MINUTES OF MEETING

NORTH SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

 

            The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the North Springs Improvement District was held on Thursday, June 9, 2005 at 4:35 p.m. at the District Offices, 10300 NW 11 Manor, Coral Springs, Florida.

 

            Present and constituting a quorum were:

 

            Matt Lauritzen                                                  President

            Salvatore J. Mendolia                                       Secretary

            Steve Mendelson                                              Supervisor

 

            Also present were:

 

            George Keller                                                   Manager

            Dennis Lyles                                                     Attorney

            John McKune                                                   Gee & Jenson

            Dan Daly                                                          Staff

            Joni Hayworth                                                  Staff

            Jean M. Rugg                                                   Severn Trent Services

            Roger Moore                                                   Severn Trent Services

            Roy Kroker                                                      Severn Trent Services

            Tara-Lynn Patton                                             WCI

            Patti Hitchcock                                                 Town Center

            Michael Udine                                                  Parkland City Commission

            Karen Mazurek                                                Resident

            Linda Kowal                                                    Resident

            Warren R. Craven                                            Resident

            Valerie Verger                                                  Resident

            Mike Hollander                                                Resident

            Cindy Dennis                                                    Resident

                                                                                               

            The pledge of allegiance was recited.

 

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Roll Call

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

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Organizational Matters

A.     Appointment of Supervisor to Fill the Unexpired Term of Office (6/2008)

Mr. Lauritzen stated Mr. Steve Mendelson is qualified to take the position.

 

 

            B.     Oath of Office of Newly Appointed Supervisor

            Mr. Keller, being a Notary Public of the State of Florida, administered the Oath of Office to Mr. Mendelson and a copy of the signed oath is attached hereto and made part of the public record.

            Mr. Keller presented Mr. Mendelson with the Form 1 Financial Statement to be filed with the Supervisor of Elections in the county in which he resides as well as a guide to the Sunshine Amendment.

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Approval of the Minutes of the May 5, 2005 Meeting

            Mr. Lauritzen stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the May 5, 2005 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.

            There not being any,

 

 

EIGHT ORDER OF BUSINESS                              Discussion Item – Presentation by the Heron Bay Residents Relating to the Facilities, Programs, Policies and Procedures

            Ms. Mazurek stated I have a petition signed by 72 members who play tennis stating we are very happy with the policies and procedures governing the tennis committee.  We are also pleased with the way the facility is being run.  These are the primary players.  There is a process in place to handle any tennis related items first.  They have to present the grievance to the tennis committee and it is resolved there.  The tennis committee has a chairman, co-chairman, B Team representative, A Team representative, social representative and a secretary to take notes.

            Mr. Keller stated Ms. Verger, others and myself met with Ms. Kay Grace to review some of the issues she expressed at last month’s meeting.  It helped clear the air and some understanding of the right form of process to air any concerns going before the committee.  It was a beneficial experience.

            Ms. Kowal stated when somebody comes in with a tennis issue, your immediate response should be this is not the appropriate arena.  There are procedures set in place.  They can go to the tennis committee to get their issues solved.  The majority of the homeowners are happy.

            Ms. Mazurek stated Ms. Grace has not put in a written grievance to the committee.  I spoke to her two evenings ago and asked her to put it in writing to the tennis committee so we can handle it.

            Mr. Udine asked do you just handle tennis committee issues?

            Ms. Kowal responded yes.  We open social playing for residents and court usage.  It is set up for residents.  Elections are posted.  They are opened.  You can get involved if you desire.  It is a process which makes it fair for everyone.

            Ms. Mazurek stated the tennis committee has nothing to do with how the facility is being managed.  From a usage perspective, we are very happy with the way the courts are being managed.

            Mr. Udine stated the fact there is a tennis committee does not absolve this Board.  This is a club that has to have policy and procedures before you throw someone out of a club for violating a tennis rule.

            Ms. Kowal stated the rules and regulations are separate from the policy and procedures.  The policy and procedures are overseen by the tennis committee.  The rules and regulations are handled by the management.

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Consideration of Change Order No. 3 with Triple R Paving, Inc., for Nob Hill Road, University Drive (Phase 2) and County Line Road for a Net Increase of $20,880.

            Mr. McKune stated this is a minor change order requested by WCI for the addition of seed and mulch on University Drive and County Line Road.  The cost of this is $20,880.  The expense is the total responsibility of WCI.

 

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Consideration of Permit Requests

A.     Parkland Golf and County Club POD 9 – Drainage Outfall into Canal S2-2

            Mr. McKune stated there are 40 single family homes draining into the onsite lake which discharges into the District facility.  This is a normal drainage permit.  It runs to the east of Pine Island Road along Trails End.

 

 

            B.     Parcel A – Wyndham Heights

            Mr. McKune stated this one is in the area south of the Sawgrass Expressway and west of Coral Springs Drive.  There was a drainage pipe crushed which caused flooding as far as Wyndham Lakes.  There was an emergency call with a proposal to make drainage pipe repairs.  The sketch in the agenda package came to us as a fax and not through the normal channels of being reviewed by the District because it was an emergency.  We recommend approval of this permit. 

            Mr. Moore stated this is private drainage.  It has nothing to do with us, but they need to come to us for a permit.  It has been a drainage problem for years.  They were suppose to begin Monday due to street flooding.  There is no cost to us.

 

 

SIXTH ITEM OF BUSINESS                                  Consideration of Parkland Village Plat

            Mr. Keller stated Ms. Hitchcock is here to represent the plat.  Staff had a chance to review it and we believe it will be a quality project and a valuable addition to the community.

            Ms. Hitchcock stated the Parkland Village Plat is located by Trails End in the south, Pine Island on the east and Nob Hill on the west.  It is approximately 100 acres and the proposed development is for 177 single-family homes.  There are 70 acres to do condominiums, 45,000 square feet of commercial and a 12 Acre elementary school site.  We are going through the City of Parkland and Broward County for approval, but we need your approval first.

            Mr. Lauritzen stated the 12 acres you set aside for the school is very generous.

            Ms. Hitchcock stated there will be approximately 80 students out of the 177 single-family homes.  If we were to mitigate those through a policy Broward County has, it would be a payment of $1.5 Million.  We are donating the 12 acre site which has a value of $6 Million.  We are working with the Broward County School Board on getting construction funds and capital improvement funds. 

 

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Questions and Comments on Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2006

            Mr. Keller stated this item does not require action on your part.  The proposed general fund budget was handed out to you last month.  We intended to give you a draft of the water and sewer budget today, but it is running behind schedule.  We hope to have it for you in the next few days and we will distribute it to you soon.  You will have an additional month in between to review it and we will hold an adoption hearing in August for the water and sewer budget. 

 

NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Staff Reports

            A.     Attorney

            Mr. Lyles stated our codification bill was passed by the Florida Legislature.  It was sent to the Governor’s office.  I have been briefed by legislative staff and by the executive director of the legislative delegation for Broward County.  The governor has until June 15, 2005 to sign the veto under this bill.  I do not expect any problems.  I will be able to report to you at the next meeting that our codification bill was enacted into Florida law.

 

            B.     Engineer

            There being no report, the next item followed.

 

            C.     Superintendent

            Mr. Keller stated in regard to the tennis issue, the communication is open and there is a forum to deal with any questions. 

            In regard to the Heron Bay commons property, I have not received any information or completion on the traditional financial audit.  We had an operational audit which Severn Trent contracted Rachlin & Cohen to do.  I anticipate getting a written report from them.  They completed their interviews and reviews.  No missing funds have been found as well as any deliberate intent of wrong doing.  There is a lack of standard operating procedures in terms of how things are done.  There are no specific guidelines to go by.  Many of the terms and conditions specified in the contract have not been followed in terms of who does what.  There is a need to reassess the contract terms and there is a need for standard operating procedures.  We will be able to provide you with more detail at the next meeting.

            Mr. Lauritzen asked is it fair to say the operation is being done within normal limits?

            Mr. Keller responded this is an operational audit.  No misconduct or missing funds were found.  There is a need for more structure and standard operating procedures of how things will be done.

            Mr. Lauritzen asked when can we expect a completion in writing as well as the completion of the other audit?

            Mr. Keller responded we should have the written report on the operational audit within the next couple of weeks.  I anticipate the traditional financial audit to be done within the next couple of weeks as well.

 

TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Supervisor’s Request and Audience Comments

            Mr. Udine stated I sent an email to Mr. Todd Stevens approximately two months ago.  The second amenity in Heron Bay being built on the north side of the community is delayed.  The email I sent said there should be a lifeguard at the Heron Bay Commons.  There is a sign saying “Swim at Your Own Risk.”  In the policy and procedures it says there is a lifeguard, which usually is not there.  The pool rules say you are limited to 72 people.  That is not happening.  It is packed because the new amenity center is not ready yet.  WCI should be paying for a lifeguard through their sales department because they are using the facility to sell property.  The association  should not pay for it until the new facility is done.

            Mr. Keller stated I will follow up to take a look at what the policies in place call for.

            Mr. Hollander asked are the audits going to be available to the public?

            Mr. Keller responded the traditional financial audit is a public document.  I am not certain about the other audit.  It has been contracted directly by Severn Trent.  Any details will be in a written report.

            Mr. Lyles stated Severn Trent, being a private and corporate entity, used its funds to commission the audit.  It is going to be Severn Trent’s option to submit the audit to the Board.  If it does, it will be a public record.  If they use it for their own internal working processes and review, it will not be a public record. 

            Mr. Keller stated Severn Trent wanted to have an additional set of professional eyes on the situation to give another professional opinion.  The issues will be addressed with the Board.

            Mr. Hollander stated I have been trying to get some documents for a long time and I think they are not there.  If this company is looking for something that is not there, how will they know something is wrong?

            Mr. Keller responded we indicated to you all of the documents you are looking for from 1999 to 2002 are available here or at Heron Bay property.  If you arrange with the District accountant, she will make time to go through them with you. 

            Mr. Hollander stated I spoke to her and asked her if she had the tennis contract.  I want to see the contracts with the pros and the management company.  She has documents, but she does not have those.

            Mr. Keller stated you indicated there were documents you wanted to see from 1999 to 2002.  Everything existing is available.  If there are things you still want to see after looking through them, let us know because we want to know if there is something missing.

            Mr. Hollander stated there is a piece of the building in Heron Bay being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement because of the shenanigans the Mayor of Parkland has been known for.  Are you aware of it?

            Mr. Keller responded I have been told by a number of sources.

 

ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                   Approval of Invoices, Requisitions and Financial Statements

            There being no questions or comments,

 

 

            Mr. Keller stated the CSID has been talking about security provided at this particular facility for the past few years.  Security has been taken care of at a higher level than related to the direct threat of this facility.  You may want to consider how you balance out those issues and costs as well as what level might be needed with the threat.  It is a matter of trying to determine the best way to approach security by improving the perimeter fencing, doing some additional security gate work, doing technology work with cameras and other detection devices.  It is something to give a thought about at the NSID facility. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                       Adjournment

            There being no further business,

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                         

 Salvatore J. Mendolia                                                      Matt Lauritzen

 Secretary                                                                         Chairman