Members make recommendations on impact fees and fiscal impacts of levels of service
Two people have been reappointed to Sarasota County’s Public Facilities Financing Advisory Board (PFFAB), which makes recommendations to the commission on impact fees, other funding sources and fiscal impacts of levels of service.
As part of its consideration of the Consent Agenda of routine business items on Jan. 16, the County Commission unanimously approved new terms for Kevin Cooper, president and CEO of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, and Steven Kourelakos, chief financial officer of Boar’s Head.
Kourelakos has been serving as the board chair, he pointed out in his application for reappointment.
Cooper’s prior term ended in October 2017, the advisory board’s webpage said, while Kourelakos’ was due to expire this month. Each board term is for three years.
Cooper will serve through October 2020, while Kourelakos will keep his seat through January 2021, according to a memo provided to the commission in advance of the Jan. 16 meeting.
A third vacancy remains open, the memo noted, adding that Adam Davis had resigned from the advisory board.
The county webpage for the Public Facilities Financing Advisory Board points out that three members must represent public facilities and/or financial professionals; three must represent civic organizations; and three must represent development, building and construction.
The members in the building and construction seats are Vice Chair Roland Piccone, owner of GAP Engineering and Planning in Sarasota; Jessica Bellman, who was director of strategic development for DeAngelis Diamond Construction from December 2016 through December 2017, according to her LinkedIn profile; and Reed Giasson, vice president of Halfacre Construction.
Along with Kourelakos, those serving as financial professionals are former County Administrator Jim Ley and Robert Bessom. Victoria Brill is the only other current member of the PFFAB; she holds a civic organization seat.
Bessom and Brill were appointed to the board in August 2017. Bessom retired in 2008 after 42 years with General Electric’s aviation division. Brill is a member of the Junior League of Sarasota, the Sarasota Tiger Bay Club and Sarasota Young Professionals.
The PFFAB may meet on an as-needed basis, its county webpage notes. No upcoming agenda was listed on the page as of Jan. 22, The Sarasota News Leader found.
In his application for reappointment, Kourelakos wrote, “I have a strong desire to do my part for public service and to leverage my 8 years of experience on PFFAB.”
He also served on the board of directors of All Faiths Food Bank of Sarasota County for eight years, he noted, including four as treasurer.
Along with his service on the PFFAB, Cooper is a member of the Planning Commission, which is considered to be the county’s most influential advisory board. That group holds public hearings on land use and development issues.
The vacancy on the PFFAB has been posted on the section of the county’s website that solicits citizens interested in appointments to advisory boards, the Jan. 16 staff memo pointed out. Staff would continue to advertise the opening until the seat could be filled, the memo added.
Impact Fees Administrator Tom Polk is the county staff liaison to the PFFAB.