BCC Briefs

At the October 21, 2008 Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board took the following action:

Revenue bonds – voted to issue $110 million in public improvement revenue bonds to refinance $50.6 million in variable-rate loans and to fund $45 million in construction costs for the Max Planck Society’s new research center in Jupiter; appointed Janney Montgomery and Merrill Lynch to co-manage the bond issues.

Health insurance – approved an additional tier of coverage in the county’s self-insured health plan for certain dependent children ages 26 to 30, in accordance with a recent revision to Florida law. To be eligible, the dependent child must be unmarried, have no children, be a student or Florida resident, have no other health insurance, and must pay the full cost of coverage.

Grant writers – approved a new process for hiring grant writers. Whenever possible, grant applications will be completed in-house. If an outside consultant is needed, fees will be negotiated on a grant-by-grant basis, the total amount paid to consultants not to exceed $50,000 per year.

Water Utilities – agreed to defer up to 12 months capital reimbursements owed by the cities of Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay for construction and operation of the Lake Region Water Treatment Plant, allowing the cities time to establish a Glades Utility Authority (GUA). The GUA would combine the three municipal utility systems into one entity that will contract with the county for water and wastewater services, assume the existing utility debt, prioritize and implement repairs and upgrades, correct regulatory deficiencies, and bill customers.

Wellington amphitheater – terminated a $1 million funding agreement from a 2002 bond issue with Cultural Trust of the Palm Beaches, Inc. for construction of an outdoor entertainment pavilion; reallocated the remaining $822,296 to the Village of Wellington for construction of an amphitheater at the Wellington Community Center site on Forest Hill Blvd.

Fire Rescue – approved on preliminary reading and advertised for public hearing on November 18 updates to the Florida Fire Prevention Code. They include fee increases for plan review and inspections due to the increased cost of providing those services.

Head Start – approved the BCC’s roles and responsibilities as the governing board for the Head Start/Early Head Start programs.