Board will allow site plans to be approved by staff

By JENNIFER JENSEN
jjensen@thewakullanews.net

To speed up the for site plans approval process for smaller projects, the Wakulla County Commission voted to allow more to be approved by county staff.

The commission voted four to one, with Commissioner Lynn Artz opposing, to increase the threshold for review of site plans by the Planning Commission and the Wakulla County Commission to 10,000 square feet of building space and parking area to more than 20,000 square feet of building floor area.

Those projects that are less than 20,000 square feet will be reviewed by the county's Technical Review Committee, which is made up of staff from the Building Department, Fire Department, Emergency Management, Planning Department, Public Works, Health Department and School Board.These projects would then be approved by the Planning and Community Development Department.

Commissioner Randy Merritt said it is the commission's job to make regulations and not make individual decisions for development projects.

Planning Commissioner Chuck Hess said he understood wanting to speed up the process, but felt the size limit was too high.

In other news:

• The commission agreed to remove the rumble strips on Rehwinkle Road.

Commissioner Mike Stewart brought the item forward after hearing from numerous residents who have complained about the noise.

Commissioner Alan Brock said the strips were put in place to make sure people stop at the stop sign.

The commission voted unanimously to remove the rumble strips.

• Deputy County Administrator Tim Barden gave the commission an update on the controversial House Bill 5301. The new law deals with state Medicaid billing and changes the way each county's contribution is collected.
Barden said the new bill is moving forward.

Barden said the county staff advocated for a meeting to clear up the overpayment which needs to be done before Aug. 1. He added that the Agency for Health Care Adminstration is allowing the county a one time review of addresses so they can be verified.

Barden said they also expressed the desire for AHCA to be more stringent about what addresses are allowed, such as more than Crawfordville Highway.

For future Medicaid billing, the state will withhold a portion of the county's revenue sharing and one-cent sales tax distributions. Instead of receiving a bill, the county will receive a statement of what was taken out.

Barden said they asked that the county be able to use the revenue source of its choosing.

Also on the agenda was an item requesting approval to donate surplus fire trucks to the Tallahassee Chapter of Guardians of the Ribbon Organization Inc. This organization takes fire trucks and paints them pink to raise awareness for cancer. Chief Michael Morgan brought the item forward.

The next county commission meeting will be held June 18 at 5 p.m.