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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Miscellaneous_Tab 06_7/31/2019_EAC (2)Memo To: Lori McWilliams, Village Clerk/PIO From: Thomas G. Bradford CC: Bob Shaw, EAC Member; Laurie Brandon, Village Council; Jay Wickham, Water Distribution Superintendent; Doug Chambers, Director of Public Works; Bud Howard, Director of Information Services, LRECD; Terry Gibson, Legislative Affairs Director, American Water Security Project Date: May 21, 2019 Re: Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC); Sunshine Law and Mission Statement Pursuant to your request, I am providing to you a proposed Mission Statement for the EAC. Bob Shaw, EAC, may also provide you with a proposed EAC Mission Statement, I have also taken the liberty of providing you with my perspective on Florida's Sunshine Law and my conclusion that we, the Village, are beyond the fact- finding stage and that it is time to set forth environmental implementation strategies for consideration of the Village Council. Please ensure that the Village Council is provided with both for their deliberations. The Village Council should consider formally creating the ad hoc Environmental Advisory Committee to follow through with the consensus to do so that was derived at the Village Council Workshop meeting on April 29. As you know, such decisions cannot be made at workshop meetings. Our committee is excited about the work that lies ahead and is pleased that numerous Tequesta citizens have expressed an interest in joining with us in the assignment. Tequesta is poised to move forward on creating a sustainable community in which to live, work and play. The names and resumes will be sent to you as soon as they are received. One person is submitting to me and up to four is submitting to Bob Shaw. Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law Section 286.011, Florida Statutes, Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law, in pertinent part, provides in subsection(l): "All meetings of qny board or commission of any state agency or authority or of any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution, at --I — 3 1 — A J:4�em -,A-- �0 &atdiek h which official acts are to be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times, and no resolution, rule, or formal action shall be considered binding except as taken or made at such meeting. The board or commission must provide reasonable notice of all such meetings." In Town of Palm Beach v. Gradison, 296 So. 2d 473 (1974), the Florida Supreme Court stated: "Every meeting of ppy bo commission, agency or authority of a municipality should be a marketplace of ideas, so that the governmental agency may have sufficient input from the citizens who are going to be affected by the subsequent action of the municipality. The ordinary taxpayer can no longer be led blindly down the path of government, for the news media, by constantly reporting community affairs, has made the taxpayer aware of governmental problems. Government, more so now than ever before, should be responsive to the wishes of the public, These wishes could never be known in nonpublic meetings, and the governmental agencies would be deprived of the benefit of suggestions and ideas, which may be advanced by the knowledgeable public. The citizens' planning committee was not an organization formed by any civic group such as a taxpayer's league, better government league, civic association, etc. It was conceived and formed by the Town Council for the purpose of working with the planning consultant so that the plan produced would be consistent with the land -use controls intended by the citizens. The citizens' planning committee was an arm of the Town Council. The Legislature would have no right to require meetings of civic organizations, unconnected with municipal government, to conform to the government in the sunshine law. However, a subordinate group or committee selected by the governmental authorities should not feel free to meet in private. The preponderant interest of allowing the public to participate in the conception of a proposed zoning ordinance is sufficient to justify the inclusion of this selected subordinate gx"u , within the pLovisions of the government in the sunshine law." In AGO 2005-06, the Attorney General stated the following: "As a statute enacted in the public interest to protect the public from "closed -door" politics, the Sunshine Law must be broadly construed to effect its remedial and protective puTose. The courts of this state have rgpeatedly stated that it is the entire decision-making process to which the Sunshine Law 4pplies and not merely a formal assemblage of a public body at which voting to ratify an official decision is carried out." Some say fact-finding is exempt from the Sunshine Law since it is somehow not decision-making. Others say fact-finding is a part of the decision-making process, as discretion must be used by committee members to determine what is a fact versus a non -fact, a process that is inherently decision-making. Furthermore, presenting a committee approved set of facts to a governing board such as the Village Council is in and of itself a recommendation of a committee. Boards and committees that make recommendations are clearly subject to the Sunshine Law. We need not concern ourselves with such arguments however, because in this case fact-fiiiding is irrelevant. In this instance, the facts are very clear and widely known. Polluting our air, our land, our plants, food and water, both surface and underground is bad, very bad. It is bad because it is detrimental to human life, animals, plants, f 11 - No-, 01-1 indeed all living things. The Village Council intuitively knows this. We know that they do because in 2017 they adopted an updated Comprehensive Plan, which enumerates numerous goals, objectives and policies intent on mitigating environmental degradation with strong environmentally oriented statements such as: The Village will encourage sustainability and protect natural resources Protect potable water well fields > Reduce automobile dependency, greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency > Limit greenhouse gas by reductions in vehicle miles driven > Meet or exceed National Ambient Air Standards > Implement strategies, which increase community resiliency from the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise. The list goes on and on. So, we know the Village Council knows the facts. Fact-finding is not required. What is needed are implementation recommendations and strategies for Village Council consideration, subject to all other priorities and funding decisions of the Village. This ad-hoc committee wishes to make those types of recommendations to the Village Council. The law is clear. Regardless of mission, the meetings of this committee should be duly posted on the Community Calendar, open to the public with agenda and minutes taken. Environmental Advisoty Committee Proposed Mission Statement Per your request, and based upon the foregoing narrative, I hereby submit the following mission statement for the committee and Village Council consideration as follows: The Village of Tequesta Environmental Advisory Committee mission is to improve the environmental quality of Tequesta by recommending activities that will place Tequesta in an environmental leadership position, provide enviromnental partnering with area businesses, public organizations, community leaders and neighbors to work together to create a cleaner and safcr place to live, work and play for future generations. Our primary task is to make recommendations to the Village Council on implementation strategies on matters of environmental consequence, with particular attention to environmental goals, objectives and policies as contained within the Village's Comprehensive Plan. In addition, the Committee foresees being called upon as a resource, a catalyst, and an advocate for environmental sustainability. We anticipate serving as a bridge between ideas and their practical implementation by advising the Village Council, fostering local partnerships, and engaging our local communities and neighborhoods to develop goals, policies and practices together that improve the well being of our Village and ensure a vibrant and resilient future for all.