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Commission agrees to join Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council for 12 months; dues conditionally approved
Summary
After a presentation by Regional Planning Council chairman Bill McDaniel, the Board voted to accept draft MOU documents and to join the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, approving payment of annual dues subject to county attorney review of the MOU.
The Board considered a request July 22 to rejoin and support the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (RPC) during the council's reorganization. Bill McDaniel, chairman of the council and Collier County commissioner, described recent staffing changes and said the RPC can provide planning, hazard and grant-coordination support including CDBG grant assistance, LEPC hazardous-materials training and resiliency planning for natural disasters.
McDaniel said he had revised bylaws and the interlocal agreement to conform with statutory requirements and proposed a smaller membership structure (two county commissioners and one municipal official per county). Asma Odeh, RPC staff, described ongoing work to support first-responder hazmat training and regional agricultural and economic development projects.
Commissioners debated whether to join and whether to pay dues in the first year. Commissioner Atkinson moved to enter the interlocal agreement for 12 months; discussion followed about joining with or without paying the annual fee. The new fee for Henry County was stated as $6,800 for the upcoming year; commissioners discussed joining for 12 months with no fee, and a subsequent compromise motion (to accept and pay the fee) was made and seconded with the condition that the county attorney review the MOU. County Attorney Matt Rollerson told the board he had not yet reviewed the MOU and recommended the vote be conditioned on his approval.
The final motion to accept the MOU and pay the fee with the county attorney's approval carried; the board recorded three yes votes and two no votes during the roll call. Commissioners said the quarterly billing structure the RPC proposed (to allow commissioners to evaluate relevance over the year) and a reduced per-diem were factors in their decision. Board members emphasized their expectation that the RPC demonstrate value to member counties during the 12-month period.
County staff will provide the executed documents to the RPC pending the county attorney's final review of the MOU.
