By ED BALDRIDGE
ed.baldridge@newssun.com
SEBRING -- With a 3-2 vote, Highlands County Commissioners reluctantly passed a request to revise the SunTrust payment schedule for the equipment at the asphalt plant during their regular meeting on Tuesday, but expressed their displeasure about not being informed about issues with the state.
The changes could potentially cost the county an additional $33,000 in savings.
The item was originally set for the consent agenda, and was pulled for further discussion just before the meeting started.
Having the item on the consent agenda did not make Commissioner Jeff Carlson happy.
"We were just kept in the dark about this," Carlson said. "If it had not been pulled for discussion, we would still be in the dark."
Tim Mechling, of the Highlands County Office of Management and Budget, told commissioners that budget revisions were made because an expected $1.65 million grant from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was not coming in as promised.
"The county has only been issued $758,220 of the $1.65 million so far," Mechlin told commissioners.
According to Ken Wheeler, the Highlands County Asphalt Plant Manager, the payments form the DEP grant of $1.65 million was being held by another state agency.
"Another state office has changed the way they are interpreting this," Wheeler said.
Wheeler told commissioners that he did not remember what the name of the state agency was without looking at his notes back at his office, but that they had decided they would question the arrangement with Highlands County.
Carlson asked board attorney Ross Macbeth if he had looked at the language of the grant, and why the proposed changes were made.
"I have not," Macbeth responded, adding that this was the first he had heard of the changes.
"Why were we not informed of this?" Carlson asked again.
"Part of the reason we voted for this was to save the interest on $1.65 million. We have already eaten into a large part of those savings by these changes. This is something we need to be on top of," Carlson insisted.
"We thought we were getting a $1.65 million grant. That's the last we heard of it," said chairperson Barbara Stewart.
"The $1.6 million is still there, we are going to get smaller payments over a two-year period," Wheeler said.
"There is no other reason that the DEP is holding these funds?" asked Carlson.
"The DEP agrees with our position, it is just the state agency who issues checks, they questioned this," Wheeler responded.
"It would have been a good idea to let the board know that this was happening. We were not aware about this. This board was specifically told in August that this (lease refinance) would meet the terms of the grant, that is why we allowed the refinance and paid $15,000 to that consultant that did not do anything," Carlson continued.
"Your staff was advised by DEP that this would take care of these issues from a second agency in charge of the disbursements of these funds," said Assistant County Administrator Ricky Helms, who was filling in for County Administrator Michael Wright.
"We are at the mercy of when they choose to disperse these funds," Helms added.
Commissioners asked if local legislators were involved with checking into the matter at the state level.
"The state is not going to do anything until the heat is put on them. I suggest that we contact our legislators and put some heat on this agency to get our funding out," said commissioner guy Maxcy.
"We have limited money in that account and the only money we get is what Road and Bride gives us," Stewart said when questioned by the public about the budget. "This will make the asphalt even more expensive, and this will make the asphalt even less attractive to make."
Helms attempted to take the heat for the issue, volunteering that he had possibly dropped the ball on informing both Wright and the commission.
"This is something that I should accept responsibility for. I did not address this in additional meetings with the county administrator," Helms said.
"I should have made the county administrator more aware of any issue like this," Helms added.
"No matter how much some commissioners want the asphalt plant to go away, it ain't gonna happen. Tell them we are mad as hell, and we are not gonna take it anymore," Maxcy directed Helms in reference to the local legislators.
"Fix it, and we would like to be kept in the loop on issues like this," Stewart said.
Carlson and Stewart voted no to the lease restructuring.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009 - www.newssun.com/1104-eb-lease-suntrust