Polk County Board of County Commissioners

Meeting Minutes - Final

March 17, 2026 Regular BoCC meeting

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Rollcall

Commissioner Becky Troutman

Commissioner Rick Wilson

Commissioner Bill Braswell

Commissioner Martha Santiago

Commissioner Michael Scott

Present:

CALL TO ORDER - 9:00 a.m. (MARTHA SANTIAGO, CHAIR)

INVOCATION

Murphy Hanley, Polk County Fire Rescue Chaplain

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (MARTHA SANTIAGO, CHAIR)

PRESENTATIONS and RECOGNITIONS

A.1. Employee Recognition

Minutes: The Board recognized Michael Blaze from Roads and Drainage, Gregory

Toole from Fire Rescue, Edward Huff from Fire Rescue and Dixon Palma from Fire

Rescue for their years of service with the county.

PUBLIC COMMENTS CONCERNING AGENDA ITEMS

B.1. Comments.

Minutes: There was no one wishing to speak concerning Agenda Items.

COUNTY COMPTROLLER (STACY M. BUTTERFIELD, CPA)

C.1. Disbursements.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Rick Wilson

Becky Troutman

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

C.2. Minutes of Regular Board meeting held on March 3, 2026.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Bill Braswell

Michael Scott

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA

D.1. Approve Consent Agenda.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Rick Wilson

Bill Braswell

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

COUNTY MANAGER (BILL BEASLEY)

G.1. Approve agreement with Driven Security LLC, to replace the current security

systems, at the South County and the Central County Jail Facilities

($7,300,000.00 one-time expense).

Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley discussed the agreement with Driven Security

LLC, to replace the current security systems at the South County and the Central

County Jail facilities. He recommended approval.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Michael Scott

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

G.2. Request Board approve 1) Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR), Guaranteed

Maximum Price (GMP) Addendum with Miller Construction Management, Inc. for

the Bradley Fire Rescue Station CIP project ($6,076,766.58 one-time expense)

and 2) CIP amendment and budget transfer from the Emergency Medical

Millage Fund Reserve for Future Capital in the amount of $1,054,532.00 to fully

fund the project.

Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley discussed the Construction Manager at Risk

Guaranteed Maximum Price Addendum with Miller Construction Management, Inc., for

the Bradley Fire Rescue Station CIP project, amendment and budget transfer. He

recommended approval.

Upon question, Fire Chief Shawn Smith said the distance from the old station to the

new station is less than a mile.

Mr. Beasley said they will see if there is an internal need for the building or they will

surplus the site and put it back on the tax roll.

Commissioner Wilson said that station has been there a while and Bradley is needing

an update. He said it is at a better location and it is a good thing.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Rick Wilson

Becky Troutman

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

G.3. Approve the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) 2020-051-06, Guaranteed

Maximum Price (GMP) Addendum with Henkelman Construction, Inc., for the

Eagle Lake Fire Rescue Station ($5,560,276.00 one-time expense)

Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley discussed the Construction Manager at Risk

2020-051-06, Guaranteed Maximum Price Addendum with Henkelman Construction,

Inc., for the Eagle Lake Fire Rescue Station. He recommended approval.

Upon question, Fire Chief Shawn Smith said just over a mile is the distance from the

old station to the new station.

Mr. Beasley said they will make an assessment for this building and it will be

repurposed.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Rick Wilson

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

G.4. Request Board approve 1) Construction contract with Strickland Construction,

Inc. for the new Lakeland Hills EMS Station ($3,695,394.00 one-time expense)

and 2) CIP amendment and budget transfer from EMS Impact Fee Reserve for

Future Capital in the amount of $147,731.00 to fully fund the project.

Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley discussed the Construction contract with

Strickland Construction, Inc., for the new Lakeland Hills EMS Station, CIP amendment

and budget transfer. He recommended approval.

Upon question, Fire Chief Shawn Smith said the EMS specific station is within the City

of Lakeland limits. He said as our responses have gone up the call volume is drastically

increasing. He said an EMS specific station hires single certified EMT's and

paramedics and he said they staff ambulances. He said this one is a transport service

and getting that unit within the city helps with response times and the closest unit

response. He said this is the first EMS specific station they have built since he has

been here and normally they have built joint stations.

Mr. Beasley said we now have a prototype and a pilot program for Fire Rescue facilities

and EMS facilities.

Chief Smith said we are obligated to provide the EMS transport for the whole county.

He said although municipalities have their own fire departments we still have rescues

or ambulances in those cities and we provide all medical care under Dr. Banerjee's

license. He said they are responsible for 130,000 to 135,000 calls per year and about

80,000 to 82,000 of those calls are medical.

Chair Santiago said she knows how important it is when you are in a crisis and you

need an ambulance right away. She said we are glad to see this coming to Polk

County.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Michael Scott

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

G.5. Approve Sub-Agreement No. SA-7 to the Water Wheeling Infrastructure Master

Cost-Sharing Agreement with the Water Cooperative of Central Florida relating

to the Cypress Lake Wellfield Project. ($2,651,589.00 not-to-exceed, one-time

expense)

Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley discussed the Sub-Agreement No. SA-7 to the

Water Wheeling Infrastructure Master Cost-Sharing Agreement with the Water

Cooperative of Central Florida relating to the Cypress Lake Wellfield project. He

recommended approval.

Commissioner Scott said he was sitting on the Board for WCCF and the focus of that

group has been tremendous in finding alternative water supplies in a way that is

scientifically meaningful. He said it is a complex and long term project with other

municipalities participating. He said it is good to see the collaboration for us to have the

water supply.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Rick Wilson

Becky Troutman

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

G.6. Approve and ratify the Letters of Agreement for all eight of the participating

Managed Care Organizations ($6,674,186.06 estimated one-time revenue)

Minutes: County Manager Bill Beasley requested the Board approve and ratify the

Letters of Agreement for all eight of the participating Managed Care Organizations. He

recommended approval.

Holly Newton, Fire Rescue, discussed the program and said they have been with this

program since 2019. She said they have received $18 million in revenue from this

program. She said Medicaid transports make up about 16% of the claims and with

Medicaid you get a flat rate of $190 per run. She said the average run is about $660

and there is a big difference between the two. She said this program was started to

recoup some of the funds to reimburse us back from the state agency and the federal

government. She outlined how the program works and said it is a lengthy process that

takes a year. She said there are eight Managed Care Organizations within our region

that are state mandated. She said the revenue received from this program has helped

tremendously. She said this has helped with paramedic school and the bonus

structure to bring paramedics into our organization.

Upon question, Ms. Newton said this is for those under the Medicaid program. She said

they can bill for the run which they get $190 back from the state. She said when they

do a claim the information is pulled up, sent to the billing company, and the billing

company sees who needs to be billed, they dictate where the bill goes, send it to the

state, and the state reimburses for the $190.

Mr. Beasley said the information provided by the patient starts the billing process and

they triage where it goes from there. He said if they are uninsured it could go to

Medicaid/Medicare.

Ms. Newton said the billing company, Digitech, determines who is insured.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Michael Scott

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 1 (BECKY TROUTMAN)

H.1. Commissioner Troutman Comments.

Minutes: Commissioner Troutman said the paramedic that was greatly injured in the

accident in December went home last Friday, March 13th. She said it was a little over

three months, he is back home, and that is a very good news story for Fire Rescue and

the county.

COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 2 (RICK WILSON)

I.1.

Commissioner Wilson Comments.

Minutes: Commissioner Wilson had no comments.

COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 3 (BILL BRASWELL)

J.1. Commissioner Braswell Comments.

Minutes: Commissioner Braswell had no comments.

COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 5 (MICHAEL SCOTT)

K.1. Commissioner Scott Comments.

Minutes: Commissioner Scott had no comments.

COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 4 (MARTHA SANTIAGO, CHAIR)

L.1. Seasonal Residential Yard Waste Update - Brian Cogswell (Solid Waste

Division Director)

Minutes: Solid Waste Director Brian Cogswell showed slides and gave an update on

the yard waste from the freeze. He showed charts of the usage and the service calls.

He said there has been a decline in the commercial services and the residents are

using the residential services. He said the number of NCN tags are going down and the

customer calls are the same. He said there was 181 tons of yard waste collected. He

said the haulers have been phenomenal collecting the debris.

County Manager Bill Beasley said this will be done for 60 days.

L.2. Chair Santiago Comments.

Minutes: Chair Santiago had no comments.

EXPEDITED HEARINGS PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 2022-089

Minutes: County Attorney Randy Mink reminded the audience of the procedures for

public hearings and expedited hearings. He swore in those who plan to speak.

N.1. PUBLIC HEARING (LDCT-2025-25 Communication Towers) (Adoption Hearing)

to consider the adoption of an ordinance amending the Land Development Code

to lower the level of review for Monopole Communication Towers in

non-residential districts; to modify Communication Tower conditional use

standards; and add standards and a definition for Mobile Communication

Towers. (No Fiscal Impact)

Minutes: Erik Peterson, Land Development, reviewed the proposed text amendment

for Communication Towers. He recommended approval.

Upon question, Mr. Peterson said there is a one times the height of the tower setback

for residential property lines.

The Chair opened a public hearing; no one spoke.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Bill Braswell

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

N.2. PUBLIC HEARING (LDCT-2025-26 Car Washes) (Adoption Hearing) to consider

the adoption of an ordinance amending the Land Development Code to

consolidate the number of car wash uses. (No Fiscal Impact)

Minutes: Erik Peterson, Land Development, reviewed the proposed text amendment

for Car Washes. He recommended approval.

The Chair opened a public hearing; no one spoke.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Bill Braswell

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

N.3. PUBLIC HEARING (LDCT-2025-27 Drive-Thru Facilities) (Adoption Hearing) to

consider the adoption of an ordinance amending the Land Development Code to

clarify standards pertaining to drive-thru facilities. (No Fiscal Impact)

Minutes: Erik Peterson, Land Development, reviewed the proposed text amendment

for Drive-Thru Facilities. He recommended approval.

The Chair opened a public hearing; no one spoke.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Rick Wilson

Becky Troutman

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

N.4. PUBLIC HEARING (LDCPAS-2025-35 Recker Highway BPC CPA) (Adoption

Hearing) to consider the adoption of a Small-Scale Comprehensive Plan

Amendment (CPA) to change the Future Land Use designation on 12.91 +/-

acres from Residential Suburban (RS) to Business Park Center-X (BPCX) in the

Suburban Development Area (SDA). This case is related to LDCD-2025-11

Recker Hwy BPC to BPC-2. (No Fiscal Impact)

Minutes: Erik Peterson, Land Development, reviewed the proposed map amendment.

He recommended approval.

Upon question, Mr. Peterson said salvage yards are only allowed in industrial

categories. He said their ability to expand is in the BPC district.

The Chair opened a public hearing; no one spoke.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Bill Braswell

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

N.5. PUBLIC HEARING (LDCD-2025-11 Recker Hwy BPC-2 Sub-District Change)

(Adoption Hearing) to consider the adoption of a Sub-District change on 12.91+/-

acres from Business Park Center-1 (BPC-1) to Business Park Center-2 (BPC-2)

in the Suburban Development Area (SDA). This case is related to

LDCPAS-2025-35 Recker Highway BPC CPA. (No Fiscal Impact)

Minutes: Erik Peterson, Land Development, reviewed the proposed sub-district

amendment. He recommended approval.

The Chair opened a public hearing; no one spoke.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Rick Wilson

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

PUBLIC HEARINGS

O.1. PUBLIC HEARING (LDCU-2025-29 Mammoth Grove Mine) (De Novo Hearing)

to consider an appeal to the Planning Commission’s decision to deny the case

(6:1) on December 3, 2025. (No Fiscal Impact)

Minutes: County Attorney Randy Mink reminded the audience of the De Novo hearing

procedures.

Commissioner Troutman said she has had ex parte communications with both sides

and a site visit not to this one but to a sand mine to see the operation.

Commissioner Wilson said he has not visited the site but he has talked with the lead on

the sand mine.

Chair Santiago said she had communication with the applicant, emails, and phone calls

with the citizens.

Commissioner Braswell said he had conversations with the applicant and emails.

Commissioner Scott said he had conversations with the applicant, emails, and phone

calls.

Ian Nance, Land Development, reviewed the proposed request for De Novo hearing.

He said the request is for a Conditional Use for a sand mine on approximately 656

acres. He reviewed the mining requirements and the site plan. He reviewed the access

points and setback requirements. He said since it was denied by the Planning

Commission, 200 acres adjacent to Saddlebag Resort has been removed from the

project. He said this area has been active in sand mining. He said hauling from this

mine will not directly impact local roads and no truck traffic is permitted to go north on

Mammoth Grove Road. He said at full operation this could create 536 annual daily trips

and 17 peak hour trips. He said there will be 100 foot setbacks from rights-of-way and

property lines. He said a water truck will be used to suppress dust. He said they must

maintain a 200-foot setback in addition to the berm. He discussed reclamation and

post-closure plans. He said an annual report for phosphate mines must be submitted to

Land Development. He said that staff will inspect the site annually for spillage and

compliance. He said that staff recommends approval. He said this is consistent with the

Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code.

Upon question, Mr. Nance said if there is open space left it will be fee-simple

ownership of the waterway. He said in an area like this you will not have high density

residential. He said a 6-foot berm is proposed. He said Saddlebag has been there

since 1971 and it was originally an RV Park. He said it is roughly three miles from

shopping areas.

Bart Allen, applicant, said he has a number of experts to tenure as witnesses. He

discussed their qualifications.

Mr. Mink asked if there are any objections or voir dire; no one spoke.

Motion to Qualify Richard Crockett, Matt Mouncey, Mark Stephens, Lee Walton, Amber

Gartner, Tracy Mouncey, and Dr. Robert DeMott as expert witnesses.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Bill Braswell

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

Minutes: Mr. Allen showed slides and reviewed the request for a non-phosphate mine.

He discussed the project size and showed the location of the 200 acres removed from

the request. He discussed the allowable uses for the site. He showed a map of the

area and said it is contiguous to the mineral protection area. He said this is a wet

mining application and there will be no rock crushing, no chemical processing, no batch

plant and no block plant. He said they will be hydraulically dredging underwater and

pumping the slurry back to the sorting plant. He said this minimizes noise and dust. He

discussed traffic data and said the proposed trucks are 268 per day with 536 trips and

he said that is the max capacity. He discussed the need for sand and the types of

projects it can be used for. He gave background information on the site and discussed

the surrounding areas. He reviewed the future land use map. He said that staff

recommends approval and after the Planning Commission denial there is still a

recommendation of approval from staff. He discussed the components and said they

need a mine plan approval and operating permit. He said they are not asking for a

deviation from the code requirements and they will implement a six foot berm. He said

the truck stacking will be on site and not on the rights-of-way. He said the material is

wet which prevents dust. He said sand mining uses a light amount of water and it is

from the surficial aquifer. He stated they did a minor traffic study and there is plenty of

capacity with no reduction in the level of service. He said environmental impacts will be

constantly reviewed and evaluated over time. He discussed the transportation analysis

and said there are 77 AM peak hour trips and 17 PM peak hour trips. He said they are

prohibited from going north on Mammoth Grove Road and they will have access to the

south. He showed the intersection and said there is plenty of opportunity to safely

maneuver through the intersection. He said Dr. Robert DeMott reported that there is no

basis to expect silicosis or similar conditions. He stated there will be no release and

inhalation of PM2.5 particles. He said there are no expected health concerns. He said it

is compatible with the Comp Plan and Land Development Code.

Mr. Allen responded to questions from the Board. He said they have 300-400 feet for

the internal stacking of the trucks. He confirmed it is a comparable size to the Cemex

site.

Dr. DeMott clarified that the height of the berm is 6 feet and that does not change his

opinion.

Amber Gartner, applicant, said the traffic analysis is based on Monday through

Saturday operations for 312 days a year.

Mr. Allen said the trucks will not be running 365 days a year. He said the height for the

stacks is 25 to 35 feet.

Katherine Pratt, appellant, discussed her qualifications. She said when they see her

presentation they will understand that it is of a level that is bringing to point the code,

what the code requires, and what the county requires to find compatibility. She said she

has lots of data to show how the compatibility is questionable. She said she would like

to be recognized as an engineer who can do data analysis. She said she is retired and

does not maintain her engineering license.

Motion to Qualify Katherine Pratt as an expert witness.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Bill Braswell

Michael Scott

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

Minutes: Ms. Pratt objected to the December 3, 2025, Planning Commission minutes

and she said it was not included in the agenda packet and none of them have seen

this. She submitted evidence into the record.

Mr. Allen said he does not know to object or not because he has not seen the

evidence.

Ms. Pratt provided an updated list of signatures for those in support of her speaking.

She said she is representing Thomas Lake, Cypress Lake, Park Lake, St. Anne Shrine,

and South Shore.

Mr. Mink confirmed that anyone Ms. Pratt is representing will not be able to speak

during the public comments.

Ms. Pratt showed slides and spoke in opposition. She said many in the area oppose

this due to the long-term impacts. She showed a proposed map and discussed the

surrounding residential areas. She discussed the lakes near the site and said these are

lakeside residential environments. She said they are drawing from the surficial aquifer.

She said the applicant must demonstrate compatibility. She said the scale of the

operation is important and she said to reference the size of the truck in comparison to

the mines. She said there is no restriction on the height as long as the setbacks are

met. She showed a photo of an existing sand mine operation. She discussed hydraulic

dredging and said it will impact the community. She discussed the report from Dr.

DeMott and said there is no quantitative modeling, no predicted particulate levels, no

dispersion modeling, and no comparison to any regulatory standards. She said it is not

supported by scientific analysis and there is not substantial evidence. She said

residents are concerned with nuisance, dust, air quality and daily exposure and she

said these are not addressed here. She said there is dust near the existing mine

entrance and showed a picture of dust at an existing sand mine. She said the applicant

is responsible to inspect adjacent roadway conditions for spillage and provide clean up

for each day of operation. She discussed the Lake Wales Ridge and said there are no

emissions inventory, no air dispersion modeling, and no evaluation of particulate

exposure. She said air quality impacts have not been properly evaluated. She

discussed noise and said it will occur at all hours. She discussed an ambient sound

environment. She played ambient sound noises and dredge noises. She said noise

compatibility has not been evaluated. She discussed industrial lighting, nighttime

lighting, dredge lighting, dredge mining and ground water, evaporation, and

groundwater flow. She discussed the intersection and the intersection elevation. She

showed a video of trucks blocking traffic and said this is a sample of the hauling trucks.

She discussed State Road 60 crashes. She said there is not an intersection safety

analysis in the record. She said compatibility has not been proven and she asked that

this be denied.

The Chair opened a public hearing.

Matthew Machata was sworn in by County Attorney Randy Mink. He said he is a citrus

grower and said his livelihood depends on clean groundwater. He said the hydraulic

impact is important to him. He spoke in opposition and discussed the applicant's report.

He said replacing citrus groves with large open water mining does not produce water

savings. He discussed the loss of water and he asked where is the confidential

substantial evidence.

Dorothy Logan spoke in opposition. She said this still has multiple pits near residential.

She said the most intense mining occurs before wet mining begins. She said the

burden of compatibility is not satisfied by the applicant. She said she opposes the

revised application.

Karen Beahon said she is a Saddlebag resident. She discussed the particles and said

they are small enough to be inhaled and can remain suspended in the air. She said

there is no air quality analysis and no data monitoring. She said they do not have the

technical information. She asked for an air quality analysis.

Ruth Shafer said she is a Saddlebag Lake Resort resident. She spoke in opposition

and discussed groundwater and excavation below groundwater. She said it must be

supported by evidence and analysis. She said to save our water and deny the

application.

Deniele Pahl said they have seen both sides and we have heard that the traffic will

increase. She said there has been five deaths in this ten mile stretch. She said this will

make the problem worse.

Andy Malburg showed a video of Aaron Grenner speaking about the lakes drying, the

effect on the pipelines and how it will devastate the country.

Alana Ward spoke in opposition and said it will recreate multiple reclaimed lakes that

will be connected to the aquifer. She discussed concerns with the groundwater

systems. She asked for denial.

Diane Perkins said their community has wells and she said there are no studies on how

the wells will be affected. She said their community has not been heard and the water

aquifer should be looked at seriously. She said she opposes this.

Charles Perkins Jr. spoke in opposition and said he is a retired combat disabled

veteran. He said there is missing information. He said there is one access and said

their property values will tank. He asked for a no vote.

Suzanne Speidel said she is a resident at Saddlebag Resort. She discussed traffic and

safety. She said yesterday a sand truck ran into a vehicle and demolished it. She said

there are no traffic lights and she discussed concerns with traffic. She said she is a

nurse and discussed the care she has provided to accident victims. She said protecting

lives is the bottom line.

Marsha Pawley spoke in opposition and discussed how this is close to residential

properties. She said many live here year round and this raises a compatibility issue

with the particles. She said the application does not show air quality impacts. She said

this cannot be compatible and it is important to monitor the air.

Gordon Christie said he is a resident of Saddlebag Lake Resort. He spoke in

opposition and discussed trucks moving sand piles and dry materials. He discussed

dust emissions and said a wet sand mine has multiple sources of airborne dust. He

asked if it will be fully electric with no diesel components.

Janet Nowak spoke in opposition and discussed an air quality analysis. She said that

the air borne analysis has not appeared.

Loretta Garcia said she is opposed to the sand mine.

Andrew Beck spoke in opposition and said he has property in the area. He discussed

the truck traffic in comparison to citrus traffic. He said you cannot say changing the

water flow does not affect things. He discussed traffic concerns with the intersection.

He said to consider no for this application.

Diane Gillies said she lives in Saddlebag Lake Resort. She spoke in opposition and

discussed night time noise. She discussed concerns with decibels increasing and said

it is important to consider if this is appropriate for residential living. She asked that this

application is turned down.

Steven Gillies discussed the traffic study and said the code requires that intersections

are evaluated. He said this does not include an intersection analysis. He discussed

concerns with traffic.

Tiffany Davidson said she lives in the Tiger Creek Reserve. She said their property was

affected by a mine and she discussed the sulfur smell from the well water. She

discussed concerns with trucks and said they have pulled out in front of ambulances.

She discussed health concerns. She said a stoplight has been out since the storm. She

said the highway has been abandoned.

Janet Dunlap spoke in opposition and discussed concerns with this project and

agricultural land. She asked if land zoned for agriculture should be permanently

removed from agricultural use. She discussed the Mineral Resource Protection District.

Skip Dunlap said they live on Cypress Lake and said he travels that intersection

everyday. He said it is an uphill grade and he said the danger is unbelievable. He said

the intersection is not compatible and said it is in the 65 mph lane and not an

acceleration lane. He said if they pass this it is about money and not about quality of

life.

Jennifer Castro said her pasture is 12 feet away from the lake. She said sand mining is

no different than fracking. She said to go back to Georgia and do this stuff. She said

they pay taxes here and they are owed a quality of life. She said they did not choose to

be subjected to rich people. She spoke in opposition and said they need to be

protected.

Patrick Schirard said he would like to see the citrus grower as his neighbor. He said he

will stand by the county to administer the codes as a property owner within the

accepted land uses. He said the concerns should be paramount but to not take away

his rights as a property owner.

Ron Tulin said he lives on Cypress Lake. He said this is contiguous to the lake. He said

this proposal changes everything. He said Ms. Pratt's presentation was based on

scientific data. He said approval will shift the burden to homeowners. He said this is not

a minor inconvenience it is a fundamental inconvenience. He asked for denial.

Michelle Davies was sworn in by County Attorney Randy Mink. She said she is a

neighboring property owner. She talked about sand skinks and their protection. She

said the land was previously used for citrus.

Ms. Garter spoke in rebuttal. She said they did a minor traffic study for the trip

generation of the site. She said staff may require an intersection analysis but it is not a

requirement because they have a 2.5% impact on Mammoth Grove Road and less than

1% impact on SR 60. She said they pulled traffic crash data and said this is not a high

crash location. She said for the last six years there were four crashes at SR 60 and

Mammoth Grove Road and there were twelve crashes on SR 60 between Mammoth

Grove Road and Saddlebag Lake Road. She stated that data does not prove that there

is a crash history or a crash safety issue. She said Polk County Vision Zero did not

identify this area as a high crash location. She said this is a 1% increase in truck

percentage and it is insignificant.

Mark Stephens, applicant, talked about hydrology. He said they have not seen the

impact on the water table aquifer. He said since there is separation between the

surficial aquifer and the Upper Florida Aquifer there is no impact there. He discussed

the evaporation rates and said it is replenished by rainfall. He said the sand mines

have proven that the mining operations do not have any impact on the water table

aquifer.

Mr. Allen said the sand skink studies happen closer to disturbing the land. He said they

have months of engineering and design before we get to that point. He said

non-phosphate mines are allowed in every future land use classification but

preservation. He discussed the Conditional Uses and the additional criteria that

ensures compatibility. He said they provided reports and an analysis for all of the

conditions. He said they have met those conditions and they are in compliance. He

said the decibels showed by Ms. Pratt are in acceptable ranges. He said at the Level 2

that they will do an intersection safety analysis.

Upon question, Dr. DeMott said the berm height is not relevant to the concerns about

respirable silica. He said it would be relevant to controlling the material coming off the

trucks. He said with summer storms or if there is a strong wind flow you may see those

types of conditions. He said with regards to lung cancer or silicosis it is related to daily

exposure over many years and not on occasional days when there might be wind

blown dust. He said based on the scientific literature there are no indications that we

see silicosis or lung cancer in communities near sand mining operations. He said that

data goes back into the 80's.

Upon question, Mr. Nance discussed the areas between Lake Wales and Indian Lakes

Estates. He said there are old developments that probably would not be approved

today under the rural development area or agriculture residential rural districts. He said

that there are pockets of intense development that occurred during previous zoning

rules. He said Saddlebag would be higher density.

Upon question, Matt Mouncey, applicant, said the material would stay on site for use,

reclamation and berms. He said for dust mitigation there will be the use of water trucks

to tamper it down.

Upon question, Mr. Stephens discussed the range in depths of water supply for wells.

He said there could be some residual wells that are older in the area and some are

installed to irrigate lawns. He said when talking about the groundwater flow depending

on where you are in the topography it flows out from the higher elevations. He said if

you are excavating through and into the surficial aquifer though the water table the

mining area would have had a slope on it. He said when you dig a lake the water level

becomes level. He said it will be higher on the down gradient side and lower on the up

gradient side. He discussed an environmental management plan for a mine and said it

involves what parameters you will monitor, the period of time and where you are going

to monitor those things. He said majority of that is water level in the surficial aquifer. He

said you may have ten years of baseline water level data that you can use to evaluate

the effect of the mining on the water levels.

Upon question, Mr. Allen said he has not heard of a health report on sand mines. He

said those kinds of cases are not in existence based on Dr. DeMott's report. He said

the letter of support from the HOA is from the HOA and was signed by one of the board

members. He said that letter does not bind individual residents. He said a person has

the right to have their own opinion but it does cover the entire Saddlebag Lake HOA.

He said they have a restrictive covenant on the 200 acres. He said that agreement was

to be shared with all the owners.

Commissioner Troutman said she made a site visit to a similar operation because she

considers her vote and wants it to be fact based. She said she does not believe the

people who scheduled her to be there knew of the site visit. She said there was a

burgundy vehicle with no dust on the vehicle and there was no dust covering doors as

you go to walk into places. She said she wanted to see firsthand and this was the area

where they would be loading the trucks. She stated she did not understand what wet

dredging looked like and where they are dredging it is no different than riding around a

lake anywhere in Polk County. She said where they were loading the vehicles there

was no dust covering the vehicle. She said that is what she expected to see and that

site visit alone answered a lot of common sense concerns that she heard today. She

said it is not a dust storm waiting to happen.

The Chair closed the public hearing.

Commissioner Scott said looking on Google Maps there is a valid concern as far as

traffic safety. He said it is not a mini wheeler dump truck it is a semi towing a trailer

over 47 feet long. He said coming out on 60 making the left turn there is no

acceleration lane and there will be impedance into the travel lanes just because of the

length of the truck and trailer. He said he has been to several sand mines and it comes

down to the mine operator mentality on if they are dusty or not or if they maintain the

status quo and have water trucks and the sprinklers. He said he has seen where it

does look like a dust storm 24/7. He said there are a lot of things that could be for the

success or demise of the project. He said you are required to have onsite monitoring

and compliance. He stated the reality is there is not enough staff resources to go

around to enforce the permit conditions. He said if there is a hard freeze and the

vegetation goes off the berm you have dust mitigation measures. He said averse

impacts off-site are likely. He stated there would be adverse impacts to both the travel

ways around the area. He said his concern is how the site plan is laid out. He said he

would like to see a different site plan. He said he is not in support.

Commissioner Braswell said his job is determining compatibility. He said his nephew

lives in Country Oaks and he has measured it as 1,400 feet from the other sand mine.

He said he never talked about sand, dust, and noise. He said they would not of known

it was there. He said it is compatible and he will be supporting this.

Commissioner Troutman said the definition of compatibility is can they can coexist over

time without undue harm to each other. She said we have an existing sand mine that

has been there for decades and neighborhoods have been built within some of the

vicinities that we are hearing concerns about. She echos with what Commissioner

Braswell said that when you look at compatibility they can coexist and being adjacent to

another sand mine is the ideal location.

Commissioner Wilson said the first sand mine here was in 1941 and all his life that

area has been sand mines. He said they moved close to a sand mine back in the day.

He said when we talk about traffic he agrees that we have way too much traffic on

Highway 60. He said with or without the sand mine there will be a lot of traffic. He said

you cannot ask much more for compatibility with what is in this area. He said people do

not like change and the sand mine is there. He said he is for this.

Chair Santiago said Highway 60 is a dangerous road and we have had quite a bit of

accidents. She said she appreciates Ms. Garter bringing the crash history and

apparently none of them were related to a sand mine or truck. She said we will

continue to have accidents, the drivers drive too fast and they are careless. She said

that a lot of changes have taken place, they have accommodated the people, and the

changes are a reflection of that. She said the HOA letter does not bind everyone but it

gives an indication that they are okay with this. She said she will support this.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Bill Braswell

Rick Wilson

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, and Santiago

Scott

NAY:

O.2. PUBLIC HEARING to consider the adoption of an Ordinance of the Polk County

Board of County Commissioner entitled the Polk County Right-of-Way Sign

Enforcement Ordinance.

Minutes: County Attorney Randy Mink discussed the proposed ordinance entitled the

Polk County Right-of-Way Sign Enforcement Ordinance. He said it creates a fine of

$250 per sign. He said if they do not remove the sign within 7 days then the cost of

removal is imposed against the beneficiary user of the sign. He recommended

approval.

The Chair opened a public hearing; no one spoke.

RESULT:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

AYE:

APPROVED

Becky Troutman

Michael Scott

Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, and Scott

REQUEST FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC/AUDIENCE AND OPPORTUNITY TO BE

HEARD

P.1. Comments.

Minutes: Cassandra Richards said she misses coming to the meetings and she has

been substituting for Polk County. She said she wishes the people had not left and she

was once in their position dealing with the pipe plant. She said what used to be is not

always so with too many people coming into the county. She said when it comes to

Highway 60 it is a busy road and a lot of crashes have taken place since they started

building out. She said that she may be reaching out because the dump trucks that

come through are beating down the humps. She said she will probably be back asking

for them to be redone.