FLORIDA KEYS MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING
AUGUST 22, 2011
MARATHON
5:30 P.M.
The Board of Commissioners of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District held their
Regular Meeting on August 22, 2011 at 5:30 P.M. at their Marathon headquarters.
PRESENT WERE: Chairman Bill Shaw; Vice-Chair Jack Bridges; Secretary-Treasurer
Steve Smith; Commissioner Joan Lord-Papy; Commissioner Phil Goodman; Director
Michael Doyle; and Board Attorney Dirk Smits.
EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Deputy Director Andrea Leal, Supervisor of Aerial
Operations Steve Bradshaw, Director of Aircraft Maintenance James Zdan, Domestic
Supervisor Mikki Coss, Middle Keys Supervisor Bill Sanderson, Executive Assistant
Mary Victores, Information Systems Coordinator Ralph DePalma, Vehicle Mechanic
David Niles, IT Tech Jocelyn Clement, Entomological Inspector Gary Schwartz,
Entomological Inspector Brad Merkey, Entomological Inspector Yvonne Wielhouwer,
Entomological Inspector Andy Diaz, Domestic Inspector Raycel Godoy,.Upper Keys
Supervisor Emilio Posada, Middle Keys Receptionist Jody Davis, Domestic Inspector
John Davis, Chief Pilot Amy Sargent and Staff Assistant Rochele Miller.
GUESTS PRESENT: Howard Hubbard, Buzz Wagner,Virginia Panico, Jonathon
Beyers, Dale Coburn, Doug Falcon, Faye Albert, Marlo DeMoss and Stephen Hu.
ATTORNEY DIRK SMITS led the Invocation.
CHAIRMAN SHAW called the Meeting to Order and led the Pledge of Allegiance to
the Flag.
ON ROLL CALL all Commissioners were present.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY Commissioner Bridges and seconded by Commissioner
Lord-Papy to approve the Agenda. Following a roll call vote the motion carried
unanimously.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY Commissioner Bridges to approve the Minutes of the
Budget Workshop and Regular Meeting held July 25, 2011 with one change on the
Regular Meeting under the attorney’s report where it stated “at the last meeting a closed
session was called on the George Murphy Contract”, it needs to be made clear that this is
an alleged contract. Commissioner Lord-Papy seconded the motion. Following a roll call
vote the motion carried unanimously.
FAYE ALBERT of Albert & Associates presented the 2011 Actuarial Valuation for
FKMCD’s other post employment benefits. She stated that this actuarial report presents
her findings regarding FKMCD liabilities and annual costs for Other Post Employment
Benefits (OPEB). She continued although a Trust has been considered for pre-funding, it
has not been implemented to date. Therefore this report considers the plan as a pay-asyou-go status. (Copy of Actuarial report attached) Commissioner Bridges stated he has an
item on the agenda later to discuss the feasibility of some type of a buy out in regard to
this and now already 38 of our employees are already eligible for retirement, so it
probably would not be as feasible with them as it would be with the others. Ms. Albert
stated she would think if you offered these employees money in lieu of these benefits,
they would probably accept it and it might be what they would be willing to accept would
be less than the liability that we have determined. She continued we can determine a
bench mark for each individual employee who you wanted to offer a buy out if you so
desire. Commissioner Goodman stated this is a problem all over the country, this is a
major problem right now, but surely other organizations have come up with some
creative ways to address this and asked Ms. Albert if she knew of other ways that this
could be addressed, such as raising the amount of premium that some people are paying.
Ms. Albert stated she feels that the alternative that the board has already established by
not letting anyone else in is the best one. She continued as far as retracting your promises
to people that are already on the payroll, she does not know how feasible that is. She
further continued that she has not heard of anyone being able to get out of it very easily.
Chairman Shaw stated that some organizations have begun to ask for some contributions
for the plan and he feels we may need to look into that. Ms. Albert stated that can be a
possibility and she would be able to figure out a reasonable amount the same time as she
looks into the buy out option. She continued with the people who have been here for a
long time and are already entitled to retire, it is hard to see how you can ask them to pay
anything towards it, but the people who are still working and are not eligible for
retirement yet, you could possibly ask them to pay a little towards it. She further
continued that also people who are eligible for retirement and who are willing to give up
the benefit you could possibly buy them out for something less than the amount of the
liability, but personally she does not know what other governmental agencies have done
and she thinks they are mostly throwing up their hands. Commissioner Goodman asked if
there are organizations out there that have actually funded this or are most organizations
pay as you go. Ms. Albert stated there are not too many municipalities, as this kind of
accounting was installed for corporations before it was installed for government entities
and also most private enterprises have cut off the benefits for future employees. Denise
Rohrer of Oropeza and Parks stated that the majority that she has come in contact with
are pay as you go and have chosen not to fund it. Commissioner Goodman asked if we
have already put some money aside for this. Bill Southcott responded that the board has
known this since 2009 and over the years we have tried and attempted to put money aside
to do it with very limited success. This fiscal year was the first year that was done and
there was $790,000.00 approved for that. He continued we have gone pretty far down the
road and it is going to be difficult to catch up and last year we have $2 million dollars in
there to fund this but that was eliminated through the budget process. Commissioner
Smith stated the State retirement gives there retirees $5.00 for every year of service up to
$150.00 per month to offset the cost of retiree insurance and he believes we are charging
$50.00 per month now and he thinks that Monroe County has increase theirs to $100.00.
Bill Southcott stated that is correct and if the board chooses to increase that is one way to
offset the cost. Chairman Shaw stated our function here this evening is to accept this
report from Ms. Albert and then we can decide on how we want to deal with our
insurance and the cost. Ms. Albert explained some of the dangers to pay as you go.
DENISE ROHRER of Oropeza and Parks addressed that Board thanking everyone for
the engagement and also thanked Mr. Southcott and the finance staff for assisting with
the audit. She continued the financial statements, referred to present fairly, in all material
respects, the respective financial position of the government activities, the major fund and
the aggregate remaining fund information of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District
as of September 30, 2010, and the respective changes in financial position and the
budgetary comparison for the general fund for the year then ended in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. (Copy of Audit
attached to Minutes) The Board thanked Denise for all her hard work.
A motion was then made by Commissioner Lord-Papy and seconded by Commissioner
Smith to accept the 2009-2010 Annual Audit. Following a roll call vote the motion
carried unanimously.
ATTORNEY DIRK SMITS introduced the latest addition to Vernis & Bowling, Mr.
Dale Coburn. He continued he has been asked by his litigation council, Ms. Margaret
Mevers to call for a closed session at our next regular scheduled meeting in the case of
Spoto vs. Florida Keys Mosquito Control currently before the Career Service Council for
Monroe County and that meeting will be attended by himself, litigation council from Ms.
Mevers firm, Director Doyle and members of the Board and it will be transcribed by a
court reporter on a transcript and that transcript will be confidential until the conclusion
of the litigation at which time it will remain a public record. Chairman Shaw asked if we
can have the closed session on September 8th when we hold our next Budget Workshop.
Attorney Dirk Smits responded that the 8th is fine and he will notify Ms. Mevers.
DIRECTOR MICHAEL DOYLE presented his 3-year plan for 2012-2014 where he is
proposing to eliminate the short fall that we are facing in the next three years. He
continued his goal is to eliminate somewhere around $750,000.00 each year for the next
three years which will allow us to maintain an adequate reserve fund balance at the end of
three years which will be worked out with commissioners. He also touched on service,
public image, organization, technology, environmental issues and research and
communication. Next, he updated the board on the impacts of the Big Pine expanded “no
spray” area; the re-introduction of Malathion; Emergency listing of Miami Blue
Butterfly; the Islamorada property; accessing difficult-to-treat properties in Key West;
RIDL)i.e., sterile male) project; and the impact of barrier treatments on older Ae.aegypti
females. Last, he presented a pie chart and two line charts showing the 2011-2012
Projected Budget by functional categories, followed by a short discussion on the FKMCD
survey that was done back in February-March of this year. A discussion was held
concerning the money being spent on the larger items such as aerial larviciding, life &
health insurance, aerial adulticiding, ground inspections and larviciding with Director
Doyle stating if we can cut a small percentage of these big items that will take less time
than spending a lot of time on some of the smaller items. Commissioner Bridges stated he
appreciates the way this has been put out and he does agree that if we cut 10% out of the
biggest item is easier than spending all day finding a telephone that we do not use, but at
the same time he will say and Ms. Panico has also stated it is not mutually exclusive to
look for big cuts as well as small cuts. Chairman Shaw stated obviously we want to cut
all we can and still be the best and the most efficient.
ATTORNEY DIRK SMITS stated he has reviewed the D.L. Porter contract and also the
change order; the request by their attorneys and a couple of things come to mind. First
and foremost the contract itself says that the change order, which is the subject matter of
this claim, an $81,000.00 claim for finishing the project early. The contract dated
September 5, 2006, clearly states that the changes in the work may be accomplished after
execution of the Contract, and without invalidating the Contract, by change order,
construction change directive order or for a minor change in the work, subject to the
limitations in the contract documents. Second, the contract further provides that change
orders shall be based upon agreement among the owner, contractor and architect; versus a
construction change directive which requires agreement by the owner and architect and
may or may not be agreed by the contractor; an order for minor change in work may be
issued by architect alone. The documents that have been provided are clearly labeled as
Change orders; however the documents are only signed by the contractor. There is no
signature by either the architect or the owner and the change order itself states that it is
not valid until signed by both owner and architect, so unless D.L. Porter is in possession
of properly executed change orders or an alternate basis of support for their claim,
FKMCD will have to respectfully deny their claim to an early completion bonus. He
continued we are still pursuing the cracked floor claim and we still are holding back
money on that project.
BILL SOUTHCOTT updated the Board on the wastewater assessment payment due to
the City of Marathon stating that the fees are indeed due. The Aqueduct stopped billing
us in 2007 and we are responsible for paying these fees and we are working on a payment
schedule.
CHAIRMAN SHAW addressed the Islamorada Property stating after speaking with the
School Board and informing them that the reason for us leaving the dilapidated building
there was because we wanted to be able to rebuild a building of a similar size in the
future and the City of Islamorada would not guarantee that if we torn it down. They said
that the School Board has the authority to guarantee that to us and that this was in their
legal department. He continued what he thinks we need to do is wait until we hear back
from the legal department and let them guarantee us that we can rebuild and the property
will be worth more when we sell it. Attorney Dirk Smits stated that Attorney Richard
Collins is handling this for the School Board. Bill Southcott stated that the property is
covered for general liability, no wind and the flood policy is coming due soon and he is
asking permission from the board to not cover the building for wind and flood. Chairman
Shaw stated that makes sense to him as long as the liability stays there. Bill Southcott
responded it will.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY Commissioner Bridges and seconded by Commissioner
Smith to discontinue the Housing Allowance for Commissioners. Following a roll call
vote the motion carried unanimously.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY Commissioner Bridges and seconded by Commissioner
Goodman to revert Andrea Leal’s salary to her Pre-Acting Director level. Following a
short discussion the roll was called and the motion carried with Commissioner Lord-Papy
voting no.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY Commissioner Bridges to direct our council to explore
and report back to the board on the feasibility of a buyout or other settlement regarding
the health care benefits for retirees and future retirees whose employment commenced
prior to the date the Board ended the practice of providing such benefits. He then stated
he would be willing to amend his motion if the board feels that someone else can explore
this possibility instead of our council, because as we just heard from Ms. Albert a few
minutes ago that the board committed to funding back in 2009 and that did not happen
and it did not happen in 2010 and now it has gone up to $2.7 million that we would have
to fund just in order to meet our present liabilities. Commissioner Smith seconded the
motion for discussion. Commissioner Goodman proposed an amendment stating he
agrees this is one alternative, but there may be other alternatives, like raising the
premiums, so he would like to see that this get referred to a committee and let them study
this along with our legal council and come back with the information. Commissioner
Bridges amended his motion to change the word settlement to alternatives. Commissioner
Smith stated we do have a Labor Law firm that may have addressed this issue in the past,
unless Vernis and Bowling has addressed it. Attorney Dirk Smits stated he will bring
what he has to the table. Commissioner Smith asked if it would be more advisable to
direct staff to talk with Ms. Albert and also touch base with Allen, Norton and Blue to see
if they have done this and what the feasibility is and also check with some of the local
governmental entities as he knows there was a time when the City had bought out some
of there employees and brought them back as contract employees, so he thinks there are
some avenues to explore. Commissioner Bridges stated he is open to suggestions; he just
wants this looked into. He then withdrew his motion and Commissioner Smith withdrew
his second. Chairman Shaw stated since the staff is so directed lets move on to the next
item.
COMMISSIONER GOODMAN stated it looks like Director Doyle is well on his way
to establish a three year strategic plan and from the comments it sounds like everyone is
agreeable to his wants. He continued as a follow up to lasts month meeting he would like
to move that we hold a workshop prior to the October 24th meeting to get him time to
prepare his plan with some dates that we can approve at that meeting. Commissioner
Bridges seconded that motion. Chairman Shaw suggested that if any commissioners have
an item that they would like to see in the three year plan that they talk with the Director
as soon as they get that thought. Commissioner Smith stated he thinks we are putting an
undo amount of pressure on our new Director by giving him possibly 60 days to get
through our entire budget process and put together this type of a strategic plan as it is
very apparent that he is working on one and he does not think we need to be meddling
with that right now as he thinks we need to give him a period of time to come back to us
with what he would like to do. Commissioner Smith made a motion to table this item
until our Director comes back to us with his plan. Commissioner Lord-Papy seconded the
motion. Commissioner Goodman stated he would like to hear from Director Doyle.
Director Doyle stated as you probably noticed already he is a bit of a planner and he feels
he can certainly have his plan by October 24th as long as it does not detract from the
budgetary issue. Director Doyle continued that a strategic plan in his mind is a living
document that is going to change with priority. Commissioner Smith stated he has no
problem if you have something ready whether it is October 8th, or later as he does not
want the Director to be under pressure of a drop dead date. Chairman Shaw stated he
agrees it is a living document but felt we could surely have something by October 24th to
work with and then we can amend it at anytime in the future.
The roll was called on Commissioner Smith’s motion to table this item which failed to
carry with Chairman Shaw and Commissioner’s Bridges and Goodman voting no.
The roll was then called on Commissioner Goodman’s motion to hold a Strategic Plan
Workshop prior to the October 24th, Regular Meeting to be approved. The motion carried
with Commissioner Smith voting no.
Commissioner Bridges stated included in Director Doyle’s Strategic Plan was a section
on reorganization. He continued that a date of March 2012 was chosen for Director Doyle
to have the organization in place.
Commissioner Goodman then made a motion that we develop a new organizational
structure that meets our strategic goals for effectiveness and efficiency and be presented
for approval at March 2012 board meeting and a workshop can be held anytime prior to
that meeting if needed. Commissioner Bridges seconded the motion. Director Doyle
asked what exactly is expected at that meeting and in what format. Commissioner
Goodman stated he would like to see this process moving and this is a plan that the
Director would work on and the board can help in anyway. He continued if you want to
call a workshop before any meeting held before that date that is fine also. Commissioner
Bridges stated he would imagine that based on the budget that is approved in September
that could scientifically impact this and the Director may end of getting an organizational
chart that is made up beforehand. For instance if the board continues to fund eleven
supervisory positions that will show the organization one way, but if the board agrees to
fund three or four than obviously will show the organization another way. Director Doyle
stated his recommendation given the magnitude of it, is that the reorganization should be
built along functional lines and agreed to by everyone. He continued if the reorganization
is provided to him he would not be reorganizing as the Director and he would be much
more comfortable with a number in which he can spend as he feels in the end we will end
of with a better structure. Commissioner Bridges stated he believes rather strongly that as
the Director, Mr. Doyle should be able to direct anyway he wants to within whatever
budgetary guidelines the board approves. Commissioner Smith stated he would like our
Director to evaluate this program and come back to us in a period of time with what he
feels is a proper reorganization and structure and he does not think we should be putting
any demanding time frames on him right now. Commissioner Lord-Papy stated she felt
we need to give the Director time to look over the program and then come back to us with
the changes that he would like to make himself. Commissioner Goodman stated he felt
that one of the things on the strategic plan is to set some dates so that we can set some
goals because if you just leave things open ended usually things do not happen. Director
Doyle explained that one thing to take into consideration with this is there are some new
mosquito control techniques that we are going to be looking at such as sterile males and
barrier treatments which will affect what people do on a daily basis and what role they
have with the organization. He continued he does need to have some information on
whether this is going to work as every district is different, because what works in
Colorado may not work here, so ideally a year to figure that out would be great but he
understands that we are spending a lot of money every month. Chairman Shaw suggested
amending his motion to give the Director seven months to look at the organization and
report back at that time. Commissioner Goodman agreed, and amended to motion to
move the deadline to April. Director Doyle stated he will start putting together a timeline
to present to the board on evaluating the different sections of our organization.
Commissioner Bridges amended his second. Following no further discussion the roll was
called and the motion carried with Commissioner Smith voting no.
COMMISSIONER GOODMAN stated that right now we are getting ready to adopt a
strategic plan and looking at a reorganizing he thinks we should adopt immediately a
hiring and salary freeze until at least we get a reorganization plan in place so that people
will know what their jobs are and give Director Doyle some time to make some changes.
He then made a motion to adopt immediately a hiring and salary freeze. Commissioner
Bridges seconded the motion for discussion and stated that he does agree with
Commissioner Goodman as far as the direction that this is going, but he does have a few
minor concerns as he felt that that the Director has a pretty good knowledge right now
that the board is set on saving some money and he tends to trust him and he does not feel
the he will just hire people unnecessarily right now. He continued his only concern is
what we were talking about earlier on how we are spending money on overtime because
we do not have enough spray truck drivers at times and if something happened that a key
member of management quit or got a better job somewhere else he would want the
Director to be able to hire someone to take their place as soon as possible, so at this time
he does not feel we should put this type of constraint on our Director right now.
Chairman Shaw stated he agrees with Commissioner Bridges at this point. Following no
further discussion the roll was called and the motion failed to carry with Commissioner
Goodman being the only yes vote.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY Commissioner Lord-Papy and seconded by
Commissioner Smith to approve the following:
Budget Analysis through July 2011.
District Finances through the date of the meeting.
Cash Disbursements approved for payment, subject to the verification of the SecretaryTreasurer as well as Commissioners’ expenses to the next board meeting.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS to come before the Board a motion was
made by Commissioner Smith and seconded by Commissioner Bridges to adjourn the
meeting. The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________
Michael Doyle, Director
Board of Commissioners
Florida Keys Mosquito Control District
__________________________
William J. Shaw, Chairman
__________________________
Stephen K. Smith, Secretary-Treasurer
For more specific information or detail of the meeting, please refer to the tape recording
of the meeting.