OR AFTER IT'S ONE PLAN FOR ALL COUNTY EMPLOYEES THAT THEY ARE ELIGIBLE ASKING IF THEY RETIRE, WOULD THEY BE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT RETIRE HEALTH INSURANCE THAT EXISTED BEFORE DECEMBER OF 2008 IS WHAT LARRY'S ASKING.
I UNDERSTANDING ONLY, ONLY IF WE PUT IT INTO EFFECT ON JULY ONE AND THEY'RE UNDER THE AGE OF 65.
IF THEY MEET THOSE CRITERIA THEY HAVE 10 YEARS, THEY WOULD GET THE GAP INSURANCE.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE ANSWER JOE.
ALL BRIAN, DO YOU WANNA TACKLE THAT? IT'S, IT'S NOT A SIMPLE ANSWER BECAUSE HE'S RIGHT.
THERE IS SOME EXPOSURE FOR LIABILITY, UH, THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY ADDRESSED IN THE LAWSUIT OR THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS BECAUSE THEY WERE STILL ACTIVELY WORKING AND THEY MAY NOT HAVE JOINED.
SO COUNSEL WOULD HAVE TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, SHOULD THEY SAY, HEY, I THINK I'M ELIGIBLE AND I SHOULD HAVE THAT, UH, RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE.
AND WE'LL HAVE TO TACKLE THAT AS THE CLAIMS COME IN.
AND AS I MENTIONED, WE'VE GOT ONE THAT CAME IN JUST YESTERDAY OR THE DAY BEFORE THAT WHERE THEY'RE ASKING THAT QUESTION 'CAUSE THEY WEREN'T AVAILABLE.
SO THEY NEVER JOINED THAT SETTLEMENT.
AND LARRY'S RIGHT TO ASK THE QUESTION BECAUSE THERE IS THAT QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED.
THIS IS EMPLOYEES WHO ARE ALREADY RETIRED.
IS THAT WHAT WE'RE SAYING? RIGHT.
SO I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL WORKING WHO STARTED BEFORE 2008, WHICH ISN'T AN UNUSUAL EQUATION.
SO THEY MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT JOINING THE CLASS BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL WORKING, THEY DIDN'T THINK THEY'RE ELIGIBLE.
BUT NOW AS THEY GET CLOSER TO RETIREMENT, THEY DECIDE TO RETIRE, THEN THEY MAY HAVE THAT ARGUMENT.
I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION SIR, BUT I CAN'T GIVE YOU A CLEAR ANSWER.
HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO WE HAVE ON OUR STAFF NOW? THAT WAS WORKING PRIOR TO 2008.
CAN'T BE THAT MANY, HUH? OH YEAH, THAT'S ONLY 16 YEARS.
I MEAN, PLENTY OF PEOPLE DO 25 OR 30 YEARS.
I CAN PULL THAT NUMBER FOR YOU.
I DON'T KNOW OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT REALLY? YEAH, I WOULD.
WELL I JUST THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO OUR EMPLOYEES ABOUT.
IF THEY ARE PRE 2008 EMPLOYEES AND THEY'RE STILL ON THE BOOKS AND THEY'RE UNDER 65 AND THEY'RE RETIRING, WHAT ARE THEY ENTITLED TO? THAT'S MY QUESTION, MIKE.
I WOULD THINK THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, LARRY, IS ONCE WE IMPLEMENT THIS, IF I AM AN EMPLOYEE, I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 2008, I'M THINKING ABOUT RETIRING, I'M NOT GOING TO RETIRE UNTIL THE GAP INSURANCE IS PUT BACK IN.
'CAUSE ONCE I RETIRE, AFTER IT'S IN, I'M ELIGIBLE.
IF I ADMIT THE CRITERIA, I'M LESS THAN 65 YEARS OF AGE.
I HAVE THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF WORKFORCE HERE.
I AM NOW ELIGIBLE FOR THAT GAP INSURANCE.
I THINK LARRY'S QUESTION GOES TO THE PEOPLE BEFORE.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S, I THINK LARRY'S QUESTION GOES MORE TO THE, BEFORE WE STARTED AS FAR AS YOUR START DATE AND GOING BACK A YEAR, TWO YEARS, WHATEVER IT IS.
IF THEY RETIRED DURING THAT PERIOD IS WHAT HIS QUESTION PROBABLY GOES.
SOMEBODY THAT RETIRED IN 2024 RIGHT? THEY THEY DON'T HAVE THAT INSURANCE.
IT ENDED IN, THAT IS NOT MY QUESTION.
MAYBE I SHOULD ASK THIS QUESTION AT ANOTHER TIME.
'CAUSE I SEEM TO BE CREATING CONFUSION HERE.
SOMEONE STARTED WORKING IN 2005 AND THEY'RE GONNA RETIRE IN 2030 WITH AFTER A 25 YEAR CAREER.
WHAT WERE THEY PROMISED WHEN THEY WERE HIRED? NOTHING BEFORE WE
AND YOU'RE SAYING WE HAVE TO HAVE A NEW PROGRAM OF GAP.
WHAT DID WE WHAT WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO STARTED WORK IN 2005 AND THEY'RE GONNA RETIRE IN 2030? I I DO BELIEVE I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION NOW.
SO WHAT WE WERE PROVIDING BEFORE COUNSEL HAD SUSPENDED AND ENDED THAT BENEFIT WAS THEY WOULD REMAIN ON THE COUNTY'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN IN ADDITION TO THE COUNTY WOULD PICK UP THE, OR PROVIDE A SUBSIDY TO PICK UP THEIR PREMIUMS BASED ON THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE.
AND YOU ARE CORRECT MR. MCMILLEN, THAT WHAT WE ARE NOW OFFERING IS NOT EXACTLY THE SAME BECAUSE OF THE LIABILITY THAT WOULD CARRY IF WE WERE TO RESUME THAT PROGRAM.
THE LIABILITY ON THE BOOKS IS, IS ASTRONOMICAL.
[01:15:01]
OF OFFERING A DEFINED BENEFIT, WE ARE OFFERING A DEFINED CONTRIBUTION FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE RETIREES WHERE THEY WOULD GO GET THEIR OWN INSURANCE THROUGH THE MARKET OR, OR WHEREVER THROUGH A PRIVATE INSURANCE.AND WE WOULD PROVIDE A REIMBURSEMENT, A MONTHLY REIMBURSEMENT TO THOSE EMPLOYEES.
SO IT'S NOT EXACTLY WHAT WE DID OFFER.
YOU ARE CORRECT THAT, THAT THOSE FOLKS THAT WERE HERE PRIOR TO THIS ISN'T BRINGING BACK WHAT THEY WERE ORIGINALLY OFFERED.
AND THAT'S THE PRIOR 2008 PEOPLE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SO WE STILL OWE THEM SOMETHING AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT WE HAVE IT WORKED OUT BECAUSE I THINK THERE, I KNOW THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO CALLED ME ON THIS ALREADY AND SAID, WHAT'S THE DEAL FOR ME? I'M A 2005 PERSON.
I MEAN THAT'S NOT UNUSUAL TO WORK 25 YEARS AND THEN TRY AND CLAIM THE BENEFITS YOU WERE PROMISED WHEN YOU WERE HIRED.
O OTHER STATES HAVE PUT THEM IN TEARS BECAUSE THEY, OTHER STATES HAVE DONE THE SAME THING THAT'S BEEN DONE HERE.
IS THE, IT CHANGED ALONG THE WAY.
IT'S A BUREAUCRATIC NIGHTMARE.
I UNDERSTAND, BUT THEY'RE TIERED EMPLOYEES 'CAUSE THEY HAD DEFINED BENEFITS AND THAT GROUP OF PEOPLE HAS CONTINUES TO HAVE THOSE DEFINED BENEFITS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY SIGNED UP FOR.
WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO IS TIER THEM.
HERE'S A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT WHEN THEY SIGNED UP, THEY WERE GONNA GET EVERYTHING AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO FOR THEM.
HERE'S GROUP TWO, THEY GET SOMETHING.
HERE'S GROUP THREE, THEY GET SOMETHING LESS.
A LOT OF COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA DID THE SAME THING.
ANYONE THAT WAS HIRED FROM THAT TIMEFRAME TO A CERTAIN TO RETIRE OUT BASICALLY AND SLOWLY WROTE OFF THE LIABILITIES THAT THEY WERE BOOKING FOR OPED.
LARRY, ARE WE YOU'RE GOOD TO GO ON NOW.
THERE IS A BIG DASH GOING ON HERE AND I DON'T LIKE IT.
UH, BUT, UM, UH, I'M JUST LOOKING FOR A SIMPLE ANSWER FOR, FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE PROMISED SOMETHING BEFORE OH EIGHT WHEN THEY HAD TO SIGN OFF THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET ANYTHING.
AND NOW WE HAVE PEOPLE COMING UP AFTER A, AFTER A STELLAR 25 YEAR CAREER.
AND IF THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS DANCE WHEN THEY ASK THESE QUESTIONS, WE'RE GONNA BE VERY EMBARRASSED.
I'LL BE EMBARRASSED BY IT, QUITE FRANKLY.
UM, I, I UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATION AND, AND WE, WE ARE OFFERING SOMETHING.
IT'S JUST NOT THE SAME AS WHAT WAS OFFERED WHEN THEY WERE HIRED.
UM, SEVEN C IS HEALTH INSURANCE RATE INCREASES.
WE, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA MEET WITH OUR, UH, HEALTH INSURANCE VENDOR AND REVIEW OUR RATE.
WE'RE BRINGING IT BACK TO COUNSEL.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY HATE TO SEE HEALTH INSURANCE RATES GO UP, BUT, UM, THEY ALL DO.
SO WHAT ON BOTH SIDES? BOTH THE EMPLOYER AND THE EMPLOYEE.
UH, WE JUST HAVE TO SEE WHAT, WHAT Y'ALL COME UP WITH ON THAT ONE.
AND I THINK YOU, YOU HAD A QUESTION ON WHAT THE RATE INCREASES.
WHAT'S THE AVERAGE RATING? THE NATIONAL AGE, NATIONAL AVERAGE RATE INCREASE FOR LAST YEAR WAS SIX TO 7%.
THAT YEAH, I KNEW IT WAS AROUND 7%.
BUT NO, I KNEW IT WAS AROUND 7% 'CAUSE WE DID IT WHERE I AM.
UM, FINANCIAL UPDATES IS THE NEXT ON THE AGENDA.
SO THIS IS JUST A BRIEF AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA, FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, WE MIGHT, WE MIGHT BUMP JARED'S PRESENTATION UP TO BEFORE LUNCH SO WE CAN HAVE THAT TIMEFRAME.
BUT FOR FINANCIAL UPDATES, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT, ONE WAS REVIEWING THE HEALTH INSURANCE AS WELL.
UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO ALL OF OUR SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS IN THE UPCOMING YEAR.
WE'RE GONNA TAKE A LOOK AT SOME THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PERFORMING AS GOOD AS THEY PROBABLY SHOULD.
UM, ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT IS WE, WE WANT TO LOOK AT THIS TO BUSKEY ALLEN FERRY CONTRACT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THE ENTIRE THING IS BEING FUNDED BY GENERAL FUND.
SO I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY CLOSE THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND AND MOVE IT TO THE GENERAL FUND AS A CONTRACT SINCE WE'RE ALREADY, WE ARE BASICALLY USING A ERUM TO PAY FOR IT.
AND I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I THINK PREVIOUSLY WE WERE COLLECTING REVENUE FROM THE RIDERS.
WE HAD THE OLD, WE WERE JUST PAYING THE CONTRACT.
SO WE'RE REALLY NOT COLLECTING.
THE ONLY THING WE GET IS A GRANT, I BELIEVE PINKY RIGHT? EACH YEAR FROM SC DOT.
I THINK WE MISSED A GRANT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND I THINK, UH, WE, WE WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE DOT TO GIVE US FISCAL YEAR 25 PORTION IN FISCAL YEAR 26.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE ADDITIONAL 80,000 FOR FISCAL YEAR 26.
BUT THAT AMOUNT DOES NOT OFFSET THE COST OF YOUR CONTRACT WITH, UM, WHAT'S
[01:20:01]
HIS NAME? LOW COUNTRY FAIR.UM, SO AT THIS POINT YOU'RE REALLY FUNDING THE MAJORITY OF IT FROM GENERAL FUND DOLLARS ANYWAY.
SO, UM, IT'S A VERY HEFTY CONTRACT AND OBVIOUS, OBVIOUSLY SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS NEED TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT, SO, AND THIS ONE IS NOT RIGHT.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE REVIEWS THAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
THERE'S A COUPLE OTHERS IN IN SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING, UH, MOVING INTO THE GENERAL FUND AND JUST EVALUATING WHAT THE PROGRAMS ARE DOING.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT, ANOTHER INITIATIVE THAT FINANCE IS GONNA WORK ON THIS YEAR IS TAKING A LOOK AT SOME OF OUR OLD, UH, BONDED DEBT.
WE HAVE SOME SERIES 20 13, 20 15, UM, I MEAN CONVERSATIONS WITH BOND COUNSEL ABOUT SEEING THE ABILITY TO CALL ANY OF THESE BONDS AND DEFEAT SOME DEBT EARLIER THAN PLANNED SINCE WE DO HAVE A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE.
AND IT'D BE GREAT TO BRING DOWN OUR, OUR DEBT RATIO.
UM, ALSO ALONG THAT LINE WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME OF THOSE OLD BONDS THAT WE ISSUED.
THE 2017, THE 2019 AND THE 2020.
WE'RE LIKELY GONNA BRING YOU BACK SOME RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY WE HAD TO PAY A $350,000 ARBITRAGE PENALTY IN FISCAL YEAR 26 FROM THE 2020 BOND.
BUT IT'S DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVEN'T SPENT IT DOWN FAST ENOUGH.
OH, BACK THEN WHEN WE ISSUED BONDS, THE RATE WAS LIKE 2%.
WE'RE OBVIOUSLY GAINING A LOT MORE INTEREST ON, UH, SOME OF THAT DEBT BECAUSE RATES ARE HIGHER NOW.
SO, UM, IN ORDER TO KIND OF DEPLETE THE BALANCES, WE'RE GONNA PROBABLY PRESENT YOU WITH A LIST TO REAPPROPRIATE SOME OF THOSE OTHER OLD BOND MONIES SO THAT WE CAN GET SOME OF THESE PROJECTS TO THE FINISH LINE.
DID I MISS ANYTHING? ANY QUESTIONS? NO.
WHAT IS OUR FUND BALANCE? CURRENT FUND BALANCE? WE WERE SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO THE $73 MILLION NUMBER, UM, AT THE END OF FISCAL FISCAL YEAR 24.
KEEP IN MIND 30% OF THAT IS RESERVED FOR, UM, HURRICANE SEASON AS WELL, UH, TO KEEP US OPERATING IN THE CASE OF NATURAL DISASTER OCCURS.
SO WE HAVE LIKE 40 SOME MILLION DOLLARS EXTRA, WHICH IS WHY I WOULD LIKE YOU TO FEE SOME DEBT.
YOU WOULD LIKE TO WHAT? TO REDUCE THE DEBT TO FEE SOME REDUCE THE DEBT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE COULD CONSIDER AND WE HAVE DONE IS APPROPRIATE THOSE INTO CIP FUND.
CORRECT? LIKE LAST FISCAL YEAR I CAME TO YOU FOR $15 MILLION FOR CIP PROJECTS, WHICH IS I THINK A GOOD USE OF FUND BALANCE APPROPRIATE FOR CIP ONE TIME AND WE WILL LIKELY ASK FOR AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT THIS YEAR TOO.
SO THE GOAL WOULD BE TO REDUCE OUR DEBT AND NOT CONSIDER ADDING TO OUR DEBT.
YOU ALREADY ADDED TO YOUR DEBT IN 2025, SO WE'RE GOOD.
UH, I'M SAYING ABOUT IF THEY'RE CONTRADICTORY, YOU'RE GONNA STAND UP AND REDUCE THE DEBT AND WE CAN'T BE ADDING TO THE DEBT.
I WOULD LIKE TO ONE, REAPPROPRIATE SOME OF THE BOND FUNDS SO THAT WE CAN GET SOME PROJECTS COMPLETE AND THEN LOOK AT DEFEATING SOME OLDER DEBT THAT'S BEEN SITTING ON THE BOOKS FOR A WHILE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL UPDATE? NOPE.
GUESS DO WE HAVE ANY PLANS OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA SPEND THAT MONEY ON FROM THE FUND BALANCE? WE'RE PROBABLY PROBABLY GONNA REQUEST FOR THE CIP FUND TO FINISH SOME, SOME MORE OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE STILL HAVE ON THE BOOKS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS AN INITIATIVE YESTERDAY, UM, FINISHING UP SOME CAPITAL PROJECTS BEFORE WE'RE STARTING NEW ONES.
SO, UM, YEAH, WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA REQUEST PROBABLY ANOTHER $15 MILLION WERE CIP TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROJECTS THAT THEY HAVE.
A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN 2025 DUE TO THE, UH, DOUBLE BUDGETING ERROR, LIKE ONE OF THE POOLS HAD, UM, SOME FUNDING THAT WAS REMOVED.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE PROJECTS THAT JUST NEED TO GET TO THE FINISH LINE.
SO I WOULD SAY A LOT OF THE CAPITAL REQUESTS WE'VE HAD PARKS AND REC, UM, ARENAS, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.
IF, IF WE'RE DIRECTED TO LOOK AT THAT, THOSE ARE OPTIONS WE WOULD LOOK AT THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT APPROPRIATION FUND BALANCE.
CAN THOSE BE USED FOR ROADS OR ANY TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTURE? MM-HMM
THERE ARE SOME ROAD PROJECTS IN THE CIP PLAN.
BUT ROADS ALSO HAS SEVERAL OTHER FUNDING SOURCES AS WELL.
UM, THAT'S THE SECOND PAGE THAT WE DO LATER THIS AFTERNOON.
WE'RE GONNA BUMP, UH, AI UP SINCE JARED HAS OH, OKAY.
A VERY NICE PRESENTATION FOR YOU BEFORE WE DO THAT.
WE'RE JUST GOING ROGUE OFF THE AGENDA.
UH, WE, WE, UM, IT'S TOO EARLY FROM LUNCH.
WE GONNA TAKE A BREAK OR WE GONNA GO STRAIGHT THROUGH? I'D LIKE TO GO STRAIGHT IF WE CAN.
I'M GONNA TAKE, I'M GONNA TAKE A BREAK, BUT YOU CAN TAKE A PERSONAL BREAK IF YOU NEED TO, BUT YEAH.
LIKE WE DID DURING THAT MARATHON.
OKAY, SO THIS SCOTT, NOW I'VE FIGURED OUT,
[01:25:10]
OH YEAH.ARE WE TAKING A BREAK? NO, HE'S GETTING SET UP, BUT IF YOU NEED TO GO NO, THAT'S OKAY.
WHAT'S HE TALKING ABOUT? HE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT AI.
I MEAN, UH, REPRESENTATIVE BRADLEY FOR THAT ONE.
BRADLEY, THAT'S HIS SPECIALTY.
BRADLEY, I MEAN, ACCOMPLISHMENT.
WHERE? ALL RIGHT, SO OVER THE LAST A HUNDRED YEARS, TECHNOLOGY HAS CONSTANTLY RESHAPED HOW WE LIVE, HOW WE WORK, AND HOW WE LEAD.
AND TODAY WE'RE AT ANOTHER MILESTONE WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
AND THE QUESTION IS TODAY IS HOW ARE WE GOING TO APPROACH IT? ARE WE GONNA APPROACH IT WITH FEAR OR WITH CURIOSITY AND RESPECT? A SECOND.
UH, AND LOGAN AND DAVID'S NOT ON THE DAY.
YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE FIRST FEW OF THESE QUESTIONS, BUT I PROMISE I'LL GET, I'LL GET SOMETHING TO YOU.
SO, WHO IN THE ROOM, SHOW OF HANDS REMEMBERS THE FIRST TIME THEY HAD A BLACK AND WHITE TV IN THEIR HOUSE WHEN THEY ACTUALLY RECEIVED IT? GOT IT.
I KNOW THAT ONE WAS A LITTLE BIT BEFORE ME.
HOW MANY PEOPLE REMEMBER THEIR FIRST EIGHT TRACK PLAYER? OH YEAH, I DID THAT.
HOW DID YOU GET THIS QUESTION FROM
ALRIGHT, HOW ABOUT WHEN YOU TRANSITION FROM THAT BLACK AND WHITE TV TO THE COLOR TV? OH YEAH.
BROUGHT YOU IN LIVING COLOR ON NBC.
THE WORLD CHANGED, THE, I MEAN, THAT WAS A BIG TRANSITION, RIGHT? UH, WHAT ABOUT YOUR FIRST VCR NOW YOU COULD WATCH THE SHOW THAT YOU MISSED ON TUESDAY NIGHT OR FRIDAY.
HE'S, HE'S HOLDING HIS HAND UP.
AND YOUR FIRST, WHO REMEMBERS THE FIRST BOAT ANCHOR HOME COMPUTER THAT YOU HAD? OH YEAH.
OH, I DIDN'T GET ONE UNTIL LATER IN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT I DO REMEMBER, DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER THIS SOUND HERE? OH YEAH, THE SOUND.
THEY FINALLY JUST ENDED THAT A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.
HOW MANY PEOPLE REMEMBER THE FIRST BAG? CELL PHONE? DID ANYBODY HAVE A BAG? CELL PHONE? SURE DID.
I DON'T LIKE PEOPLE THAT GREW UP WITH MONEY.
WHAT ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.
WHAT ABOUT, UH, THIS MIGHT BE YOU LOGAN, WHAT ABOUT YOUR FIRST FLAT SCREEN TV? YEAH, I MEAN, WE HAD THE BIG HUGE TVS BIG, AND THEN IT WENT TO THE GIANT ONES.
AND THEN, UH, I REMEMBER THIS, UH, VIVIDLY, UM, THE FIRST SMARTPHONE, OR EVEN BACK UP A STEP FLIP PHONE.
HOW ABOUT BLACKBERRY FIRST? BLACKBERRY WAS FIRST.
I REMEMBER, THIS IS ME, AND THIS IS JUST 15 YEARS AGO.
I REMEMBER SAYING, WHY DO I WANT TO TEXT SOMEBODY WHEN I CAN JUST CALL THEM
AND THEN I THOUGHT IT WAS AFTER NINE O'CLOCK.
LIKE ME TO PAY A HUNDRED DOLLARS TO HAVE A SMARTPHONE WHEN I CAN JUST USE A COMPUTER FOR FREE.
WELL, EACH OF THESE THINGS WERE A LITTLE INTIMIDATING AT FIRST, BUT AFTER A WHILE, WE ALL ADAPTED.
WE ALL LEARNED, AND NOW WE'RE ALL EXPERTS IN THESE ITEMS OF TECHNOLOGY.
[01:30:02]
SO OVER THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS, WE'VE MOVED FROM POWER IN OUR HOUSE, ELECTRIFICATION TO THE RADIO, TO THE INTERNET, AND EVERY GENERATION HAS FACED NEW TECHNOLOGY.AND EVERY TIME WE HEARD THE SAME THING IS SCARY.
BUT YEAH, WE HERE, WE'RE NOT JUST USERS OF ALL THIS TECHNOLOGY WE MENTIONED, BUT WE'RE EXPERTS.
AND AI IS SIMPLY JUST THE NEXT STEP ON THIS SAME JOURNEY.
SO MY OLDEST DAUGHTER, MY OLDEST DAUGHTER JUST TURNED 15.
AND I'LL TAKE ALL THE PRAYERS AND CONCERNS THAT, THAT YOU'LL OFFER.
OKAY? SOMETHING THAT MANY OF YOU'VE PROBABLY DONE WITH YOUR OWN KIDS OR EVEN GRANDKIDS, NEVER AGAIN.
SO WHEN YOU'RE TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO DRIVE, ONE THING THAT YOU DON'T DO IS YOU DON'T THROW THEM THE KEYS TO THE FERRARI AND SAY, GOOD LUCK.
BUT YOU DON'T, YOUR NICEST CAR IN YOUR HOUSE.
YOU DON'T THROW 'EM THE KEYS TO THE NICEST CAR IN THE HOUSE, RIGHT? YOU GIVE THEM THE KEYS TO THE OLD FORD, MY GRANDKIDS DRIVE BECAUSE THE FORD'S ALREADY GOT SOME DENTS, SOME SCRATCHES.
IF THEY HIT SOMETHING, IT'S, IT'S NOT QUITE AS BIG A DEAL.
AND YOU ALSO, YOU WANT THEM TO, TO HAVE RESPECT OF THE POWER OF THE MACHINE THAT THEY'RE BEING ENTRUSTED UPON, BUT YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO BE PARALYZED BY IT BECAUSE THEY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DRIVE.
AND THEY NEED TO HAVE A HEALTHY FEAR AND RESPECT FOR WHAT THAT MACHINE CAN DO, NOT JUST TO THEM, BUT TO OTHERS.
SO A HEALTHY FEAR OF THE MACHINE, ENOUGH TO BE CAUTIOUS AND ALERT, BUT NOT THE KIND THAT KEEPS YOU FROM MOVING FORWARD.
HERE IN AI, IT'S, IT'S POWERFUL.
IT DESERVES RESPECT, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING TO RUN FROM EITHER.
AND WHEN WE DRIVE ON ALL THE ROADS THAT WE DRIVE ON, YOU HAVE SIGNS.
AND SIGNS AREN'T MEANT TO MAKE DRIVING LESS FUN.
SIGNING SIGNS ARE MEANT TO KEEP US SAFE.
WHETHER THEY'RE ROAD SIGNS OR CAUTION AHEAD AND WITHOUT SIGNS, UM, THERE'S CHAOS.
AND THE SIGNS ARE RESPECT FOR OUR SAFETY OF US AND ALSO THE SAFETY OF OTHERS.
WE NEED SIGNS, WE NEED GUARDRAILS.
WE NEED TO KNOW OUR LEFT AND RIGHT BOUNDARIES TO GUIDE US HOW TO SAFELY AND USE IT RESPONSIBLY.
IT'S NOT GOING TO REPLACE US, BUT IT DOES ASSIST.
IT HELPS US NAVIGATE FASTER, SMARTER, AND MORE EFFICIENTLY.
BUT WE'RE STILL IN CONTROL OF THE WHEEL.
THAT'S OUR MINDSET, HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD AS A COUNTY, GPS DID NOT REPLACE DRIVING.
AI IS OUR THOUGHT PARTNER, AND WE ARE THE THOUGHT LEADER.
WE ARE THE ONES DRIVING THE MACH.
THAT'S HOW WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT AI AS LEADERS.
IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY NOT TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES, BUT ALSO NOT PUT THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO CREATE THE ROADMAP, THAT GUIDANCE THAT KEEPS OUR ORGANIZATION SAFE WHILE ALLOWING US TO EXPLORE.
THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS TODAY.
THIS ROADMAP ISN'T ABOUT RACING THE HEAD, IT'S ABOUT DRIVING WISELY.
IT ENSURES THAT AI SERVES OUR MISSION.
IT ALIGNS WITH OUR VALUES AND STRENGTHENS OUR PUBLIC TRUST.
WE WANT TO ENSURE THREE THINGS, EMPOWERMENT, PROTECTION, AND A PLAN AHEAD.
WE WANT TO EMPOWER OUR, OUR, UM, STAFF TO USE, TO HAVE TOOLS AND TRAININGS TO HELP STAFF TO WORK SMARTER.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S GUARDRAILS FOR DATA AND PRIVACY AND ETHICS CONCERNS.
WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE POLICIES AND FRAMEWORKS THAT ENCOURAGE INNOVATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
SO EVERY NEW TECHNOLOGY, UM, FELT UNCERTAIN AT ONE POINT UNTIL IT BECAME SECOND NATURE.
AND AI WILL BE THE EXACT SAME WAY.
WE'LL LEARN TO LEARN, WE'LL LEARN, WE'LL ADAPT, AND WE'LL LEAD OUR COMMUNITIES TOGETHER IN THE FUTURE.
AI ISN'T SOMETHING FOR US TO FEAR, IT'S SOMETHING TO UNDERSTAND, TO APPROACH WITH CURIOSITY AND RESPECT AND WITH RESPONSIBILITY.
AND BECAUSE BEAUFORT COUNTY'S NEVER BEEN AFRAID OF PROGRESS, WE'RE NOT ABOUT TO START NOW.
SO TODAY ISN'T THE DAY OF THE END OF THE CONVERSATION, BUT IT'S THE START OF OUR JOURNEY.
AND BEFORE WE START BUILDING OUR ROADMAP TOGETHER, I WANT TO FIRST P YOUR CURIOSITY WAS AN EXAMPLE.
[01:35:01]
TRANSITION FROM THIS SLIDESHOW AND SHOW YOU A QUICK EXAMPLE OF WHAT AI, JUST ONE SMALL THING THAT AI CAN DO FOR YOU AS COUNCIL MEMBERS.SO GIMME A SECOND AS WE TRANSITION, RIGHT? ALL RIGHT.
OCTAVIA'S PASSING OUT A SHEET.
UM, DO NOT FLIP IT OVER UNTIL I TALK THROUGH IT.
THAT IS YOUR, YOUR ASSIGNMENT.
ARE YOU GIVING A GREEN ON THIS PIECE? YES SIR.
WELL, Y'ALL WILL BE THE GRADERS HERE IN A SECOND AFTER WE OPEN IT UP AND LOOK AT IT.
AND THERE'S ENOUGH TO SHARE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE.
WHAT ABOUT GUYS? OH NO, I DO NOT.
WE'RE ABOUT TO SHOW IT AFTER WE DO IT.
UM, THE GUYS ONLINE, JUST HOLD TIGHT FOR ANOTHER QUICK SECOND AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO AS SHE'S PASSING IT OUT, I'LL DESCRIBE WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
THIS IS NOT A VERY COMPLICATED PROMPT ANYBODY CAN DO.
UM, THE ATTACHMENT IS OUR COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA FROM LAST MONDAY.
I THINK COUNCILMAN BARMY WAS THE ONE THAT SAID, WE GET A THOUSAND PAGES.
HOW CAN WE BE EXPECTED TO READ A THOUSAND PAGES? JERRY, YOU GIVING AWAY ALL MY SECRETS RIGHT NOW? I DON'T.
AND SO BY A SIMPLE PROMPT, I'LL READ IT OUT LOUD.
UM, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TELLING IT TO DO.
AND YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND HIT RUN 'CAUSE IT'LL TAKE JUST A SECOND.
IT SAYS, USE THE ATTACHED BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA PACKET WITH BACKUP INFORMATION TO PROVIDE AN EXPANDED CLIFF NOTES VERSION, SUMMARY VERSION OF THE ATTACHED BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA, SUCH THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF EACH OF THE AGENDA ITEMS, ITEMS ONE THROUGH 16, WELL ENOUGH FOR A DISCUSSION AND VOTE FOR EACH ITEM.
AND AS YOU SEE, IT TOOK LESS THAN A MINUTE TO SORT THROUGH 364 PAGES AND COME AND SCROLL DOWN.
AND AS SHE'S SCROLLING DOWN, YOU CAN FLIP THIS OVER AND LOOK AT YOUR SHEET.
ALL I DID WAS TAKE THIS COPY AND PASTE IT INTO WORD AND THEN JUST FORMAT IT A LITTLE BIT.
WHAT I DIDN'T DO, AND THIS IS WHY WE NEED PROTECTIONS AND BOUNDARIES AND POLICIES, IS ALTHOUGH THIS IS READILY OF INFORMATION ON, UM, ONLINE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, WHAT IT DOESN'T COMPLETELY GET IS CONTEXT.
IT'S GREAT AT SUMMARIZING TEXT, BUT SOMETIMES THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT THAT'S NEEDED TO ADD AND REVIEW.
SO NOT GOING THROUGH 'EM ALL, BUT AS YOU SEE THERE, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT PROBABLY NEED A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE MORE ATTENTION AND TWEAKING.
I DID NOT DO THAT ON PURPOSE BECAUSE I WANTED TO SHOW YOU THAT THIS IS 95% GOOD, BUT AS THE THOUGHT LEADER, MY THOUGHT PARTNER PRODUCED THIS IN A MINUTE, WHICH WOULD'VE TOOK ME WAY LONGER THAN A MINUTE FOR ME TO PRODUCE IT.
I NEED TO BE THE LEADER AND MAKE SURE THIS INFORMATION IS GOOD BEFORE IT'S SENT OUT FOR DISBURSEMENT.
BECAUSE AGAIN, YOU GUYS ARE VOTING ON A THOUSAND PAGES AND THIS SYNOPSIS WAS 364 PAGES OF DOCUMENTS.
THIS AT LEAST GIVES YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW.
AND THEN IF YOU WANT TO GO AND RESEARCH, ALL THAT INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT.
THAT'S THE REASON WE PUT IT IN THE PACKET.
BUT THIS GIVES YOU A STARTER AND THEN YOU CAN GO AND RESEARCH IT A LITTLE BIT MORE FULLY.
THAT'S JUST A CURIOSITY POINT, BUT JARED, CLEARLY IT'S ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION TO GET THIS INFORMATION CORRECT.
SO PROMPTS, THOSE ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
UM, ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION IS IMPORTANT.
THE BETTER YOU ARE AT, AT ASKING, THE BETTER RESULTS YOU GET BACK.
UM, SO PROMPT ENGINEERING, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS A SKILL, IT'S A LEARNED SKILL AND WE CAN ALL LEARN IT.
SO, UM, OCTAVIA PASSING THIS OUT, THIS IS ALSO ON THE SCREEN FOR US TO TALK THROUGH.
SO THIS IS THE MEAT AND POTATOES.
THIS IS WHAT WE WANT TO PRESENT TO YOU GUYS.
GET YOUR FEEDBACK BECAUSE THIS IS THE DIRECTION THAT WE THINK WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
AND THIS IS TO CREATE THE POLICIES FOR GOVERNANCE AND, AND FRAMEWORK FOR USE.
SO, UM, THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT I JUST SAID.
WE, WE WANNA LOOK AT AI, USE IT AS A POTENTIAL TOOL, BUT MAKE SURE THAT IT'S BEING USED APPROPRIATELY.
SO THE ROADMAP OBJECTIVES, THE SECOND SECTION THERE, UM, WE WANT TO ESTABLISH THE ETHICAL GOVERNANCE.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S,
[01:40:01]
UM, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND A FRAMEWORK THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR US TO USE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC, UH, INFORMATION SPACES.WE WANT TO BUILD A WORKFORCE WITH CAPACITY.
SO THERE'S UPSKILLING, JUST LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT WITH PROMPTS.
WE WANT TO USE THAT, UM, AND TEACH OUR EMPLOYEES.
WE WANT TO IDENTIFY AND USE PILOT CASES.
I JUST SHOWED YOU A SIMPLE EXAMPLE, BUT THERE'S PLENTY MORE EXAMPLES.
UM, ALL ACROSS OUR DEPARTMENTS, WE WANT TO USE THIS FOR, UH, TO STRENGTHEN OUR PUBLIC TRUST.
SO, UM, BEING ABLE TO GET INFORMATION TO CITIZENS AS QUICKLY AND AS, UM, ACCURATE.
MAKE SURE IT'S GOOD INFORMATION.
AND THEN INSTITUTIONAL OVERSIGHT.
SO, UM, BEYOND GETTING THE FRAMEWORK STARTED, THIS IS NOT A ONE AND DONE.
SO AI IS HERE TO STAY AND WE NEED TO STAY OVER IT, UM, WITH SOME TYPE OF OVERSIGHT FROM NOW INTO THE FUTURE.
SO AS FAR AS THE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE, AS FAR AS WHAT, HOW WOULD WE LOOK INTERNAL? WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE FOR US? ALL OF IT OBVIOUSLY FALLS UNDER THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
WHAT WE WOULD SUGGEST TO THE ADMINISTRATOR AND TO YOU GUYS, IS THAT WE SET UP A, A STAFF CROSS DEPARTMENTAL STAFF, UM, TEAM TASK FORCE THAT THEY WOULD BE TASKED AND WE'LL GET TO THE CERTAIN TASK REQUIREMENTS IN A SECOND.
UM, BUT THEY WOULD DEVELOP THE FUNDAMENTAL POLICY AND, AND RECOMMENDED USE CASES.
AND THEN AFTER THEY DO THEIR WORK, INITIAL WORK, UH, THEN THAT COMMITTEE, WHETHER IT'S THE SAME PEOPLE OR DIFFERENT PEOPLE WOULD TRANSITION INTO A STANDING COMMITTEE.
AGAIN, AI IS GONNA CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE AI THAT WE ARE USING TODAY IS THE WORST AI YOU'LL EVER USE IN YOUR LIFE.
AND I MEAN THAT BECAUSE EVERY DAY IT IMPROVES AND THE IMPROVEMENT IS JUST PHENOMENAL.
SO WE NEED TO HAVE A COMMITTEE THAT STAYS WITH IT BECAUSE IT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO DEVELOP.
AND THEN INTERNAL TO THE AI COMMITTEE IS POTENTIAL FOR SUBCOMMITTEES.
SO GOVERNING GOVERNMENTS AND ETHICS TRAINING AND WORKFORCE, UH, ENGAGEMENT, DATA INFRASTRUCTURE AND USE CASES ALL ARE EXAMPLES OF TYPES OF SUBCOMMITTEES.
SO WHAT WOULD THIS LOOK LIKE FOR US? IF YOU FLIP IT OVER TO THE NEXT PAGE, THE ROAD LINE TIMELINE.
SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE ADMINISTRATION LEVEL OVER THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS, AND THEN WE'RE TALKING HERE TODAY WITH COUNSEL AND, AND THEN THE THOUGHT WOULD BE TO GO AHEAD AND INITIATE A TASK FORCE.
'CAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING YOU GUYS THINK IS IMPORTANT AND APPROPRIATE.
THAT WOULD BE THE RECOMMENDED NEXT STEP.
AND THEN MOVING INTO THE NEW YEAR, ONCE WE HAVE OUR TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED, UM, DOING AN INVENTORY, PEOPLE ARE USING IT ALREADY.
LET'S, LET'S FIND OUT HOW IT'S BEING USED TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND OUR STARTING POINT.
AND THEN, UM, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS, THAT POLICY OR THAT GROUP DEVELOP A POLICY AND FRAMEWORK AND THEY START DRAFTING THE GOVERNANCE.
THE GOOD THING IS WE'RE NOT STARTING FROM SCRATCH.
WE'RE NOT THE ONLY MUNICIPAL OR COUNTY JURISDICTION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT JURISDICTION THAT'S DOING THIS.
UM, I'VE, I'VE BEEN AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT EVENTS AND, AND RESOURCED A LOT OF DIFFERENT INFORMATION.
ICMA, UM, NACO, DFOA, UM, THERE'S A WHOLE HOST OF ENTITIES THAT ARE LEADING INTO THIS.
THE BEST ENTITY THAT I'VE FOUND SO FAR, UM, IS THE CITY OF SAN JOSE IN CALIFORNIA.
UH, THEY STARTED A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
AGAIN, THIS IS INTEREST THAT'S RIGHT IN SILICON VALLEY.
UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE A LOT OF TECH OUT THERE, AND THEY GOT STARTED TWO YEARS AGO.
THEY MADE AN OPEN SOURCE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
SO THEY ARE AT THIS VERY MOMENT THE LEADING, THE LEADING POINT.
AND SO THEY'VE GOT AI POLICIES ALREADY ESTABLISHED THAT WE CAN TAKE AND EDIT AND MAKE OUR OWN.
SO A VERY GOOD RESOURCE FOR US THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE, UH, THE THOUGHT PROCESS THAT WHERE DO WE START? HOW DO WE CREATE THIS? IT'S ALREADY THERE.
AND THEN, UM, THAT, THAT COMMITTEE COME BACK AND PRESENT A FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL SOMETIME IN THE APRIL TIMEFRAME, LATE SPRING.
AND THEN AFTERWARDS THEY TRANSITION INTO THAT STANDING COMMITTEE AS, AS MENTIONED.
SO AS A RECAP, THOSE DELIVERABLES WOULD BE A AI POLICY AND A RISK CLASSIFICATION F FRAMEWORK.
SO WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH SOMETHING, WHAT IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS? WELL, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PLAN FOR THAT.
SO YOU KIND OF HAVE IT BROKEN DOWN AS, AS A, UM, MILD, MEDIUM AND, AND, UM, LARGE ISSUE.
AND SO, UM, IF WE MISSPELL A WORD, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A MILD ISSUE.
IF WE RELEASE A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, THAT'S A MAJOR ISSUE.
AND SO WE WOULD PUT GOVERNANCE AND FRAMEWORK ON HOW WE USE IT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T, UM, HAVE BAD ISSUES.
BUT IF WE DO HAVE A BAD ISSUE, THIS IS HOW WE'RE GONNA ADDRESS IT.
UM, AI INVENTORY, AGAIN, WHAT'S BEING USED ALREADY WITHIN THE COUNTY.
UM, ETHICAL GUIDELINES AND GOVERNANCE MODEL,
[01:45:01]
UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.HOW DO WE THINK WE COULD USE IT? UH, ONE THING THAT'S BEEN MENTIONED, I THINK MATT OR MIKE MENTIONED IT, I'M NOT SURE WHERE I GOT MATT FROM
JUST AS WE TALK ABOUT OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND WE'RE DOING AN RFP RIGHT NOW ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, DOES THAT HAVE SOME SORT OF AI DOES IT SEARCH WITHIN THE, WE HAVE A HOST OF INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT IT MIGHT TAKE SEVEN OR EIGHT CLICKS TO GET THERE, RIGHT? SO DO WE HAVE LIKE A CHAT FUNCTION WHERE SOMEBODY CAN COME ON OUR WEBSITE AND AND, AND JUST DO A CHAT? SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I THINK WE CAN INTERACT WITH OUR CITIZENS JUST LIKE AMAZON.
BUT I THINK THERE'S IMPLICATIONS FOR THAT THAT WE NEED TO REALLY THINK THROUGH AND THAT'S WHAT THIS GROUP IS GOING TO DO.
AND THEN LASTLY, WORKFORCE TRAINING.
HOW CAN WE UPSCALE OUR EMPLOYEES? UM, AGAIN, GOV AI, THE CITY OF SAN JOSE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE WORKING ON PROVIDING STUDIES THAT ARE, UM, RESOURCES FOR THAT.
AND THEN LASTLY, THE FINAL REPORT AND HOW DO WE CONTINUE FROM HERE? SO THIS IS JUST US PUTTING SOMETHING ON PAPER, UH, BRINGING UP THE DISCUSSION POINT WITH YOU GUY.
WE'D LOVE, WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANY FEEDBACK, UM, THAT YOU HAVE AND IF YOU THINK THIS IS APPROPRIATE FOR US TO STEP TOWARDS AND TAKE ACTION UPON.
UH, THERE ARE MANY AI PLATFORMS OUT THERE, SO I, I THINK WE AS AN ORGANIZATION ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DECIDE WHICH ONE WORKS.
ONES NOT JUST ONE, BECAUSE EACH OF THEM HAVE THEIR OWN IDIOSYNCRASIES AND POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES AS TO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO USE.
THERE ARE FREE OUT THERE AND THERE ARE SUBSCRIPTIONS.
THE SUBSCRIPTIONS HAVE A LOT MORE GOING FOR IT, AND I THINK THAT'S THE WAY WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO IN THE AI WORLD.
I, I, I THINK THE SCHEDULE IS, UM, GREAT.
IT'S AMBITIOUS, BUT IT'S NECESSARY.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT IT? I JUST WANNA A COMMENT.
UM, I WENT TO WENDY'S THE OTHER DAY AND I HADN'T BEEN TO WENDY'S IN YEARS.
I USED TO GO TO WHEN I WORKED FULL TIME AND NOW IT'S AI.
YOU TALK TO THE BOARD, TELL 'EM WHAT YOU WANT, THEN THEY ASK YOU THESE QUESTIONS, YES OR NO.
DO YOU WANT EXTRA CHEESE? DO YOU WANT LARGE? YOU WANT SMALL? I DON'T LIKE IT.
UH, BACK IN THE SIXTIES, MY DAD WORKED FOR JOHNS HOPKINS, APPLIED PHYSICS UP AND HE USED TO PUT US IN THE CAR TO GO TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE IN ST.
AND HE USED TO SAY TO US WHEN WE WERE LIKE EIGHT YEARS OLD, OH, ONE DAY YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DRIVE A CAR AND JUST PUSH THE BUTTON.
WITH ANY NEW, WITH ANY NEW TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM, THERE'S ALWAYS SKEPTICISM, RIGHT? YEAH.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RISKS THAT WE, THE COUNTY WOULD BE FACING? WELL, I THINK, YOU KNOW, BRIAN CAN HIT, CERTAINLY HIT ON THAT, BUT THERE'S AN EXAMPLE GIVEN ONE OF THE CONFERENCES WHERE SOMEBODY WENT ON TO A WEBSITE IN NEW NEW YORK AND ASKED SOME QUESTION AND THE AI GAVE, GAVE A REALLY KIND OF RIDICULOUS ANSWER.
LIKE, GO HURT YOURSELF OR SOMETHING.
BUT, BUT THAT, THAT'S LIABILITY BECAUSE THAT WAS ACTUALLY A RESPONSE TO A CITIZEN.
SO THEY, THE, THE CITY HAD TO DEAL WITH THAT.
YOU'RE HEARING ON THE AIRWAYS WHERE THEY'RE WARNED ABOUT THE SUICIDE, THERE'S BIG FIGHTS ABOUT THE SUICIDE, STUFF LIKE THAT.
THE CAUTION I WILL GIVE YOU IS, JARED GAVE A GREAT EXAMPLE AS FAR AS HOW TO, UH, GET TO YOUR AGENDA.
A QUICK SUMMARY, UH, IF YOU DIDN'T WANNA READ ALL THEISS FOR THE SUMMARY, MY CAUTION IS THAT THAT INFORMATION THAT YOU PUT IN THERE TO JET CHAT, SHEET PT, OR ANY OF THESE OTHER PLATFORMS IS ALL OUT IN THE PUBLIC.
SO YOU CAN'T DO THAT FOR OUR PRIVILEGED INFORMATION.
SO EXECUTIVE SESSION, YOU CAN'T DO THAT FOR THOSE EXECUTIVE SESSION MATERIALS 'CAUSE THAT GOES OUT TO THE PUBLIC MM-HMM
SO YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHEN AND WHERE YOU USE THAT.
AND I THINK THE OTHER THING I'VE HEARD IS THAT PUTTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IN THERE, THAT THEN GOES OUT AND IT'S, IT'S OUT THERE.
AND, AND THEN IT, AND, UM, A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER PERSPECTIVES NEED TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS AS WE GO THROUGH, UM, WITH A TASK FORCE AS FAR AS THE SENSITIVE INFORMATION, THEY CHAT.
GPT HAS A, A GOVERNMENT, UM, FUNCTION, THE ENTERPRISE SOLUTION, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE RESTRICTED.
IT HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE PARAMETERS, SO IT HELPS PROTECT AGAINST SOME OF THOSE.
UM, BUT IT'S ALSO KNOWLEDGE, LIKE KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO, YOU DON'T NEED TO PUT THAT SENSITIVE INFORMATION IN THERE, RIGHT.
SO IF A CITIZEN, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO PROBABLY HAVE DISCLAIMERS AS WELL, YOU KNOW, FOR
[01:50:01]
CITIZENS WHO USE OUR SYSTEM.IF THEY'RE PUTTING PERSONAL INFORMATION, WE WOULD WANNA WARN AGAINST THAT TYPE OF THING TOO.
DID, UM, DID MARK OR LARRY, Y'ALL HAVE ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? NO.
I HAVE ONE OTHER, I'M LOOKING AT THE SAN JOSE SITE.
IT'S VERY STRONG AND WELL BUILT.
AND THEY HAVE, UH, MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS, WHICH ARE VERY INTERESTING.
THEIR NEWSLETTERS ARE FANTASTIC.
WELL, THEY HAVE A WHOLE COALITION GOING ON.
SO, UM, JUST TO NOTE, IF YOU LOOK ON THE MAP, UM, I JOINED GOV AI.
AND SO BEAUFORT COUNTY IS REPRESENTED IN THE COALITION, SO THE BARRIER TO ENTRY WAS VERY LOW.
UM, SO WE'RE PART OF GOV AI COALITION, IF YOU SEE IT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE IN SOUTH CAROLINA ARE INVOLVED.
THE TRANSITION TO A STANDING COMMITTEE, IS THAT A BOARD COMMITTEE OR IS THAT, UM, AN ADMINISTRATIVE? I THINK INITIALLY IT IS ADMINISTRATIVE, BUT I THINK WHAT I'VE SEEN THROUGH GOV AI, IN OTHER WORDS, UM, THERE'S PLACES WHERE YOU CAN REACH OUT AND MAYBE YOU HAVE, UM, THE SCHOOLS, UM, THAT ARE INCORPORATED.
UM, ACADEMIC IS A REAL GOOD USE.
UM, THERE MAY BE SOME INTERACTION WHERE YOU HAVE INTERACTION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR.
SO HOW WE PRESENT OUR, UM, PERMITTING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO BASICALLY HEAR THE PAIN POINTS FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND GENERAL PUBLIC.
UM, IT COULD BE A USEFUL THING.
SO THERE COULD BE, UM, LAYERS TO THAT, BUT INITIALLY IT WOULD BE WHATEVER STAFF AND TRANSITION INTO A STANDING COMMITTEE.
UM, YEAH, IT WAS INTERESTING THAT, UM, I THINK THIS WAS PRESENTED THIS MORNING ON THE NEWS, UH, ABOUT EMBRACING AI AND BASICALLY, UM, SAYING SOME SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID, USING THOSE KIND OF EXAMPLE.
AND, UH, IT ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT, UM, PEOPLE WERE AFRAID OF IT BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE BEING, THEY WERE GONNA LOSE THEIR JOBS, BUT TECHNOLOGY CREATED MORE JOBS, MORE OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND THE GROWTH IS THERE.
THE ONLY CAUTION, IT IS NOT A CAUTION.
UM, I, I, I, WHEN I RESEARCH INFORMATION, UH, I, UM, I, A LOT OF TIME I PUT EDU BEHIND IT BECAUSE I WANT EDUCATIONAL BASED INFORMATION WHEN I RECEIVE IT.
THERE ARE A LOT OF JUNK OUT THERE IN THE WORLD ON THE INTERNET TO SOCIAL MEDIA AND ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT BEAUFORT COUNTY CAN BE A LEADER, UM, AND, AND BEAUFORT COUNTY AS A WHOLE, UH, BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE TRYING TO DO THE SAME THING AND EMBRACE AI AND HOW THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE LOOKING AT BEING MORE EFFICIENT IN THE OPERATION.
SO ONCE WE MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION, MAYBE WE CAN BE LIKE A GUIDE FOR OTHER AGENCIES.
UM, WHO WILL TRY TO DO THE SAME THING.
UM, IF SOMETHING GOES OUT FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S FACTUAL INFORMATION AND IT CANNOT BE MANIPULATED HERE OR THERE, OR WHATEVER AND STUFF, BECAUSE THAT'S BEFORD COUNTY, AND YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S WITH AI, WITH TECHNOLOGY, ANYTHING CAN BE MANIPULATED AND STUFF.
I THINK ONE PLACE TO BE THE LEADER IS INTERNALLY WITHIN THE STATE.
SO SCAC, WE HAD THE ONE, UM, BRIEFING THIS YEAR.
UM, I'M SURE THEY'LL BE LOOKING FOR, HEY, UM, IS ANYBODY A CALL FOR, FOR, UM, PRESENTATIONS? I WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN FOR US TO BE UP THERE AND SAY, LOOK WHAT WE DID.
WE PUT THIS IN PLACE AND MAKE THAT PRESENTATION IN THE, IN THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
SO THAT WOULD BE GREAT PLACE TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
I'LL RUN FAST BECAUSE BLUFFS ON HERE TOO.
ONE LAST THING TO NOTE IS THE PRESENTATION THAT I GAVE.
UM, I WANNA TELL YOU HOW I DID THAT.
SO I USED AI TO HELP ME COME UP.
I PUT IN ALL MY THOUGHTS, THIS IS WHAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT.
IT HELPED ME REFINE MY THOUGHTS, AND I TOLD IT, MAKE ME A, UM, A PROMPT OF ALL THE SLIDES THAT I WANNA DO.
I TOOK THE PROMPT AND I PUT THAT FROM CHAT GPT, AND I PUT IT IN GROCK, WHICH IS ANOTHER ELON MUSK MUSK'S, UM, AI.
I PUT IT IN GROCK AND DESCRIBED THE IMAGE, AND THEN I SAID THE IMAGE, MAKE IT INTO A VIDEO.
AND THEN I TOOK THE VIDEO AND I PUT IT BACK IN THE POWERPOINT AND ADDED IT ALL TOGETHER.
SO THAT ENTIRE VIDEO, ALL THOSE THINGS YOU SAID WAS THEY DID NOT EXIST BEFORE.
I CREATED THAT PROMPT, THE TEENAGE DAUGHTER DRIVING, UH, MY DAUGHTER THAT WAS NOT MY DAUGHTER
[01:55:01]
IT'S, IT'S CRAZY WHERE STUFF IS.UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR THANK YOU OPPORTUNITIES.
GOING BACK TO OUR SCHEDULE, UM, WE WE'RE GONNA JUMP BACK UP TO FLEET SIZE.
I LIKE THE PICTURE OF THE, OF THE OLD FORD THAT LOOKED LIKE THE ONE LEARNED HEALTH PROBLEM.
SO WE, UH, WHEN WE STARTED YESTERDAY, I DID MENTION ONE OF THE INITIATIVES WE WANTED TO LOOK AT IS, IS FLEET SIZE, TAKE HOME VEHICLE POLICY.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, EARLY ON WHEN I GOT HERE, YOU KNOW, JOHN AND I HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS AND WITH THE REORGANIZATION FLEET IS NOW UNDER JOHN.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, IS OUR FLEET SIZE CORRECT AND, UH, DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT POLICY WITH REGARDING TAKE HOME VEHICLES? SO I'LL LET JOHN COME UP AND MAKE A FEW COMMENTS AND THEN WE CAN ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS FROM THERE.
SO, AS MIKE SAID, UM, ABOUT, UM, TWO YEARS AGO, FLEET BECAME ITS OWN DEPARTMENT WITHIN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
WE HAD OUR OWN, UH, WE HAD A VENDOR THAT WAS PROVIDING FLEET SERVICES FOR LIKE 20 YEARS BEFORE THAT.
WE BECAME ITS OWN DEPARTMENT ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
SO WE MADE THE DEPARTMENT, WE MADE IT AN INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENT.
IT BECAME, IT'S, UH, AN INTERNAL SERVICE FUND, UH, FOR THIS BUDGET YEAR.
AND IT'S HAD ITS OWN DEPARTMENT HEAD FOR, UH, REALLY ABOUT THE LAST YEAR.
UM, AND THAT DEPARTMENT NOW REPORTS TO, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO WHILE IT IS, UH, AS CHUCK, UH, MENTIONED EARLIER, IT'S PHYSICALLY CONNECTED TO THE PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING.
OTHER THAN THAT PHYSICAL CONNECTION, IT'S ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, WITH PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, THOSE 18 STAFF MEMBERS, NINE OF THOSE ARE FULL-TIME MECHANICS.
THEY'RE, WELL, ABOUT 11, REALLY NINE FULL-TIME MECHANICS IN THE SHOP, AND TWO OTHERS ARE ON THE ROAD ALL DAY LONG IN SERVICE TRUCKS GOING TO ALL ENDS OF THE COUNTY, UH, MANAGING THINGS THAT BREAK IN THE FIELD, WHEREVER THEY ARE.
WE, UH, THE FLEET SERVICES MANAGES ABOUT 1400 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, A ROLLING STOCK, THINGS WITH WHEELS ON IT, OR AN ENGINE OR SOME OTHER DEVICE WITH THOSE, UM, MECHANICS THAT WORK, THAT RATIO IS 167 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT PER MECHANIC.
THE NATIONAL STANDARD IS ONE IN 40 TO 50.
SO OUR GUYS ARE WORKING ON THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF EQUIPMENT AS A NATIONAL STANDARD.
SO THEY'RE DOING A LOT AND A VERY OLD SHOP WITH SOME PRETTY OLD EQUIPMENT.
AND, UH, IT'S TIME TO TAKE SOME ACTION AND FRESHEN THAT UP.
AND YOU WILL SEE THAT LATER IN THE YEAR AS WE BEGIN TO TALK ABOUT PERSONNEL, BECAUSE WE ARE KIND OF STARTING FRESH AND IT'S FLEDGLING AND THEY'RE GETTING A LOT DONE.
UM, WE'LL SEE MORE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS AS WE ADD SOME PEOPLE TO THAT ORGANIZATION, UH, TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE.
IT'S NOT UTOPIA THERE YET, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS THAT GOAL.
ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, UH, THAT WE HAVE DONE IS LOOK AT, UM, THE, UM, TAKE HOME VEHICLES THAT WE HAVE.
WE HAVE CERTAIN, UH, DEPARTMENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE ROUTINE EMERGENCY RESPONSE, LIKE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.
THEY GET CALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT ALL OVER AREAS OF THE COUNTY TO GO RESOLVE A PROBLEM, WHETHER IT BE AT A WATER LEAK OR A WATER BACKUP OR A ROOF OR WHATEVER'S HAPPENING.
A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR, UM, SHOP VEHICLES IMMEDIATELY, EMERGENCY VEHICLES AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO WE HAVE A DRAFT POLICY THAT'S BEEN DEVELOPED, UM, THAT NEEDS TO GET CIRCULATED, UH, WITH STAFF, VETTED BY LEGAL AND THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, AND THAT WILL WILL COME FORWARD SOON.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE PRETTY FOCUSED ON IS EFFICIENCY.
UH, THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT WE HAVE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, THE NUMBER OF ROLLING STOCK AS JARED CALLED THEM EARLIER ARE, ARE YELLOW IRON.
UH, HOW MANY, HOW MANY DEPARTMENTS HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF DEVICE OR THE SAME TYPE OF EQUIPMENT? UM, IN, IN THE, IN THE PAST AND CURRENTLY, WE, OUR DEPARTMENTS USE THIS EQUIPMENT IN MORE OF A DECENTRALIZED MANNER.
YOUR DEPARTMENT NEEDS THIS EQUIPMENT, YOUR DEPARTMENT NEEDS THIS EQUIPMENT, AND YOUR DEPARTMENT NEEDS THIS EQUIPMENT.
IS THAT THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY FOR US TO FUNCTION? ONE OF THE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE IN FLEET IS TO CONSIDER A LOGISTICS, UH, MANAGER OR A MOTOR POOL MANAGER.
THE MILITARY WOULD CALL THAT, WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE ONE OF THOSE VEHICLES OR PIECES OF EQUIPMENT.
AND THAT MOTOR POOL MANAGER HAS THE ABILITY TO MAINTAIN THAT PIECE
[02:00:01]
OF EQUIPMENT AND MOVE THAT EQUIPMENT WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO, WHEN IT NEEDS TO BE THERE.SO IT IS EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY MANAGED FROM THE FINANCIAL POINT, UH, OF VIEW THAT WORKS VERY WELL.
BUT WHEN BOTH OF YOU NEED IT AT THE SAME TIME AND HAVE SOME IMMEDIACY, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE CONSIDER THAT.
SO, LIKE I TALKED ABOUT, EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT IT'S GONNA TAKE US A WHILE TO GET THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY DEPARTMENT HAS WHAT THEY NEED AVAILABLE TO THEM WHEN THEY NEED IT.
UM, SO THERE'S ROOM FOR US TO, TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS.
THOSE ARE JUST SOME THINGS THAT, THAT ARE ON OUR MINDS.
SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE, UM, AS WELL AS THOSE BIG PIECES OF EQUIPMENT AND, AND ISOLATED THINGS ARE SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE EASIER FOR US.
THE, UH, SMALLER ADMINISTRATION TYPE VEHICLES THAT YOU FIND ALL OVER THE COUNTY, WE CAN FIND SOME EFFICIENCY OF USE IN, IN THAT ARENA AS WELL.
UM, SO WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT GOAL AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH DEPARTMENTS ON THAT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CAN THINGS YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? I CONSIDERATIONS? I HAD A QUESTION.
LIKE, CURRENTLY, DOES PARKS AND REC DO THEIR OWN GRASS CUTTING AND WITH THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT? OR IS IT DONE BY, BY PUBLIC WORKS? I KNOW IT'S BEEN BACK AND FORTH DIFFERENT WAYS.
THEY HAVE THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT TO MAINTAIN THE FEES.
AND, AND THERE'S A LITTLE CROSSOVER BETWEEN SOME DEPARTMENTS MM-HMM
SO SOME OF THE PARKS AND REC WORK DO, UM, UH, SOME OF THE PASSIVE PARKS MM-HMM
MADAM CHAIRMAN, JUST QUICKLY YES SIR.
YOU SAID FLEET SIZE, BUT YOU NEVER TOLD US HOW, HOW LARGE A FLEET WE HAVE.
WELL NOW THAT CHANGES ROUTINELY.
UM,
UH, SOME OF THEM TURN INTO PARTS VERY QUICKLY.
UM, UH, WE HAVE QUITE A, QUITE A FEW ACCIDENTS THAT HAPPEN WITH AS MANY VEHICLES AS WE HAVE ON THE ROAD.
UM, WE, IT'S, IT'S ABOUT, I DON'T WANNA GIVE YOU A NUMBER OF VEHICLES.
IN OUR SYSTEM, WE USE A SYSTEM CALLED FLEET IQ THAT WE MANAGE EVERY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT IN AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE SO WE KNOW WHEN SOMETHING NEEDS A, AN OIL CHANGE, WHEN SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE SERVICED, IT'S CONNECTED TO THE, TO THE MILEAGE IN OUR FUEL MASTER SYSTEM.
SO WHEN SOMEONE GOES IN AND SAYS THEY NEED FUEL, THEY PUT IN THEIR MILEAGE, IT COLLECTS IN THAT SYSTEM.
AND WE KNOW BASED ON THAT, THOSE, AND I GUESS I WAS, I WAS LISTENING TO YOU JUST HEAR WHETHER YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT INCREASING FLEET SIZE OR REDUCING FLEET SIZE.
WE'RE MORE INTERESTED IN REDUCING THE ROLLING STOCK.
OUR GOAL IS NOT TO INCREASE, IT'S TO DECREASE, MAN.
THAT WOULD BE OUR GOAL IS TO GET TO A MORE EFFICIENT POINT, IS WHAT JOHN WAS SAYING EARLIER THAT EARLIER THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT.
EFFICIENCY SOMETIMES COMES WITH PAIN.
THAT MEANS WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO REPURPOSE VEHICLES, MOVE VEHICLES BACK TO THE FLEET, UM, AND THEN MAYBE REASSIGN SOME UNDERUTILIZED VEHICLES.
UM, BUT THEN THAT BECOMES THE CASE OF WHERE IF AN EMPLOYEE NEEDS TO GO TO A, A MEETING, THEN DO THEY JUST TAKE THEIR OWN VEHICLE? WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED A MOTOR POOL VEHICLE FOR EVERY DEPARTMENT, AND THEN THEY GET REIMBURSED FOR MILEAGE.
SO, SO THOSE ARE THOUGHTS WE'RE HAVING TO, AS PART OF THE DISCUSSION.
I, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO NICELY ASK IT, BUT WE DEAL WITH IT WHERE I LIVE.
UM, HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT, SO I TAKE A VEHICLE AND I'M GOING TO COLUMBIA AND I COME BACK AND THE THING NOW HAS A DENT IN THE BACK AND A DENT ON THE SIDE, AND I RAN OVER THE CURB.
NOT, NOT FOR ME, BUT I'M JUST SAYING YEAH, YEAH.
BUT ANYWAY, YOU CALL THAT PARK.
DO WE, UH, WHAT'S OUR ROUTINE FOR MAKING SURE THAT WHEN YOU TAKE THE VEHICLE NEXT, SOMEBODY DOESN'T SAY, MR. ROBINSON DID ALL THAT TO THAT CAR AND I'M OFF THE HOOK, RIGHT? MM-HMM
I MEAN, WE TAKE VIDEOS OF OURS AFTER EVERY SHIFT AND SO ON.
SO IT REALLY, IT DEPENDS ON THE DEPARTMENT, UH, FOR THAT VEHICLE.
SO EVERY TIME A VEHICLE COMES INTO THE SHOP, IT'S COM FULLY INSPECTED MM-HMM
UH, WE DON'T TAKE PICTURES OF IT.
UM, BUT IT, IT'S FULLY INSPECTED.
A REPORT OF THAT VEHICLE GOES INTO THE SYSTEM.
SO IF THERE'S ANY DAMAGE, IT'S DOCUMENTED THERE.
IF THE DAMAGE, IF THERE'S DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE THAT WAS NOT DOCUMENTED PRIOR TO THAT, THEN OUR FLEET MANAGER BEGINS ASKING QUESTIONS FOR THE, YEAH, IT'S YOURS OF THE DEPARTMENT HEAD TO WHERE THAT, UM, VEHICLE IS ASSIGNED.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW IT IS A, UM, A DEPARTMENTAL, UM, CONCERN.
UH, SO IF SOMETHING IS DAMAGED BY AN EMPLOYEE, THEY SHOULD REPORT THAT THROUGH THEIR CHAIN OF COMMAND AND MAKE SURE THAT THOSE
[02:05:01]
THINGS ARE, ARE CORRECTED.UH, WE TALK ABOUT TAKE ON, UH, TAKE ON POLICY AND I SAW ONE OF OUR COUNTY, UH, TRANSIT VANS MM-HMM
ON SUNDAY MORNING GOING THROUGH TOWN, AND I JOTTED THE, UH, THE NUMBER DOWN.
I THOUGHT I SAVED IT, BUT APPARENTLY I CAN'T FIND IT.
BUT, UH, I, I FOUND IT STRANGE THAT I WOULD SEE ONE OF THE VANS RIDING AROUND ON SUNDAY MORNING.
IT, IT, IT IS A, OH, CERTAINLY.
IT'S, IT'S VERY COMMON TO SEE COUNTY VEHICLES ALL OVER THE PLACE.
WE HAVE 11 D-S-S-D-S-N HOMES AND, UH, THOSE, UM, RESIDENTS GO TO CHURCH.
THEY GO TO THE GROCERY STORE, THEY DO ALL TYPES OF THINGS.
OUR, OUR DSN HOMES, RESIDENTIAL HOMES, THEY OPERATE 24 7 AND YOU COULD POSSIBLY SEE ONE OF THEIR VEHICLES ON A SATURDAY AND A SUNDAY.
THIS WAS, SIR, THIS VEHICLE WAS EMPTY.
WELL, THEY COULD HAVE BEEN GOING TO A RESIDENTIAL HOME TO PICK UP SOME OF THE CLIENTS.
AND ALICE, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, PARKS AND REC DOES HAVE THEIR GROUND MAINTENANCE CREW MM-HMM
AND THEY DO HAVE THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT.
NOW SOME OF IT IS INTERCHANGEABLE WITH PUBLIC WORKS, BUT THEY DO HAVE THEIR OWN GROUND MAINTENANCE THAT MAINTAINS THEIR FACILITIES AND SOME OF PASSING PARKS AS WELL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT NO, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THE DSNS, UM, SEND THEIR KIDS.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE VERY BUSY.
BUT TO THAT POINT, THERE'S A LOT OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE USING VEHICLES AND I THINK IT'S GOOD FOR YOU ALL TO KIND OF HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT THAT IS.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE ARE GOING THROUGH AND REPLACING VEHICLES OR ASKING FOR NEW VEHICLES, I THINK WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SAY WE'RE AT THE RIGHT SIZE ON THE FLEET AND MANAGE THAT.
DOES ANYONE ELSE TAKE, TAKE 'EM HOME BESIDES THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT? UH, YES.
WE, WE HAVE SOME PUBLIC WORKS VEHICLES OKAY.
WE HAVE SOME FLEET MAINTENANCE VEHICLES THAT GO HOME.
FACILITIES MAINTENANCE, UH, EMS, FIRE CHEESE.
FIRE CHEESE, WELL, FIRE CHEESE.
BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE THEIR OWN ENTITIES.
AS FAR AS, AS FAR AS THAT GOES, WE DON'T BUY THEIR VEHICLES.
AND OF COURSE, THE WHERE SHERIFF ELECTRIC VEHICLES, YOU KNOW, TWO YEARS AGO WE TALKED ABOUT ADDING MORE STORMWATER HAS, YOU KNOW, MORE CHARGING STATIONS.
AND I HAD ASKED WHERE WERE WE PUTTING THEM? SO WHERE ARE WE WITH THOSE? SO WE, WE DO HAVE, UH, SEVERAL CHARGING STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
THERE'S ONE IN THE BIV AREA, WE'RE PUTTING A NEW ONE OVER HERE BY ARTHUR HORN.
UM, THERE'S ONE IN BURTON WELLS, THERE'S ONE IN, UH, BLUFFTON AT BLUFFTON REC CENTER, AND THERE'S PROBABLY ANOTHER ONE THAT I'M MISSING.
WE, UH, CURRENTLY ARE, UH, WORKING WITH CIP AND FLEET TO FIND SOME LOCATIONS, UH, FOR A, UM, A PUBLIC KIND OF ACCESS TYPE OF SYSTEM.
UH, MAYBE AT OUR, AT OUR LIBRARIES OR AT ONE OF THE, UM, UM, PUBLIC REC OR REC FACILITIES, UH, THAT WOULD BE MORE LIKE A CREDIT CARD TYPE.
UH, AND THAT WOULD ALSO ALLOW, UM, THE COUNTY TO BE ABLE TO USE THOSE, UH, IF WE WERE GONNA DO THAT AS WELL, UH, FOR CHARGES.
BUT HOW MANY ELECTRIC VEHICLES DO WE HAVE IN OUR FLEET? OH MY GOODNESS.
UH, AND I WAS NOT A FAN OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES UNTIL I STARTED USING ONE OF THE COUNTY ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
SO WHEN I TAKE A TRIP AND GO TO THE ANIMAL SHELTER, I'LL PICK UP ONE OF THE, UH, POOL VEHICLES, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLE FROM THE VIV MM-HMM
SO THEY'RE VERY EFFICIENT FOR THOSE SMALL TRIPS AROUND, UH, AROUND TOWN.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF WE HAD PURCHASED MORE OF THE LAST YEAR.
I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE'VE PURCHASED ANY, UH, NEW ONES.
BUT THE, WE HAVE SEVERAL THAT ARE VERY NEW AND STILL VERY SERVICEABLE.
BUT I AGREE THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT AS PART OF THIS IS, IS SHOULD WE GO MORE TOWARDS ELECTRIC VEHICLES? AND IF WE ARE, WE'LL NEED THE INFRASTRUCTURE AS YOU POINT OUT.
FOR THE CHARGING STATIONS AND SO FORTH, AS WELL AS CITIZENS MAY COME HERE IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
BUT THOSE ARE THINGS WE'LL HAVE TO ADDRESS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND MR. CUNNINGHAM WOULD LIKE CHARGING STATIONS FOR GOLF CARTS,
UH, WELL, I'LL PAY TO CHARGE 'EM OURSELVES.
WELL, TO KIND OF PIGGYBACK OFF OF SOME, SOME OF THE FLEET UPDATES, UM, CURRENTLY WE HAVE SOME, UM, SOME UPDATES THAT WE NEED TO MAKE TO OUR TRAVEL POLICY.
AND, UH, A COUPLE YEARS AGO WE USED TO UTILIZE THE GSA RATES MM-HMM
[02:10:01]
UM, A LOT OF COUNTY GOVERNMENTS ARE DOING THAT.UM, WE'RE GONNA LOOK INTO GOING BACK TO THAT BECAUSE IF YOU TAKE A TRIP TO COLUMBIA VERSUS WASHINGTON DC THE RATES ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FOR PER DIEM.
AND RIGHT NOW WE HAVE FLAT RATES FOR PER DIEM.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO REVIEW AND BRING BACK TO YOU, UH, PROBABLY LATER IN THE YEAR TO UPDATE.
UM, ALSO CURRENTLY IN THE TRAVEL POLICY, WE ENCOURAGE, UH, COUNTY EMPLOYEES TO UTILIZE, UH, OUR MOTOR POOL, OUR FLEET, UM, IN THE CASE THAT THEY ARE AND WORKING WITH THE UPDATES TO WHAT MIKE WOULD LIKE TO SEE WITH THE FLEET POLICY, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GONNA REIMBURSE THE FULL MILEAGE RATE VERSUS, UH, HALF THE MILEAGE RATE, WHICH IS WHAT WE DO RIGHT NOW.
IF THE COUNTY VEHICLE'S AVAILABLE AND YOU TOOK YOUR OWN VEHICLE INSTEAD.
YEAH, SO IF LIKE AT VIV, IF WE HAVE, WE, WE HAVE THAT EV OVER THERE THAT WE UTILIZE, BUT, UM, IF I GO TO A CONFERENCE AND I TAKE MY OWN VEHICLE, I ONLY GET REIMBURSED HALF THE IRS RATE VERSUS THE FULL RATE.
SO THOSE KIND OF COSTS ARE GONNA COME INTO PLAY AS WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE BOTH FLEET AND TRAVEL POLICY.
UH, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GSA RATE? JUST QUICKLY.
UM, IF I WANTED TO USE THE, AN EMPLOYEE WANTED TO USE THE, UM, VEHICLE AND I'M GOING TO GO OVERNIGHT, RIGHT? NOT OVERNIGHT, BUT UM, EARLY IN THE MORNING MM-HMM
UM, DO I CHECK THAT VEHICLE OUT THE AFTERNOON BEFORE OR I BELIEVE, OR DO I COME HERE EARLY IN THE MORNING AND IT'S AVAILABLE TO ME OR I GET THE KEYS? GENERALLY IT DEPENDS ON WHAT TIME YOU'RE LEAVING.
IF YOU'RE GONNA BE PASSING BY, UH, THE ADMIN BUILDING, YOU CAN NORMALLY JUST PICK IT UP ON YOUR WAY OUT OF TOWN OR YOU CAN TAKE IT.
I, I UNDERSTAND THE DEPARTMENT HEADS ALLOW THEIR, UH, EMPLOYEES TO WEATHER WHETHER THEY WANNA TAKE IT HOME THE NIGHT BEFORE SINCE THEY'RE GOING ON A CONFERENCE TRIP.
DEPENDING ON WHERE YOUR LOCATION IS, I WOULD SAY.
UM, IN THE, IN THE GSA RATES, WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO CHANGE, MAKE THAT CHANGE TO USE THOSE RATES? JUST TO, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO COME BACK JUST LIKE WE CHANGED IT FROM GSA RATES, UM, TO THE FLAT RATE PER DIEM, WHICH WAS LOWER EXPENSE OF THE COUNTY MM-HMM
BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY HELP THE PERSON THAT'S TRAVELING, THAT'S GOING TO A BIGGER CITY, CITY, CITY, YEAH.
YOU'RE NOT EVEN ABLE TO GET BREAKFAST FOR THE AMOUNT YOU'RE GETTING FOR DINNER.
SO, UM, IT DOES IT ON A GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, SO WE'LL JUST BRING THE POLICY BACK TO YOU.
UM, PROBABLY AT FINANCE COMMITTEE AND THEN TO COUNCIL FOR THREE READINGS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? AND ARE YOU GONNA DO PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE UPDATES? OKAY.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE RECENTLY HAD AN A PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE UPDATE, UM, AFTER A COUPLE YEARS AGO, RIGHT? MM-HMM
UM, THERE'S SOME INCONSISTENCIES THAT WE HAVE FOUND.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE CAME ACROSS IS THAT OUR FIXED ASSET THRESHOLD IS ACTUALLY $10,000 AND THE NEW PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE IS FIVE.
THERE'S SOME OTHER ITEMS THAT WE'VE RUN ACROSS WHEN IT COMES TO ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THE ABILITY TO SIGN CONTRACTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT IS COMPREHENSIVELY LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PROCUREMENT CODE.
AGAIN, REVIEWING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE CONSISTENT BECAUSE THAT ORDINANCE WENT THROUGH AND IT HAD A THRESHOLD THAT WAS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IT WAS IN OUR ACTUAL FINANCIAL POLICIES.
SO WE HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT BECAUSE OUR AUDITORS ARE AUDITING US BASED ON WHAT'S IN OUR FINANCE POLICY.
SO JUST SMALL MINOR, UH, UPDATES THAT NEED TO OCCUR.
UM, WE'LL BRING THAT BACK TO YOU AT A FINANCE COMMITTEE AS WELL BECAUSE WE'D LIKE TO TAKE THE TIME TO GO THROUGH IT ALL AT ONE TIME AND REVIEW IT AND BRING IT BACK.
ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, JUST FOR MY OWN INFORMATION, FOR THE FIXED ASSET, WHAT IS YOUR PREFERENCE? 10,000 OR 5,000? 10,010.
THAT'S WHAT WE'VE HAD FOR MULTIPLE YEARS HERE.
SO HOW DID IT END UP GOING TO FIVE? IT WAS DURING THE UPDATE OF THE PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE AFTER THAT WAS WHAT WAS IN THERE BEFORE.
WELL, YEAH, I THOUGHT IT WAS 5,000.
BUT IN OUR ACT FOR IT CLEARLY STATES IT'S A 10,000 THRESHOLD AND OUR FINANCIAL POLICY SAY STATE 10,000.
SO WE JUST WANNA BE CONSISTENT.
CHAIRMAN, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? WHAT ABOUT, THIS IS NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT, UM, HOW HAS THE, UM, PCARDS BEEN WORKING OUT? REALLY GOOD.
WE'RE ACTUALLY, UH, WE ENCOURAGE OUR DEPARTMENTS TO UTILIZE OUR PCARDS.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE ENCOURAGED FLEET TO UTILIZE PCARDS TO PURCHASE THEIR PARTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, 'CAUSE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS INCREASE OUR REWARDS.
WE'RE ON THE STATE, UH, CONTRACT WITH BANK OF AMERICA FOR PCARD AND THE REWARD SYSTEM.
SO WE QUARTERLY RECEIVED, I THINK LAST QUARTER WE GOT ABOUT $23,000 BACK IN REWARD POINTS.
OUR PROGRAM, IT WORKS REALLY WELL.
I KNOW I'VE HAD OTHER CFOS REACH OUT TO US ABOUT OUR, OUR PROGRAM AND SO THE POLICY HAS BEEN WORKING WELL, POLICY'S WORKING WELL.
WE'VE GOT PROPER INTERNAL CONTROLS IN PLACE.
I MEAN, RIGHT UP TO ME, MIKE REVIEWS EVERYTHING.
I SPEND MY FOOD CARD PURCHASES ON ALL THE WAY UP.
SO YES, SO FAR GOOD CHECKS AND BALANCES ARE GOOD NOW.
ALL OF IT'S, UH, CENTRALIZED IN PROCUREMENT.
[02:15:01]
MM-HMMAND WE REVIEW IT IN FINANCE, SO YES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR, NO, THIS HAS BEEN A, THIS HAS GREAT WORKSHOP.
UM, ARE THERE ANY, ANY LAST MINUTE, MIKE, YOU WANNA COMMENTS? MIKE? ANYTHING YOU GOT?
IT, IT'S, IT'S GOOD FOR STAFF TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL IN THIS KIND OF ENVIRONMENT OVER THE LAST DAY AND A HALF.
SO WE, I KNOW WE LEARN A LOT, UH, AS PART OF THIS, AND I KNOW MS. TABER HAS TAKEN A LOT OF NOTES AND I KNOW OUR STAFF HAS BEEN, I CAN'T REMEMBER EVERYTHING TAKING A LOT OF NOTES, BUT I I COPY AND PASTE IT IN CHAT.
GPT, UM, PINKY HAS PROVIDED ME A FEW OF THE, THE, UM, IDEAS THAT HAVE, WE'RE GONNA, UH, LOOK AT.
I THINK WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT WAS, YOU KNOW, COMING BACK TO YOU ALL WITH, WITH A, A SIMILAR TYPE OF RESOLUTION MM-HMM
THAT WE WOULD USE TO BUILD A BUDGET AND FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
BUT, UM, THINGS WE'VE GOT HERE ARE PROS AND CONS OF BRINGING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IN-HOUSE AND LOOKING AT THE COSTS.
SO WE'VE GOT SOME IDEAS ON THAT.
UM, THE RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE BELIEVE WE HAVE GUIDANCE FROM YOU ALL ON THE, ON JULY 1ST TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
WE'RE GONNA COME BACK WITH SOME SPECIFICS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND CONSULT THOSE EMPLOYEES.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT WAS WHAT WE HEARD IS WE NEED TO HEAR FROM THEM IS TO WHAT THEY WOULD PREFER.
UM, LOOKING AT, UM, PARKS AND REC AND THE PASSIVE PARKS, I THINK WE'RE GONNA COME BACK WITH A, UH, PARKS AND REC DISCUSSION ON MASTER PLANS.
I THINK AT SOME POINT ALONG THE LINE TO WHAT ARE WE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE MADE PROGRESS AND WHERE, WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT IN TERMS OF PARKS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE, THE FEES.
AND UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THE BOARD IS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE FEES, BUT I THINK THOSE FEES SHOULD COME TO YOU ALL FOR APPROVAL.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT.
'CAUSE I THINK IS FEES IS, THAT IS WHERE I'VE BEEN IN THE PAST, HAS ALWAYS COME TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL ON ALL THE FEES.
UM, THE USCB, WE'VE GOT THAT ON FOR THE MONDAY FINANCE COMMITTEE.
SO THAT'S BEEN ADDED TO THE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION.
AND WHAT WE'LL LIKELY DO IS IF, DEPENDING ON THE WELL EITHER CASE, WE'LL LOOK TO, UH, BRING THAT TO COUNCIL IN DECEMBER.
'CAUSE I, I, MY UNDERSTANDING WAS WE NEED TO GET AN ANSWER SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW.
UM, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT WITH THE WORK WITH THE SHERIFF ON THE, ON THE HELICOPTER NEXT YEAR IS WHAT WE HEARD.
SO THAT'LL BE PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
UM, WE'LL LOOK AT, WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT STORMWATER.
WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE IF IT CAME BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND? I BELIEVE THAT WAS A QUESTION TO CONSIDER AND THEN STEP INCREASE IN JULY OR CORRECTION JANUARY 1ST AND THE MERIT WOULD GO INTO EFFECT JULY 1ST, 2026.
SO THAT'S A LIST OF OUR BIG TAKEAWAYS.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE.
IS THERE ANYTHING WE, SO THIS WILL BE PART OF WHAT WE PUT IN OUR, IN THE RESOLUTION.
ANY OTHER LAST COMMENTS FROM YES SIR.
COUNCIL, UH, MIKE, THIS IS NOT PERTAINING TO THE WORKSHOP.
THIS IS PERTAINING TO OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE MEETING AT THE FIRST OF THE MONTH.
UM, WE GOT AN UPDATE FROM OUR ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT ON THE, UH, CENTERS FOR, UH, COUNCILOR GLOVER, UH, DISTRICT AND AS WELL AS MINE.
UH, I WANNA SPEAK TO THE AGNES MAJOR CENTER IN MY DISTRICT.
UH, BRIAN, UH, FROM THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT GAVE AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THOSE TWO PROJECTS.
AND HE SAID THAT BASICALLY, UH, GIVEN A TIMEFRAME, WE SHOULD SEE SOME ACTIVITIES TAKING PLACE ON THE, ON THE AGNES MAJOR GROUNDS SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER.
AND THEN COMPLETION IS, UH, PROJECTED SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER, 2026.
ARE WE MOVING FORWARD? IS THERE ANY ACTIVITY HERE? WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH AND, AND I, I SENT THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO HERE WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH.
HAVE I, HAVE I GIVEN SOME MISINFORMATION OR ARE WE GOING TO SEE SOME ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE END OF NOVEMBER? YES, SIR.
I ACTUALLY SPOKE WITH ROBERT GUESTY THIS MORNING AND WE ARE EXPECTED TO BREAK GROUND, UM, FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER 1ST WHAT IN DECEMBER? FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER.
UM, I CAN ONLY SPEAK OF AGNES MAJOR RIGHT NOW.
I'M NOT SURE ON WESLEY FELIX, BUT AGNES MAJOR.
YEAH, WE'LL GET AN INVITATION OUT ON THAT, I ASSUME.
SO Y'ALL GET AN INVITATION ON THAT ONE.
[02:20:01]
BE PUSHING HARD FOR WESLEY FELIX THEN? THEY'RE FINALIZING DESIGN.SAY THAT AGAIN? THEY'RE FINALIZING DESIGN.
THE DESIGN IS BEING FINALIZED IS WHAT HE SAID.
JUST SO THE PUBLIC, WE'LL GIVE YOU A DAY ON BREAK GROUND FOR THAT.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE FOR, UM, MR. MOORE OR STAFF? UH, WE ARE STILL HAVING LUNCH.
AND YOU CAN TAKE IT HOME WITH YOU OR YOU CAN EAT IT HERE OR, OR, UH, SO YOU'LL GET YOUR FRIDAY AFTERNOON BACK.
SO
WE'RE FISHING IN OUR SCHEDULING.
SO I WILL OFFICIALLY ADJOURN THIS MEETING.
YOU ARE WATCHING BC TV LIVE, WORK, PLAY.
AND THIS IS BEAUFORD COUNTY MOMENTS.
WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FOOD TODAY? THE FOOD HAS BEEN A GREAT PART OF OUR LIFE IN TERMS OF GATHERING FOOD AND PREPARING THEM.
OUR FOOD IS BASED ON THE LAND AND THE SEA.
THE LAND FOOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN RICE.
WE DON'T FEEL WE HAVE EATEN DINNER UNLESS WE'VE HAD RICE.
RICE WAS MIXED WITH VARIOUS ITEMS FROM THE SEA, LIKE OYSTERS OR SHRIMP.
AND WHEN THEY COOKED WITH RICE IN ONE POT, WE CALL IT A RICE OR SHRIMP OR AN OYSTER PERLOW.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE WATERMELONS AND THE SWEET, SWEET POTATOES.
SWEET POTATOES WAS ALWAYS EATEN WITH FISH AND FRESH FISH WITH GRAVY AND A SWEET POTATO.
OKRA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR FOOD WAYS.
WE, WE, WE RAISED THEM AS WELL AS WE PREPARE THEM WITH SHRIMP AND TOMATOES.
AND SOME PEOPLE WOULD CALL THAT A GUMBO.
AND THAT'S WHAT EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
AND SO ENJOY THE FOOD OF THE LOW COUNTRY BECAUSE IT'S BEEN VERY MUCH A PART OF OUR HISTORY.
THIS HAS BEEN YOUR BEAUFORT COUNTY MOMENT.
TO SEE MORE BEAUFORT COUNTY MOMENTS GO TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARY HOMEPAGE AND CLICK ON THE LOCAL HISTORY TAB.