Here's a copy of Alan Pierce's Report he will give to the Franklin County Commission on Tuesday. It gives you a good overview of some of the issues facing the county.
Report to the Board of County Commissioners
April 20, 2010
1- Provide Board with copy of Florida Back to Work Contract with Gulf Coast Work Force Board to create new temporary full time positions. Initially the Work Force Board had advised that the county would be only eligible for up to 5 employees but after talking to Work Force representatives the county might be able to get a few more. It will be several weeks before the Work Force Board knows how many employees it will sponsor.
2- Board action to approve SHIP Plan for years 2010-2013. As the Board may recall, the only funds the Legislature appropriated last year was $350,000 for the Florida Homebuyer Program. At this time there is still $315,000 of Homebuyer Funds left and if the state does not renew that program then the these funds will roll over into the traditional SHIP programs of major rehab, emergency repair, down payment assistance, and the $60,000 the Board reserved for emergency repairs after natural disasters. So, if the Legislature does not fund the SHIP program this year, then the Homebuyer Funds should become available as of July 1 for the other SHIP programs. In anticipation of the state not renewing the Homebuyer Program, Ms. Switzer is proposing to amend the SHIP plan to move the Homebuyer funds into the other programs. On Monday, Ms. Switzer received confirmation from the state that the Homebuyer funds will be moved to other programs. Board action to approve SHIP plan.
3- Board action to approve two Resolutions to DOT identifying Lanark Village and Lanark Beach as communities along US 98 and asking DOT to install signs identifying the communities.
4- Board action to direct the County Attorney to contact the private property owner on the west side of the intersection of Woodill Road and US 98 of the line of sight encroachment that exists because of vegetation on her property is blocking the view of eastbound traffic on US 98. Transfield has been out to the sight and has determined that there are no plants in the state ROW but there is vegetation on private property that could be deemed a hazard and the homeowner might have some liability if an accident occurs.
Also, at the Board’s direction I will contact DOT and ask that they install “Blind Intersection” signs on either side of Woodill Road. This request has come from the Sheriff’s Office.
5- Board action to have the County Attorney investigate complaints from a property owner on Alligator Point that a house the county condemned after a 2005 hurricane is now a risk to the community and should be torn down by the county and a lien put on the property.
6- Inform the Board that Mediacom has sent a certified letter informing the Board of proposed rate hikes on different Mediacom services. New rates will be effective May 7.
7- Board update on US Census activities in the county. I have spoken to Ms. Patricia Franzen, US Census supervisor responsible for Franklin, Wakulla, and Gulf counties regarding the census. She encouraged me to let the public know of two items: One, no census forms are being mailed to P.O. Boxes. If your mail is delivered to a P.O. Box you will not get a census form but you will get a visit from a census worker. The US Census will try 3 times to contact you personally at your house. If they fail to contact you they will attempt to determine how many people live in your house by talking to your neighbors. This is called census by proxy.
The second item is that they also did not mail census forms to communities for which they thought the majority of property owners were second home, rental, or investment. In Franklin County these communities include Alligator Point, Bald Point, St. Teresa, St. George Island, and some of the beach sections along US 98. These areas will also get personal visits to your house and if you are not home the US Census will attempt to determine how many people live in your house by talking to your neighbors.
If anyone has a question about whether they are being counted they should call 850-205-6200. This is the US Census office in Tallahassee that is responsible for Franklin County. You will need to have your house address available when you call and they will tell you whether you have been counted or not.
8- Provide Board with copy of letter from DEP saying they are satisfied with the way the county is managing the Courthouse Annex in Carrabelle.
9- Provide Board with copy of reports for the Franklin County Health Dept. Building in Apalachicola. According to Mr. Tice, the repair evaluation process has taken longer to get started but that it should still be done on time, which is July.
10- Inform the Board that the Big Bend Homeless Coalition is applying for a grant to the federal Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing program. If the Coalition is successful in getting additional funds those funds will be able to use for: rental assistance, utility deposits, security deposits, and legal services regarding housing issues. The program is NOT a mortgage assistance program but will provide the above mentioned services. The funds will be available to Franklin County residents who meet the income guidelines. They are currently out of money but expect to get more in late June. Interested persons can call 370-0176 to learn more about the program. The program will be administered by the Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida.
11- Inform the Board that DOT is letting bids for three projects in Franklin County. They are:
1. Oak St. sidewalk- DOT awarded the low bid to Semper Fi Services. Post, Buckley, Shuh & Jernigan are the inspecting engineers. At the direction of Commissioner Sanders I have notified DOT of the problems Franklin County had with Semper Fi on our sidewalk project. I specifically put them on notice about the sidewalk cracking where a vehicle had driven over it and said that such a problem could occur in Lanark Village because the roads do not have curbs.
2. Improvements to the St. George Island Fishing Pier Road- DOT will be awarding the bids for this project by mid-May, and award bids before July 1.
3. Improvements at the intersection of Island Drive and US 98 in Eastpoint- DOT is in the design phase of putting in turn lanes at that intersection. Construction is scheduled for 2011.
12- Inform Board the County has been provided a copy of the new rules regarding shellfish harvesting. The Notice said the rules will become effective April 26.
13- Board action to approve signing $299,946 of CDBG Disaster Recovery Grant to raise the approaches to the Crooked River Bridge.
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