St. Lucie West Services District Special Board Meeting Minutes September 18, 2023, at 9:00 a.m.

(Please note: These minutes are not verbatim. A CD recording of the Special Board Meeting is available on file.)

Board Members Present

John Doughney - Chairman - in-person Dominick Graci - Vice Chairman - in-person Gregg Ney - Secretary	in-person
Viorel Mocuta - Supervisor - in-person Diane Haseltine- Supervisor - in-person

Staff Present

Bill Hayden, District Manager, St. Lucie West Services District ("SLWSD") - in-person Josh Miller, Utilities Director/Assistant District Manager, SLWSD - in-person
Lisa-Marie Beans, Human Resources Specialist, SLWSD - in-person Gerard Rouse, Assistant Public Works Director, SLWSD - in-person Thomas Bayer, Assistant Utilities Director, SLWSD	in-person
Jason Pierman, Secretary/Treasurer, Special District Services, Inc. ("SOS") - in­ person

Guests Present (Sign-In Sheet Attached)

Call to Order

The Special Board Meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call

It was noted that 5 Supervisors were in attendance.

Public Comment

Donna Rhoden of the City of Port St. Lucie arrived at the meeting.

District Manager Actions Items

DM 1 -Board Discussion of the District Manager's Succession Plan

Chairman Doughney asked for Board Member input since Mr. Hayden was planning on retiring in August of 2024.

Supervisor Haseltine opined that it was always a good idea to look externally, but that the District should first look internally to determine who qualifies for the position.

Secretary Ney agreed with Supervisor Haseltine's comments, but thinks that after looking internally, the District should go outside to broaden the scope of qualified candidates.

Vice Chairman Graci wants the qualified candidate to work with Mr. Hayden for several months. He reminded those present that the last time the District was in this position, we had 4 qualified applicants. He requested a job description for the position. He asked when was the last time the District went outside looking for a District Manager to which Mr. Hayden replied back when GSG was hired. Vice Chairman Graci noted that he did not want to send the wrong message to current staff; we don't want to lose anyone.

Secretary Ney indicated that he believed it would be worse to go outside seeking candidates after interviewing internal candidates.

Discussion ensued whether the position would be considered part-time or full-time.

Chairman Doughney suggested drafting a job description for Board consideration at a future meeting. He also suggested that the timing of the new District Manager contract be scheduled to commence 90 days prior to Mr. Hayden's retirement or May 1, 2024.

Discussion ensued regarding past District Manager contracts and the fact that it was considered a part-time position. There was a Board consensus that the District Manager position was a 40-hour per week job.

Mr. Miller brought up that staff was not comfortable with the District Manager position being a contract position. They say there is no job security with it being designated as such.

Discussion ensued regarding 3 positions - 2 full-time positions for public works and utilities and a third position option of "CEO" and someone to handle government issues.

There was a consensus of the Board that the District needs a third position for District Manager.

Chairman Doughney asked who, internally, would apply for the third position. Mr. Rouse indicated he would not apply for that position.

Mr. Miller indicated he would; but would not apply if the District goes outside to seek a candidate. He feels like the Board would be "settling" for him.

Mr. Rouse noted that a succession plan has been in place and was set in stone. Somewhere things changed along the way and he does not know what happened.

Mr. Hayden noted that if the District decides to look externally, the qualified candidate would need to have a background in utility and public works; they cannot just be a "District Manager."

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine to drop the idea of advertising externally for a District Manager. Upon being put to a vote, the MOTION carried 4 to 1 with Secretary Ney dissentinq.

Clarification was given that the District does not need to externally advertise for the District Manager position.

Chairman Doughney asked Mr. Miller if he was comfortable with it being a part-time position to which Mr. Miller thinks it works well as-is, but he would do either.

Vice Chairman Graci, Supervisor Haseltine and Supervisor Mocuta were all comfortable with it being a part-time position, as Mr. Miller suggested.

DM 2 - Other Items

Mr. Miller advised that the ERC letter went to the Reserve COD on August 30, 2023. They were now awaiting a response from the Reserve COD.

Mr. Hayden advised that he had met with Indian River State College and all parties were ready to get going

Chairman Doughney noted that they did not have a lot of data and were relying on the consultants He noted it will be interesting to see how the residents react to the college being a nursing center for Florida state schools.

Vice Chairman Graci noted that traffic would be an issue.

Supervisor Requests

Secretary Ney noted that today was a spirited discussion.

Vice Chairman Graci agreed with Secretary Ney and noted that a lot had been accomplished.

Chairman Doughney directed his comments to Mr. Rouse, telling him to not be disillusioned; that discussions are just part of the process and he appreciates everyone's opinions.

Adjournment

There being no further items to be addressed, the Special Board Meeting was adjourned at 9:57 a.m. There were no objections.

Date Approved

Special Meeting Minutes Signature Page

Secretary/ Assistan  Secretary

St. Lucie West Services District Special Board Meeting Minutes of September 18, 2023

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