Commissioner Curt Smith Updates Citizens On Recent Meeting Agenda Items
By Space Coast Daily // March 24, 2016
brevard county commission honors glen davis
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – At the March 15 Board Meeting we had the honor of recognizing a very special Brevard County staff member, Roads and Bridges employee Glen Davis.
Mr. Davis was working hard grading roads in Mims on October 15, 2015 when he noticed smoke coming from a house down the street.
As he drove further down the street he heard cries for help. Upon arriving at the house he learned that there was a man trapped inside of the burning house who was elderly and disabled, making it difficult for him to escape.
Mr. Davis then went inside of the burning home and helped to get the man out through a window.
The man that was saved was later airlifted to the hospital and was able to make a full recovery.
I am truly grateful to be able to say that we have someone so heroic and courageous on our county team.
BREVARD COUNTY PRESENTS CHECK TO UNITED WAY
Brevard County’s campaign team presented a check to United Way of Brevard at this Tuesday’s County Commission Meeting for their 2015 Employee Campaign.
The campaign consisted of many fundraising events including the Brevard County Employee Charity Golf Tournament.
The efforts were led by Fire Chief Mark Schollmeyer and Library Services Director Jeff Thompson, and the campaign increased 17 percent over last year for a total of $105,066.
Again, we have some great employees working for Brevard County, and I’m happy to see that the we are able to impact our community in so many ways.
BREVARD COUNTY FRACKING ORDINANCE
At our March 1 Board Meeting, we approved a citizen request by the League of Women Voters of the Space Coast that the County go on record and adopt a resolution opposing SB318, which was a bill that would allow hydraulic fracturing, more commonly called fracking, in Florida.
For those of you not already aware, fracking is the process of drilling and injecting fluid, water and acids combined with chemicals and sand, into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside.
Had it passed, SB318 would have prohibited local governments from adopting ordinances banning the use of well stimulation and removed the existing authority municipalities have to approve or deny drilling permits by resolution.
Despite the fact that the bill to allow fracking passed by an overwhelming majority in the House, the Senate Sponsor said that he did not want the Senate Appropriations Committee to reconsider the bill, so it simply died.
Pursuant to that resolution, it was requested at last Tuesday’s meeting that the Board adopt a County Ordinance prohibiting any oil and gas exploration that uses well stimulation within the boundaries of Brevard County.
As the Board is well aware that there will be many more attempts at getting a fracking bill passed through the State, we unanimously approved the legislative intent to draft a county-wide ordinance that bans fracking within our county boundaries.
For me personally, and after much research, I determined that the chances of fracking ever coming to Brevard County were indeed very slim. The only areas that I came across in any of my research that indicated any oil in the state were four small pockets in South West Florida.
As to whether or not fracking can be harmful in Florida, my research indicates that it depends on who you listen to. I will say that I did not personally find any area in the country that not only contains the kind of limestone deposits to be drilled through like Florida does, but that also that supports and has had success with fracking.
That being said, there is a possibility that fracking could in fact be problematic here.
In casting my vote to prevent fracking, I decided to err on the side of caution. My vote was influenced not only by the research I had personally done, but also my desire to protect “home rue.”
In essence, I didn’t want someone coming into Brevard County and telling us what they are going to do while leaving us powerless to stop it- no matter what ‘it’ is. Home Rule is important to me.
Having said that, it is still possible to lose a battle with our State Legislature on this issue. Even if we, as a county, could prevent an issue like fracking from coming to the unincorporated areas of Brevard, we would still be unable to stop a city or local municipality from pursuing the issue.
Ultimately we decided, as a Commission, to make a statement that very well could end up being simply like a paper tiger. We made the statement of opposition, but it very well might not mean that much.
FLEET SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH NAPA AUTO PARTS
The Board unanimously approved an agreement between our Central Fleet Services Department and NAPA Auto Parts that establishes a source of supply for certain auto and truck parts, and allows NAPA to manage the Central Fleet parts inventory.
Central Fleet Services is responsible for the preventative maintenance and repair of 720 County vehicles. The parts stock room is currently managed by one employee who maintains approximately $31,000 in preventative maintenance inventory.
Additional parts have to be acquired by special order, which often includes shipping fees, or picked up by a County employee- resulting in a depletion of even more time and resources. As a result of this agreement, however, Central Fleet will sell its existing inventory to NAPA, will no longer need inventory on hand, and will now not have to pay for a part until it is used.
This agreement has a multitude of benefits including:
• Reduces administrative functions that include preparing and processing data entry of parts purchased from multiple vendors. (This will reallocate a minimum of 320 hours annually to other responsibilities.)
• Increases on-demand parts availability- 95% of onsite parts available within 4 hours, and 99% availability within 48 hours
• Increases fleet technician overall productivity by eliminating or reducing wait-time for parts and redirecting workforce core functions of repairing and servicing County vehicles and equipment. (Time lost daily by technicians as a result of our current inventory system is currently estimated at 400 hours annually.)
• Improves operational efficiency by reducing parts-related downtime, allowing us to return County vehicles to service more quickly
• Eliminates inventory shortages due to obsolescence and shrinkage
• Significantly reduces the cost of parts and warehouse inventory ownership
While the County’s annual savings will pay for the NAPA agreement operational cost, the vendor will also be purchasing all of our current on-hand inventory- valued at $31,000. This agreement will also eliminate the need for one vacant storekeeper position- an annual savings of $52,300 ($32,185 in 2016). The total fiscal savings for 2016 alone are estimated at $61,243, not including the man hours that will be saved.
If you would like to view the agenda, minutes, or video of past Board of County Commissioners Meetings, click here.
ABOUT CURT SMITH, Brevard County District 4 Commissioner
Smith was elected to the Brevard County Commission in November of 2014 with 63 percent of the vote. He ran as a fiscal conservative coming from the private sector with 40 years of small business, entrepreneurial experience. This was his first venture into the world of politics.
Smith and his wife Linda owned and operated a Maaco Autopainting franchise in Melbourne for almost 27 years before retiring at the end of 2013. He grew up in a little town in southern New Jersey on the Delaware River called Pennsville. This is where he developed his deep love of nature and for being on and in the water of the river he loved. He also credits this area, just south of Philadelphia, with his deep love of God and country. The Delaware Valley is often called the cradle of Liberty.
Smith has always been civic minded. Some of his many associations in Brevard County include Board of Directors of Friends of Sally’s House and Prevent as well as supporting Brevard Little League Teams, Habitat for Humanity, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Candlelighters, Animal Services, and supporting efforts to restore the Indian River Lagoon.
Curt and his wife Linda have been residents of Melbourne since 1986. They have one daughter and three grandchildren.
To contact Curt Smith e-mail D4.Commissioner@brevardcounty.us or call 321-633-2044.
