Glades Commissioners Tuesday Meeting

$10,000 Given To Form Multi-County Coalition

MOORE HAVEN, FL. -- Glades County Commissioners are seeking and have come up with a possible solution to getting Federal aid dollars for transportation including MPOs (Metropolitan Planning Organization), TPOs (Transportation Planning Organization) and RTPOs (Rural Transportation Planning Organization) that normally have requirements of a 50,000 urbanized population that can not be met by Glades County. 

A presentation before FHREDI August 20 drew the interest of rural heartland counties which may be willing to join Glades in forming a multi-county planning organization.  The Board moved to contribute $10,000 to a trust fund to begin the process of organizing a TPO to include Highlands, Okeechobee, Hardee, Hendry, and part of DeSoto with a total population area of 245,162 including 11 cities with total urbanized 54,986 population. 

Commissioner Donna Storter Long commented that this organization can assure our rural counties a "seat at the table" in negotiating for Federal transportation dollars where presently the county has no voice.

Last Chance Rock Mine Gets Chance For Roadway Agreement

After lengthy discussion the Board approved a contract with Last Chance Pit LLC for use of ingress and egress from a Charlotte County mine on Glades County roads including conditions of: initial non-refundable $32,000 payment to Glades County; 35 cents for each cubic yard of material generated by Last Chance's operation, paid monthly in arrears (with proportionate increases if/when Last Chance's selling price increases from $4 per cu yd.)

Additional conditions include: every trip ticket for each truck will be construed to have 18 cu yd per load;  50 ft of asphalt pavement and 250 ft of coarse gravel road surface at the connection of CR720 and the operations property; hours of operation limited between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday; haul routes for truck traffic generated by Last Chance restricted to CR 720 west of Kirby Thompson Road and Kirby Thompson Road south, except for local deliveries to Glades County addresses; Last Chance to pay costs of preparing and negotiating the agreement  (including county attorney fees) .

Dean Daniels, co-owner of the company, projected the operation to remove material from 150 acres a depth of 32 feet will take 8-10 years.  (150 acres 32 feet deep is the equivalent of 7,744,000 cubic yard not including fluff factor.  At 35 cents per c.f., that would equate $2,710,400 to Glades County, according to one commissioner's calculations.)

Discussion covered price per cubic yard to provide revenue to offset any road or bridge maintenance or repair costs attributable to the mining truck traffic, with concern for traffic control of trucks utilizing CR 720 eastward.  Glades County has previously adopted ordinances restricting weight limits on Sealey Road, CR 74, Timber Bridge on River Road.

As recently as August 14, 2001 the commissioners adopted an ordinance restricting truck traffic on a portion of CR 720 which prohibits any dump truck, tandem trailer dump truck, semi tractor, and semi tractor and semi trailer combination, loaded or unloaded from operating/driving upon CR 720 (Loblolly Bay) between Summerall Road and Silver Lake Road. 

Although this ordinance has not been revoked or amended and is still enforceable including truck traffic from this mine over that portion of CR720.  Exemptions to this truck ordinance include school buses, garbage trucks, emergency vehicles, and county owned vehicles or those authorized trucks engaged in highway maintenance, and wreckers towing motor vehicles. Agriculturally related truck traffic is not exempt.

Penalties can be applied but Glades County Sheriff's Office allegedly does not have the trained manpower or scales for weight determinations to monitor such traffic for enforcement.

Public Hearing On Zoning Issues

At the public hearing section of Tuesdays Commission meeting the following items were on the agenda:

Case Number RZ07-07 – Estates at Port LaBelle. Approved rezoning changing 5.23 acres from Commercial to Residential and 7.24 acres from Agriculture to Residential. 

Pre-Plat of The Estates at Port LaBelle.  Approved. Parcels are part of 252 acres; subdivision proposed to site 91 single family homes near Aspen Blvd in Port LaBelle

Moorings at Buckhead. Granted pre-plat approval for 20 Townhouse structures on 19.8 acres on Linda Drive in Buckhead Ridge noting density and utility service factors wills require formation of a Condominium.

Indian Cove Estates. Granted pre-plat approval for 34 single-family home lots on 17.32 acres on Linda Drive in Buckhead Ridge.  Concern was noted that this subdivision and the Moorings Townhouse property (item 5 above) are adjacent and wastewater/sewer treatment provision for such densities should be carefully considered.

Case Number RZ07-04 and COMP07-02SS Application withdrawn and Case Number RZ07-16 Tabled until November 26, 2007