* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. DEFENSE ADMINISTRATION [00:00:01] AND ECONOMIC DEVELOP MEETING TO ORDER MONDAY, AUGUST 17TH AT 2:00 PM IF YOU GO AHEAD AND STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE STAND OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. AND OBVIOUSLY I AM NOT MARK LAWSON. HE IS OUT TODAY, I BELIEVE. UM, HEADED TO FLORIDA, SOME FAMILY. THAT'S AWESOME. UM, SO I'M GONNA COVER FOR HIM TODAY. GOOD NEWS FOR Y'ALL. IT WON'T TAKE FOUR HOURS THEN. ALRIGHT, WE'RE [3. STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH FOIA] GONNA JUMP RIGHT IN FOR THE STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE. SARAH, ARE WE ALL GOOD? FOIA? YES SIR, WE ARE. PERFECT. CAN I HAVE [4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA] A MOTION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA? SO MOVE AND A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. I'D LIKE TO AMEND THE AGENDA, PLEASE. YES, MA'AM. I'D LIKE TO ADD ITEM H AND IT WOULD BE A MOTION TO HAVE, UM, MEETING AGENDAS SENT TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. A MINIMUM OF ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE. I'LL SECOND THAT. I KNOW THAT MAKES YOU CRINGE OVER THERE. ALRIGHT, THAT IS MOTION. AND SECOND. AND TO ADD IT TO THE AGENDA, WE'LL ADD IT TO THE VERY END, WHICH WOULD BE H AND THAT WILL BE FOR DISCUSSION, A POSSIBLE ACTION ITEM AS WELL. MM-HMM . UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OBJECTION TO ADDING THAT TO THE AGENDA? ALL RIGHT, LARRY, THIS WILL BE A LARRY. LARRY IS LARRY, IS THAT A QUESTION OR AN OBJECTION? OBJECTION, OBJECTION. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE ONE OBJECTION. DO WE NEED HAVE ANY MORE? ALRIGHT, THIS WILL BE APPROVED WITH ONE OBJECTION. ALRIGHT, WE'RE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION AS AMENDED. IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THE AGENDA AS AMENDED? NO. ALRIGHT. THIS WILL BE APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION. WE'LL MOVE ON. NUMBER FIVE, [5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES] THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM JUNE 15TH, 2026. I'LL TAKE A MOTION. MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. THANK YOU, ALICE. A SECOND PLEASE. I'LL SECOND IT. TAB REDDIT. SO SHE'LL SECOND . ANY OBJECTION? LISTEN GUYS, IF YOU'RE NOT, IF YOU DON'T LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT. THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING. AND WE'RE ALL HERE ON A MONDAY. LET'S JUST MAKE IT WORTH IT. ALL RIGHT. THERE'S NO OBJECTION TO THAT. WE WILL MOVE ON. IS THAT APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION? YES. ALL RIGHT. AND THAT IS ALSO APPROVED. WE'LL MOVE ON [6. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD – 15 MINUTES TOTAL] TO PUBLIC COMMENT. AND I DO HAVE ONE HERE FROM MR. DENNIS ROSS. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? HOW MUCH? SO? FANTASTIC. GOOD. HELLO, DENNIS. HELLO. MR. ROSS IS YOURS. HOW SO? I'LL PUT UH, THREE MINUTES ON THE SCREEN FOR YOU AND I'LL DO MY BEST. ABSOLUTELY. I'LL DO MY BEST. UH, I WANTED TO SPEAK THIS AFTERNOON, AND BY THE WAY, THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO. AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, UH, I'M ON THE STORM STORMWATER UTILITY BOARD AS AN AT LARGE MEMBER. AND I'M LARGELY SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE STORMWATER UTILITY BOARD TODAY. MYSELF AND CHAIRMAN FEINBERG HAVE DISCUSSED A COUPLE OF ISSUES, UH, THAT WE'VE NOTICED IN AGENDAS, EITHER IN NATURAL RESOURCES OR IN THE FINANCE. AND THAT'S WHAT I WANNA SPEAK ABOUT TODAY, SPECIFICALLY, ORDINANCE 20 26 29, UH, WHICH IN ESSENCE IS ASKING, UH, FOR AN ITEM TO BE PUT BACK INTO THE ORDINANCE THAT WAS REMOVED, OR IT WAS IN, IT WAS REMOVED, AND NOW IT'S BEING ASKED TO BE PUT BACK IN AGAIN. AND WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHY. BUT AS YOU GUYS ALL KNOW, EVERYTHING COMES WITH A, A CAVEAT OF THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS. OUR BIGGEST CONCERNS FROM STORMWATER ARE WE REALIZE THAT THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE SOLELY FOR STORMWATER AND THEY CANNOT BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE. BUT JUST LIKE I SAID, THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS. AND I THINK WE HAVE TO BE CONCERNED WHEN WE'RE ALLOWING CERTAIN AMOUNT OF FUNDS FROM AN, FROM, FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROJECTS OR GENERAL FUNDS OR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND TO BE MOVED AROUND BEHIND THE SCENES WERE BEFORE. AS TO MY UNDERSTANDING, DEPARTMENT HEADS COULD JUST DO THAT AND KEEP EVERYTHING IN LINE. I WOULD ASK YOU FOLKS TO REALLY TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THIS. YOU, YOU HAD IT REMOVED ONCE BEFORE AND IT'S ON THE AGENDA AGAIN TO TAKE A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT THIS BECAUSE THERE COULD BE POTENTIAL ISSUES. NUMBER ONE, LIKE I SAID, IF THERE'S A WAY AROUND GETTING INTO THIS CASH COW OF ENTERPRISE FUNDS, WHICH AT LAST COUNT IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 22 AND $25 MILLION JUST FOR STORMWATER ALONE. IF SOMEBODY NEEDED THAT TO FINISH A PROJECT, THEY MIGHT VERY WELL FIND A WAY TO DO IT. IT WOULD OBVIOUSLY COME UP WITH A LOT OF ROADBLOCKS, BUT IT WOULD BE THERE. UM, I THINK ALSO THE REVISION SAYS THAT THE ADMINISTRATOR OR CFO MAY TRANSFER APPROPRIATIONS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS, BUT IT DOESN'T SAY WITHIN THE SAME FUND. SO I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT AND ADDRESSED. AND SO THERE'S NOT ANY CROSS COMMUNICATING, IF YOU WILL, OF THOSE FUNDS IN INTERMINGLING. ALSO, THERE'S A CONCERN WITH THE $200,000 TRANSFER LIMIT. IS THAT AN AGGREGATE AMOUNT? IS IT PER FISCAL YEAR? OR CAN I PUT $190,000, TAKE $190,000 [00:05:01] FROM THE GENERAL FUND THIS WEEK? CAN I TAKE $190,000 NEXT WEEK? IN OTHER WORDS, I COULD RUN THAT UP TO A MILLION DOLLARS VERY EASILY IF I WANTED TO. SO I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME, UH, DETERMINATION. WHAT IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO ARE A COUPLE THINGS. NUMBER ONE, PROTECTION OF THE ENTERPRISE FUND FROM ANY OUTSIDE SOURCES, WHETHER IT BE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, GENERAL FUND OR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND. I THINK WE NEED TO PROTECT THAT BECAUSE AS YOU ALL WELL KNOW, STORMWATER IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO THIS COUNTY. I WOULD ASK YOU AT THIS POINT, IF THIS DOES COME UP TO A VOTE TODAY, OR IF IT EVEN GOES FORWARD TO COUNCIL, TO EITHER DEFER IT UNTIL STRONGER WORDING CAN BE PUT IN OR DENY IT BASED ON YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THESE FUNDS OPERATE AND WHERE THEY GO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU MR. ROSS. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT DIDN'T SIGN UP THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? ALL RIGHT, WITH THAT WE WILL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND MOVE ON TO A COUPLE REPORTS. [7.a. FY26 Budget Report and Budget Adjustment Report with ARPA progress - Sandy Novak, Finance Director] UH, FY 26 BUDGET REPORT AND BUDGET, A ADJUSTMENT REPORT WITH A RPA PROGRESS FROM MS. NOVAK. GOOD AFTERNOON LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. SO FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE OUR 26TH YEAR TO DATE BUDGET REPORT. THIS WILL BE THE LAST BUDGET REPORT YOU GET. WE HAVE NOT DONE THE HARD CLOSE AS OF YET, BUT IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, SORRY, IT SHOULD BE ON. OH, OKAY. SO THESE ARE YOUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES FOR THE YEAR. YOU'LL SEE THAT NICE BIG, UH, $35.6 MILLION IN OTHER FINANCIAL SOURCES. THAT IS A CONTRIBUTION FROM PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE. UM, LET ME FIND MY RIGHT PAPER. EXCUSE ME. SO WE STARTED OUT THE YEAR, UM, WITH PLANNING A $16.7 MILLION, UM, DIP INTO PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF THE YEAR. IF YOU REMEMBER, WE ADDED ANOTHER 18.9 MILLION TO THAT MAKING UP THE 35.6. THAT 18.9 MILLION WAS THE DEBT PAYOFF. IT WAS THE BRACE PROJECT IN THE HELICOPTER IN THE END. RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ONLY GOING TO DIP INTO FUND BALANCE ABOUT 20.9 MILLION. SO WE DID DIP INTO FUND BALANCE FOR THE 26 YEAR E 20.9 MILLION. 20. YEAH. 20,900,000. YEP. ANY QUESTIONS ON GENERAL FUND REVENUE? IT SAYS 85.5%, UM, OF COLLECTIONS, BUT WHEN YOU TAKE OUT THAT PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE PIECE, IT IS ABOUT 102% OF, UM, COLLECTIONS OVERALL. CHAIRMAN, CAN I JUST ASK A QUICK QUESTION, PLEASE? MM-HMM . UM, DIPPING IN MM-HMM . UM, BASED ON GROWTH, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. HOW MUCH MONEY ACTUALLY CAME IN? DO YOU HAVE THAT NUMBER SOMEWHERE? YES, IT'S RIGHT HERE. THE 186.6 MILLION YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE YEAR TO DATE ACTUALS IS HOW MUCH MONEY CAME INTO THE GENERAL FUND. THAT WAS THE BUDGET AMOUNT. I SEE. HOW MUCH ACTUAL THE BUDGET AMOUNT IS THE, THE 218 MILLION, THE REVISED BUDGET COLUMN IS WHAT WAS BUDGETED THE YEAR TO DATE ACTUALS THE 180 7. 187 MILLION. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. MM-HMM . OKAY. AND THEN WE'VE GOT EXPENDITURES. EXPENDITURES CAME OUT ABOUT 96% AND WE'RE ALL IN LINE WITH BUDGET. ANY QUESTION ON GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES? NEGATIVE ON CONTINGENCIES AND THE, THE POSITIVE ON SUBSIDIES? IS THAT THE, THE NUMBER WASHING NOW? YES. GOOD. YEAH, YOU KEEP GOING WITH SOMEBODY ASKED QUESTIONS. YOU'RE FINE. PEOPLE WERE STILL LOOKING AT IT. UM, ENTERPRISE FUNDS. SO YOUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS EACH HAD SOME CONTRIBUTION FROM PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE THAT THEY WERE PLANNING. SO THOSE BUDGETED AMOUNTS INCLUDED THAT, THIS IS THE REVENUE SLIDE. SO GARAGE HAD ABOUT $518,000 OF CONTRIBUTION FROM PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE, TAKING THAT OUT. THEY WERE ACTUALLY AT ABOUT 82% OF, UM, REVENUE COLLECTION. STORMWATER HAD $13.4 MILLION OF CONTRIBUTION FROM PRIOR YEAR [00:10:01] FUND BALANCE. TAKING THAT OUT WE'RE ABOUT, UM, 108.8% WITHOUT THE CONTRIBUTION FROM PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE. THE BUFORT EXECUTIVE AIRPORT HAD 1.2 MILLION OF FUND BALANCE WITHOUT THAT, THEY WERE ACTUALLY AT 87% AND HILTON HAD HAD ABOUT 550,000 OF PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE AND THEY WERE ABOUT 84 WITHOUT THAT. SO THE STORM WATER, THE, THE 13.4 MILLION IN STORMWATER WAS FOR A RENOVATION TO BUILDING THAT. WE WILL SEE ON THE NEXT SLIDE. LEMME GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE FOR A MOMENT. ABSOLUTELY. THE IDEA OF AN ENTERPRISE FUND IS BEING SELF-SUFFICIENT. CORRECT? OVER TIME. YES. OKAY. SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE EXPENDITURES? YES. OKAY. YEAH. AND IT WOULD BE EASIER TO SEE IF YOU CAN SEE THE REVENUES MINUS EXPENSES ON THE SAME PAGE. I I JUST HAVE BEEN KEEPING THE SAME FORMAT. YOU'RE USED TO SEEING 'EM IN. SO, UM, STORM WATER, THE RENOVATION, UH, TO THAT PROJECT IS UNDERWAY. WITHOUT THAT, IF YOU TOOK THAT PLAN PROJECT OUT, THEY'RE ABOUT 59% WITHOUT THE CAPITAL AND GARAGE PLAN, A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS, UM, OF FUND BALANCE. THEY DID ACTUALLY END UP USING 2 MILLION AND, UM, WE HAVE A PLAN AROUND THAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON ENTERPRISE FUNDS? ANYBODY ELSE? NO, MA'AM. OKAY. SO THE NEXT BIT IS, UM, YOUR BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS. EVERY BUDGET ADJUSTMENT THAT IS PUT INTO THE SYSTEM IS ON THIS SHEET. THIS IS EVERYTHING FOR, TO END OUT 2026. THESE ARE ALL STANDARD. THEY'RE ALL WITHIN THE SAME FUND. UM, AND IF, IF THEY USED ANY PERSONNEL THAT REQUIRED COUNTY, UM, ADMINISTRATION APPROVAL, BUT ALL OF THESE ARE WITHIN THE SAME FUND. NOTHING IS GOING FROM ONE FUND TO ANOTHER HERE. SURE. SO ON WHATEVER PAID, THE FIRST ONE YOU HAVE FOR FLEET, THEY HAD TO MOVE $94,000 TO COVER A MAY FUEL INVOICE FOR VEHICLE ASSETS FOR $94,000. DID WE LIKE HAVE GIANT FUEL IN MAY OR THEY PILE UP TO GET AN INVOICE IN MAY? IT, IT'S FOR THE YEAR. THEY WERE TRUING UP THEIR BUDGET FOR THE YEAR END. A LOT OF THESE ARE, THEY DON'T BILL US ROUTINELY, THEY JUST PILE IT UP. NO, THEY, THEY ARE CREATING THE EXPENSES. THEY WERE NEGATIVE DURING THE YEAR. AT THE YEAR END. THEY FIGURED OUT HOW MUCH THEY WERE GOING TO NEED TO MOVE FROM OTHERS, BUT THEY STAYED WITHIN THEIR BUDGET OVERALL. BUT WE DIDN'T SPEND 94,000 ON FUEL WAS MY QUESTION. NOT IN ONE MONTH. NO. I WAS JUST WONDERING WHERE THEY'RE DRIVING. AND THEN GO TO THE NEXT PAGE. COMMUNICATIONS AND ACCOUNTABILITY. UH, YOU HAVE EQUIPMENT INVOICES OUTSTANDING FOR BROADCAST SERVICE DUE TO PERSONNEL CHANGE. SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT. IS THAT THE, IN OTHER WORDS, SOMEBODY LEFT AND THEY DIDN'T GET THE INVOICES PUT THROUGH AND NOW WE'RE PUTTING 'EM THROUGH. OKAY. AND THEN I WENT TO THE NEXT PAGE, MASTER IN EQUITY. I HAD THE LAUGH. $6 AND 85 CENTS BUDGET TRANSFER. THAT SHOWS SOME SERIOUS ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE MASTER IN EQUITY. CONGRATS TO HIM. UM, THEN LET'S SEE. DO I HAVE ANY MORE THEN SCROLL DOWN A BUNCH OF OTHER PAGES. I'M ON PAGE 18. UM, DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS. IT JUST SAID ALL OF THEIR SAY, PLEASE MOVE BUDGET AMOUNT TO BETTER REFLECT ACTUAL EXPENDITURES. THEY DON'T HAVE TO GIVE AN EXPLANATION. I MEAN THAT'S PRETTY VANILLA EXPLANATION. YEAH. SO IT'S WITHIN THEIR FUND. THEY ENDED UP OVERSPENDING ON ONE LINE AND UNDERSPENDING ON ANOTHER AND THEY'RE REALIGNING IT. SO NONE. SO THEY ARE POSITIVE ON EVERY LINE, BUT THEY'RE WITHIN THEIR DEPARTMENT APPROPRIATION. I I MEAN EVERYBODY ELSE GAVE SOME EXPLANATION EXCEPT THEM. UM, LET ME SEE. WE USE EXACTLY WHAT THEY PUT ON THE FORM AND THAT'S WHAT GOES ON HERE. AND THEN I'M ON PAGE 20. DID OUR OIL, UH, AUTO LIABILITY PREMIUMS ACTUALLY GO UP 25% THIS RENEWAL? OH SURE. THAT'S HORRIBLE. I'M JUST THROWING THAT OUT THERE. AND DO WE EVER GO OUT TO BID TO GET NEW CARRIERS FOR AUTO LIABILITY? I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER. NOT HERE. HE'S NOT HERE AT THE MOMENT, BUT YES, THEY ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON THAT. UM, BUT 20 PEOPLE, 5% IS PRETTY HEFTY. MM-HMM . A $205,000 BUDGET ADJUSTMENT FOR THAT? YES. UM, THAT'S ABOUT IT FOR ME. THANK [00:15:01] YOU SO MUCH. MM-HMM . ANYBODY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE BUDGETS? EXPENDITURES? COOL. AND THE THIRD PIECE OF 2026 IS ARPA. SO YOU HAVE THAT, UM, ARPA SHEET FOR WHERE WE'RE AT CURRENTLY. THESE ARE ALL OF THE ORIGINAL PROJECTS THAT WERE APPROVED FOR ARPA, THEY ORIGINAL BUDGETS, ANY CHANGES THAT YOU'VE MADE. AND THEN THE TOTAL BUDGET. CUMULATIVE EXPENSES. WE ONLY HAVE A HANDFUL OF PROJECTS LEFT AND 4.2 MILLION, UM, TO BE SPENT BEFORE DECEMBER 31ST. ARE WE GONNA BE ABLE TO SPEND THIS BROADBAND MONEY AGAIN? WE ASK IT 'CAUSE WE ASKED IT LAST TIME. BROADBAND, NORTH BROADBAND HIGHER GRADE THAT YOU KNOW. YES. THO THOSE, THAT IS ABOUT COMPLETELY FINISHED AND WE'RE ABOUT TO GET SEVERAL. SO THEY WILL BE SPENT, I EXPECT THIS QUARTER. OKAY, GOOD. DOES THIS INCLUDE THE TRANSFERS WE JUST DID AT THE LAST COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING? SO WE EVEN, AFTER ALL THAT'S EXPENDED, WE STILL HAVE 4.2 MILLION LEFT. WELL, IT WAS TRANSFERRED, BUT THEN NOW, NOW THEY NEED TO ACTUALLY SPEND IT. IT JUST MOVED FROM ONE LINE ITEM TO ANOTHER ON HERE. OKAY. MM-HMM . WE'RE CONFIDENT WE'LL SPEND IT BY DECEMBER. YES. OKAY. YEP. OKAY. SO THAT WRAPS UP 2026. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT, Y'ALL? THANK YOU. WE [7.b. FY27 Budget Report and Budget Adjustment Report with FY27 Budget at a Glance - Sandy Novak, Finance Director] WILL MOVE ON TO THE 27. YEP. FY 27 BUDGET REPORT ADJUSTMENT WITH, UH, FY 27 BUDGET AT A GLANCE. THIS IS FAR MORE BORING BECAUSE WE'RE JUST STARTING OUT THE YEAR , SO THERE HASN'T BEEN A WHOLE LOT OF ACTIVITY. BUT WE HAVE STARTED, UM, THE YEAR YOU CAN SEE THE APPROVED BUDGET THAT COUNTY COUNCIL APPROVED AND THE EXPENDITURES ARE STARTING TO COME IN AND ENCUMBRANCES. UM, WHEN THIS WAS RE WAS PULLED, IT WAS BEFORE THE CARRY FORWARDS. SO THOSE DO NOT INCLUDE THE CARRY FORWARDS AND THOSE ENCUMBRANCES. OKAY. AND THEN ENTERPRISE FUNDS, YOU SEE IT'S BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT GOING ON YET. AND EXPENDITURES. ANY QUESTIONS? UH, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT IN OUR AGENDA REVIEW, WHAT IS OUR MINIMUM WE'RE SUPPOSED TO KEEP IN OUR FUND BALANCE? I I KNOW THE, WELL, 17 30% IT IS 17 TO 30%. IT IS. AND WHERE ARE WE AT CURRENTLY AND YEAH, THE ESTIMATE RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO END 2026 WITH 46.3 MILLION, WHICH IS 22% OR RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. 46 MILLION. 40 40, 46 0.6 MILLION, 257,000, WHICH WE'RE SUPPOSED TO KEEP BETWEEN 17 TO 30 IN RESERVE, WHICH IS TWO MONTHS OF OPERATION AT THE COUNTY FOR A NATURAL DISASTER OR FOR WHATEVER COULD HAPPEN. SO WE WE'RE ABOVE THE 17, BUT WE'RE NOT QUITE WHERE WE HAVE BEEN SOME IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. UM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING AT THE END OF THIS YEAR. AT THE END OF 26, THE 26 26 YEARS. THIS IS A PROJECTION. OKAY, PERFECT. SO A COUPLE MONTHS LEFT OF THAT. MM-HMM . ANY OTHER QUES? YEP. YEAH, YEAH. I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE FUND BALANCE. UM, AND YOU SHARED THAT WITH US, THAT WE ACTUALLY TOOK OUT ROUGHLY ABOUT WHAT $18 MILLION OUTTA FUND BALANCE. WE SPENT DOWN 20 MILLION, BUT 18 OF IT WAS THOSE YEAR END, UM, ADJUSTMENTS. ADJUSTMENTS THAT YOU, UM, ASKED FOR THE PAYING DOWN OF DEBT. WE DID LIKE 11 MILLION IN DEBT, THE PRICE IN THE HELICOPTER. MM-HMM . AND, UH, BULK. WALTER, GO AHEAD. YEAH, NO, I WAS JUST ADDING IN. THERE WERE SEVERAL PROJECTS. THERE WAS THE, I I DON'T, AND, AND ONE OF THE CONCERNS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THAT WE SHOULD KEEP THE FUND BALANCE UP TO A CERTAIN AMOUNT. UM, AND IT WAS ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO, ALMOST $76 MILLION. SO, UM, I THINK AS A COUNCIL WE JUST NEED TO BE CAREFUL. UM, AND OUR FUND BALANCE EXPENDITURES AND STUFF, UM, I DON'T LIKE TO SEE A 76, BUT ANYTIME WE DIPPING IN THIS AREA HERE, I THINK WE JUST NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL. AND I WISH Y'ALL WOULD, THE STAFF WOULD, UM, CAUTION US WHEN WE TRY TO ACT. YEAH. LUXURIOUSLY. LUXURIOUSLY. YES SIR. I WOULD JUST SAY WE'RE WITHIN WHAT COUNCIL'S MANDATED THE 17 TO 30%. SO I WOULD CAUTION NOW I WOULDN'T SPEND MUCH MORE OF THE FUN BALANCE. I AGREE WITH THAT. [00:20:01] YEAH. AND WE, WE JUST GETTING INTO HURRICANE SEASON AS WELL TOO, SO WE GOTTA BE CAREFUL. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND THEN THE OTHER, UM, I, I WOULD SAY ONE THING ON THAT, JUST TO TAKE AN OPPOSITE APPROACH, IT'S NOT OUR MONEY, IT IS THE TAXPAYER'S MONEY. SO WE'RE HOLDING ON AN EXTRA OF 20 OR $30 MILLION THAT WE SHOULD NOT, THAT'S WHERE I SAY WE SHOULD BE SPENDING MONEY AND PUT IT BACK INTO THE COUNTY FOR THE TAX PAYING RESIDENT. SO THERE IS THAT LINE THAT YES, WE HAVE TO HAVE A BOTTOM TO MAINTAIN A, THE, UM, COUNTY GUIDANCE, BUT ALSO WE SHOULDN'T BE HOLDING ONTO OUR TAXPAYERS MONEY FOR YEARS JUST SITTING THERE. SO WE SHOULD BE REINVESTING INTO OUR COUNTY. I AGREE WITH YOU A HUNDRED PERCENT, MR. CHAIRMAN. UM, AT THE SAME TIME, I WOULD LOVE, I'VE ALWAYS ADVOCATED REDUCTION IN MILLAGE. SO YOU CAN ALMOST TAKE THE FUND BALANCE AND REDUCE THE MILLS, BUT THAT'S GIVING IT BACK TO THE PEOPLE. THAT WAY THEY'LL SEE IT. BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU. OKAY, THE NEXT THING YOU HAVE FOR 27 IS BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS. WE ALREADY HAVE 27 BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS. THERE ARE THREE OF THEM THAT YOU CAN SEE. THEY ARE ALL AGAIN, UM, WITHIN A PARTICULAR FUND. OKAY. AND THEN THE VERY LAST THING THAT YOU HAVE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE. THIS IS A BUDGET AT A GLANCE. IT IS THE ENTIRE BUDGET OF, UM, OF THE COUNTY. THE VERY FIRST COLUMN YOU HAVE IS WHERE THE APPROPRIATION AUTHORITY CAME FROM. ON THAT YOU HAVE THE ORDINANCE 26 29, WHICH IS THE BUDGET ORDINANCE AND THEN THE CARRY FORWARDS. WERE ORDINANCE 26 31. THAT IS ALL FROM FUND BALANCE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE GREEN COLUMNS, THOSE ARE YOUR ESTIMATED REVENUES AS AS THE FIRST COLUMN THAT IS YOUR CURRENT YEAR RESOURCES. WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE COMING IN IN 27. AND YOUR SECOND COLUMN IS WHAT YOU'RE EXPECTING TO SPEND OUT OF FUND BALANCE FOR THE YEAR. CARRY FORWARDS ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE COMING FROM FUND BALANCE BECAUSE IT'S PULLING IT OVER FROM THE PRIOR YEAR. YOUR BLUE SECTION IS YOUR OPERATING BUDGET. THOSE ARE BY FUNCTION, WHICH IS ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO CALCULATE THAT. THE TOTAL OF YOUR OPERATING BUDGET, ALL OF YOUR BLUE COLUMNS TOGETHER IS ABOUT 266.3 MILLION. THEN YOU HAVE YOUR DEBT SERVICES AND YOUR CAPITAL PROJECTS OR, UM, CONSTRUCTION. AND THEN YOU HAVE YOUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS AND, AND CAPITAL ENTERPRISE FUNDS. AND THEN TRANSFERS AT THE BOTTOM, YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THE, SORRY. YOU'RE GOOD. UM, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE PERCENTAGES, LIKE WHAT PERCENTAGE EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES ARE DOING. THAT SHOULD HAVE A TITLE ON THERE. SORRY ABOUT THAT. SO YOUR OPERATING BUDGET, DEBT CAPITAL, ALL OF THAT IS 741 MILLION WITH ENTERPRISE FUNDS, YOUR TOTAL APPROPRIATION FOR 27 IS 798.8 MILLION. MM-HMM . UM, GREEN SPACE, I'M ASSUMING THAT WHAT MILLION DOLLAR REVENUES IS THAT INTEREST? YES. OKAY. AND THEN UP AT HUMAN SERVICES THERE'S UM, 207, 230 $2. IS THAT IS GRANTS? THAT'S GRANTS. STATE GRANTS. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE BUDGET AT A GLANCE ELSE? OKAY, THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR 27. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. UH, WE [7.c. Fiscal Year 2026 Impact Fees Report - Sandra Novak, Dylan Kidd, Michael Brantley] WILL MOVE ON TO FISCAL YEAR 2026 IMPACT FEES REPORT. DYLAN, HOW ARE YOU MR. CHAIR COMMITTEE? GOOD TO SEE YOU THIS AFTERNOON. UM, SO THIS IS OUR ANNUAL IMPACT FEES REPORT. IT IS REQUIRED BY SOUTH CAROLINA CODE SECTION 6 1 9 30. UM, WE HAVE TO PREPARE A REPORT DESCRIBING THE AMOUNTS COLLECTED, APPROPRIATED, AND SPENT, UM, WITHIN, UH, AREAS OF SERVICE AND, AND CATEGORIZE IT BY, UM, BY SERVICE AS WELL. UM, SO YOU'LL SEE WHAT WE HAVE PREPARED FOR YOU HERE TODAY. AND I SHOULD SAY IN FUTURE YEARS WE MAY BE DOING THIS A LITTLE BIT LATER AFTER HARD CLOSE. UM, THIS WAS SOMETHING WE HAD BEEN ASKED FOR AND WE WANTED TO GET IT TO YOU GUYS AS, AS QUICKLY AS WE COULD. WE ARE CERTAINLY, BECAUSE THIS IS KIND OF A TRIAL RUN, CERTAINLY OPEN TO ANY FEEDBACK OR ANYTHING THAT YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO SEE. UM, WE CAN AMEND OUR PROCESS GOING FORWARD. BUT, UM, I HAVE WITH ME TODAY, UM, MR. MICHAEL BRANTLEY FROM BUILDING SERVICES WHO CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE RELATING TO COLLECTION OF IMPACT FEES. UM, AND THEN MS. NOVAK [00:25:01] AND HER FINANCE STAFF, UM, REALLY PUT TOGETHER THE MAJORITY OF THIS REPORT PERTAINING TO APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENDITURES, TRACING ALL OF THOSE ACCOUNTS. UM, GOING BACK OVER THE PAST YEAR, UM, IT WAS A, A LIFT THAT REQUIRED CO CROSS COORDINATION OF DEPARTMENTS AND WE THANK EVERYBODY WHO ASSISTED US IN GETTING US WHERE WE NEEDED TO GO HERE. SO WITH THAT, WE CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. JUST TO HELP READ THIS, MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING IT CORRECTLY. THE APPROPRIATED PORTION, OBVIOUSLY THOSE ARE PROJECTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETED OR STARTED YET. THE NUMBER THAT SAYS FUND BALANCE ON THE RIGHT, IS THAT TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION OF THE APPROPRIATION OR NO? L SO IS THAT 45 MILLION AFTER THE $42 MILLION SAVINGS? THAT IS THE CURRENT FUND BALANCE. AND YOU CAN SEE ON ROADS THEY APPROPRIATE ALL OF THE FUND BALANCE THAT THEY ESTIMATED DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS, WHAT IT WAS GOING TO BE, AND THEN THEY APPROPRIATE THE FULL AMOUNT OF IT. UM, EVEN IF IT, THEY DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC PROJECT IN MIND YET IN CASE A PROJECT THAT DOES QUALIFY COMES UP, THEY APPROPRIATE ALL OF IT AND WE HAD SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR WITH PARKS AND REC. SO REALISTICALLY THEN, ARE YOU SAYING THE FUND BALANCE IS ACTUALLY SHOULD BE ONLY 3 MILLION FOR ROADS? IF, IF WE SPEND ALL OF THAT BUT MINUS 42 MILLION, THAT'S APPROPRIATED. YEAH, AS YOU SEE, WE ONLY SPENT 1.8 SOUTH OF BROAD AND 153 NORTH OF THE BROAD. SO THAT'S LEAVING AT THE END OF 26. 45.8 MILLION. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, QUICKLY. UM, WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE LANGUAGE LEGALLY ON FUND BALANCE? YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW LONG CAN YOU HAVE IT WITHOUT SPENDING IT? I'M NOT SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT. UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO THAT FOR YOU. I'M NOT SURE THAT WE HAVE ANY DICTATED, UM, GUIDELINES FOR IMPACT FEE, UM, FUND BALANCE ACCOUNTS FOR AS TO HOW LONG WE CAN HOLD ONTO THAT. AS YOU'LL SEE, I THINK THROUGH HERE, IT ALL GETS, AS MS. NOVAK WAS SAYING, IN THE CASE OF ROADS, LIBRARIES AND PARKS AND REC, THEY ARE GENERALLY, I MEAN, LIBRARY WAS THE EXCEPTION TO THIS, BUT FOR ROADS AND PARKS AND REC, THEY ARE APPROPRIATING THEIR FUND BALANCE FOR THE YEAR. SO IT IS AVAILABLE TO BE SPENT IF PROJECTS ARE APPROVED WITHIN THAT GIVEN YEAR. UM, BUT UH, WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO THAT IF THERE ARE REQUIREMENTS ON HOW LONG WE CAN HOLD FUND BALANCE FOR. APPRECIATE THAT. IS IT THREE YEARS? I THOUGHT IT WAS THREE YEARS TOO. I THINK IT MAY DEPEND ON THE FUND TOO, BECAUSE THESE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FUNDS. I THINK A LOT. I THINK I NEED YOU TO LOOK INTO IT. I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. YEAH, I THINK, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHEN WE REDID THIS AND WE, LIKE THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, WE TRIED TO GET EVERYBODY ON THE COUNTY ON THE SAME PAGE. AND I THINK IT WAS, WE HAVE THREE YEARS TO SPEND THE FUNDS OR START SPENDING THE FUNDS AND ALLOCATE 'EM TOWARDS A PROJECT, INTERSTATE LAW, STATE LAW GUIDING THAT TOO. YEAH, IT'S BEEN A WHILE THOUGH. WE, WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE IN THE CASE OF THE LIBRARY, THE, THE LIBRARY BOARD HAS BEEN LOOKING TO PUT ANOTHER LIBRARY IN THE BLUFFTON AREA, BUT THEY'VE NEVER HAD ENOUGH IMPACT FEES TO ACTUALLY DO THAT AS YET. AND IF IN FACT THERE IS A THREE YEAR LIMIT, WE HAVE A, CERTAINLY HAVE A PROBLEM. I THINK YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. I REMEMBER THAT CONVO NOW. 'CAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT STARTING PROJECTS WITH IMPACT FEES, BUT KNOWING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CONTINUE TO FUND THEM IN OTHER OUTLETS, WHETHER IT'S GENERAL FUND, BECAUSE AN IMPACT FEE'S NEVER GONNA BE ENOUGH FOR AN ENTIRE BUILD OF A PROJECT, RIGHT? RIGHT. ONE, LEGALLY WE HAVE TO SPEND IT. TWO, IT'LL TAKE FOREVER AND THE COST IS JUST GONNA KEEP GOING UP. THAT'S WHY WE JUST DID WHAT WE DID IN BLUFFTON. WE HAD 9 MILLION IN IMPACT FEES, BUT WE KNEW THAT WE WERE GONNA HAVE TO COVER THE REST. SO WE SHOULD PROBABLY LOOK INTO WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE OF THE LIBRARY FOR SURE. THAT LIBRARY IS SORELY NEEDED. YEAH, WE DO HAVE THE SITE. WE HAVE THE, WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE BUILDING. YEAH, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THAT WHEN I FIRST GOT ON COUNTY COUNCIL. WHEN I FIRST GOT ON COUNCIL, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT. WE PURCHASED THE, BECAUSE I VOTED AGAINST YES, WE DO HAVE A SITE ON MAY RIVER ROAD. GOTCHA. RIGHT. UH, AND WE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT AT THE LIBRARY BOARD MEETINGS, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO MOVE THIS ALONG AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN. SO IF IN FACT WE'RE COMING TO THE END OF THE TIMELINE NECESSARY, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT FUND BALANCE IS ALLOCATED TO NORTH OF THE BROAD OF THE 6 MILLION, THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT IS PROBABLY SOUTH OF THE BROAD. BUT STILL IN ALL WE SHOULD TAKE THAT MONEY AND WE SHOULD MOVE THIS PROJECT ALONG. DO WE, CAN WE, UM, USE SOME OF THIS FOR DESIGN AND GET MOVING ON THE PROJECT? I DON'T KNOW WHAT A, A NEW LIBRARY WOULD COST. JARED'S GOT THAT ANSWER. I HAVE NO IDEA. BUT MAYBE WE COULD DO DESIGN. SO WE DO HAVE THE DESIGN PLANNED, UH, AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THE IMPACT FEES THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED ON THE DESIGN ON THE 10 ACRE TRACT IN, UM, BLUFFTON FOR THE NEW RIVERSIDE LIBRARY. WE DON'T KNOW YET WHAT THAT COST ESTIMATE WILL BE. SO THERE'S NO SENSE OBLIGATING IT YET. BUT TO YOUR POINT, WE'RE GETTING STARTED WITH THE DESIGN. WE'LL COME BACK TO [00:30:01] YOU, UM, IN A PERIOD OF TIME ONCE WE HAVE THAT IN A PROPER COST ESTIMATE. SO IF IT'S 6 MILLION, GREAT, WE GOT THE MONEY. IF IT'S 10 MILLION, WE'VE GOT 6 MILLION AND WE NEED TO FIND 4 MILLION. SO, UM, BUT THAT, THAT IS THE ONE PROJECT THAT, UM, THE LIBRARY AND WORKING WITH AUDRA AND, AND HER STAFF THAT THEY HAVE SAID, LET'S MOVE FORWARD. AND IT'S IN OUR CIP PLAN TO DO. SO. THERE'S SOME EXPANSIONS, UM, AT BLUFFTON LIBRARY AND SOME RENOVATIONS AT HILTON HEAD. UM, SOME OF THOSE, THOSE ARE ONGOING RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS THE DESIGNS ON THOSE. UM, SOME OF THOSE WILL HAVE IMPACT. YOU CAN ONLY MAKE CAPACITY IMPROVEMENTS WITH IMPACT FEES, BUT IF IT'S A MAINTENANCE IMPROVEMENT, IT HAS TO BE OTHER FUNDS. SO WE'LL SORT THOSE OUT, WHAT'S NEEDED OUTTA EACH OF THOSE TWO PROJECTS. BUT THOSE ARE THE THREE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE ADVANCING RIGHT NOW WITH THE LIBRARIES HERE. DO WE HAVE AN ARCHITECT ON CALL? WE, WE HAVE AN RFQ GOING OUT. IF IT'S NOT OUT, I DON'T KNOW. FRANK'S HERE. UM, IF IT'S NOT OUT RIGHT NOW, IT'S GOING OUT SOON ON THE LIBRARY, UM, FOR NEW RIVERSIDE. AND I BELIEVE, UM, I THINK WE'VE GOT DESIGN ALREADY ESTABLISHED ON THE OTHER TWO HILTON HIT AND BLUFFTON RENOVATIONS. BUT THOSE TWO RENOVATIONS, BLUFFTON, THOSE ARE SO THEY'RE NOT MAINTENANCE, THEY'RE NEW STUFF. HILTON HEAD IS MORE MAINTENANCE. BLUFFTON IS MAINTENANCE AND NEW STUFF. SO IF YOU RECALL ON THE BLUFFTON LIBRARY, WE, WE RENOVATED THE ONE WING AND WE WERE ABLE TO USE IMPACT FEES 'CAUSE WE ADDED SOME CAPACITY IN THE SHELVING AND DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT. SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, THE RIGHT WING AND THE BACK OF THE HOUSE. SO IF THERE'S CAPACITY ADDING COMPONENTS, THEN WE CAN USE IMPACT FEES FOR THAT AMOUNT. IF NOT, WE'D HAVE TO FIND OTHER FUNDS. I GUESS THE LIBRARY BOARD SHOULD DISCUSS, IS IT A BETTER USE OF THE IMPACT FEES TO FUND THE NEW LIBRARY VERSUS PUTTING SOMETHING BACK OF THE OLD ONE? BECAUSE THE NEW LIBRARY IS SUPPOSED TO ALLEVIATE THE CAPACITY OF THE BLUFFTON LIBRARY AND THERE'S ENOUGH FUNDING RIGHT NOW TO DO THE DESIGN ON ALL THREE AND THEN WE'LL GET TO THE POINT TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS ONCE WE DETERMINE HOW MUCH THE OVERALL COST FOR EACH OF THE PROJECTS AND WHAT ELEMENTS ARE APPLICABLE FOR IMPACT VERSUS NEEDED OTHER FUNDS. I'M SURE THE LIBRARY BOARD IS UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE IMPACT FEES ARE USED. I DO KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE PUSH TO GET A NEW LIBRARY BECAUSE THE BLUFFTON LIBRARY IS ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY USED LIBRARIES AND NEW RIVERSIDE CONTINUES TO EXPLODE. RIGHT. SO WE NEED A LIBRARY. OKAY. WE'RE LEANING FORWARD INTO IT. SO REST ASSURED THAT WE'RE NOT SITTING ON OUR LAURELS AND WE'RE PUSHING THAT PROJECT FORWARD. ALICE, MR. DAWSON. GERALD? YEP. WHILE WE'RE ON THE TOPIC OF LIBRARIES AND EXPANSION AND, AND UH, AND ACTUALLY BUILDING, I HAVE A CONCERN IN MY DISTRICT WITH THE, UH, LUKO LIBRARY, IT'S A RELATIVELY SMALL LIBRARY. UM, THE, THE COMMUNITY ROOM MIGHT HOLD MAYBE EIGHT PEOPLE, 12 PEOPLE AT THE MAX SITTING AT A TABLE. SO IF, IF I WOULD ENCOURAGE, UH, UH, COUNCIL AND STAFF TO LET US LOOK AT, UM, LOOKING AT SOME PLANS OF EXPANDING THE LUKO LIBRARY, UH, THAT WE MIGHT, UM, ACCU ACCUMULATE OR BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, MORE COMMUNITY EVENTS AT THE LIBRARY, WHICH WE CAN'T NOW BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF SPACE. UM, I HAD A QUESTION. YEAH. A WHILE BACK WE MET WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OUT THERE. COUNCILMAN DAWS. DID THAT EVER, DID THEY EVER COME BACK TO US ABOUT NO. GIVING THE OTHER HALF OF THE BUILDING? NO, BECAUSE THEY OWN HALF THAT BUILDING YEAH. OF THAT LIBRARY DISTRICT. YEAH. MM-HMM . WE MET WITH, WHAT ARE THEY USING IT FOR? NOTHING. NOTHING REALLY. WE PART THE, UM, MAYBE THAT COULD BE ON OUR AGENDA WHEN WE MEET WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. I WAS SAY THAT. CAN WE ADD THAT TO A FOLLOW UP ON THAT? I MEAN, WE COULD, IT'D BE CHEAPER TO UPDATE THE SPACE AND REMODEL SPACE THAT WE ALREADY HAVE BUILT INSTEAD OF BUILDING OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING. ALL THE, UH, THE PORTION THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ALL IS THE, BASICALLY THE, ALL THE BIG O UH, SCHOOL. MM-HMM . UM, AND IT WAS REALLY, UH, OUTDATED AND UM, REALLY NEEDS SOME. SURE. SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT ALL THAT AS FAR AS, UH, UTILIZING THAT OR EXPAND IT INTO THAT TO ACTUALLY ENLARGE THE LIBRARY SENSE. I'LL, I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO STAFF. UH, JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY, WOULD WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION FOR WHAT YOU AND TASK STAFF TO DO TO LOOK INTO THAT AND BRING IT FORWARD TO THE NEXT PUBLIC FACILITIES MEETING? OR DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A MOTION IN ORDER TO DIRECT THEM TO LOOK AT THE TIMELINES FOR THE IMPACT FEES? NO, HE SAID HE GONNA LOOK INTO IT. I KNOW, BUT DO WE NEED A, A FORMAL MOTION TO DIRECT STAFF TO DO THAT? [00:35:01] THAT MIGHT BE THE BEST ROUTE, ROUTE TO GO IF Y I'M JUST THROWING IT OUT THERE IF Y'ALL WANNA MAKE A MOTION. I'M, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH STAFF TELLING ME THEY'RE GONNA LOOK, LET ME KNOW. FAIR ENOUGH. YEAH, I'M COMFORTABLE MR. CHAIRMAN. I APPRECIATE THAT. I'M GOOD WITH IT. IF, UM, STAFF, UM, THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND JARED, UH, MORE OR LESS GAVE THEIR NOD TO CONSENT THAT THERE'S SOMETHING, I LOOK FORWARD TO THEM COMING BACK TO US AND GIVING US AN UPDATE. AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT DID MEET WITH US OUT THERE. IT'S BEEN TWO, AT LEAST TWO YEARS AGO. YEAH. BUT THIS, IT, THEY HAVE TO, THEY HAVE TO MAKE SOME INITIATIVES. SO I THINK TO TABS POINT, WE NEED TO BRING IT UP AT OUR JOINT MEETING WITH 'EM AGAIN. MR. DAWSON, ARE YOU SAYING THAT MAYBE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT PORTION IS NOT REALLY WHAT WE WANT? WE NEED TO EXPAND THE CURRENT LIBI UH, LIBRARY PORTION? WELL, WE DO HAVE SPACE AVAILABLE TO EXPAND THE CURRENT LIBRARY. YEAH. BUT WE NEED TO, IF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS GOING TO GIVE US, UH, NEGOTIATE, UH, SOME AGREEMENT TO WHERE WE CAN UTILIZE THE OLD SCHOOL PORTION OF IT, THEN WE CAN EXPAND THAT WAY. MM-HMM . BUT IT, IT WOULD TAKE SOME INVESTMENT ON, ON OUR, THERE'S TWO OPTIONS THERE. I WAS SAY IT DEFINITELY DOESN'T HARD TO HAVE BOTH OPTIONS, BUT THE CONVERSATION HAS TO BE HAD WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD. WHETHER IT IS THE NEXT MEETING OR WE JUST REACH OUT TO THEM TO SEE IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE BEEN INTERESTED IN DISCUSSING. WE'LL SAY THAT'S THE SMALLEST LIBRARY I'VE EVER SEEN. AM REALLY, SORRY MR. CHAIR. I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS BROACHED THE IDEA OF THAT BUILDING, TRANSFERRING IT TO THE COUNTY, BUT, UH, THAT'S BEEN A FEW MONTHS AND WE WOULD NEED TO REACH OUT TO THEM AGAIN TO SEE IF THAT'S STILL ON THE TABLE. I JUST WANNA CLARIFY BEFORE YOU MOVE OVER FORWARD THAT THE ADMINISTRATOR DOES NOT WANT A MOTION REGARDING ACTIONS THAT Y'ALL ARE ASKING. 'CAUSE THAT IS STANDARD PROCEDURE. SO I'M JUST CHECKING WITH HIM. I DIDN'T SEE IF HE DID OR NOT. AS FAR AS THE SCHOOL, IF, IF THERE'S A DESIRE FOR US TO LOOK AT THE LIBRARY, I WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE A MOTION. I THINK THE INFORMATION, WE CAN BRING BACK INFORMATION ON THE IMPACT FEE. BUT IF THE IDEA IS FOR US TO BRING BACK A PLAN FOR THE LUKO LIBRARY, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT AS A MOTION. ALRIGHT, MR. DAWSON. SO MOVE. I'LL SECOND. I'LL SECOND. I'LL SECOND IT. ALRIGHT. SO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR FOR, UM, MR. MOORE AND STAFF TO GO AND DO SOME DUE DILIGENCE ON THE LIBRARY AT LEKO TO SEE THE OPTIONS. DO WE HAVE ANY OBJECTION? NO, BUT, UH, THE UNDERSTANDING WOULD BE THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ABOUT TURNING OVER THAT ENTIRE PROPERTY CORRECT. TO THE COUNTY. THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE OPTIONS WE WOULD LOOK AT. YEAH. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. WHEN WAS OUR LAST IMPACT STUDY DONE? QUESTION IS A QUESTION ON THE MOTION OR IS NO, NO. NO. OKAY. SO LET'S GET OUTTA THE MOTION FIRST THEN WE CAN, DO WE HAVE ANY OBJECTION TO THIS MOTION? I JUST HAVE ONE CLARIFYING QUESTION. IS THERE ANY TIMELINE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO PUT ON THAT OR SPEC SPECIFIED MEETING BEFORE IT COME BACK TO? I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO STAFF. OKAY, FAIR. FAIR ENOUGH. ACTUALLY, FAIR ENOUGH. SET THE MEETING AND THEN ADVISE US OF THE MEETING DATE. NEXT MEETING. WE CAN, UH, WE CAN PROVIDE AN UPDATE AT THE NEXT, UH, DO YOU WANT THAT AT PUBLIC FACILITIES? THIS IS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE MOST APPROPRIATE, MOST APPROPRIATELY AT THAT ONE, WHICH THEY HAVE IN THE SAME DAY. SO THAT'D BE GREAT. OKAY. WE'LL PLAN ON THAT. PERFECT. CAN THIS BE DONE WITH NO OBJECTION. MM-HMM . THIS IS APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION TAB. YOUR QUESTION WAS, WHEN WAS OUR LAST IMPACT STUDY DONE? AND THE REASON I ASK IS BECAUSE RESIDENTS CONTINUALLY ASK WHY DON'T WE INCREASE IMPACT FEES? AND I KNOW MR. ATKINSON GAVE ME A ONE HOUR LECTURE ON WHAT THAT TAKES, BUT MAYBE YOU COULD JUST TELL US WHEN IT WAS DONE AND WHEN WE WOULD DO ANOTHER ONE. SO THE, THERE ARE FIVE YEAR AND 10 YEAR STUDIES. THE LAST ONE WAS A FIVE YEAR AND IT WAS ADOPTED IN 2023. SO WE ARE UP AGAIN IN 28. THAT ONE IN 2023 IS AVAILABLE ON THE COUNTY WEBSITE. UM, IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT. UM, AND, AND TWO, AN ADDITIONAL QUESTION I BELIEVE WE GOT FROM, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER BARTHOLOMEW ABOUT TRACKING IMPACT FEES TO, UH, INFLATION RELATED MEASURES. WE DO HAVE A MEASURE TO DO THAT WITHIN THIS ORDINANCE. SO WE WILL BE UPDATING THAT IN DECEMBER AS IT SETS FORWARD. SO WE WILL BE DOING THAT. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON IMPACT FEES? DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATION FOR ANY UPDATES? UM, NO. THERE IS THE, THE BACKUP DATA ABOUT THE SPECIFIC INS AND OUTS THAT, UM, MS. NOVA SEEMED COMPILED, BUT I, I THINK EVERYTHING IN THERE IS SELF-CONTAINED. ALRIGHT. JUST ONE COMMENT. UM, ON IMPACT FEES, UM, MS. TABER, I I I, I AGREE THAT I, IF THERE WAS A WAY TO INCREASE IMPACT FEES, I WAS SUPPORTED TODAY, UM, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE COMING TO, UM, BEAUFORT, BUT IT ALSO IMPACT PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE. SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. WHO CANNOT AFFORD [00:40:02] THE FEES ALONG WITH OTHER FEES, ET CETERA, ET JUST TO GET A HOUSE. YEAH. SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. THANK YOU. YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT IS A FAIR POINT. IT IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. IT IS. UM, WHEN YOU RAISE IMPACT FEES, YOU USUALLY RAISE THE COST OF LIVING RIGHT THERE WITH IT. 'CAUSE THE HOUSEHOLD, THEY'RE JUST GONNA PASS IT ON TO THE PERSON BUYING THE HOUSE. UM, UH, SO POINT WELL TAKEN. ALL RIGHT, WE WILL CLOSE OUT OUR REPORTS THEN AND MOVE ON TO OUR [8.a. Discussion regarding revisions to the Beaufort County Employee Handbook, specifically to section 1.6, Whistleblower Policy - ] FIRST DISCUSSION ITEM AND OUR ONLY DISCUSSION ITEM DISCUSSION REGARDING REVISIONS TO BEAUFORT COUNTY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK SPECIFICALLY TO SECTION 1.6 WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY. DO YOU HAVE A MOTION TO PUT THAT ON THE FLOOR FOR DISCUSSION? I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION. MR. CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU. A SECOND. I'LL SECOND IT BY TAB. UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, THIS CAME UP AND WE GOT SOME ADVICE FROM OUR ATTORNEY THAT WORKS FOR COUNTY COUNCIL. THEY KIND OF REWROTE THE, UH, A SECTION OF THE POLICY REGARDING WHISTLEBLOWERS AND DEFINITIONS OF WHISTLEBLOWERS. I DID GET COMMENTS FROM TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, REGARDING THIS, BUT I WOULD JUST, AND IT CAN STAY AT COMMITTEE. UM, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND, BUT I JUST WANTED TO GET, I'D, I'D LIKE TO, UM, SEE IF OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE COMMENTS OR IF THE TWO THAT MADE COMMENTS BEFORE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE MORE COMMENTS ABOUT IT. UH, I THINK COUNCILMAN MCALLEN WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT FORMALIZED A LITTLE BIT MORE WITH WHO, WHO, UH, WHO, WHO IT REPORTS TO, WHICH MIGHT INVOLVE HIRING, UM, PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME PERSON TO, UH, THAT WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINTS WOULD GO TO. UM, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR, JUST TO DISCUSS IT. WE CAN KEEP IT AT COMMITTEE UNTIL IT'S REVISED. IN A MORE FINAL FORM, WHAT WERE THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WERE MADE SO FAR, I GUESS, OR THAT WERE SUBMITTED? UM, IT'S, IT'S HERE IN THE PACKET, UM, IF ANY AND I SENT IT OUT TOO. BUT, UH, JUST BETTER DEFINES WHAT A WHISTLEBLOWER IS, I THINK, THAN WHAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY IN THE POLICY. WHO WOULD YOU REPORT IT TO? WHICH THAT MIGHT WANT TO BE CHANGED. UM, AND THEN PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION WAS, UH, ALSO BETTER, I THINK A LITTLE MORE DETAILED DEFINED THAN WHAT THE ORIGINAL POLICY WAS FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES. SO. ALRIGHT. ANYBODY ELSE WANTS TO ADD ON TO THAT? DAVID? I JUST, I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS AND I'M SORRY I DIDN'T, UH, PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO YOU IN VIA EMAIL. NO, IT'S FINE. BUT, UM, THE TWO, IT IS IN SECTION FIVE DOWN HERE IT SAYS, OR STUDY COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE OR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THAT MAY BE A HANGOVER FROM A YEAH, YEAH. FROM A COPY AND PASTE. RIGHT. PRISONER'S ERROR. GOOD CATCH. YEAH. , UH, THE, THE ONLY LIKE SUBSTANTIVE PORTION THAT I WOULD I, OR I GUESS PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATE OUT HERE WOULD BE, DO THEY ACTUALLY NEED TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO BRING SOMETHING FORWARD? IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S ONLY TO BE AFFORDED EMPLOYEE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. THE EMPLOYEE SUBMITTING THE REPORT MUST IDENTIFY HIMSELF OR HERSELF BY NAME. I, I GET THAT TO BE AFFORDED THE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. BUT WE ALSO RECENTLY GOT SOME ANONYMOUS COMPLAINTS THAT CAME IN THAT WOULDN'T HAVE COME TO LIGHT WITHOUT THAT. SO THAT'S WHERE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE GO WITH THAT AND JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE AS A QUESTION, UM, TO HEAR THOUGHTS ON THAT FRONT. WELL, I'D JUST LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT. IF WE HAD A, AND THIS GOES, MAYBE, MAYBE COUNCIL MCALLEN WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT IF WE HAD A ANOTHER ENTITY LIKE A CONTRACTOR OR SOMEONE ON RETAINER, THAT IDENTITY COULD BE PROTECTED THAT WAY. JUST THINK, JUST A THOUGHT COUNCIL, MCALLEN DO, I DUNNO IF HE WANTS TO COMMENT OR NOT. MR. MACALLAN, ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT? YEAH, SURE. UH, I'LL BE HAPPY TO. I'VE SPOKEN ABOUT THIS A NUMBER OF TIMES. UM, I SENT SOME COMMENTS TO THE CHAIR ABOUT IT. IT'S NOT A COMPLICATED MATTER TO RESOLVE AND I'LL BRING UP THE REQUEST. I MADE A NUMBER OF TIMES OVER THE YEARS AND IT'S TIME FOR US TO PUT TOGETHER, UH, A STAFF POSITION FOR THE OFFICE OF INTEGRITY. AND YOU CAN DO THAT A NUMBER OF WAYS. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A FULL-TIME POSITION. IT COULD BE A PART-TIME POSITION AND IT COULD BE A CHOICE MADE FROM EXISTING STAFF MEMBERS WHO HAVE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THE COUNTY AND ARE IN SOME KIND OF A POSITION OF AUTHORITY. UH, PEOPLE COULD MAKE A REPORT TO THAT PERSON AND ONLY THAT PERSON AND TO NO ONE ELSE IN THE COUNTY. AND THAT PERSON WOULD REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OR THE DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR NEXT [00:45:01] TO THE PROGRAM. WHEN THAT REPORT WAS TAKEN AND GIVEN TO AN EXPERIENCED MEMBER OF THE STAFF, THEY WOULD NOT BE EXPECTED TO CONDUCT ANY KIND OF AN INVESTIGATION. THEY WOULD ONLY REFER THE MATTER TO AN OUTSIDE FIRM. AND THERE ARE OUTSIDE FIRMS THAT DO THIS FOR OTHER COUNTIES IN THE STATE RIGHT NOW. UM, AND THEY HAVE A PROGRAM SET UP JUST LIKE THIS WHERE A REPORT IS GIVEN INTERNALLY. I REMEMBER THE REPORT IS THEN FORWARDED TO A COMPANY AND THAT COMPANY HANDLES THE ENTIRE MATTER AND REPORTS BACK TO THE PERSON WHO HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR RUNNING THE PROGRAM. SO THAT IF SOMEONE MADE A REPORT TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES OR THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OR THE DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OR A SUPERVISOR OR THE CHAIR OF COUNSEL OR THE VICE CHAIR OR A COMMITTEE CHAIR, THOSE PEOPLE WOULD BE TOLD TO TELL THE PERSON AND WE'LL CALL THEM A PROTECTED PARTY. THEY WOULD TELL THE PROTECTED PARTY TO REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE PERSON THAT'S BEEN CHARGED WITH OVERSIGHT OF THIS PROGRAM. AND THAT'S WHERE THEY MAKE THE REPORT. THEY DON'T TAKE THE REPORT, THEY DON'T ANSWER THE REPORT, THEY DON'T CONDUCT ANY INVESTIGATIONS, THEY DON'T FOLLOW UP ON ANYTHING. IT GOES RIGHT INTO THE OFFICE OF INTEGRITY. AND THAT THAT PERSON DEALS DIRECTLY WITH THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OR THE DEPUTY WHEREVER THEY HAPPEN TO BE. AND THEY SET THE TIMELINE FOR THE, UM, FOLLOW UP WITH THE ORGANIZATION THAT'S DOING THIS AND SETS A REASONABLE TIME, DEPENDING UPON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SITUATION FOR A REPORT TO BE, UM, FILED. AND THEN THAT REPORT COMES IN TO THE PERSON WHO'S PROVIDING THE OVERSIGHT AND THEN IT'S DELIVERED TO THE APPROPRIATE PARTIES FOR ACTION. IT'S REALLY NOT THAT COMPLICATED, BUT WE CANNOT SEEM TO GET ANY TRACTION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE TALK ABOUT IT. WELL, I THINK THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT IT, IS TO GET IT MOVING. UM, COUNCIL MCGILLEN WITH ALL DUE RESPECT. AND UH, I I I THINK WE COULD ASK THAT, UM, THE ADMINISTRATOR TAKE OUR COMMENTS AND COME UP WITH ANOTHER DRAFT FOR THIS, IF THAT WOULD, DO WE NEED THAT IN THE FORM OF A MOTION OR BEFORE WE CAN HAVE SOME MORE DISCUSSION? I, I DID SEND YOU, DID ALICE MY COMMENTS MM-HMM . UNDER THE POLICY ITSELF. THERE WAS A LINE THERE THAT TALKED ABOUT A DESIGNATED COUNTY COUNCIL OFFICIAL, I ASKED THE WORD DESIGNATED TO BE REMOVED, UH, TYING INTO WHAT LARRY HAD SAID, YES, WE NEED SOME INDIVIDUAL THAT IS GOING TO HAVE THAT RESPONSIBILITY, BUT WE WANT, UH, COUNTY COUNCIL NOT NECESSARILY TO BE ONE OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, BUT IF SOMEONE CHOOSES TO GO TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL, IT MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE TO A DESIGNATED PERSON. IT MAY BE A COUNTY COUNCIL PERSON. SO THAT'S WHY I ASK THAT TO BE REMOVED. SECOND, UNDER THE TERM WHISTLEBLOWER, PEOPLE HAVE CONNOTATIONS OF WHAT A WHISTLEBLOWER IS. SOME PEOPLE WOULD BE RELUCTANT TO BE A QUOTE UNQUOTE WHISTLEBLOWER, BUT THEY WANT TO COME FORWARD WITH SOMETHING THAT THEY PERCEIVE AS BEING A VIOLATION OF COUNTY POLICY, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO I HAD PUT IN A SECTION ABOUT THAT, THAT I SENT TO ALICE THAT SHOULD BE DISTRIBUTED TO EVERYBODY TO SEE IF THEY THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE TERMINOLOGY. I MAY, I, UM, AND ALICE, I APOLOGIZE. I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T SEND MY, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS OR MY THOUGHTS, UH, BUT I I, I LOOKED AT THE, UM, DISCIPLINARY ACTION FOR THE, UH, UH, DEPARTMENT HEADS WHO, UH, RETALIATED AGAINST THE COURT UNQUOTE WHISTLEBLOWER. AND, AND I THINK THE, THE, UH, DISCIPLINARY, UH, UH, ACTIONS, UH, GIVEN IS TO MY PERSONAL VIEW, IS SOMEWHAT VAGUE. I, I THINK IF WE'RE GOING TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON THISAND, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO MAKE IT A POINT BLANK THAT RETALIATION BY DEPARTMENT HEAD WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AND THAT SHOULD BE TERMINATION RATHER THAN BEING VAGUE. JUST LET'S JUST GET RIGHT TO THE POINT AND MAKE OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS REALIZE AND UNDERSTAND THAT IF THERE'S AN EMPLOYEE WHO HAS A CONCERN, A LEGITIMATE CONCERN AND BRINGS IT FORWARD, THEN OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS WILL NOT IN [00:50:01] ANY WAY RETALIATE. AND IF THEY UNDERSTAND AND THEY'LL BE DETERMINATED, I THINK THEN THAT WILL TAKE, THAT WILL TAKE THE, THE, UH, THAT WILL TAKE THE VAGUENESS OR THE, UH, POTENTIAL OF THEM ACTUALLY STEPPING ACROSS THAT LINE. MR. CHAIRMAN, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER COMMENT? YES, SIR. HOW MANY COMMENTS AM I PERMITTED TODAY? ? I GOT NOTHING BUT TIME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, WHILE I, UH, BELIEVE STRONGLY THAT COUNTY COUNCIL HAS NO BUSINESS IN THIS PROCESS OF DEALING WITH PROTECTED PEOPLE WHO MAKE REPORTS, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO, DURING THE REMAINDER OF MY TERM, UH, PARTICIPATE IN ANY KIND OF A MEETING TO TRY AND DEVELOP A PROCESS FOR THIS TO BE PUT IN PLACE. I HAVE IN MIND, UH, ALREADY, UH, SOME, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT COULD BE CONTACTED AS THE OUTSOURCE, UH, BODY FOR THIS. AND I ALSO HAVE IN MIND, UH, A FEW PEOPLE WITHIN THE EXECUTIVE SIDE OF THE HOUSE ALREADY WHO I THINK WOULD BE, UH, EXCELLENT CANDIDATES PROVIDE OVERSIGHT FOR THIS, FOR THIS, UH, PROGRAM. SO IF THERE ARE ANY MEETINGS GOING FORWARD BEFORE THE END OF DECEMBER, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE. UM, AT THE CONVENIENCE OF, UH, THE SCHEDULER. I GUESS I'LL, I'LL ASK ALICE, IS THAT SOMETHING WE SHOULD SET UP IN A CAUCUS MEETING? WE COULD DO IT BEFORE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION. WELL, I THINK, OH, SORRY. NO, NO, NO, NO. IT'S OKAY. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. I'M OPEN TO IDEAS. YEAH. SEE THAT, OR AN EXECUTIVE MEETING, BUT I WOULD LIKE EVERYBODY TO BE THERE TO PUT THEIR IDEAS IN. BUT IF WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO TAKE SOME TYPE OF MOVEMENT ON THIS, WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS IN A PUBLIC SETTING TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION. SO, YEAH. YES. UM, HEATHER? NO, I, I, UH, I AGREE WITH, UM, WHAT HAS BEEN SHARED AND, UM, I THINK, UM, ALISON, AND MY COMMENT WAS THE, I QUITE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE COMMITTEE OF SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE. UH, I KNOW THAT'S SO, YOU KNOW, BUT, UM, SORRY ABOUT THAT. AND THAT'S BEEN TAKEN CARE OF AND STUFF. MM-HMM. THE ONLY OTHER COMMENT I MADE WAS THAT, UM, I WANTED TO SEE SOMETHING REPORTED TO THIS BODY, UH, ON A REGULAR BASE. AND UM, UM, I THINK IF WE HAVE WHAT LARRY IS PROPOSING, THEN WE WILL GET A REPORT, UH, ON A REGULAR BASE FROM WHOEVER THAT OFFICE OF INTEGRITY. I LIKE THAT OFFICE OF INTEGRITY. SO THAT'S MY ONLY COMMENT. YEAH. AND I, UH, SINCE I'M, I HAVE, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE, UM, AT LEAST ONE MORE COMMENT. I WOULD URGE SOMEONE BEFORE YOU, UM, ADJOURN, ADJOURN THIS MEETING TO PICK A DATE, GET SOME PEOPLE IN A ROOM AND START TALKING ABOUT THIS. AND DESPITE THE SCOLDING I RECEIVED ABOUT THE FACT WE CAN'T GET ANY TRACTION ON THIS, IT'S BEEN YEARS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT. SO LET'S SET A DATE, LET'S HAVE A MEETING AND LET EVERYBODY DECIDE WHO SHOULD BE THERE. JOE, UH, TO BRING THIS TO CONCLUSION, WE STARTED THE PROCESS. SOME OF US ACTUALLY PUT SOME THINGS IN WRITING, SOME HAVE JUST NOW VERBALIZED SOME THINGS. MM-HMM . I THINK WE NEED TO PUT ALL OF THAT TOGETHER IN ONE GENERAL POLICY OR SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SIT, I LIKE LARRY'S IDEA. ONCE WE HAVE ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, WE NEED TO SIT DOWN, DECIDE HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS. OTHERWISE WE JUST KEEP TALKING AND TALKING AND NEVER GET ANYTHING DONE. WE CAN HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING JUST FOR THIS, WHATEVER. GREAT IDEA. AND ALICE, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I WILL SUBMIT MY COMMENTS TO THE REST OF COUNCIL RATHER THAN ONLY TO YOU SO THEY CAN GET AN IDEA OF WHERE THEY THINK I'M COMING FROM WITH REGARD TO HOW WE CAN PUT THIS TOGETHER. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. THAT'D BE GREAT. ALRIGHT. SO, UM, TWO THINGS. I GUESS MY ONE COMMENT WOULD BE, I, I JUST WANT TO, LET'S NOT BLUR THE LINE THAT WE DON'T OVERSEE STAFF, SO I DON'T NEED TO KNOW EVERY SINGLE THING DAYS IN, IN AND OUT. THAT'S NOT OUR JOB. OUR JOB IS TO SET POLICY IN, TO PASS ORDINANCES, NOT TO MICROMANAGE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN CHARGE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS. SO GETTING INFORMATION, SURE, THAT'S GREAT AND WELL, BUT WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, THAT IS NOT OUR JURISDICTION. UM, SO I JUST WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE WHERE I STAND ON THAT. IF WE DO CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS. SO THAT'S A GRAY AREA I'M NOT WILLING TO CROSS. I'M MAYBE OTHERS ARE, BUT I'M NOT. SO IF THAT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THAT GOES IS THAT'S, THAT'S NOT WHAT WE GOT ELECTED TO DO. SO SETTING A POLICY IS ONE THING AND THAT'S WHAT THIS FOCUS NEEDS TO BE ON, IS JUST SETTING THE POLICY. AND THEN AFTER THAT, OUR HANDS SHOULD BE OFF OF THIS. UM, SO I JUST WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE. UM, ALEX, IF YOU ARE UP TO DATE FOR, OR IF YOU HAVE A DATE THAT [00:55:01] YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO DO THAT OR WANT TO DO THAT, UM, IF YOU WANNA TAKE TILL THE END OF THIS MEETING MAYBE, OR EVEN IF YOU NEED TIME ON THE BREAK TO FIND A DATE THAT WORKS FOR YOU, THAT'S FINE. UM, IF WE CAN MAKE A MOTION SOMETIME TODAY TO GET THAT ON THE BOOKS, DOES THAT WORK? COOL. ALL RIGHT THERE. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON DISCUSSION OF THE WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY? I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION. IT GOES BACK TO WHAT LARRY HAD MENTIONED ABOUT IT BEING A POTENTIAL STAFF INDIVIDUAL. UM, AND THIS IS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION DOWN THE ROAD, BUT WOULD IT BE BEST TO HAVE SOMEBODY ON CONTRACT THROUGH OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES THAT IS IMPROVED TO YOUR CONTRACT WITH THE COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THAT REPORT TO GO TO AND THEN IT GETS FARMED OUT TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO? JUST DISCUSSION. YEAH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S THE PIGGYBACK ON WHAT LOGAN SAID. I THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT, THE BIG PART OF THIS DISCUSSION, THAT WE ARE GONNA NEED TO SPEND AN HOUR, TWO HOURS HAMMERING THIS OUT TO GET A BASELINE AND THEN CRANK THROUGH IT. BUT I THINK THAT'S A VALID POINT. IT'S OUR JOB TO CRAFT THE POLICY. CORRECT. IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO SAY ONCE THE POLICY IS IN PLACE, THIS IS HOW YOU'RE GONNA DO THE POLICY. WE NEED TO CRAFT THE PRO POLICY CORRECTLY SO THAT WE STEP ASIDE AND LET IT BE DONE CORRECTLY. GREAT. GREAT. WE ALRIGHT, WE GONNA CLOSE THE DISCUSSION LIST. THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE THE, I HAVE TWO SUGGESTIONS. UM, THE NORTHERN REGIONAL PLAN GROUP MEETS ON FRIDAY, THE, UM, 28TH. UH, WE COULD DO A TEAM MEETING AT NINE FOR ANYONE THAT'S INTERESTED. UM, SOME OF US WILL BE AT THE 10 O'CLOCK. I MEAN IT'S A NINE O'CLOCK. IS IT NINE O'CLOCK? YEAH, NINE O'CLOCK. IT'S NINE O'CLOCK FOR THE REGIONAL IT'S NINE O'CLOCK. SO WE'D HAVE TO DO EARLIER THAN THAT. A TEAM MEETING OR WE COULD THURSDAY THE 27TH. UM, HOW LONG, HOW LONG IS YOUR NORTHERN REGIONAL MEETING? ONE HOUR. IT'S AN HOUR. UHHUH . WHY DON'T WE DO IT AFTER THAT? OKAY. THAT WOULD BE 10. WELL, HALF OF YOU ARE HERE ANYWAY, RIGHT? RIGHT. MM-HMM . OKAY. OR AT THE CONCLUSION OF, AT THE CONCLUSION OF, OKAY, THAT WOULD BE, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD DATE. THAT A MOTION, I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE DO IT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE NORTHERN REGIONAL PLAN ON THE 28TH AND WE CAN DO IT AS A TEAM MEETING OF THOSE WHO CAN'T. UM, AND I'LL GET A, A REVISION WITH THE COMMENTS MARK CHANGES, ET CETERA OUT TO EVERYONE PRIOR TO THAT. GOOD MOTION ON THE FLOOR. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. IT SECONDED FOR THE AUGUST 28TH AT THE CONCLUSION AND STARTING NO EARLIER THAN 10:00 AM UM, ANY OBJECTION. AND THIS IS A WORKSHOP, CORRECT? THIS IS A WORKSHOP OF THE BODY, YES. OKAY. NOT SPECIAL. I UNDERSTAND THAT TO BE AUGUST 28TH. FRIDAY. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. AT 10 O'CLOCK OR AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE REGIONAL PLAN COMMITTEE, AND I'LL GET A DRAFT WITH THE COMMENTS THAT I HEARD TODAY AND, UH, THE ONES I GOT PREVIOUSLY FROM JOE AND LARRY, UH, FOR EVERYONE TO LOOK AT. WHERE, WHERE DOES THAT TAKE PLACE? YOU CAN EITHER DO IT REMOTELY OR WE CAN DO IT IN HERE. OKAY. I MEAN, YOU HAVE A CHOICE. YEAH. YEAH. SOME OF US WILL BE HERE ALREADY. I WILL HAVE TO DO IT REMOTELY. I WILL BE OUT OF TOWN. 10:00 AM IS EARLY FOR ME, BUT I, I'LL WAKE UP. I GOT YOU. DO IT REMOTE. ALL RIGHT. ANY OBJECTION TO THE 28TH? THIS WILL BE A APPROVED AND THAT WILL ALSO END OUR DISCUSSION. WE WILL CONTINUE THIS ON THE 28TH AT 10:00 AM ALRIGHT, WE'LL MOVE [9.a. Request from City of Beaufort for ATAX and HTAX funding for Waterfront Park (FISCAL IMPACT: $1,000,000 from ATAX funds ] ON TO OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM. UM, A REQUEST FROM THE CITY OF BEAUFORT FOR A TAX AND H TAX FUNDING FOR WATERFRONT, UM, OF $1 MILLION. SHALL HAVE A MOTION TO, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION. I'LL SECOND. PERFECT. SECOND. AND MOTION ANY DISCUSSION? I'M SURE YES. ABOUT TO SAY SCOTT MARSHALL IS HERE. YES. GOOD AFTERNOON. WE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE CITY OF BUFORT AND CITY MANAGER SCOTT MARSHALL IS HERE AS WELL FOR A MILLION DOLLARS, UM, FROM EACH OF OUR LOCAL STATE AND HOSPITALITY TAX FOR THE WATERFRONT PARK SO HE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THE PARK. BUT JUST TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW, WE DO HAVE $3 MILLION SET ASIDE IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET FOR LOCAL END STATE. SO 2 MILLION I'M GONNA BE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT IN THE NEXT AGENDA ITEMS FOR, UM, GRANTS FOR THE LOCAL AND STATE A TAX. BUT, SO THAT DOES LEAVE US AN ADDITIONAL MILLION DOLLARS THAT IS NOT ACCOUNTED FOR RIGHT NOW IN THE BUDGET. SO IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REQUEST, MR. MARSHALL IS HERE. YEAH, I GUESS WE'LL OPEN UP. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT LOCATION WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. ANY IDEA BEHIND THE PROJECT? IF YOU'D LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS JUST FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE GOING ON. SO I'LL TELL YOU, I'VE SEEN A LOT ONLINE ABOUT ASKING WHEN PROGRESS IS GONNA BE MADE, AND WE UNDERSTAND IT TAKES A WHILE TO LINE UP ALL THE ROWS, SO THAT'D BE GREAT. YES, SIR. MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR CONSIDERING THIS REQUEST [01:00:01] HERE WITH THE WATERFRONT PARK AND THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE THERE. JUST TO LET YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS, UM, WE HAVE DONE SOME EVALUATIVE ENGINEERING OF THE PROBLEM, AND CURRENTLY WE JUST CLOSED AN RFQ FOR BIDS FOR ENGINEERING AND DESIGN OF THE SELECTED, UH, SOLUTION THAT WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD. SO WE'LL BE EVALUATING THAT IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. HOPEFULLY WE CAN BRING IT TO COUNCIL FOR A DECISION IN SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER AND AWARD A CONTRACT FOR DESIGN AND ENGINEERING. UM, THAT LEAVES US WITH THE QUESTION OF HOW TO PAY FOR THAT CONTRACT. WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT'S GOING TO BE YET, AND I'M RELUCTANT TO GIVE YOU A NUMBER BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE COME UP WITH A NUMBER FOR ANYTHING TO DO WITH PARK, IT CHANGES THREE TIMES. AND SO, UH, AND I THINK COUNCILMAN BARTHOLOMEW CAN ATTEST TO THAT. HE, HE'S GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO SIT ON OUR WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH ALSO. SO, UM, SO, UH, WE HAVE IN OUR FY 27 BUDGET SET ASIDE, $925,000. THOSE WERE ESSENTIALLY THE REMAINING FUNDS IN OUR PARKS AND TOURISM REVENUE BOND. AND SO WE HAVE THAT MONEY, UH, AND WE HAVE A REQUEST THROUGH THE STATE FOR AN AIRMARK. UM, WE HAVE SOME OTHER CONVERSATIONS GOING AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL FOR SOME OTHER FUNDING. UM, BUT WE ARE LOOKING FOR FUNDING AT ALL SOURCES TO, UH, FUND OUR DESIGN AND ENGINEERING. AND THEN AFTER THAT, OUR CONSTRUCTION. SO I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. I'D LIKE TO COMMENT. UM, I SUPPORT THIS MOTION. THE WATERFRONT IS A, A MAJOR AREA FOR EVEN UNIN, ALL OF UNINCORPORATED, A LOT OF OUR FESTIVALS ARE THERE THAT WE FUND WITH A TAX AND H TAX MONEY WITHOUT THE WATERFRONT, SOME OF THESE FESTIVALS CAN'T HAPPEN AND THEY GENERATE ECONOMIC REVENUE. SO I'M IN FAVOR OF 1 MILLION AT TAX, 1 MILLION H TAX FOR DESIGN, STARTING OUR ENGINEERING. I KNOW WE DON'T APPROACH, WHAT IS IT, 66 MILLION YOU NEED. AGAIN, I'M NOT, WHATEVER IT IS, I'M NOT ASCRIBING TO ANY NUMBER AT THIS POINT. YEAH. SO WE CAN'T APPROACH WHAT YOU NEED, BUT I THINK WE COULD BE GOOD NEIGHBORS AND OFFER YOU THIS TO START. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO. YES, SIR. UH, YES. MR. MARSHALL. IS THIS, IS THIS TO SAY THAT, UM, IF THIS IS APPROVED THAT UM, THAT, UM, AT SOME POINT YOU MAY BE BACK FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING? I, I WOULD NOT RULE THAT OUT. COUNCILMAN BE, BECAUSE IT IS A REGIONAL PARK. IT'S A REGIONAL ASSET THAT'S WITHIN BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO AS A REMINDER, ALL CITY TAXPAYERS ARE ALSO COUNTY TAXPAYERS. UH, SO WE FEEL LIKE THIS IS, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE VERY GRACIOUS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPROACH YOU WITH THIS, BUT WE DO FEEL LIKE IT IS ALSO A FAIR ASK AT THE SAME TIME. SO I CAN'T RULE OUT THAT WE WOULD NOT COME BACK TO YOU IN THE FUTURE WHEN WE GET TOWARD THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE OF THE PROJECT. AND THUS FAR, UM, HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE HAS THE CITY SPENT INTO THIS PROJECT MOVING IT FORWARD? UH, I WOULD HAVE TO ADD UP THE CONTRACTS THAT WE'VE HAD FOR THE, JUST ROUGHLY THIS BALLPARK FIGURE. PROBABLY A COUPLE MILLION BY THIS POINT. A COUPLE OF MILLION ALREADY? YES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. IF YOU'LL MAKE A MOTION SECOND. I DID MAKE THE MOTION. IT'S ALREADY MOTIONS. AND DAVID, I THINK SECONDED. SECONDED, WHICH IS WHAT I, THAT'S WHAT I HAVE ON MIND, SARAH, THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE AS WELL. YEP. UM, IF WE DO NOT HAVE ANY MORE DISCUSSION, CAN WE TAKE THIS TO A VOTE? IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO APPROPRIATE THESE FUNDS? I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION. YES, SIR. UH, WHAT'S THE SOURCE OF FUNDING? H TAX? I WAS WELCOME, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY. A TAX LOCAL LOCAL A AND H TAX. SO THERE IS MONEY AVAILABLE AND THOSE FUNDS HAVE NOT YET ALL BEEN APPROPRIATED. IF I CAN MAKE A, A COMMENT, MR. CHAIRMAN. SO IN, UH, THE FY 27 BUDGET, UH, COUNSEL APPROVED 3 MILLION IN, UH, DIRECT SUBSIDIES IN BOTH LOCAL, UH, AT TAX AND, UH, LOCAL H TAX. SO THIS WILL BE PART OF THAT APPROPRIATION. AND THE NEXT TWO ITEMS WILL INCLUDE, UH, THE, THE GRANT REQUEST, WHICH ARE BELOW 2 MILLION. SO ASSUMING THAT THIS ALL PASSES, THIS WOULD ESSENTIALLY SPEND APPROPRIATE ALL OF THE A TAX AND H TAX FOR THIS YEAR. UM, AND THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE, AND I KNOW MS. TAVERN HAS ASKED THIS QUESTION ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THIS. SO THAT WOULD BE ABOVE AND BEYOND THIS, UH, ALLOCATION. AND MR. CHAIRMAN, GO AHEAD, LARRY. ABOVE AND BEYOND THIS APPROPRIATION. SAY THAT AGAIN, SIR? I SAID THAT I'M ASSUMING THERE IS MONEY AVAILABLE ABOVE AND BEYOND THIS $3 MILLION? YES, SIR. THERE IS A FUND BALANCE AVAILABLE, BUT THAT WOULD REQUIRE A BUDGET AMENDMENT, BUT WE COULD APPROPRIATE FUND BALANCE THERE. IS THERE IS THAT AVAILABLE FOR BOTH A AND LOCALLY AND H TAX? SO THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IF THAT WAS THE INITIATIVE THAT WE WERE TRYING TO [01:05:01] FUND. MR. MOORE, TELL HIM AGAIN ABOUT THE WORKFORCE HOUSING PART OF LOCAL ATAC. YEAH, SO, UH, COUNCIL CAN SET ASIDE, UH, UP TO 3% OF LOCAL ATAC, WHICH, UH, ESSENTIALLY OUR COLLECTIONS ARE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $2 MILLION. SO, UH, I'M SORRY, 3%, 15%, 15%, 300,000. SO IT'D BE 300,000 IS WHAT COUNCIL COULD ALLOCATE TOWARDS, UM, WORKFORCE HOUSING. THAT SATISFY YOUR QUESTION, MR. MACKEL? NO, NO, IT DOESN'T. WELL, IT'S A RATHER POULTRY AMOUNT IN CONSIDERATION OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE OTHER MONEY. I MEAN, WHAT'S $300,000 GONNA DO? THAT'S, THAT'S THE STATE LAW THOUGH. UP TO 15%. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE MATTER? JUST ONE. NO, MR. CHAIRMAN, I, UM, I WISH THAT, UM, YOU, UM, WOULD'VE, UM, BROUGHT THE OTHER REQUESTS FIRST AND THEN, UM, THIS REQUEST SECONDLY, BUT YOU DIDN'T, UH, I'M GONNA SUPPORT THE MOTION, BUT I WISH THERE HAD BEEN THE REVERSE, BUT GO AHEAD. MM-HMM . I'LL SAY FIRST THING, I DIDN'T DO THE AGENDA, MR. LAWSON DID, SO I'M JUST FILLING IN FOR HIM. UH, SECONDLY, THOSE FUNDS ARE ALSO ALLOCATED, UM, AS WELL ALREADY SET TO THE SIDE. SO IT DOES NOT IMPACT THOSE NEXT READINGS COMING UP ON BNC. THERE ARE DIFFERENT LINE ITEMS. LET'S HOPE FROM THAT. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU, SIR. WELL, TWO THINGS. ONE, YOU WERE PUT FIRST TO TRY TO BE MINDFUL OF YOUR TIME AND I APPRECIATE IT EVEN THOUGH WE'RE AN HOUR AND SEVEN MINUTES INTO THE MEETING, BUT ABSOLUTELY WELCOME. I APPRECIATE THE TIME, BUT SECONDLY, I, THIS IS JUST A COMMENT. I DON'T SPEAK FOR THE BODY UP HERE, BUT I HOPE THAT YOU CONTINUE TO COME BACK AND ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED BECAUSE I WANNA BE A GOOD PARTNER WITH Y'ALL. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THE ENTIRE NORTH OF THE BROAD. WE APPRECIATE THAT, COUNCILMAN. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. YEAH, I THINK WHAT HE SAID ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE. THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT ARE IMPORTANT COMMUNITY WIDE AND THAT RIVER PARK IS ONE OF THEM. SO IT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN THE HILTON HEAD BRIDGE. IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT TO THIS COUNTY BEING SUCCESSFUL, NOT ONLY IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, BUT WHEN HOSPITALITY'S NOT HERE AND OUR LOCALS ARE HERE, WE STILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT AS WELL. ALL RIGHT. CAN THIS BE APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. AND I SEE NO OBJECTION. HAVE A GREAT AFTERNOON, SIR, FOR COMING. [9.b. A Resolution to Award FY26 Local 3% Accommodations Tax Grants. (FISCAL IMPACT: ATax Fund 2001 has a Fund Balance of $11,240,261.19 and actual revenues of $2,701,815.26 as of August 12, 2026. $2,000,000 (H-TAX) and $2,000,000 (H-TAX) and $2,000,000 (A-TAX) has been allocated for the FY2026 grant cycle.) - Nicole Wood, Deputy County Administrator ] WE'LL MOVE ON TO BE A RESOLUTION TO AWARD FY 26 LOCAL 3% ACCOMMODATIONS TAX GRANTS. I'LL MAKE THE MOTION A SECOND PLEASE. I'LL SECOND. THANK YOU, ALICE. IN THE SECOND. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. AND JUST TO FOLLOW UP, EVEN AFTER THE $3 MILLION FOR EACH OF THOSE, THAT'LL LEAVE US 18 MILLION SPLIT BETWEEN, UM, AT TAX AND H TAX FOR FUND BALANCE. UM, SO WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE THERE. UH, AND JUST TO REITERATE THE, THE PROCESS FOR THE LOCAL A AND H TAX, UM, WE HAD A STAFF COMMITTEE THAT REVIEWED ALL THE PROJECTS. YOU GUYS ALL RECEIVED THOSE, I BELIEVE ON FRIDAY AS WELL AND MADE SOME RECOMMEND. THEN FINANCE, UM, STAFF REVIEWED AND MADE SOME INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR FUNDING. AND THEN ADMINISTRATION WENT THROUGH. AND WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR WAS REALLY KIND OF FOCUSING ON COUNTY PROJECTS AND PRIORITIES. LOOKING AT, UM, ONE FUNDING SOURCE. SO TYPICALLY YOU WERE EITHER GONNA GET A TAX OR H TAX FUNDING, UM, AND TRIED TO FILL, YOU KNOW, THE BIGGEST RESPONSE AND REQUEST FROM EITHER ONE OF THOSE. UH, AND LOOKING TO SEE AGAIN WHAT WAS RANKED THE HIGHEST AND PUT THE MOST HEADS IN BEDS AND REALLY DROVE TOWARDS 'EM. UM, AND HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT IN ROI. SO WHAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU FOR AT TAX, UM, YOU HAVE THE LIST, YOU ALSO HAVE A COMBINED LIST AS WELL THAT SHOWS, YOU KNOW, IF THEY APPLIED FOR, FOR BOTH POTS OF MONEY. BUT THE REQUESTS FOR AT TAX TOTAL, 1.9 9 8 2 9 5. UM, AND AGAIN, SOME OF THOSE ARE SOME COUNTY PROGRAMS, UM, BUT A LOT OF THOSE ARE COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND FESTIVALS, UM, AND OTHER PARTNERSHIPS. AND YOU'LL SEE THE, THE LOCATION OF THE DISTRICTS FOR ALL OF THE COUNTY. AND THE OTHER ONES, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DRIVE TOURISM FROM ALL OVER. SO WE DIDN'T PUT PUT A DISTRICT THERE, BUT, UM, THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THOSE? AND H TAX, WHEN WE GET THERE, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF, A LOT OF THE, UM, AGENCIES DID APPLY FOR BOTH. AND AGAIN, WE REALLY TRIED TO FOCUS ON ONE POT OF THE MONEY OR THE OTHER TO KIND OF MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT AND BANG FOR THE BUCK. UM, THERE. SO WHEN WE GET THERE, WE CAN KIND OF TALK ABOUT THAT. I WAS ABOUT TO SAY COMMENTS. GO AHEAD. TAB. SO I MADE THE MOTION, UM, I REVIEWED EVERY APPLICATION, EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER [01:10:01] WAS SENT THE LINK TO THE DROPBOX SO EVERYONE COULD REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS. NOW I'M GONNA SAY I DON'T AGREE WITH EVERY RECOMMENDATION, BUT I'M GONNA SUGGEST THAT WE APPROVE IT AS A WHOLE INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH EVERY ONE. UM, IT WAS SCREENED BY A COMMITTEE FIRST, THEN IT WENT TO ADMINISTRATION, THEN EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER COULD LOOK AT IT. SO I THINK OVERALL IT'S FAIR FOR AT TAX. AND THE NEXT ONE'S H TAX AND I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE VOTE ON THEM AS A WHOLE. MR. GLOVER? UH, YES. UH, MADAM CHAIRMAN. I MEAN, MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, I DO AGREE WITH WHAT, UM, UM, MRS. UH, TABAC SAID ABOUT VOTING ON THIS AS A WHOLE. HOW THAN EVER I DO HAVE, UM, UM, A REQUEST THAT I WOULD ASK THIS BODY TO RECONSIDER OR TO CONSIDER. UM, AND IF YOU COULD, UM, EXPLAIN TO ME THE RATIONALE AND I UNDERSTAND, BUT EXPLAIN TO ME THE REQUEST THAT IS COMING FROM FRI ISLAND PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION AND, UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS, IT IS A PRIVATE, UM, UH, AREA. UM, IS THAT THE ONLY RATIONALE FOR NOT FUNDING THIS PROJECT? I BELIEVE SO, YES. WE TALKED TO THE COUNTY ATTORNEY AND REVIEWED THAT AS WELL AS KNOWING THAT THEY DO DRIVE A, A HUGE PORTION OF LOCAL A, UM, AND H TAX. BUT YES, BECAUSE IT'S PRIVATE, THE COUNTY ATTORNEY FELT LIKE IT WAS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING. THAT'S HIS OPINION OR IS THAT LAW? I THINK BRIAN, THAT WAS BOTH. NOW. AND THE REASON I'M SAYING THAT BECAUSE THE LAW DOES SAY THAT CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO, UH, THE SOURCE OF THESE FUNDS. AND IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THE MAJORITY OF THE REVENUE COMING OUT OF, UH, FOR THE NORTHERN PART OF BEAUFORT COUNTY AND A TAX, UH, IS ACTUALLY BEING GENERATED AT TRIP ISLAND. SO MY QUESTION COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND, HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO THE LAW ITSELF WHEN THE LAW SAYS THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE SOURCE OF WHERE THESE REVENUES ARE COMING FROM? AND FRIPP ISLAND RIGHT NOW GENERATES, I CONSIDER IT, UH, LIKE MR. LAWTON WHO CAME HERE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO FROM FRIPP ISLAND, HE CALLED IT A A, UM, THE GOLDEN GOOSE. SO IF WE DON'T TAKE CARE OF THE GOLDEN GOOSE, WE ARE NOT GONNA HAVE MUCH OF A GOAL TO WORK WITH. AND ALL THEY'RE ASKING HERE IS, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, IS A LITTLE BIT OF FEED TO FEED THE GOLDEN GOOSE. YEAH. SO HOW DOES THAT RELATES TO THE LAW ITSELF? NOT, NOT AN OPINION, BUT I KNOW WE THREATEN ON ON THIN ICE HERE. BUT DOES THE LAW ALLOWS FOR FUNDING IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE AS IT RELATES TO TOURISM? BECAUSE THE, THE, THE, UH, WALKWAY IS, IS A TOURIST ATTRACTION. UM, SO IT IS GEN I MEAN IT SERVES THAT PURPOSE AND STUFF. SO I'LL LISTEN. YES, I, I, I UNDERSTOOD AND I ASKED THE SAME QUESTIONS OF THE ATTORNEY AND SO I'LL LET BRIAN TALK TO EXPLAIN. YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THE AT TAX DOLLARS OR H TAX DOLLARS ARE PUBLIC FUNDS. AND PUBLIC FUNDS HAVE TO BE EXPENDED FOR A PUBLIC PURPOSE. AND YOU CAN'T EXPEND PUBLIC FUNDS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF A FEUD HAS TO BE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE MANY, UH, THE MANY. AND BECAUSE THAT'S PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHIN A GATED PRIVATE COMMUNITY AND THE PUBLIC DOESN'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT, IT WOULDN'T BE PROPER TO EXPEND PUBLIC FUNDS. IT WOULD VIOLATE SOUTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION. IS THAT SO THE LAW SAYS THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE LAW SAYS YOU HAVE TO EXPEND PUBLIC FUNDS FOR A PUBLIC PURPOSE AND YOU CANNOT EXPEND PUBLIC FUNDS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. COULD YOU RESEARCH THAT FOR ME? BECAUSE THE LAW, THERE'S MANY AN ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION THAT IS FOUND ON EXPENDITURE OF PUBLIC FUNDS. THAT'S WHY WE CAN'T SPEND PUBLIC FUNDS ON THESE PRIVATE DIRT ROADS. WE HAVE TO ACQUIRE A PUBLIC INTEREST IN IT BEFORE WE EXPEND FUNDS ON THOSE DIRT ROADS. IT'S THE SAME ANALYSIS. THE LAW SAYS THAT WE COULD CONSIDER AREAS OF GENERATED REVENUE. DID IT NOT SAY THAT? IT SAYS WITHIN A, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO EXPEND THE FUNDS WITHIN THE GEOGRAPHIC AREA WHERE FUNDS ARE GENERATED, BUT IT STILL HAS TO BE A PUBLIC PURPOSE. AND FOR THE PUBLIC PURPOSE, IT CAN'T BE FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY OR FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FEW. AND WHERE YOU HAVE A CLOSED GATED COMMUNITY THAT'S FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE AND IT'S PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHIN A PRIVATE COMMUNITY. OTHERWISE YOU WOULD OPEN UP TO EXPENDING RECEIVING REQUESTS FROM EVERY GATED COMMUNITY [01:15:01] IN THE COUNTY ASKING FOR THOSE FUNDS. I WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY, IT'S EXACTLY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN. UM, PALMETTO BLUFF WOULD ASK FOR IT. SUN CITY WOULD ASK FOR IT. HILTON HAD PLANTATION SEA PINES. THEY WOULD ALL ASK FOR IT. HAMPTON LAKE. THEY WOULD TOO. YEP. WHY NOT? SO THEY DO GENERATE THE TAX DOLLARS, BUT IT'S STILL ON PRIVATE PROPERTY IN A GATED COMMUNITY. IT'S JUST LIKE THE FUNDS ARE COLLECTED AT A HOTEL. THEY STAY AT A HOTEL OR IN A PRIVATE HOME. YOU CAN'T SPEND THOSE FUNDS AT THAT PRIVATE HOME THAT'S BEING RENTED OR AT THAT HOTEL THAT'S RENTING THOSE ROOMS. YOU HAVE TO EXPEND IT FOR A PUBLIC PURPOSE FOR THE MANY, NOT FOR THE FEW. AND IF YOU SPEND THESE FUNDS FOR THAT DOCK IN THAT PRIVATE GATED COMMUNITY THAT'S OWNED BY A PRIVATE ENTITY, YOU WOULD BE EXPENDING PUBLIC FUNDS FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY IN A PRIVATE COMMUNITY. I, UM, WOULD ASK, UM, THE ATTORNEY, THE COUNTY ATTORNEY TO UH, FURNISH ME A LITTLE ON THE LANGUAGE ITSELF AND I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, THANK YOU. IS THERE A MOTION OR ANYTHING ALONG WITH THAT, OR WAS THAT JUST A DISCUSSION? NO, THAT'S BETWEEN THE TWO OF US. YEAH. ALRIGHTY. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LIST? NO. NO, BUT I WOULD HIGHLIGHT WE HAVE A FUND BALANCE THERE. LOOK HOW MUCH IS SITTING THERE AND MAYBE WE COULD USE THAT FOR A GOOD PUBLIC COMMON PURPOSE. I'M GONNA WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT ITEM TO DISCUSS THAT WE CAN, SINCE IT'S HERE. UM, YES, GO AHEAD. AND THEN I WILL, UH, ON PAGE SIX, IT SHOWS THE TOTAL AT TAX RECOMMENDED IS 1,000,009 99, 295 H TAX IS 1,000,009 99, 722. BUT THE TOTAL AT TAX, AT TAX RECOMMENDED IS JUST 2 MILLION. I'M, SO THAT'S NOT CLEAR THAT'S AVAILABLE WHAT WE HAVE FOR EACH POT. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. I'M SORRY, THIS IS NOT VERY CLEAR. SO ANYBODY WHO IS LOOKING AT THIS IS SAYING, SAYING, WAIT A SECOND, WE'RE $2 MILLION SHORT. YEAH. GOT IT. WE WILL FIX THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, YEAH, SO ONE THING I WILL TOUCH ON SINCE TAB TEED IT UP A LITTLE BIT ALREADY, UM, I WARNED EVERYBODY LAST WEEK THAT I WAS GOING FULL STEAM AHEAD WITH LOOKING AT IDEAS AND OPTIONS TO GET THE GROUND RUNNING ON A BASEBALL FACILITY AND THE CENTER LOCATION OF THE COMMUNITY. WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT MOTION FIRST. MOTION. HE'S OPINING. OH, OKAY. I'M JUST DISCUSSING THE AT TAX AT THE MOMENT. NOT NECESSARILY CHANGE ANYTHING ON IT, BUT IF YOU WANT TO VOTE ON THIS AND GO TO C AND HAVE A CONVERSATION, WE CAN. OKAY. LET'S CALL THE QUESTION ON B. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO A RESOLUTION AWARD? FY 26, LOCAL 3% ACCOMMODATIONS, TAX GRANTS? THIS WILL BE APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION. AND WE'LL GO ON TO SEE [9.c. A Resolution to Award FY26 Local 2% Hospitality Tax Grants (FISCAL IMPACT: HTax Fund 2002 fund balance is currently at $13,022,198.99 with Revenue at $3,796,011.06 . $2,000,000 has been allocated for the FY2026 grant cycle.) - Nicole Wood, Deputy County Administrator] A RESOLUTION TO AWARD FY 26 LOCAL 2% HOSPITALITY GRANTS. I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION. AND A SECOND. I'LL SECOND. THANK YOU. EVERYBODY'S SO EXCITED. SORRY. ALRIGHT, IT IS ON THE FLOOR FOR DISCUSSION. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT OUTSIDE OF MINE? UM, SURE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE? 'CAUSE I'M NOT TOO CLEAR. I, SO THIS WILL BE THE LOCAL HT TAX GRANTS. AND AGAIN, WITH THESE, WE REALLY FOCUS HEAVILY ON THE COUNTY PROGRAM. SO THERE'S A LOT OF ENGINEERING, UM, PROJECTS ON THERE. WE ALSO WENT THROUGH STAFF JARED AND BRIAN AND TALKED TO THEM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIES AND ACTUAL COSTS. SO YOU'LL SEE THAT REFLECTED IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS. AND THEN AGAIN, THE, THE PRO OTHER PROJECTS THAT EITHER DIDN'T, THAT SCORED HIGH AND DIDN'T APPLY FOR AT TAX, UM, RECEIVED FUNDING. AND THERE WERE A COUPLE THERE LIKE PORT ROYAL SOUND, UM, AND I THINK PAT CONROY THAT RECEIVED BOTH, UM, A AND H TAX. BUT THAT COMES IN JUST UNDER THE $2 MILLION BUDGET AT 1 MILLION 9 9 9 7 22, WHICH ALSO AGAIN LEAVES AFTER, IF ALL OF THIS IS SAID AND DONE AND APPROVED, WE'LL HAVE $18 MILLION BETWEEN THE TWO FOR FUND BALANCE, 18 MILLION, 18 MILLION AFTER THESE GRANTS AND THE MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE CITY ARE APPROVED. OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT MR. LOVE QUESTIONS? NO, NO, I, NO. UM, ALRIGHT, IF I MAY THEN, IF NOBODY ELSE HAS ANY, UM, I'M NOT LOOKING TO MAKE AN AMENDMENT OR ANYTHING TODAY. I JUST WANNA PUT IT ON EVERYONE'S RADAR. WE DO HAVE $18 MILLION LEFT IN THIS FUNDS. UM, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, IT'S ON OUR MASTER PLAN ALREADY ABOUT GETTING A CENTER FOR BALL FIELDS WHERE WE CAN HOLD TOURNAMENTS AND [01:20:01] GENERATE TAX DOLLARS FOR THIS COMMUNITY YEAR ROUND. UM, I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE A CENTER LOCATION. THAT'S WHY I ORIGINALLY THREW OUT THE COOLER TRACK. I KNOW RIGHT NOW AUDRA AND HER TEAM IS WORKING TOGETHER ON GETTING A GRANT TO FUND THE DUE DILIGENCE TO SEE WHAT ECONOMIC IMPACT THIS COULD BE FOR US AND TO IDENTIFY SOME LOCATIONS WITH THE COOLER TRACK BEING ONE OF THOSE LOCATIONS ARE GONNA LOOK AT. UM, JUST SO YOU GUYS ARE AWARE TO SHOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IT'S GROWING ALL OVER THE STATE. UM, BUT ALL OF OUR KIDS AND OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE LEAVING THE STATE TO DO IT. THEY'RE DRIVING TO MYRTLE BEACH, THEY'RE GOING TO COLUMBIA, THEY'RE GOING TO GREENVILLE, THEY'RE GOING TO GEORGIA TO PLAY THESE TOURNAMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, WE DID A TOURNAMENT TWO YEARS AGO OVER IN BURTON WELLS THAT GENERATED 1.1 MILLION IN REVENUE IN FIVE DAYS, 1.1 MILLION IN REVENUE FOR ONE TOURNAMENT. AND WE ARE SENDING THOSE TAX DOLLARS. AND WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A LOT OF TEAMS HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. WE HAVE PEOPLE FIGHTING OVER THE FIELDS ALL OVER BEAUFORT COUNTY, AND THAT INCLUDES TRAVELING TEAMS AS WELL. AND IT DOESN'T EVEN INCLUDE TOUCH THE ICEBERG OF ADULT TEAMS THAT ALSO TRAVEL TO STATES TO DO THESE TOURNAMENTS. WE'RE MISSING OUT ON AN ESTIMATED OF EIGHT TO $10 MILLION A YEAR IN EASY TAX REVENUE, JUST WHEN WE'RE RUNNING TOURNAMENTS ON THOSE FIELDS, NOT WHEN OUR PUBLIC IS ACTUALLY USING THEM AS WELL. SO I WILL BE, UM, LOOKING AT APPROPRIATING AT SOME POINT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS. UM, THERE'S 18 MILLION LEFT. UM, THIS PROJECT COULD BE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 20 TO $30 MILLION IF WE'RE NOT PURCHASING LAND. AND WE WENT WITH ALL TURF. I'M LOOKING TO APPROPRIATE AROUND 15 MILLION TO GO TOWARDS THAT PROJECT BY THE END OF THIS YEAR. THAT'LL GET US ABOUT HALFWAY TO THE PROJECT. SO WE KNOW THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD IN THE FUTURE AND PROBABLY HAVE THIS FULLY FUNDED BY NEXT YEAR, WHICH GETS A SHOVEL IN THE GROUND SOMETIME. NOT THIS COMING UP SUMMER, BUT THE SUMMER AFTER. AND AT THAT POINT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PROJECT THAT COULD BE FINISHED AND READY TO OPERATE BY 2030. UM, IT IS A LOFTY GOAL. I KNOW IT'S LOFTY. I KNOW IT'S STICKER SHOCK SAYING WE'RE JUST GONNA TRY TO ALLOCATE $15 MILLION. BUT I ALSO WANNA LET YOU GUYS KNOW THAT BLUFFTON, ANY OTHER H TAX OR A TAX MONEY THEY ONLY PUT TOWARDS THEIR PROJECTS, UH, PORT ROYAL DOES THE EXACT SAME THING. UM, WE'RE REALLY THE ONLY ONES THAT GIVE THAT MONEY OUT TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO DRIVE. SO WE HAVE NEVER JUST DESIGNATED SOMETHING TO A BIG PROJECT THAT CAN DRIVE TOURISM HERE IN BEFOR COUNTY, AS WELL AS WHEN IT'S NOT BEING USED FOR TOURISM. IT'S USED BY OUR COMMUNITY, OUR RECREATION CENTER. SO IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD THAT I WANT US TO LOOK AT. IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ANY OF THESE FIELDS OR ANY OF THESE COMPLEXES, THEY USUALLY HAVE A MINIMUM OF FIVE. OUR GOAL IS TO DO SIX, SIX FIELDS IN ONE LOCATION. SO YOU CAN HOLD THE TOURNAMENT ALL DAY RIGHT THERE AT THAT ONE LOCATION. AND THESE PEOPLE USUALLY COME IN ON A FRIDAY AND THEY LEAVE ON A SUNDAY OR A MONDAY. SO THEY'RE HERE DURING OUR, OUR TIME WHEN WE WANT THEM HERE. AND THEY'RE GONE DURING THE SCHOOL DAYS AND DURING THE SUMMER, SAME THING. IT'S, IT'S DRIVING TAX REVENUE HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. UM, I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT ON THE RECORD FOR EVERYONE SO EVERYONE'S AWARE THAT PROBABLY AT OUR NEXT MEETING WE'RE GONNA GO TRY TO ALLOCATE THOSE FUNDS. I JUST DIDN'T WANNA DO A SHOCK TO YOU GUYS AND DO IT TODAY. I FELT THAT'D BE A LITTLE DISRESPECTFUL. THAT WAY YOU GUYS CAN MULL IT OVER FOR THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS, DO SOME RESEARCH. IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THESE COMPLEXES LOOK LIKE, I'D LOVE TO SEND YOU OVER ALL THE STUFF I HAVE. UM, GOOGLE, SOME OF 'EM. LOOK AT MYRTLE BEACHES, LOOK AT CHARLESTON'S. UM, THEIRS IS GORGEOUS. UM, AND IT'S GENERATING MILLIONS FOR THEM EVERY SINGLE YEAR. SO THIS IS A PROJECT THAT WE CAN DO THAT'LL GENUINELY PAY ITSELF OFF AND IT'LL ACTUALLY BE A PROFIT FOR US AT BUTFOR COUNTY. MR. CHAIRMAN, I'D LIKE TO SAY YES, WE NEED IT BADLY. UM, HAVING SPENT MANY HOURS UP IN FLORENCE AND GREENVILLE AT A SOFTBALL COMPLEX, UM, IN A PREVIOUS LI IN A PREVIOUS LIFE, UM, WITH MY DAUGHTER, THEY, YOU DO SPEND A LOT OF MONEY. 'CAUSE YOU GO OUT AND EAT AND YOU GOTTA HAVE A HOTEL. AND, UM, I, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA. THANK YOU. I WOULD COMMENT AS A GRANDMOTHER, I JUST WENT TO SHIPYARD IN JULY, GOT AWFUL HEAT, BUT MY GRANDSON PLAYED IN A TOURNAMENT THERE. THEY HAVE FIVE FIELDS, BEAUTIFUL, COMPLEX, UM, BOATLOADS OF PARKING, FREE PARKING CONCESSION STANDS, EVERYTHING. AND THEY ARE BUSY ALL THE TIME. AND THEN THEY WENT TO FIELD OF DREAMS AND THEY ARE BUSY ALL THE TIME. SO THIS HAS A POTENTIAL TO GENERATE SOME REAL ECONOMIC VALUE FOR US. AND IT DOESN'T COUNT. EVEN THE ADULT PLAY DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENTS FOR THAT OR OH, YOUR GRANDSON THAT WAS IN OHIO? YES. WAS HERE IN HILTON. HE WAS IN CHARLESTON. OH, WAS IN CHARLESTON. OKAY. HE COME DOWN A TOURNAMENT CAME FROM OHIO ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE. YEAH, RIGHT. AND THEN WENT TO IOWA. YEAH. YEAH. JUST WANNA POINT THAT OUT. IT'S A, IT'S A VERY BIG INDUSTRY OFF. FANTASTIC. THAT'S SHIPYARD BEAUTIFUL. JUST SO PEOPLE CAN SEE IT. UM, THAT'S THE IDEA BEHIND IT. OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT GONNA PUT IT RIGHT [01:25:01] IN THE WATER LIKE THAT , BUT PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME TO LOOK AT IT JUST SO YOU GUYS CAN SEE THE IDEA BEHIND THIS PROJECT. AND THE GOAL IS TO PUT IT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTY SO IT'S ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYBODY HERE AROUND. YES, SIR. UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU. UM, I, I I'M GLAD YOU'RE EXCITED ABOUT, UM, UM, UM, FUNDING SUCH A PROJECT LIKE THIS. UM, I COULD GET EXCITED ABOUT FUNDING PROJECTS LIKE THIS ON ST. HELENA AS WELL, BUT I'M NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT TODAY. I WANT TO ASK THE QUESTION. UM, BECAUSE A COUPLE YEARS AGO, UM, UM, USCB UH, BROUGHT US A PROPOSAL. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO, UH, WITH THEIR CONVOCATION CENTER, UM, AND WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHETHER EVEN IF WE DISCUSS THIS BOTH, UH, IS IT SOMETHING THAT COULD BE, UH, COMBINED TO GET A WIN-WIN FOR BOTH PROJECT AND STUFF? I'M JUST THROWING THAT OUT FOR CONSIDERATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO THAT WILL BE MY COMMENT. YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMMENT ON THAT. YOU KNOW, I WILL THOUGH. , BUT THAT'S WHERE I, I WAS PREPARED FOR THAT QUESTION. IT, IT'S VERY SIMPLE ONE, WE DON'T OWN USCB, IT'S A STATE OWNED AGENCY. IT'S NOT OWNED BY BEAUFORT COUNTY. UM, SO WE CAN'T USE IT WHENEVER WE WANT. WE CAN ONLY USE IT WHEN THEY ALLOW US TO USE IT. IT'S AN ECONOMIC DRIVER WHEN THEY WANT IT TO BE AN ECONOMIC DRIVER. NOT WHEN WE SEE FIT OR A RECREATION PARK SEE FIT. SO WE DO HAVE MEMORANDUMS OF, UM, UNDERSTANDING AND ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES. I MEAN, WE COULD, OKAY, BUT, SO THAT, THAT'S THE BIGGEST, THAT'S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE. I'M LOOKING TO USE OUR TAX DOLLARS TO GENERATE TAX FUNDS FOR US, BUT ALSO GIVE OUR KIDS SOMETHING TO USE AND ADULTS TO USE YEAR ROUND. SO THIS ISN'T JUST ACCESS WHEN USCB LETS US, THIS IS ACCESS ALL THE TIME FOR OUR PARKS AND RECS AND OUR SCHOOLS TO USE ANYTIME IT'S AVAILABLE TURF YEAR ROUND. WE LIVE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. WE ARE BLESSED WITH GREAT WEATHER OUTSIDE THE LAST TWO YEARS. , HOPEFULLY . WE AVOID THAT SNOW THIS YEAR. BUT REALISTICALLY, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD USE YEAR ROUND FOR OUR SCHOOLS, BALLPARKS RECS, AND AS A TAX GENERATOR. SO IT'S A TRIPLE EDGED SWORD WHERE USCB WAS NOT. IT'S A GREAT IDEA, LOGAN AND I, AND I, UH, I I SUPPORT IT AS WELL. WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL ADULT TEAMS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR, UH, AVAILABLE MM-HMM. UH, FIELDS TO PLAY ON IN THE COUNTY. AND THEY CAN'T USE THE COUNTY FIELDS BECAUSE WE, WE ARE COMMITTED TO OTHER EVENTS OR WHATEVER. AND, UM, I AT THE, UH, AT BERGEN WELLS, AND I WILL TELL YOU, I IT, IT WAS AMAZING TO SEE SO MANY DIFFERENT TEAMS ALL WAITING FOR ONE TEAM OR, OR TWO TEAMS TO FINISH THAT GAME. AND THEN, THEN THE NEXT TWO TEAMS GO ON. AND THAT'S, IT'S, IT WAS, IT WAS FANTASTIC. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. AND I WILL LET YOU GUYS KNOW PROBABLY AT THE NEXT MEETING. I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU GUYS AHEAD OF TIME THAT WE WILL, I WILL TRY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT. UM, IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON ITEM C BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE? THANK YOU GUYS FOR THAT TIME TO DISCUSS AND CLARIFY SOME OF THAT. I DO APPRECIATE IT. UM, CAN C BE APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION. ALRIGHT. AND C IS APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION. [9.d. An ordinance to amend Ordinance 2026/29 to authorize the transfer of funds. (FISCAL IMPACT: N/A) - Mike Moore, County Administrator (10 minutes)] MOVE ON TO D AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE 26 29 TO AUTHORIZE A TRANSFER OF FUNDS. DO I HAVE A MOTION? PUT THIS ON THE FLOOR. A MOTION. THAT MOTION MOTION BY JOE AND SECONDED BY MS. BROWN. YES. YES. THANK YOU. THAT IS ON THE FLOOR. MR. MOORE, HOW ARE YOU TODAY SIR? DOING WELL, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UM, WE ARE BRINGING THIS ITEM, UM, TO COUNCIL'S, UH, FORWARD FOR, UM, ACTION OR CONSIDERATION, I SHOULD SAY, CONSIDERATION, UM, TO ALLOW, UH, THE TRANSFER OF, UH, FUNDS, UM, UNDER THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. UM, AS, AS YOU ALL RECALL, IT WAS REMOVED DURING THE ORIGINAL BUDGET PROCESS, UH, BACK IN, UM, UH, A COUPLE MONTHS AGO. UM, WE HAVE PROVIDED SEVERAL OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMITTEE. UM, ONE IS TO RESTORE THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE, WHICH IS THE $150,000. AND UM, THAT LANGUAGE, UM, WAS WHAT WAS REMOVED. UM, OPTION TWO, AND THIS IS ALL IN YOUR, UM, PACKAGE AS WELL IS WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING WITH A FEW MORE, UM, STRINGS ATTACHED TO IT, WHICH ALLOWS, UM, THIS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CFO WHEN IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF INDIVIDUAL COUNTY DEPARTMENTS OR AGENCIES TO TRANSFER APPROPRIATIONS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS FROM ONE TO ANOTHER. UM, THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OF THE CFO'S PERMITTED TO TRANSFER APPROPRIATIONS WITHIN THE COUNTY'S GENERAL FUND CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND AND CAPITAL PROVE ITS FUND AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT EXCEED $200,000 IN [01:30:01] A SINGLE TRANSFER, INCREASE THE TOTAL OVERALL BUDGET OF THE FUND, ESTABLISH A NEW CAPITAL PROJECT, OR ELIMINATE A MATERIALLY CHANGE OF SCOPE, PURPOSE OR INTENDED OUTCOME OF OUR PROJECT. AND WHAT HAS COME INTO PLAY IS SOMETIMES WE HAVE CIP PROJECTS THAT COME IN BELOW COST AND THERE'S A POTENTIAL TO REALLOCATE TO ANOTHER PROJECT THAT COULD BE DONE AT THE ADMINISTRATION LEVEL. OTHERWISE WE'RE COMING BACK, UM, TO THE COMMITTEE, UM, FOR READING. AND THEN IT'LL BE AN ORDINANCE. IT'D BE, IT'D BE THREE READINGS AFTER THAT. SO, UM, WE WANT TO PROVIDE THIS AS AN OPTION. WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED WHAT SOME OTHER COUNTIES HAVE DONE AND WHAT'S IN THEIR, UH, WHAT ARE IN THEIR ORDINANCES. UM, I THINK WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS A BALANCE. UM, OF COURSE YOU COULD, YOU COULD ADD MORE, UM, STRINGS ATTACHED TO IT OR, OR NOT. WE WOULD FORWARD. AND THEN, UM, THERE'S A THIRD OPTION AUTHORIZED TRANSFERS WITHOUT THRESHOLD LIMIT. BUT UH, I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY, BUT JUST FOR CONSIDERATION. SO WITH THAT, HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS OR ADD CLARIFICATION. JOE, YOU MADE THE MOTION. YOU'RE UP FIRST, SIR? YES. UM, UH, I LIKE OPTION NUMBER TWO. MY ONLY CONCERN IS IT SAYS THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OR CFO BECAUSE THE SYSTEM IS, YOU'RE THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY. WE HAVE TO HAVE SOME SAFEGUARDS IN THERE SO THAT YOU KNOW, IF THE CFO HAS IN FACT DONE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE CFO COMES TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE ONCE A MONTH AND TALKS ABOUT THE TRANSFERS. I JUST WANT SOME CLARIFICATION AS TO HOW WE COULD BETTER DO THIS SO THAT WHATEVER SHE DOES, YOU'RE IN THE LOOP. IN OTHER WORDS, IF NOT JUST TO BE THE CFO, IN OTHER WORDS, THE COUNTY MINISTRY WOULD HAVE TO BE SIGN OFF ON IT. I THINK YOU COULD, WHATEVER. I THINK YOU COULD ADD THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR WITH CFO APPROVAL OR, OR WITH CFO RECOMMENDATION. THAT WAY IT'S NOT THE CFO, IT'S THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR. SO THAT'S ONE OPTION TO CONSIDER JUST TO AMEND THAT LANGUAGE. I AGREE WITH MR. PASSMAN. UM, I NOTICE IN DORCHESTER COUNTY AND THE OTHER ONES THEY USE THE STANDARD LANGUAGE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OR THE DESIGNEE. I JUST THINK IT, THE RESPONSIBILITY LIES WITH THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND THAT'S WHERE I WOULD LEAVE IT. SO I AGREE WITH MR. PASSMAN AND I LIKED NUMBER TWO. IT'S IN LINE WITH DORCHESTER, CHARLESTON, THE REST OF THESE LARGE COUNTIES RIGHT NOW WE'VE KIND OF TIED YOUR HANDS WITH THINGS. SO I WOULD GO WITH NUMBER TWO. AGREE MR. PASSMAN. AND THAT'S WHAT'S IN THE ORDINANCE AS WRITTEN. UM, IS OPTION NUMBER TWO. JUST TO CLARIFY, I MAY ADD IT ALSO PROTECTS WHAT THE GENTLEMAN SAID ABOUT STORM WATER. 'CAUSE IT DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS. AND, AND WE COULD ADD THAT TO THAT POINT. UH, WE WOULD NOT MOVE FROM AN ENTERPRISE FUND. THAT'S SOMETHING WE WE WOULDN'T DO. SO IF YOU WANTED TO ADD THE RESTRICTION TO NOT INCLUDE TO ACCEPT, UM, ENTERPRISE FUNDS, THAT'S CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD. YEAH. MM-HMM . A MOTION. YES. I I WOULD MOVE THAT WE, WE CHANGE THE LANGUAGE SO THAT, UH, IT'S THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR APPROVING THE TRANSFERS WITH RECOMMENDATION FROM THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. I THINK THAT COULD BE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE AND THAT THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE TREATED DIFFERENTLY. THEY ARE NOT PART OF THIS TRANSFER OF PROCESS. A MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? OH, I SECONDED IT, DIDN'T I? OKAY. MOTIONS? YES. AND SHE WENT TO TALK? YES. OKAY. MONTHS AGO. LAST YEAR, WHENEVER IT WAS, WE MADE SURE THAT WE DID NOT TAKE, WE SEPARATED THESE TWO FUNDS FROM STORMWATER. RIGHT? AM I RIGHT? ARE WE GOING BACK? STORMWATER'S BEEN ENTERPRISE, ARE WE GOING RIGHT BACK WHERE WE WERE BEFORE? UM, STORMWATER'S BEEN AN ENTERPRISE FUND SINCE SUB BEEN HERE. IT'S BEEN SEVERAL YEARS. ARE WE SEPARATING ENTERPRISE STORMWATER IS ARE OTHER FUNDS? STORMWATER IS AN ENTERPRISE FUNDS. SO WITH MR. MANN'S MOTION THAT WOULD STORM WATER BE SEPARATED. OKAY. SO, SO WE'RE GONNA AMEND THIS NUMBER TWO TO SAY INTER MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING OUT OF THE ENTERPRISE FUND IS TOUCHED. CORRECT. THAT WOULD REQUIRE US TO COME BACK RIGHT. TO COUNSEL TO MAKE ANY, AND IT WOULD GO TO COUNTY COUNCIL. IT WOULD HAVE TO COME TO COUNTY COUNCIL FOR ANY CHANGES TO ENTERPRISE ONE. ALL RIGHT. BASED ON HIS MOTION. IT'S NOT CURRENTLY WRITTEN THAT WAY, BUT WITH HIS MOTION, IF IT'S APPROVED TO THE AMENDMENT, IT WOULD BE THAT WAY. ALRIGHT, THANKS. ALL RIGHT. CAN WE VOTE ON THE MOTION THEN WE'LL PUT IT BACK ON THE FLOOR FOR MORE DISCUSSION OR VOTE FOR THE AMENDMENT. SORRY. THANK YOU. WE VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE AMENDMENT TO REMOVE THE CFO OUT OF IT AND THEN TO ALSO SAY THAT IT WILL NOT TOUCH ANY ENTERPRISE FUNDS? ANY OBJECTION? I AGREE WITH THAT. ALL IN FAVOR? NOW THAT'S NOT WHAT HE SAID NOW, BUT I, I, I, I, [01:35:01] I'M, I'M WITH YOU . AS LONG AS YOU GOT WHAT HE SAID AND THAT YOU JUST, YEAH, IT'S TWO BIG THINGS ARE REMOVE THE CFO AND IT DOES NOT TOUCH ENTERPRISE FUNDS, RIGHT? CORRECT. YEAH. OKAY. NOT TOUCH STORM WATER, WHICH IS AN ENTERPRISE AIRPORT THAT WOULD INCLUDE THE AIRPORT, THE STORM WATER FLEET, THE GARAGE. CORRECT. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS MATTER THAT'S BEEN AMENDED? UM, MY ONLY THING I WOULD SAY IS, YOU KNOW, WHY IT WAS REMOVED THE WAY IT WAS AND WHEN IT WAS, UM, 'CAUSE OF CONCERNS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS. UM, SO IF THIS AMENDMENT'S BEEN PASSED, IF WE GO WITH OPTION NUMBER TWO, THAT MEANS THE WEIGHT FALLS SQUARELY ON YOU. UM, WHICH THAT'S YOUR JOB TO DO. I FEEL LIKE IT SHOULD BE THAT WAY, ESPECIALLY WITH THE SITUATIONS WE'RE IN CURRENTLY WITH A COUPLE THINGS. I DON'T WANNA DELAY PROJECTS FOR THE COUNTY, BUT I ALSO KNOW TRANSFERRING $200,000 SHOULDN'T BE DONE AT A BAT AT AN EYELASH. SO THAT'S WHERE THIS WHOLE THING CAME TO THIS POINT A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WITH ME AND DAVID. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF DAVID WANTS TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT. I THINK IT DOES GIVE ENOUGH FREEDOM TO GET THINGS ACCOMPLISHED, UM, WITH ENOUGH REGULATIONS THAT IT COMES BACK TO YOU. I WOULD JUST SAY IF WE ARE GETTING THESE TRANSFERS TO THESE AMOUNTS, IF YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN APPROVAL ON A TRANSFER LIKE THAT, I WOULD SAY WE'D PROBABLY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT. THAT WOULD BE ONE OF MY ONLY THINGS. AND THOSE WOULD ABSOLUTELY BE REPORTED AS WE HAVE, AS MS. NOVAK REPORTED EARLIER, IT WOULD BE REPORT EACH, UM, MONTH. DAVID, ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD ON THAT? YOU, YOU AND I ARE THE ONES THAT REMOVED IT, SO NO. OKAY. UM, WE'LL TAKE A VOTE ON THIS. DO WE NEED A ROLL CALL? DO YOU NEED A ROLL CALL? I DON'T. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL IN FAVOR. RAISE YOUR HAND. ALL OPPOSED, THIS WILL BE APPROVED WITH THE AMENDMENTS MADE BY MR. PASSMAN. ALRIGHT, [9.e. Resolution to establish and authorize the implementation of a Retiree Health Reimbursement Arrangement for eligible Beaufort County retirees (FISCAL IMPACT: Program was funded in FY27 General Fund under line item 1000-10-1199-50145 - $109,000) - Katherine Mead, HR Director - 5 minutes] MOVING ON TO E UH, RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH AN AUTHORIZED IMPLEMENTATION OF A RIGHT RETIREE HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENT FOR ELIGIBLE FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY. RETIREES. HAVE A MOTION TO PUT THIS ON THE FLOOR AS WELL. I'M MOTION THANK YOU TAB IN A SECOND. I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE SECONDED. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT MR. DAWSON. UM, YES MA'AM. COME ON UP. YEAH, SURE. AFTERNOON. SHE GETS THAT AS AN I WILL, I'LL ADD IT TO THE DOCUMENTS. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, I'M HERE TO PRESENT A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH THE RETIREE HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENT, ALSO KNOWN AS THE RHRA FOR ELIGIBLE BEAUFORT COUNTY RETIREES. WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS TOPIC ON MULTIPLE DIFFERENT WORKSHOPS, UM, LAST FALL AND LAST SPRING. WE TOOK ALL OF YOUR FEEDBACK AND WE INCORPORATED IT INTO THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS THAT YOU FOUND WITHIN THE RESOLUTION ON ATTACHMENT A AND JUST BRINGING IT FORWARD SO WE CAN PROCEED. AND JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW, IT WAS BUDGETED IN THE FY 27 BUDGET AS WELL. ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS? I KNOW WE WORKED ON THE WORKSHOP QUITE A BIT AS WELL. CAN THIS BE APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION AND I SEE NO OBJECTION. THIS WILL BE APPROVED. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOUR UM, [9.f. An Ordinance Amending the FY2027 Budget for Stormwater Utility Operations, Carryover Purchase Orders, & Facility Operations (FISCAL IMPACT: The amendment increases FY2027 appropriations by $4,911,486.18. The amendment does not rely on a new tax or fee; the appropriations are funded from existing fund balances in the Stormwater Utility Fund, Local Accommodations Tax Fund, Parks and Recreation Impact Fee Fund, Hilton Head Island Airport Enterprise Fund and the General Fund fund balance. Funding breakdown: $3,475,000.00 Stormwater Utility Fund balance; $642,489.12 Local A-Tax fund balance; $539,900.00 Parks and Recreation Impact Fee fund balance; $62,914.06 Hilton Head Island Airport fund balance; and $253,269.10 from General Fund fund balance.) - Sandy Novak, Finance Director, 5 minutes] F AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE FY 2027 BUDGET FOR STORM WALL UTILITY OPERATIONS, CARE OF A PURCHASE ORDERS AND FACILITY OPERATIONS. A MOTION PLEASE. SO MOVED JOE. THANK YOU. AND A SECOND MOTION MS. BROWN? A SECOND MS. NOVAK, AGAIN, THIS IS A BUDGET AMENDMENT. SO IT, IT'S NOT ONLY STORMWATER, STORMWATER APPROPRIATION, UM, IS TAKING FUN BALANCE AND BUDGETING IT TO BE ABLE TO USE IT FOR THE ROYAL PRO, UM, ROYAL PINES STORMWATER PROJECT. IF YOU APPROVE THIS, THE NEXT ITEM WILL BE THE ROYAL PINES STORMWATER PROJECT. UM, AND THEN WE'VE GOT A LOCAL AT TAX, UM, APPROPRIATION THAT'S GOING TO COME OUT OF FUND BALANCE, UH, FOR 642,489 AND PARKS AND REC IMPACT FEES FOR 539 9. UH, BOTH OF THESE WERE BASICALLY SCRIBNER ERRORS DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS. THESE ARE COUNTY APPROVED PROJECTS THAT DID NOT GET APPROPRIATED THE WAY THEY NEED TO. AND WE NEED THAT LITTLE, UM, ON THE SIDE OF YOUR, YOUR BUDGET WHERE WE NEED AN ORDINANCE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO SPEND THOSE AIRPORTS. HAS ACA GRANT THAT THEY HAVE A MATCH PIECE TO IT, THE TIMING OF WHICH, UM, IT DID NOT COME THROUGH. AND THEN FACILITIES, UM, THERE'S $253,269 AND 10 CENTS, [01:40:01] UH, FROM THE GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE. THIS IS THE ONLY ONE TOUCHING GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE AND IT'S FOR AN HVAC SYSTEM AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER. IT DOES HAVE MONEY COMING TO REIMBURSE FOR IT LATER. WE COULD ALSO ADD TO THIS A MILLION DOLLARS EACH FROM A AND H TAX FOR THE THE CITY PROJECT. WE COULD ALSO ADD THE 15% AFFORDABLE HOUSING IF YOU'D LIKE. AND WE COULD ALSO ADD THE SPORTS COMPLEX A AND H IF YOU WANTED TO AMEND THIS BEFORE IT MOVES FORWARD. SO LEMME JUST REPHRASE. YOU'RE SAYING WE COULD AMEND THIS NOW TO ADD THE 300,000 FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING. MM-HMM . THE 15 MILLION FOR THE SPORTS COMPLEX AND THEN THE 2 MILLION FOR BEAUFORT WATER PARK CAN PUT IT ALL IN ONE ORDINANCE. OKAY. WANTED TO, LET'S OPEN THAT UP FOR DISCUSSION. JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY IT. UM, AND JUST IF I MAY, MR. CHAIR, JUST AS A POINT OF CLARIFICATION, 3 MILLION IS APPROPRIATE THIS YEAR IN THE BUDGET. SO IF YOU DID THE, THE CITY THAT WOULD STILL LEAVE THE, THE TWO 1 MILLION, THAT WOULD STILL LEAVE 1 MILLION AVAILABLE IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET FOR OTHER PROJECTS POTENTIALLY. JUST WANNA POINT THAT OUT. WHAT WAS THE THIRD? I'M SORRY, WHAT? WE HAD THE 300,000, THE 15 MILLION THE WORKFORCE HOUSE IN MM-HMM . THE WATERFRONT PARK IS HOW MUCH? 1,000,008 TAX. ONE MINUTE. EIGHT. EIGHT TAX. AND, BUT I THOUGHT WE JUST APPROVED THAT. YEAH, WELL SHE'S SAYING YOU COULD PUT IT ALL IN THIS BUDGET ORDINANCE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK THIS BUDGET ORDINANCE. GOTCHA. 'CAUSE WE'D HAVE TO BRING ANOTHER BUDGET ORDINANCE FOR ORDINANCE. OKAY. YEAH, THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE. SET ASIDE. WELL, I I WOULD SAY THIS, UM, OBVIOUSLY I THINK THE BUFORT ONE MAKES SENSE. WE JUST APPROVE THAT, THAT MOVE FORWARD. MR. MCKELLEN AND TAB ARE THE ONES THAT BROUGHT UP THE WORKFORCE HOUSING. I BROUGHT UP THE 15 MILLION FOR THE BALL FIELDS. I DON'T WANT TO THROW ANYBODY OFF ON THAT. IF THAT'S SOMETHING PEOPLE FEEL THEY DO WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH TODAY WITHOUT DOING ANY MORE DUE DILIGENCE ON THAT, I'M OKAY MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT. BUT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING I WOULD PUSH UNLESS THAT'S SOMETHING YOU GUYS ARE COMFORTABLE WITH MOVING FORWARD TO TODAY. UH, BUT I'LL LEAVE TAB AND MR. MCKELLEN, IF YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT WORKFORCE HOUSING, IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU'RE INTERESTED IN. WELL, THE WORKFORCE HOUSING IS PART OF THE STATE LAW. WE CAN PUT UP TO 15% OF THE TAX AND THAT'S ONLY TILL 2030. SO MY OPINION IS WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT BEFORE IT EXPIRES AND KIND OF FRONT LOAD THAT FUND. AND SO THAT'S WHY I WOULD, I WOULD SUPPORT THAT. IS THAT A MOTION TO ADD THAT TO IT? NO, THAT'S IN THE ONE YOU'RE GONNA MAKE. THAT'S WHAT SANDY SAID. YES. WELL THAT'S IF WE DO ALL THREE. YEAH. OKAY. LARRY, ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO ADD ON WORKFORCE HOUSING? I KNOW YOU TOUCHED ON IT AS WELL. YOU'RE ON MUTE MY FRIEND. IT'S ALREADY BUDGETED. MR. CHAIRMAN, WHILE LARRY IS, UH, GETTING HIS MUTE. GO AHEAD. IPHONE IS ON MUTE. YEAH, GO AHEAD. UH, MR. GLOVER. YEAH. WHILE LARRY'S GETTING TAKEN, I MEAN TAKING HIMSELF OFF OF MUTE. I I THOUGHT WE DID A RESOLUTION A YEAR OR SO AGO THAT EVERY YEAR WE'LL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE 15% AUTOMATICALLY. I THOUGHT SO TOO. I THOUGHT, THOUGHT WE TOOK A RESOLUTION TO DO IT THAT YEAR, BUT I DON'T THINK WE DIDN'T DO IT. I THOUGHT WE DID IT FOR, I DON'T THINK LEGALLY WE'RE ALLOWED. WE BINDING A COUNCIL TAB JUST SAID. YEAH, I THINK IT'S EVERY YEAR. 'CAUSE WE HAD, WE WOULD BE BINDING A COUNCIL WAS THE DISCUSSION WE HAD APPROPRIATED EVERY YEAR, WHICH I'M ON BOARD TO DO. YES SIR. I AM. I AM GOING TO, UH, MAKE THE MOTION TO INCLUDE THE 300,000 FOR THE WORKFORCE HOUSING AND THE $2 MILLION THAT, UH, WE JUST APPROVED. BUT I'D RATHER HOLD OFF ON THE SPORTS COMPLEX. IT'S RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING. IT, IT ABSOLUTELY IS SOMETHING WE NEED, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO GO AND DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE. UM, 'CAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL PIECES OF PROPERTY I HAVE IN MIND THAT ARE CENTRALLY LOCATED IN THE COUNTY WHERE I THINK IT COULD BE VERY APPROPRIATE TO PUT A SPORTS COMPLEX. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT WHERE TO PUT IT, WE'RE JUST NO, I KNOW. BUT MAKE IT BANK, WE FLESH THAT OUT. YEAH. THIS JUST PUTS MONEY AWAY FOR IT. YEAH. DOESN'T SAY WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH IT. YEAH. ANYBODY ELSE AS A MOTION? I THINK I FIXED MY MUTE. OKAY. OKAY. GO AHEAD, AHEAD LARRY. UH, UH, SINCE WE'RE LIMITED TO THE 15%, I ALWAYS FIND THAT TO BE SUCH A MEAGER AMOUNT FOR A SERIOUS EFFORT TO GET INVOLVED IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING. THIS IS ANOTHER THING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOREVER AND DO VERY LITTLE FOR. SO I CAN'T OBJECT TO IT. I JUST WISH IT WAS MORE, UH, I, UH, SUPPORT MR. MANN'S POSITION WITH REGARD [01:45:01] TO THE REST OF THESE TO BE INCLUDED. I AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN MCALLEN, BUT WE'LL HAVE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO DESIGNATE OTHER MONEY FOR HOUSING. AND REMEMBER THAT WE ALSO HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO THE BEAUFORT JASPER HOUSING TRUST FUND, UM, TOO. SO THIS, IT'S A, THIS IS A PORTION OF WHAT WE NEED. IF I MAY, THAT'S A PORTION. THIS WILL COVER A PORTION OF THAT INVOICE WE'VE RECEIVED EACH YEAR. THE OTHER, THE BALANCE IS COVERED UNDER THE STATE. A TAX APPROPRIATION. YES. AUSTIN, WE ADD SOMETHING? YES, SIR. YEAH, I I I THINK WE SHOULD EXCLUDE THE, UM, YEAH, I THINK WE NEED FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE BASEBALL COMPLEX THAT, THAT WE'RE, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, ACTING ON. YEAH, I'M, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH THAT AS WELL. UM, LIKE I SAID, I KIND OF JUST DROPPED IT ON YOU GUYS IN THE PAST SEVEN DAYS AND THEN A LITTLE BIT MORE TODAY. SO I, I'M PERFECTLY FINE WITH THAT. WE DO HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW FOR THE WATERFRONT PROPERTIES ON BUFORT AND THEN THE WORKFORCE HOUSING. SO THAT IS CURRENTLY ON THE FLOOR. IF THERE'S ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THOSE, I'M NOT MAKING A MOTION TO ADD THE BALL FIELDS ONTO IT. LIKE I SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO WAIT UNTIL OUR NEXT MEETING TO DO THAT, TO GIVE EVERYBODY TIME, UM, AND AUDRA AND HER TEAM TO DO SOME WORK AS WELL. UM, 'CAUSE I JUST THREW THIS ON HER LIKE 10 DAYS AGO. . UM, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THE AMENDMENT? ALL THE QUESTION, UH, WE HAD, IT WAS, WE DIDN'T HAVE A SECOND. IT WAS MOTION. MOTION. MR. GLOVER SECONDED? YEP. OH, I DIDN'T HEAR IT. OH WELL. YEAH, I WILL SECOND IT THEN. UM, SORRY. SO FIRST AND SECONDED BY JOE AND, UH, MR. GLOVER. ALRIGHT, CAN THIS BE APPROVED? THE AMENDMENT BE APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION? YES. ALL RIGHT. NOW WE'LL GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL ITEM AS AMENDED. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? NO. CAN THIS ITEM BE APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION AS AMENDED? YES. AND AGAIN, I SEE NO OBJECTION. THIS IS ALSO APPROVED. WE'LL MOVE ON [9.g. An Ordinance Authorizing the County Administrator to Execute the Necessary Documents and Provide Funding for the Purchase of Real Property Identified as TMS Nos. R200-010-000-0340 0000, R200-010-000-021G-0000, and R200-010-000-0446-0000 from Brickyard Commons, LLC for the Royal Pines Stormwater Project in the Amount of $3,475,000] TO G WHICH TIES RIGHT INTO F AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZED IN THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND PROVIDING FUNDING FOR THE PURCHASE OF REAL PROPERTY IDENTIFIED AS TMS NUMBERS R 200 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 4 4 OR WOW, SORRY, 4 0 0 0 0. AND THEN R 200 DASH 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 G DASH 0 0 0. LAST PROPERTY IS R 200 DASH 10 10 DASH 0 0 0 4 4 6 4 MORE 0 0 0 0 FROM BRICKYARD COMMONS. WHOEVER MADE ME READ ALL THAT MARK LAWSON OWES ME LIKE DINNER OR SOMETHING AFTER THAT FROM BRICKYARD COMMONS, LLC FOR THE ROYAL PINE STORMWATER PROJECT AND THE AMOUNT OF $3,475,000 OF A MOTION TO PUT ON THE FLOOR. SO MOVED. THAT IS SECONDED BY JOE MOTION BY, UM, DAVID, ANY DISCUSSION OR ARE WE, JARED, ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD TO IT OR TOUCH ON YOU COMFORTABLE? YES. YEP. ALL RIGHT. CAN THIS BE APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION? YES. ALRIGHT. AND THIS WAS APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTION. MR. MOVES [Additional Item] US ONTO ITEM NUMBER H, WHICH WAS ADDED ON AT THE BEGINNING OF THE AGENDA, UM, TAB. WILL YOU READ THAT ITEM FOR ME THOUGH? PLEASE NOT READ. I HAVE A MOTION, UH, TO HAVE MEETING AGENDA SENT TO ALL COUNSEL AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE. UM, AND THEN I'LL EXPLAIN IT, BUT I'M GONNA LEAVE THE MOTION THERE. SO THAT'S THE VERBIAGE. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO PUT IT ON THE FLOOR? I MOTION AND SECOND, I'LL SECOND. THANK YOU. WELL, I DIDN'T WANT YOU MOTION IT SINCE YOU READ IT FOR ME 'CAUSE I DON'T HAVE WRITTEN. OKAY, THAT'S ALL RIGHT. SO CAN I EXPLAIN PLEASE? SO, UM, I KNOW SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE BEEN CONCERNED THAT WE GET A PACKET ON A FRIDAY AND I KNOW WE LITERALLY SIT ALL DAY SATURDAY OR ALL DAY SUNDAY READING. IT'S SOME PACKETS HAVE BEEN OVER A THOUSAND PAGES AND I REALIZE IT'S OUR JOB. BUT WHEN YOU HAVE LITTLE CHILDREN, I DO NOT. OR YOU HAVE A FULL-TIME JOB, WHICH I DO NOT. IT'S DIFFICULT. AND YOU'RE USING YOUR WEEKENDS. SO OUT OF RESPECT FOR EVERYONE AND SO THAT EVERYONE COULD BE REALLY PREPARED TO DISCUSS ITEMS AT THESE MEETINGS. I MADE THIS MOTION THAT WE RECEIVE THE AGENDA ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE. IT ALSO HELPS THE PUBLIC A LOT OF TIMES PUBLIC COME AND THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ ALL THIS STUFF EITHER ON A WEEKEND. SO AS AN EXAMPLE, WE COULD, UM, TAKE OUR AGENDA REVIEW FROM SEPTEMBER 2ND. THAT WOULD BE THE NEXT ONE COMING, AND WE COULD MOVE IT TO AUGUST 26TH. WHEN I SAY WE, THEY MOVE IT TO AUGUST 26TH [01:50:01] FOR THE SEPTEMBER 8TH COMMITTEE MEETINGS. SO EVERYONE WOULD THEN HAVE THOSE FOR COMMITTEE BEFORE, REALLY BY AUGUST 31ST, HOPEFULLY. AND THAT MEANS EVERYONE GETS, LIKE OUR PACKET TODAY WAS 109 PAGES FOR THIS COMMITTEE AND THE OTHER ONE'S EVEN LONGER. SO THAT WOULD BE THE SUPPORT FOR WHY I MADE THIS MOTION AND WE COULD TRY IT. AND IF IT DOESN'T WORK, OKAY, WE GO BACK. BUT ALL OF YOU THAT ARE COMMITTEE CHAIRS, LIKE, UH, THIS ONE WE JUST GOT WHAT, ONE HOUR BEFORE AGENDA REVIEW THE OTHER DAY, RIGHT? DAVID? WE WERE SITTING IN THERE. LOGAN, THAT'S NOT EVEN ENOUGH TIME FOR US TO LOOK AT IT BEFORE AGENDA REVIEW, LET ALONE ALL OF YOU THAT DIDN'T GET IT TILL LATE FRIDAY. AND THEN HERE WE ARE, MONDAY. SO THAT'S THE MOTION. ALRIGHT. IT IS ON THE FLOOR. SHE MADE HER DISCUSSION, JOE. UM, YES. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT DONE THAT WAY. WE'VE BEEN TRYING THIS FOR YEARS. UM, CLERK OF COUNCIL IS THE ONE THAT PRODUCES THIS FOR US, BUT IT, IT GOES THROUGH SEVERAL STEPS. THOSE STEPS HAVE BEEN IN PLACE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. THEY'VE CHANGED SEVERAL TIMES. UH, AND STILL WE GET THINGS AFTER THE FACT. SO WHILE IT'S A NICE IDEA, I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE WE'RE GONNA GET IT THE WAY WE WANT IT UNTIL SOMEBODY IS WILLING TO SAY, THIS IS THE TIMELINE. AND IF YOU MISS THE TIMELINE, IT DOESN'T GET ON THE AGENDA AND UNTIL THAT HAPPENS, NICE IDEA. MAYBE IT'LL WORK. OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS? MR. CHAIRMAN? MR. DAWSON? ONE, ONE SECOND. MR. MCKELLAN. MR. DAWSON. YEAH. YEAH. THE, THE ONLY CONCERN I WOULD HAVE IS, UM, HOW WOULD THIS IMPACT, UH, WHAT, HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT WE WOULD HAVE ON OUR STAFF AND, UH, SARAH AND HER STAFF AS FAR AS GETTING THIS INFORMATION OR WE CAN ADVANCE TO US. UH, THAT WOULD BE MY CONCERN. THAT IS A BIG CONCERN. MR. MCKELLEN? YEAH, I THINK THIS IS FRAUGHT WITH, UM, UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. UH, I HAVEN'T SEEN IT WORK IN, IN THE EIGHT YEARS I'VE BEEN HERE. UH, IF, IF IT'S GOING TO WORK, IT HAS TO REALLY BE GIVEN A GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHT. AND, UM, AS, UH, MR. PASSMAN POINTED OUT, MISSED A DEADLINE, IT'S NOT GONNA BE THERE. WELL, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, BUT IT ISN'T. SO I'M GONNA VOTE NO ON THIS. MS. HOWARD. UM, I I I, THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP NUMEROUS TIMES AND I, I'D SAY LET'S TRY IT. WE'VE GOT THE INFORMATION A WEEK AHEAD OF TIME. I THINK WE'RE THE ONLY COUNTY IN THE ENTIRE STATE THAT GETS IT THE FRIDAY BEFORE THE MEETING. I COULD BE WRONG ON THAT, BUT I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN WE'RE THE ONLY COUNTY THAT DOES IT OUT OF 46. SO IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE. WE'RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO SLOW THINGS DOWN AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO WORK IT INTO THE SCHEDULE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN. NOT WAIT AND SEE. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN AND WORK AS A TEAM TO GET IT DONE. THANKS. YES SIR. MR. CHAIRMAN? YES. UM, I'M NOT SPEAKING FOR OR AGAINST, UH, BUT I WOULD SAY THIS, THAT UM, THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING. UM, IT IS MADE FOR A LONG, LONG MEETING. NOW, CAN SOME OF THOSE ITEMS BE HANDLED DIFFERENTLY? I DON'T KNOW, BUT I HAVE NOT. IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS OR SO, WE HAVE HAD AN EXTREME LONG AGENDA ITEMS AND YOU ARE RIGHT. THERE ARE A LOT TO BE, UH, READ, UM, BEFOREHAND AND UM, YOU ONLY HAVE THE WEEKEND TO DO SO AND IT BECOME VERY CHALLENGING. SO, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WOULD WORK. I CAN TELL YOU THIS, THAT WHATEVER WE DECIDE TO DO, THERE'S GONNA BE A NEED TO, UM, ALWAYS HAVE SEVERAL ITEMS THAT ARE CONSIDERED QUOTE UNQUOTE EMERGENCY ITEMS THAT BE, THAT WOULD COME BEFORE US. AND, UM, SO I DON'T KNOW. UH, WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT. WE CAN DO IT. AND [01:55:01] UH, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PRESSING ISSUES BEFORE US. THERE ARE SOME ISSUES, UH, ITEMS THAT CAN WAIT, BUT THEN THERE ARE OTHER ITEMS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH. FOR AN EXAMPLE, THE ACCOMMODATION TAX, UM, UM, FOR SOME OF THE AGENCY THAT'S OUT THERE, THAT'S BEEN WITH US FOR ALMOST THREE MONTHS, I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT IT IS BEEN BEFORE US FOR THREE MONTHS. WE RESOLVED IT TODAY, WE ARE MOVING IT FORWARD, BUT IT IS BEEN WITH US FOR THREE MONTHS. AND, UM, YEAH, SO EVERY TIME IT GOT ON THE AGENDA, IT TOOK SOME TIME. SO I'M JUST GONNA STAY RIGHT THERE. THANK YOU. GO. ONE FINAL COMMENT TAKES THREE PEOPLE TO DO THIS THE RIGHT WAY, THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, CLERK TO COUNSEL AND THE CHAIR OF COUNSEL. UNLESS THOSE THREE PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO SIT DOWN AND SAY, THIS IS HOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT EXACTLY, AND THERE WILL BE NO CHANGES. THIS ISN'T GONNA WORK. AND MS. CHAIRMAN, I WOULD PREFER THAT RECOMMENDATION BEFORE WE EVEN VOTE ON THIS HERE TO HAVE THE THREE OF THEM MEET TO SAY WE CAN DO THIS. BUT, UM, PUTTING A TIMETABLE ON IT NOW IS, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THAT'S RIGHT OR NOT, BUT THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UM, I'LL GIVE MY THOUGHTS AND SEE IF ANYBODY ELSE WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING OR CHANGE ANYTHING. UM, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MORE TIME TO READ THE AGENDA. UM, I WOULD FRANKLY SAY IT'S PRETTY CLEAR WHAT ITEMS WE ALL DIVE INTO AND WHAT ITEMS WE DON'T, UM, BASED ON THE INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS ASKED IN MEETINGS. UM, I, I DO SEE SOME OF THE ISSUES WE COULD RUN INTO. UM, JARED COULD BE WAITING ON SOMETHING FROM FINANCE FOR A PROJECT AND HE CAN'T GET HIS WORK DONE UNTIL FINANCE GETS THOSE DONE, OR VICE VERSA. JARED CAN'T GET FINANCE THE NUMBER, SO FINANCE CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUDGET IT UNTIL JARED GETS A NUMBER, BUT JARED COULD BE WAITING FROM A CONTRACTOR. SO THERE'S SO MANY OTHER WAYS I COULD SEE THERE BEING ROADBLOCKS IN THIS. UM, I DO THINK IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TRY THIS, THAT WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE A BIG GAP RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT GAP'S ABOUT TO END THE VERY NEXT MONTH. UM, I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO IT. UM, I CAN SAY I'D FEEL A LOT BETTER IF US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE PREPARED MORE FOR THESE MEETINGS, UM, AND DID OUR DUE DILIGENCE AND READ THE A IS PACKETS AND THE ATTACHED, UM, REFERENCES. UM, I'M, I DON'T, I DIDN'T MAKE THE MOTION, I DIDN'T BRING IT UP, BUT I WOULD SAY I THINK THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR MODIFICATIONS IN IT. UM, IF TAB WOULD HEAR SOME OF THEM OUT, I THINK ONE WOULD BE MAYBE A WEEK ISN'T THE ANSWER. MAYBE IT IS GETTING US TO US BY WEDNESDAY. THAT GIVES US THREE BUSINESS DAYS TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SEE IT. PLUS OUR WEEKEND, THAT'S FIVE DAYS. UM, WE WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE THE AGENDA REVIEW TO OBVIOUSLY EITHER THE WEEK PRIOR OR THAT MONDAY, WHICH REALLY WE'RE ONLY MOVING UP 48 HOURS AT THAT TIME. MAYBE THAT'S A START TO SEE IF THAT WORKS INSTEAD OF JUMPING A HOLE SEVEN DAYS. UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE COULD TALK ABOUT. ALSO, JUST TO COMMENT, YOU'RE RIGHT, THESE AGENDAS ARE LENGTHY. FOR THE RECORD, I WOULD'VE BEEN DONE ON TIME IF SHE DIDN'T HAVE THIS ITEM. JUST WANNA POINT THAT OUT TOO. , UM, WHAT THEY ARE, UM, LENGTHY. SHE, WHAT DO YOU MEAN ? BUT I, BUT I'M OKAY WITH THAT BECAUSE ONE, IT'S OUR JOB. WE SIGNED UP FOR THIS. SO TWO, WE'RE GETTING THINGS DONE AT THE COUNTY. I MEAN, I KNOW A LOT OF US HAVE SAT UP HERE SAYING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT STUFF FOR YEARS AND NEVER ACTUALLY GOT IT DONE AND WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING STUFF DONE. SO I AM HAPPY THIS COUNCIL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL GETTING THAT DONE. UM, I WILL YIELD THAT BACK TO TAB AND PUT THAT BACK ON HER FLOORS AND SAYS IS YOUR MOTION? AND THEN WE WILL GO FROM THERE. SO, UM, WELL, YOU CAN AMEND THE MOTION. IT'S YOUR MOTION. I'M THE CHAIR. I'M NOT GONNA MAKE ANY AMENDMENTS TO THE MOTIONS. I WOULD, BUT MARK'S HERE, MAYBE I WOULD BLAME HIM. WHO? MARK. SO, I MEAN, WELL, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE WORKED OUT. I AGREE WITH MR. PASSMAN. IT'S GONNA BE, HAVE TO BE HELD TO, AND THE TWO WORDS I ABSOLUTELY HATE MR. MOORE KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE TIME SENSITIVE. IF WE'RE DOING OUR JOB, MOST THINGS ARE NOT TIME SENSITIVE. YOU KNOW, UNLESS SOMEBODY DROPS A BIG BOMB ON US, THAT'S URGENT. THEY'RE NOT THAT QUESTION, QUESTION. YEAH. WE'RE, WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS TODAY AND GETTING READY TO, UH, TAKE A VOTE ON, IT'S A MOTION, RIGHT? YEAH. CORRECT. HAVE WE HAD PRIOR DISCUSSION WITH THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, SARAH BROCK AND HER TEAM? HAVE WE HAD THOSE DISCUSSIONS? I'VE TALKED TO MS. BROCK AND MR. MOORE HAS HEARD IT BEFORE. HE CAN TALK ABOUT IT IF YOU, I'M HAPPY TO MAKE A COMMENT. SO, UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY SET A TIMELINE AND I CAN CERTAINLY CUT THINGS OFF, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT A LOT OF TIMES THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE PRIORITIES TO SOME [02:00:01] OF YOU ALL THAT WE TRY TO GET ACROSS THE FINISH LINE. AND THERE'S ONLY A COMMITTEE MEETING EVERY MONTH. SO IF YOU'RE, YOU'RE WAITING NOW A MONTH. SO THERE'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. I'D LIKE NOTHING MORE THAN TO GET IT TO ALL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. BUT IF WE IMPOSE THE DEADLINE, THEN THAT'S THE DEADLINE AND IF THERE'S NO, UM, BRING IT. YOU KNOW? AND IF WE DON'T, ONCE WE HIT THE DEADLINE, THAT'S IT. SO IT'S GONNA MOVE TO THE NEXT MONTH. SO I THINK AS LONG AS WE'RE UNDERSTANDING THAT, WHAT ABOUT IN COMPLETE AGENDAS? SO FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S TIMES WE'VE GONE INTO AGENDA REVIEW AND WE'RE WAITING TO GET A NUMBER BACK AND WE LEFT THAT SPOT BLANK. 'CAUSE WE'RE STILL COMING FOR DISCUSSION IN A COMMITTEE. SO THAT SPOT'S BLANK 'CAUSE HASN'T BEEN FILLED IN. AND WE GET THE FUNDING AMOUNT AND THE SOURCE ON THAT FRIDAY BY THE TIME OF THE MEETING. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE GONNA SAY THAT THE ITEM HAS TO BE COMPLETELY FINALIZED BY AGENDA REVIEW TO MAKE THE CUT? OR CAN THERE STILL BE ONE OR TWO QUESTION MARKS GOING INTO IT AND THEN IF IT DOESN'T MEET THE THRESHOLD BY THAT FRIDAY BEFORE THEN IT GETS PULLED OFF. AND I THINK PART OF THIS IS YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE AN AGENDA AND THEN YOU HAVE ALL THE SUPPORTING MATERIALS THAT GO WITH THE AGENDA. THE QUESTION IS, DO YOU WANT THE AGENDA AND THEN THE SUPPORTING MATERIALS COME LATER OR DO YOU WANT EVERYTHING? I MEAN, THAT'S JUST A QUESTION I ASK THAT, THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER. AS MR. CUNNINGHAM SAID, IF UM, WE DON'T GET ALL THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION, THEN WE PULL IT OFF AND TAKE IT TO THE NEXT MEETING. SO THERE'S, THERE'S CERTAINLY BUSINESS RULES WE CAN COME UP WITH, UM, TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS. THERE'S NO QUESTION. GO AHEAD, PLEASE. I THINK YOU GOTTA HAVE IT ALL, UM, IN THE PACKAGE TO PUBLISH IT. IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE PUBLIC IF YOU DON'T, I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE, DOES IT HAVE TO BE PUBLISHED TO THE PUBLIC? THE PUBLIC, THE MOMENT WE RECEIVE IT, THAT MAY MAYBE, IF I MAY, THAT MAY BE BEST LEFT TO THE INDIVIDUAL CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE OR OF COUNCIL. I ADD AGENDA REVIEW. YEAH. FOR A PARTICULAR ITEM. TO ADD AN ITEM. IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TALKING? WELL NOT ACCEPT IT IF IT'S INCOMPLETE AT THE AGENDA REVIEW. I MEAN THAT'S UP TO THE CHAIR. THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOME EXCEPTION OR SOMETHING THAT COMES UP. THAT'S TRUE. AND POLICIES NOT, DON'T ANTICIPATE EVERY SINGLE THING. THE REALITY'S GONNA KICK IN. BUT TO, TO THE POINT. THIS IS, THIS WAS TALKED ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO AT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ABOUT DOING, MAKING THESE CHANGES. HERE WE ARE A YEAR AND A HALF LATER, IT HADN'T BEEN DONE. AND IT, IT CAN BE DONE, BUT IT'S GONNA TAKE A COORDINATED EFFORT ON BOTH PARTS TO FIGURE OUT THE NEW SCHEDULE. THAT'S IT. I MEAN THAT'S ALL IT'S GONNA TAKE IS A COORDINATED EFFORT. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE STRICT, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE RUDE. IT JUST NEEDS TO BE A TEAM EFFORT TO GET THIS DONE. OKAY. AND WE CAN MAKE THAT, THAT'S WHY I BROUGHT IT UP TODAY BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS HIATUS IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS. SO THERE'S TIME TO BRAINSTORM THIS AND COORDINATE IT. 'CAUSE OUR NEXT COMMITTEE MEETINGS NOT TILL SEPTEMBER 8TH. RIGHT. COUNCIL MEETING. NOT TILL NEXT WEEK. SO WE HAVE A LITTLE HIATUS HERE. SO, SO LEMME ASK YOU THIS, AND THIS MIGHT BE A BRIAN QUESTION. LEGALLY, ARE WE ALLOWED TO YOU GUYS IN THE BACK TRY THIS OUT WITHOUT A RESOLUTION, TRY TO MEET A DEADLINE SOONER AND THEN AT OUR NEXT COMMITTEE MEETINGS HAVE THIS ON THAT AGENDA, SEE IF WE WANNA ADOPT IT OR NOT. OR THEN BRING FORWARD, HEY, THIS WORKED, THIS DIDN'T AND THAT WAY WE ACTUALLY TRIED SOMETHING. THIS WORKED, THIS DIDN'T, WE WERE STRUGGLING WITH THIS PART AND THEN WE COULD ACTUALLY HAVE SOME DATA TO GO WITH THE INFORMATION BEFORE WE VOTE ON IT. IS THAT ALLOWED TO BE DONE? THE ADMINISTRATOR COULD IMPOSE TIMES FOR STAFF TO HAVE THINGS SUBMITTED AND WORK THROUGH THAT. ALONG THOSE LINES, I WOULD ENCOURAGE A MEMBER OR TWO OF COUNCIL TO MEET WITH, UH, THE CLERK TO COUNCIL AND THE ADMINISTRATOR TO HEAR PROBLEMS THAT YOU'RE NOT CONSIDERING. ONE PROBLEM THAT JUMPED TO MY MIND IS IF YOU'RE ASKING FOR EVERYTHING A WEEK PRIOR, THAT'S THE DAY THAT YOU MEET. SO EVERYBODY'S GETTING READY FOR YOUR MEETINGS THAT DAY. YET THAT'S THE DAY THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE THE PACKAGE READY TO GET TO COUNCIL. AND I POINT THAT OUT BECAUSE THE PEOPLE, THEY GET JAMMED TRYING TO GET THAT TO SARAH SO SHE CAN PUBLISH IT. GET TO YOU ARE THE ADMINISTRATOR AND THE COUNTY ATTORNEY BECAUSE WE'RE THE LAST ONES TO GET IT AND WE ALWAYS GET IT THE DAY OF THE AGENDA REVIEW OR THE DAY AFTER THE AGENDA REVIEW OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON THAT ON MONDAY TO GET IT TO YOU ON MONDAY. AND THEN WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET READY FOR COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN THE AFTERNOON OR COUNCIL MEETINGS THAT EVENING. THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY. I THINK WE'RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO CHANGE WHEN WE MEET. I MEAN THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF DOING THIS. WE DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE MM-HMM . WE CAN'T JUST STICK WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING. 'CAUSE NOTHING'S GONNA CHANGE AT THAT POINT IN TIME. THE POINT I'M MAKING IS IF IT ALL OCCURS ON MONDAY, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY FOR MIKE AND I. WE CAN SHIFT IT. YEAH, YOU WOULD HAVE TO GET YOUR INFORMATION PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE AGENDA REVIEW. WE HAVE TO BEEN ABLE TO REVIEW IT. BUT Y'ALL SHOULD HAVE THAT, HAVE THAT ANYWAYS. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO APPROVE IT THE FRIDAY BEFORE THE LATEST. MR. CHAIRMAN, JUST QUICKLY, UM, AND I THINK MR. TABERNAC, UM, UH, ACTUALLY SAID A WEEK BEFORE, WHAT, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE AGENDA REVIEW IS DONE A WEEK BEFORE? WE MOVED IT A WEEK BEFORE TO WHERE IT'S AT NOW? OR IF YOU WANTED THE AGENDA A WEEK BEFORE A MEETING. [02:05:01] THAT'D BE THE FRIDAY BEFORE, WHICH MEANS OH NO, THE WEDNESDAY. OKAY THEN THAT MEANS THE AGENDA REVIEW WOULD HAVE TO BE ON A MONDAY, WHICH OUR COUNTY COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE ON MONDAYS. I'M SAYING THE WEDNESDAY FOR US TO GET THE MEETING THOUGH, WE HAVE TO HAVE OUR AGENDA REVIEW TWO DAYS PRIOR TO THAT. OKAY. LET ME BACK UP A LITTLE AND MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE. UM, RIGHT NOW THE AGENDA REVIEW FOR A COMMITTEE MEETING FOR UM, NATURAL RESOURCE IS GONNA BE THE, IS WEDNESDAY BEFORE MONDAY. I'M SAYING GO TO THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE THEN. SO IT'S ALMOST SEVEN DAYS, UH, BEFORE THAT WEDNESDAY. ONCE THAT IS SET AND THERE MAY BE SOME ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO ADD TO IT. BUT ONCE THAT DATE IS SET, THE AGENDA REVIEW IS THERE. ALL THE INFORMATION COULD BE DONE BY THAT WEDNESDAY OR THE FOLLOWING WEEK SO THAT WE HAVE IT IN OUR PACKAGE. AND THE ONLY ADDITION WOULD BE AN EMERGENCY THAT WILL COME UP AND WE CAN DECIDE THAT. BUT IT IS ALMOST A WEEK BEFORE HAVING THE AGENDA REVIEW. UM, FOR A WEEK, FOR A MEETING ALMOST 10 DAYS LATER. SO YOU'RE SAYING THIS COMING WEDNESDAY WOULD BE THE YES. AGENDA REVIEW. REVIEW FOR THE, FOR THE SEPTEMBER 8TH? YES. COMMUNITY AND NATURAL RESOURCES. YEAH. THE NATURAL RESOURCE COMMITTEE. YEAH. AND THAT'LL GIVE US THE WEEK AND, AND AND BASICALLY STAFF WOULD HAVE A WHOLE WEEK TO PUT THE PACKAGE TOGETHER. UM, AND WE CAN HAVE IT BY WEDNESDAY OF THE FOLLOWING WEEK. SARAH, DO YOU HAVE OTHER SCHEDULES OF WHAT THE OTHER COUNTIES DO? YEAH. YES SIR. WHENEVER, UM, VICE CHAIR MENTIONED THIS, I LOOKED INTO OTHER COUNTIES THAT PUBLISH FURTHER IN ADVANCE THAN US. SO I HAVE SOME SCHEDULES THAT WE COULD MIMIC. SO WE DON'T NEED TO REINVENT THE WHEEL. NO SIR. THE SCHEDULES ARE OUT THERE. YOU LET LET US KNOW WHAT THE SCHEDULE THAT FITS BEST. BUT I WILL SAY THAT, UH, OTHER COUNTIES DON'T HAVE AS MANY COMMITTEES AS WE DO. SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT SCHEDULE, BUT I THINK IT COULD BE TWEAKED. THANK YOU. SUGGESTION THAT WE MAKE, MAKE THIS MOTION AND THEN AS SUGGESTED, THE ADMINISTRATOR MYSELF AND, AND YEAH, MS. BROCK WILL GET TOGETHER. SHE SAID IT COULD BE TWEAKED AND WE DO IT. SO PASSING THE RESOLUTION TODAY WOULD PUT THIS INTO EFFECT THOUGH A WEEK IN ADVANCE THAT WOULD SET THE GUIDELINE ITSELF, THE WAY IT'S CURRENTLY WORDED. SO WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE THAT'S WAY IT'S WORDED. YEAH, WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE AN AMENDMENT OR, WELL, IF I MAY, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW. IF I MAY. I DON'T MIND WITH THE COMMUNITY SERVICES, IF THERE'S NOTHING TIME SENSITIVE COMING FORWARD, I DON'T MIND TAKING A KNEE AND LETTING US GET ON A, ON A PROPER CYCLE FOR IT. SO JUST THROWING THAT OUT THERE. I DON'T KNOW IF OTHER COMMITTEE CHAIRS WANNA DO THE SAME THING IF THERE'S NOTHING TIME SENSITIVE COMING FORWARD. BUT IF IT'S TIME SENSITIVE, IT SHOULD ALREADY BE IN THE PIPELINE. SO LET ME ASK, I MEAN, YOU MADE A, A COMMENT MAYBE IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE TO US THE WEEK BEFORE. MAYBE IT COULD BE FOR A COUNCIL MEETING. WE'D GET IT ON THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE FOR COMMITTEE MEETING. BUT SEE THEN IT'S ALL MUCKED UP. I DON'T WANNA DO IT. DO IT. JUST DO IT. YEAH. WITH ALL OF THIS BEING MADE, IT'S PRETTY CLEAR TO ME THAT A GREAT MANY SUGGESTIONS HAVE TO BE HEARD AND SOME KIND OF CONSENSUS HAS TO BE BUILT. I WOULD RECOMMEND WE WITHDRAW THIS MOTION, HAVE SOME MEETINGS TO PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER. COME BACK WITH A MOTION THAT IS AGREED UPON IN ADVANCE SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN CONSIDER IT LOGICALLY AND RATIONALLY AND REASONABLY. AND THEN HAVE A VOTE. ARE YOU ASKING FOR WITHDRAWAL OR ARE YOU MAKING A MOTION? I'M, WELL, I DON'T REALLY, I WAS POLITELY ASKING FOR THE MAKER OF THE MOTION TO WITHDRAW THE MOTION TILL YOU CAN REACH A CONSENSUS AND EVERYBODY AGREES UPON, THEN PRESENT IT SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AN ENDLESS DISCUSSION ABOUT IT WHEN IT APPEARS. NO ONE'S EVEN DISCUSSED IT YET. SHE'S INDICATED SHE'S NOT WILLING TO WITHDRAW HER MOTION. AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE COMING OVER TO A HIATUS SO WE COULD PUT THIS IN EFFECT. SO JUST VOTE ON THE MOTION THEN IF IT GOES DOWN, IT GOES DOWN. WE'RE GONNA TRY AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. DAWSON, YOUR FAMOUS WORDS. PLEASE GO FOR IT. GERALD. CALL THE QUESTION. CALL THE QUESTION. ALRIGHT, WE WILL CALL THE QUESTION. WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL PLEASE. AND JUST CAN WE REITERATE THE EXACT WAY IT IS WORDED TAB? YEAH. MOTION TO HAVE MEETING AGENDAS SENT TO ALL COUNSEL AND POSTED AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE TO ONE WEEK BEFORE THE MEETING. BEFORE THE MEETING. SO IT'D BE THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE MEETINGS. IT WOULD BE SENT TO US. FOR COUNCIL. FOR COUNCIL. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? THAT'S WHAT SHE'S SAYING. WEDNESDAY. NOT GONNA, THAT'S HER MOTION. IT'D BE A WEEK BEFORE OUR MEETING IF YOU, YOU WANNA AMEND IT? GO AHEAD. TWO MEETING OR THE COUNCIL MEETING? THE AGENDA WOULD BE THE WEEK BEFORE. SO IF YOU HAVE A COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING, IT WOULD BE THE MONDAY BEFORE THAT IS WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING. YEP. SORRY, I MISSPOKE. YOU'RE CORRECT. SORRY. SO IT'D BE SENT TO US EVERY MONDAY [02:10:01] FOR A MEETING THAT FOLLOWS THAT NEXT MONDAY. ALRIGHTY. IT IS ON THE FLOOR. CALL THE QUESTION , JUST FOR SOME CLARIFICATION. I HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN IS MAKING THAT MOTION. YEAH, NO, I READ THE MOTION BUT YES, SHE MADE THE MOTION. REMEMBER YOU DIDN'T LET ME DO IT. I JUST HAD HER READ IT, CORRECT? YES. BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN WHEN SHE ADDED TO THE AGENDA. YOU NEED YOUR RIGHT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR KEEPING IT STRAIGHT. COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER BARTHOLOMEW. YES. VICE CHAIR TABER? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER. MCALLEN? NO. COUNCIL MEMBER. GLOVER? NO. CHAIR HOWARD? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER PASSANT? NO. COUNCIL MEMBER. DAWSON? NO. COMMITTEE. VICE CHAIR CUNNINGHAM? NO. THE MOTION FAILS. SERIOUS. YOU'RE FIRED. . ARE THERE ANY, THE MOTION DOES NOT PASS. UM, WITH THAT SAID THOUGH, I DO THINK THAT IS STILL A CONVERSATION THE THREE OF YOU GUYS COULD HAVE THAT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED WITHOUT A RESOLUTION FROM COUNTY COUNCIL. INTERNALLY. IF YOU GUYS FEEL INCLINED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT NOW THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT. UM, I VOTED NO. WHICH Y'ALL CAN BE MAD IF YOU WANT, BUT SECOND IS YOU MIGHT WANNA START DOING IT NOW 'CAUSE IT'S HAPPENING NEXT YEAR. I WOULD ASSUME. JUST THROWING THAT OUT THERE, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GET OUR FEET WET. ALRIGHT, WITH THAT SAID, UM, WE ARE AT THE CONCLUSION OF OUR MEETING. WE'LL TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK AND BE BACK AT FOUR SIX. WELL, FOUR 17 TO START OUR PUBLIC FACILITIES MEETING. MR. CHAIRMAN, I HAVE THE FLOOR FOR A MOMENT. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A REQUEST TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNT. GO AHEAD TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND LEADERSHIP. WHEN I WOULD, WHEN IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR ME TO APPROACH THE TOPIC AGAIN, OF HAVING THE, UH, COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE REPORT DIRECTLY TO COUNTY COUNCIL RATHER THAN TO THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR. I'M LOOKING FOR A DATE WHEN WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT, WHEN IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE, WHAT COMMITTEE, UH, OR IF IT SHOULD BE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION. I WILL TURN THAT OVER TO, UM, MS. HOWARD. SHE'S THE CHAIR OF THAT COMMITTEE. THANKS VERY MUCH. I JUST WANTED TO GET SOME IDEA WHEN IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO DO THAT. I, I'M LOOKING TO OUR PARLIAMENTARIAN. WOULD IT TECHNICALLY THE MEETING'S BEEN ADJOURNED. HE ALREADY CAME OUT ADJOURNED. OKAY. WE'LL HAVE TO DISCUSS. ALRIGHT, SO WE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.