At government meetings, the consent agenda is the portion of the printed agenda which generally does not require any discussion, just a vote to allow the staff to follow through with their recommendations. Because the agenda and the agenda packet are available for review prior to the scheduled hearings, an item can be “pulled” by a board member because he/she feels the item needs additional discussion or the public has asked for clarification.
Commissioner Nick Nicholson received such a request regarding Consent Agenda Item #7 at the May 24 Board of County Commission (BOCC) meeting. The item is entitled, “Membership and Qualifications for Environmentally Sensitive Lands Committee Policy No. 36-01.”
In August 2015, the BOCC approved the reinstatement of the committee. Policy No. 36-01 describes the purpose of the seven member committee, gives examples of the areas of expertise that members of the committee should have, and defines that committee members will serve a four-year term. After reading the policy to the commissioners, Assistant County Administrator Ron Pianta advised that advertisements for the committee positions will begin once the BOCC approves the policy.
Shirley Miketinac, who decided to apply for a committee position last year, was invited to address the Board with her concerns, beginning with the fact there was no job description. Policy 36-01 states it will follow the current ESL Land Acquisition Manual (LAM) but, if so, then it will encourage acquisition of new environmentally sensitive lands and will contradict what the BOCC approved last year. Miketinac reminded the Board of the minutes from that meeting and recommended that the entire manual be updated to remove any language about purchasing land.
Two other objections Miketinac raised were goals listed in the manual — protecting air quality (which she argued prescribed burning does not do) and conserving mineral resources and trees (not just pines — which Miketinac has discussed with the BOCC on previous occasions).
Commissioner Wayne Dukes added his voice to that of Miketinac stating that the current BOCC is against any form of land acquisition, but that may not prevent future BOCC or ESL committee members from making changes. Another issue is pending land acquisitions approved by previous BOCC’s.
Pianta assured the commissioners that their position is well known and that no land will be purchased, but they could amend the policy to include a clear statement to that effect. He stated that the LAM does need to be updated and suggested that could be a first task for the committee. However, Pianta also suggested that they should consider that the County may want to partner with an agency like SWFWMD to purchase land for springs protection or an initiative from the governor.
While Dukes wanted Item #7 pulled until Pianta’s staff could update the LAM and amend the policy, Nicholson and Rowden wanted to move forward and approve the policy, making changes later.
Lynn Gruber-White reminded the BOCC that one of the main concerns the public expressed last year was the need for the new ESL committee meetings to be open to the public and recorded. While Policy 36-01 does not address this component, Pianta stated that it is a requirement of the Sunshine Law that the meetings do conform to that standard and allow citizen comment as well.
Item #7 was approved as part of the consent agenda with no dissenting votes. Pianta was directed by the BOCC to do the following: Begin the ESL application process and select a committee; have the committee review and update the LAM to meet the current BOCC guidelines and bring the list of pending projects back to the BOCC.