Glades Meets On Zoning, Farm Animals And More

By Donna Storter Long

MOORE HAVEN, FLORIDA (August 28, 2006)  -- One of two Glades County Commission public hearings this week drew input from participating citizens in the audience, and along with a code enforcement issue brought before the Board are true indications that Glades County is in transition as was so aptly stated by Commissioner Echols.

The first hearing passed with minimal attention other than the explanation that amendment to land development regulations is needed to protect residential areas from the blight of parked, stored and/or abandoned commercial vehicles.  A commercial vehicle by definition must be larger than one ton.

Spot Zoning Request Denied

The second hearing, continued from August 8, was the application for zoning change from Agriculture Residential (AR allows density of 1 unit per 5 acres) to Rural Family I (RF1 allows 1 unit per 1 acre) as requested by Lewis Hunter of 4555 Pollywog Drive SW near Muse.

His 4.72 acres property is 1 of 12 lots in High Pines Estates in southwest Glades County, and two adjoining landowners, Patricia Johnson and Leo Maness appeared and objected.  Other neighbors, James Reynolds and James & Penny Phillips, had written letters of objection noting the change would not just allow increased density, but could strain water tables and impact traffic into the subdivision which has no outlet road.

Mr. Lewis Hunter, the applicant, stated his intent was not to create a subdivision with increased density, but to utilize Glades County’s homestead ordinance to provide a single family home site for his son; his wife stated deed restrictions concerning splitting the lots expired in 2000, and that not all the neighbors were objecting.  Buckhead Ridge resident and Fire Chief Tom Vallee commented that even though he was  unfamiliar with the location of the property, he saw it as  an opportunity for needed growth.

 Recommendation for approval had been given by Glades County Development Board, formerly called Building Planning Zoning Board of Adjustment, noting the request was consistent with Glades County's future land use plan and land development regulations. The application was denied by 3-2 vote.   The Board's rejection was based on setting a precedent by spot zoning. Spot zoning is illegal but by reason of application, any change could be considered spot zoning if the change makes its use different from surrounding properties, which is often the case.

In Other Business

Hope Connections, recently appointed by the Area Agency on Aging to provide meals to seniors, was granted temporary use of the Doyle Conner Building for serving congregate meals. The kitchen and lobby of the Doyle Conner Building will be utilized weekdays for 3 months while they continue their search for a permanent facility to serve their 8-10 clients over age 65.  Commissioner Russell Echols noted that the Methodist Church had requested waiver of permit fees to construct a 10’x10’ concrete pad for a generator they were installing for their kitchen to serve in emergency situations.

Public Safety Director Bob Jones, in response to a contractors request for payment of invoices dated December 2004 and November 2005 for repairs to the Buckhead Ridge Volunteer Fire Department building, gained approval by the Board to notify contractor that invoices would be paid when inspections were completed and certificate of occupancy was provided.

Mr. Jones related the following history: Burtons, the licensed Contractor, obtained a permit for original construction of the roof overhang at Buckhead Ridge Fire Dept building; when it was destroyed by hurricane Jean in 2004, BHR Fire Chief Tom Vallee reported the damage and unsafe conditions to County Manager Jim Smith who authorized him to get it fixed because of danger of hanging metal debris in an area where school children congregated.  Vallee contacted Burtons who did the repair work for $2,860 without obtaining a permit thus it was not inspected before it was destroyed again by hurricane Wilma in October 2005. 

Again authorized by Chief Vallee he completed repairs for $4,226 without obtaining a permit and no inspection has been done.  The Board agreed with Mr. Jones assertation that the Board had in the past waived fees for permitting, but had never waived the requirement for permits.  The contractor is no longer licensed in Glades County and thus cannot now pull a permit.  Mrs. JoAnn Vallee noted that it would be a violation for that contractor to have a subcontractor now pull the permit.  The County has received FEMA and insurance compensation for the damages. The final vote 5-0 was to require permits, inspections and certificate of occupancy for approval to pay invoices.

Ortona Cemetery Project

Chairman K. S. “Butch” Jones requested Public Safety Director Bob Jones to report on the pavilion construction at Ortona Cemetery, of which Bob is Project Manager.  According to Bob the complete project through Phase II including landscaping, would not be completed for several months, probably in January.  He asked permission for County Manager Taylor to order the benches as it required about 4-6 weeks lead time.  No vote was taken as Commissioner Ward had objected to allowing this item as an amendment to the agenda and he questioned how much the project was going to totally cost.  Chairman Jones stated he would meet with Mr. Taylor and Bob Jones and work out the final cost estimates to complete the project.

 Donna Storter Long, who spearheaded the project in 2003, provided Chairman Jones with price quotes for benches made 100% from recycled materials noting that full payment for 100% recycled benches was authorized in the landfill’s recycling program grant.  She stated the original project was brought before the Board who asked her to get conceptual plans and costs and come back for approval of use of the one-cent tax money, which happened and is so noted in the official minutes record.  The initial figure (not including benches provided by the grant) for construction of the facility was $35,000.  However due to delays,  costs rose and the project was then divided into phases to keep the project costs below the $50,000 limit for bid requirements and Phase I construction of facility/sidewalks only was awarded to a contractor who later withdrew.                    

She said she had been told by Mr. Taylor that the pavilion would be available by November 11 for Veterans' Day services and she had conferred with Joe Flint (pavilion project committee member) and they felt that combining the pavilion dedication with the Veterans Service was preferable.  The current contract is for $72,000 but does not include benches.  Bob Jones later stated the facility itself, with benches, should be ready by Veterans Day, but the balance of Phase II would not. (Phase II includes landscaping, sprinkler system, underground utilities, and PA system.)

Neighbor Complains About 4H Animals

County Manager Wendell Taylor asked Community Development Director Larry Hilton to cover the issue of code enforcement complaint.  Hilton asked for the Board’s opinion concerning zoning ordinances because in years past 4H students had been allowed to have livestock on non-zoned properties, and he had recently received a complaint from a neighbor of some who had done that. Sandra Collins of Buckhead Ridge appealed to the Board to enforce zoning codes that prohibit farm animals in her neighborhood.  She said she appreciates 4H but her granddaughter suffers allergies and distressed breathing and her neighbor now has a horse for his son’s 4H project.  She complained their hayfield was not mowed for a long time and when it was mowed, it was very dusty, and she brought in an insect trap showing the many horseflies she had captured on her screens the last two days noting the health nuisance.

Linda Hale appeared stating she and her husband Roy put their son Marshall in 4H and bought the horse for therapy to help with his social and school problems due to his Attention Deficit Disorder; she said she is a registered nurse and she had not been informed of the girl’s allergies; she said their riding mower had been broken and they were unable to mow the field sooner, and that Tom Vallee had mowed it for them. 

Roy Hale, a sheriff's deputy, spoke and stated that he was approached with a suggestion that would make the allergies go away by August 28, but said he could not reveal who approached him nor the nature of the suggestion. He stated that he was doing this 4H project by the book and that equine therapy was recommended for his son.  He said the horse is a four months old Appaloosa filly and he was taking care of the animal as his son was not yet ready to handle the horse.

Another Buckhead Ridge resident Gerry Patent spoke and said she sells real estate and three things she was told when she started selling real estate in Buckhead ridge was 1) no barnyard animals 2) cannot live in campers and 3) can't have a business in the residential neighborhoods.  She said if the County is not going to enforce the rules then maybe she would get a flock of Alpacas and raise them.  She said the Okeechobee County 4H man told her "we don't dictate to the County" concerning allowing animals in residential areas; she said that 4H is a good organization but the area is zoned residential.

Mr. Carter stated he lives next to Mr. Hale and that on the 13th Mr. Hale pulled a gun on a neighbor, and had threatened other neighbors with a truck and that the Hale's lawn had not been mowed in a year.

The Board decided to have Mr. Hilton draft an ordinance for consideration and public hearing that would make some feasible provision for 4H animals without creating a neighborhood nuisance, but this code violation complaint is already in progress and must be dealt with properly.  Commissioner Echols noted his hesitancy to comment as most of his district is in the city of Moore Haven and the city has an ordinance that prohibits all farm animals.  Buckhead Ridge is not an incorporated city with ordinances thus all county zoning regulation ordinances are applicable there

County Attorney Richard Pringle was on conference call through out the meeting and had three items to mention.  1) He had sent Waste Management a letter concerning activating the interim hauling agreement and they had responded and met to discuss design of the transfer station and work out language of the agreement.  2) Mr. Pringle and Mr. Taylor had met with Florida Department of Environmental Protection concerning the permitting status of the landfill, and were talking with engineers to work thru the process.  3) Relative to the Zoning hearing mentioned above, he had looked at the County’s homestead ordinance 2003-2 and said he found some language may be inconsistent in that in one place it states the density requirements of land development regulations do not apply, and in another part says all zoning regulations do apply.  The Board approved having Mr. Hilton and Mr. Pringle look at it.  Commissioner Ward said the intent was never to exceed density but whatever was given to a child went towards the density.

Other attended business included:

1) Approved Manager Taylor's recommendation that the two Christmas holidays would be observed on Monday December 25 and Tuesday December 26.

2) Appointed Jeanette Peeples to the Glades County Library Board for five year term.

3) Approved including the position of Deputy County Manager for Community Development in the Senior Management Service Class of the Florida Retirement System while expressing approval of Mr. Hilton's job performance.

4) Accepted resealing bids presented by Doug Manke of the Road Department of which the county will pay $521,484 and the City of Moore Haven $105,784.

Mr. Taylor notified the Board of their scheduled joint meeting with the City of Moore Haven Council, and the Glades County District School Board to be held September 18, 2006 at 6PM at the school board meeting room.  He told the Board to begin considering how they will conduct business in December as the regular night meeting falls on December 25, the Christmas holiday.  He also said he would like to have the Board set a date for a workshop to work out a 5-10 year fiscal plan, and the Board gave assent.

Hendry-Glades Prepares For Ernesto

LABELLE, FLORIDA -- A Local State of Emergency has been issued effective at 9:00 AM today for Hendry County. All Hendry County Government offices, Hendry County Schools, the City of LaBelle and the City of Clewiston and the Hendry County Health Department will be closed Wednesday, August 30, 2006, due to Tropical Storm Ernesto.The Emergency Operations Center will be fully activated at 5:00 PM today. Shelters and PSN shelters will open at 5:00 PM today. Primary shelters to open are Clewiston Middle School and LaBelle Middle School. The Pioneer Community Center will open at 5:00 PM as a comfort station. A voluntary evacuation notice is in effect for residents in low-lying flood prone areas. Anyone going to these shelters is asked to take their own three-day supply of food and other essentials. No pets are allowed in these shelters.

The Office of Emergency Management is continuing to monitor the storm. All Hendry County residents are urged to take due caution. The hurricane hotline has been activated. Residents may call 211 for additional information.

The National Weather Service 12 noon advisory is as follows:

OVER INTERIOR AND WESTERN SECTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA, TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL BEGIN SPREADING ACROSS MAINLAND MONROE COUNTY BETWEEN 6 AND 9 PM THIS EVENING, COLLIER AND HENDRY COUNTIES BETWEEN 10 PM AND 2 AM, AND GLADES COUNTY INCLUDING LAKE OKEECHOBEE MAINLY BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 4 AM WEDNESDAY. WINDS WILL REACH STRONG TROPICAL STORM FORCE, 50 MPH OR GREATER WITH POSSIBLE GUSTS TO NEAR HURRICANE FORCE, AROUND SUNRISE WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE MORNING ON WEDNESDAY.

ON LAKE OKEECHOBEE, TROPICAL STORM FORCE WIND IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT WITH HURRICANE FORCE WIND GUSTS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY. THE WINDS SHOULD BE DECREASING ACROSS THE LAKE WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE STRONGEST WINDS WITH ERNESTO WILL BE SIMILAR TO WHAT KATRINA PRODUCED ACROSS MAINLAND SOUTH FLORIDA LAST AUGUST, WITH SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES EXPECTED OVER SOUTH FLORIDA. SUCH WINDS CAN CAUSE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO MOBILE HOMES. SOME DAMAGE TO ROOFS, WINDOWS AND DOORS IS ALSO POSSIBLE.

...PROBABILITY OF HURRICANE/TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS... FACTORING IN UNCERTAINTIES IN THE FORECAST TRACK, INTENSITY, AND SIZE OF THE STORM, THE PROBABILITY OF TROPICAL STORM FORCE CONDITIONS, WIND IN EXCESS OF 39 MPH, RANGES FROM 80 TO 90 PERCENT OVER MIAMI-DADE AND BROWARD COUNTIES, 75 TO 80 PERCENT ELSEWHERE EAST AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM EVERGLADES CITY TO MOORE HAVEN TO LAKE OKEECHOBEE, AND 65 TO 75 PERCENT TO THE WEST OF A EVERGLADES CITY TO MOORE HAVEN LINE, INCLUDING NAPLES.

THE CHANCE THAT MAINLAND SOUTH FLORIDA WILL EXPERIENCE WIND IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH RANGES FROM 30 TO 40 PERCENT IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, 25 TO 35 PERCENT ELSEWHERE EAST OF A LINE FROM EVERGLADES CITY TO LABELLE TO WESTERN GLADES COUNTY, AND 20 TO 25 PERCENT OVER WESTERN COLLIER COUNTY INCLUDING NAPLES. THE CHANCE THAT MAINLAND SOUTH FLORIDA WILL EXPERIENCE HURRICANE FORCE SUSTAINED WIND, WIND IN EXCESS OF 73 MPH, IS AROUND 4 TO 7 PERCENT.

HP Video Features Sunday Morning News Editor

The HP company's newest ad campaign promotes its new "get personal" theme for its various computer products using short videos, illustrating how computer features can be customized for each person's needs. In this 60-second HP ad, Sunday Morning News editor Don Browne is featured. We thought it would be funny to show our readers this.

At the HP website visitors can make their own videos as well. (Best viewed with high speed internet)

UPDATE: May 28, 2021 - The website where the video was located is no longer active.

Governor Bush Signs Emergency Order

National Guard Activated, Agencies Ready For Emergency

LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Today Florida Governor Jeb Bush released an executive order declaring a state of emergency throughout the state because of Hurricane Ernesto. In wide sweeping language the Governor has setup government agencies for any perceived contingency. Included in the lengthy order are some interesting powers:

I hereby delegate to the State Coordinating Officer the following powers, which he shall exercise subject to the limitations of Section 252.33, Florida Statutes (2005), as needed to meet this emergency: 

The authority to seize and utilize any and all real or personal property as needed to meet this emergency, subject always to the duty of the State to compensate the owner; The authority to order evacuation, and the authority to direct the sequence of evacuation in which such evacuations shall be carried out, and the further authority to regulate the movement of persons and traffic to, from, or within the affected counties to the extent needed to cope with this emergency; The authority to regulate the return of the evacuees to their home communities. I hereby order the Adjutant General to activate the Florida National Guard for the duration of this emergency, and I hereby place the National Guard under the direction of the State Coordinating Officer for the duration of this emergency. 


 

Hendry Proposed Property Taxes Higher

Hendry Has Third Highest County Tax Rates, Huge Assessment Increases

LABELLE, FLORIDA -- Because Hendry county commissioners and the
Hendry school board have historically levied one of the highest
property tax rates in Florida, Hendry property owners should not be
surprised when they open their mail this week to see the 2006 notice
of proposed property taxes with higher taxes proposed. Tax payers can
expect increases from 10% to 300% over last year if the proposed
budgets are all individually approved at September public hearings.
Public hearings begin September 5 at the school board in Clewiston,
then the county commission meets in Clewiston September 12, South
Florida Water Management District in West Palm Beach on September 13,
followed by the Hendry Glades Hospital board in Clewiston September 14.

Hendry county taxpayers on average pay about 2% ( or 20 mills)
of assessed property value each year to the local government and
school board. Local boards for recreation, fire, lighting, and
waste fees get another quarter percent or so of property value in
addition. Only Pinellas and St. Lucie county have a higher rate
according to a study of 38 south and central Florida citrus producing
counties by the University of Florida. Pinellas has a rate of 2.9%
while St. Lucie is at 2.1%. The lowest Florida property tax rate is
Collier county at 1.2%. Glades county, also at the highest tax rates
is at 1.9%, the fourth highest county property tax rate in the study.

A typical homeowner with a home market value of $150,000 and a
homestead exemption in Hendry can expect to pay about $1600 in
property taxes and an additional $375 to local boards and special
districts. This is about a 10% increase over last year. Even if tax
millage rates remain the same as last year, county government and
schools can expect windfall amounts of extra income due to the huge
property value tax assessment increases in the county over the year.
The county commission and school board, etc. get the tax on the
county's assessed property value which has increased far more than
the inflation rate.

A vacant lot owner in Port LaBelle gets hit hardest this year.
Property taxes in the 32,000 acre subdivision of mostly empty lots
skyrocketed from last year's $305 per lot to this year's proposed
$810, almost a three-fold increase. Lot owners also must pay an
additional $61 for fire, maintenance, and water control. Much of the
"value" increase is due to speculation by a few builders and
investors who last year purchased lots at prices averaging about
$32,000 per lot. The percentage of actual "users" of Port LaBelle
vacant lots in extremely small. Most all sales were by builders and
real estate agents hoping for a quick turnover. The property
appraiser's office picks up these sales prices from the court
recordings. Based on those sales, Hendry's property appraiser says
all vacant lots have thus appreciated about 1600% in two years and
tagged each lot with an assessed value of $32,000. Realistically, it
is unlikely that the average lot owner can sell a lot for that amount
as there are overwhelmingly more vacant lot owners than builders and
real estate agents with the capability to buy more than a small
number of lots from the 100,000 or so lots available.

What can property owners do about high taxes? The public meetings are
an opportunity to express their views although unless a significant
number of citizens show up, nothing typically will be done. The
county commission meetings are generally the best attended with a
hundred or so attending. The Hendry school board meetings have the
smallest number of taxpayers attending. Usually no one shows up.