MINUTES OF MEETING

NORTH SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

 

            A meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the North Springs Improvement District was held on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. at the District Office 10300 NW 11th Manor, Coral Springs, Florida.

 

            Present and constituting a quorum were:

           

            Steve Mendelson                                              President

            David Gray                                                       Secretary

            Vincent Moretti                                                Assisant Secretary

           

            Also present were:

           

            Edward Goscicki                                              Interim District Manager

            Ken Cassel                                                       Manager

            Dennis Lyles                                                     Attorney

            Sean Skehan                                                    CH2M Hill

            Doug Hyche                                                     Utilities Director

            John McKune                                                   Capital Improvement Coordinator

            Nick Schooley                                                  Drainage Supervisor

            Brenda Schurz                                                  Severn Trent Services

            Terri Lusk                                                        Severn Trent Services

            Joe Sabino                                                       Heron Bay Clubhouse Manager

            Warren Craven                                                 Craven & Associates

                                                                                   

            The following is a summary of the minutes and actions taken at the May 8, 2008 North Springs Improvement District Board of Supervisors meeting.

                                                                                                                       

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Roll Call

            Mr. Goscicki called the meeting to order and called the roll.

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Approval of the Minutes of the April 2, 2008 Meeting

            Mr. Goscicki stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the April 2, 2008 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.

            Mr. Lyles made a correction on page 6, changing “construction bonds” to “construction funds”.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor the minutes of the April 2, 2008 meeting were approved as amended.

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Supervisors’ Requests and Audience Comments

            There not being any, the next item followed.

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Consideration of Permit for Bank of America in the Parkland Commercial Center

            There being no questions or comments.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the permit for Bank of America in the Parkland Commercial Center was approved.

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Staff Reports

            A.        Manager

                        i.          Monthly Work Orders

            This item is a summary of customer service work orders and is provided for informational purposes.

 

ii.                  Distribution of the Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 and Consideration of Resolution 2008-2 Approving the Proposed Budget and Setting the Public Hearing

iii.                Distribution of the Proposed Water and Sewer Budget for Fiscal Year 2009 and Consideration of Resolution 2008-4 Approving the Proposed Budget and Setting the Public Hearing                                  

            Copies of the proposed budgets were distributed to the Board and the following was discussed:

·        The proposed budgets will be approved for the purpose of establishing the public hearing date.  The public hearing can be held at the July or August meeting. 

·        Staff is recommending a 7% increase in assessments for the general fund budget.  The budget and the assessments were kept flat last year.  In order to maintain the fiscal year 2008 budget flat, money was taken out of the fund balance. 

·        A significant fund balance remains within the general fund.  There is a $715,000 fund balance on a total budget of $1.2 Million.  This amount can be cleared out if a hurricane hits the District.

·        The 7% increase results in a new rate of $79 per unit compared to $74 per unit.

·        Property owners need to be notified through a mailed notice of the increase in assessments.  The cost to mail notices is approximately $1,200. 

·        There was Board consensus to have a 5% increase instead of a 7% increase.

·        The budget for Heron Bay Commons was not self sufficient last year and was complicated by the tennis court issue.  The assessments were not increased.  In order to accomplish this, $95,000 were spent out of the fund balance.  To make up for this the Heron Bay Commons general budget will need to be increased by 18%, which is $38.  The current fund balance is $350,000.  If the Board chooses not to increase the assessments for Heron Bay Commons, the fund balance will be reduced to $250,000.  Ms. Lusk pointed out there were increases in the assessments for Heron Bay Commons in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but not in 2008.  If the community does not want an increase and they do not want deficit spending, the choice is to curtail services and reduce those expenses.  The Board requested figures with just a 9% increase.

·        Mr. Cassel pointed out the District lost approximately $20,000 worth of interest from investments because of the drop in interest rates.  Staff can put together a summary of what the interest trends have been and what the expenses have been in Heron Bay Commons.

·        Staff requested a detailed breakdown of the management contract for Heron Bay Commons from Mr. Sabino for the next meeting and will consider approving the proposed budgets in the June 4, 2008 meeting.

·        The Parkland Isles budget consists of maintenance of a berm around the perimeter.  Due to a change in their property management firm, staff is experiencing difficulties in progressing with an agreement for them to maintain this berm.  The Board suggested a 3% increase to develop a larger fund balance. 

·        The Heron Bay Mitigation budget is for the wetlands located within Heron Bay Commons.  A significant amount of money has been spent over the last two years in redoing the mitigation areas.  There is a five year contract with Arazoza Brothers to rebuild the mitigation areas.  It is now a maintenance program and there are three years left in the maintenance program.  A wetlands and mitigation program was started this year to meet reporting requirements of regulatory agencies.  Assessments do not need to be increased.  There will likely be a reduction in assessments in the future.

·        The Bond issues are debt services and do not have an increase in assessments.

·        The water and sewer budget is a relatively flat budget.  The total for personnel and administration is being reduced from $699,000 to $689,000.  Field expenses are going down from $1.56 Million to $1.48 Million.  Plant operations are going up from $3.8 Million to $5.6 Million.  This is due to the operation of the county’s waste water plant.  NSID does not have its own wastewater plant.  The wastewater is sent to the county under a long term agreement.  They sent us notice of a proposed 30% rate increase.  There is a meeting among all the large users on May 15, 2008.  Mr. Hyche and Mr. Cassel will attend the meeting to get further explanation on this. 

·        A line item was included in the general fund budget for special assessment services provided by Severn Trent Services in the amount of $15,000.  Money was not budgeted for these services last year and the District was not charged for those services.

·        Staff recommends the Board authorize RFPs for a comprehensive rate study.  This will include looking at the operating water and sewer charges as well as the capacity fees and charges.  The costs associated with a rate study range between $50,000 and $75,000. 

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the Board authorized staff to proceed with RFPs for a comprehensive rate study.

 

                        iv.        Consideration of Resolution 2008-3 Designating Ken Cassel as District Manager

            There being no questions or comments,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor Resolution 2008-3 designating Ken Cassel as District Manager was adopted.

 

 

 

 

 

            B.        Attorney

            Mr. Lyles reported the following:

·        All the legislative bills attempting to restrict some of the District’s capabilities were either withdrawn or did not pass. 

·        In addition to the Florida Legislative, the Florida Budget Reform Commission met.  This is a constitutional body which meets every ten years.  They took up a measure to go on the ballot which would have affected local governments and special districts.  It would have taken away the District’s power to adopt a budget as well as other things.  It did not pass by 3 votes out of 30.

·        Mr. Mendelson was served with a summons and a complaint from Ms. Walker who is filing a lawsuit.  She claims she was wrongfully terminated and is seeking damages from the District.  She was a former part-time employee of the District and became a full-time employee of CSID.  CSID terminated her and no one from NSID took part in the termination process.  The District’s insurance carrier has been notified about this.  They want to settle for $50,000.  Staff does not recommend the Board pay this settlement. 

 

C.                 Engineer

i.          Consideration of Change Order No. 1 – Heron Bay North Plat 3 (65s) for a Net Decrease of $22,120.56

            There being no questions or comments,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor Change Order No. 1, Heron Bay North Plat 3 (65s) for a Net Decrease of $22,120.56 was approved.

 

ii.                  Summary and Discussion of Meeting with SFWMD Regarding Water Use Permit Application

            Mr. Skehan reported the following:

·        Mr. Skehan and Mr. Hyche met with SFWMD representatives to get approval to move forward with using a model SFWMD has used for planning purposes.  Their planning group has a model they established to get a handle on all the water use in South East Florida. 

·        SFWMD did not respond positively to the idea of the District using this large model because they think it is going to take up too much of their time and effort to evaluate the model. 

·        SFWMD did not like staff’s suggestion to hold more water within NSID, CSID and SWCD.  They feel if the districts hold more water to help with water levels for the aquifer, it will be taking away from water going into major canals.

·        SFWMD suggested the District use a different model and other data in their files. 

·        Water use permitting is integral to where the District will be going in the future.  Currently, there is 3.5 MGD coming out of the District’s plant.  It is projected in 2025 that 7.4 MGD will be required.  This ties into the rate study and capital improvement plan.  Whatever SFWMD decides in the water use permitting process, they will limit the District to 3.4 MGD.  The District will have to find another way to get water to make up the 3 MGD shortfall, which will likely be from the Floridian Aquifer.  This will be a significantly more expensive process. 

 

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                              Approval of Financials and Check Registers

            There being no questions or comments,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the financials and check registers were approved.

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Adjournment

            There being no further business,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the meeting was adjourned.

 

 

 

 

                                                                         

 David Gray                                                                      Steve Mendelson                                            

 Secretary                                                                        President