MINUTES OF MEETING
NORTH SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT
The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the North Springs
Improvement District was held on
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Salvatore Mendolia
President
Steve Mendelson
Secretary
Also present were:
John Petty
Manager
Dennis Lyles
Attorney
Jane Early
Engineer
John McKune
CH2M Hill
Michael Hessler
WCI Communities
Jean M. Rugg
Janice Larned
Sandra Demarco
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS
Roll Call
Mr. Mendolia
called the meeting to order and Mr. Petty called the roll.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS
Approval of the Minutes of the August 9, 2006
Meeting
Mr. Petty stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the
There not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the minutes of the
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS
Public Hearing to Consider the Adoption of the Water and Sewer Budget for
Fiscal Year 2007, Resolution 2006-10
Mr. Mendolia opened the public hearing.
Mr. Petty stated there is only one change in the budget. It is for the public relations entity we
discussed at the last meeting.
There were no comments from the public.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Mendolia with all in favor Resolution 2006-10 adopting the water and sewer
budget for fiscal year 2007 was adopted.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Fee Letter from Ruden McClosky for the
Mr. Petty stated our counsel has been working on these issues as
well. It was anticipated this bond
issue was going to be in three pieces.
It ended up being in four pieces.
This is to cover the fourth piece which is not covered under the current
agreement. Staff has reviewed the
cost associated with it and the work done.
It is in conformance with work and fees charged for similar pieces of the
bond.
Mr. Lyles stated this will not cost NSID or its residents any money in
terms of your budget and your assessments.
It is a slight reduction in the proceeds which will be available to pay to the developer for the project to be funded by these
bonds. The developer has signed off
on the change. The original fee
letter you approved when we started the process had several bond issues in
it. The fee was quoted at a lower
number contingent upon things being combined. Those other closings occurred last
fall. It has required additional
work by bond counsel. She submitted
the proposed change to the developer, whose pocket this comes out of, as well as
staff. Both the manager and I
recommend you approve the amendment to the fee arrangement with bond
counsel.
Mr. Mendolia asked do you see any problems?
Mr. Lyles responded no sir.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Mendolia with all in favor the fee letter from Ruden McClsoky was
approved.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Change Orders and Contract
Modification
A.
Change Order No. 1 – Weekley Asphalt Paving, Inc. for Holmberg Road
Overlay and Bike Lane, University Drive and Trails End Final Lift and
Modifications for a Net Increase of $94,676
Ms. Early stated there is a contract with Weekley Asphalt Paving, Inc.,
NSID and WCI Communities. They are
doing the second lift of asphalt on
Mr. Mendolia asked when do they intend to finish it?
Ms. Early responded the signal was held up because of materials. They are telling us two weeks, but they
have been saying this for a while.
They have given us letters from the supplier. There is a problem with the FPL
connection. This is what we are
trying to work out.
Mr. Mendolia stated I was approached by the Mayor of
Parkland.
Ms. Early stated I had several calls as well. WCI Communities is contacting the
contractor as well to get flagmen out in the morning because of the school
traffic. The MOT was approved by
the City of
Mr. Mendelson asked is the problem with FPL and their
connection?
Ms. Early responded yes.
There is a problem with the box and whether it was there for the signal
as well as who is supposed to do the connection. They are working it out between the
signal people and FPL.
Mr. Mendolia asked do we have a date on anything?
Ms. Early responded no. It
was supposed to be done in the beginning of August. They are getting a great deal of heat as
well. They are trying to get done
as fast as they can.
Mr. Mendolia asked did they subcontract it to another person?
Ms. Early responded they had to in order to do the signal. There were only three signal companies
in the area. This is a reputable
firm. They do these all of the
time.
Mr. Mendolia asked do they have a schedule?
Ms. Early responded the last letter I received said they anticipate the
work being completed in the middle of October.
Mr. Petty stated they are never on time.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor Change Order No. 1 with Weekley Asphalt Paving, Inc.
for a net increase in the amount of $94,676 was
approved.
B.
Change Order No. 2 – Weekley Asphalt Paving, Inc. for Holmberg Road
Overlay and Bike Lane, University Drive and Trails End Final Lift and
Modifications for a Net Increase of $58,229.46
Ms. Early stated this is the same project, but this is an NSID cost. There is a turnout on
Mr. Mendolia stated it seems like a great deal of
money.
Ms. Early stated it does.
The prices have doubled on road work.
Mr. Mendelson asked what is the timeframe on this?
Ms. Early responded this should take a month. It is not a major project. It is north of City Hall on the east
side.
Mr. Petty stated since we are utilizing bond funds for this the bonds are
already set. If you have overages
like this, it means you will have less for the project at the
end.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Mendolia with all in favor Change Order No. 2 with Weekley Asphalt Paving,
Inc. for a net increase in the amount of $58,229.46 was
approved.
C.
Change Order No. 2 – Triple R. Paving for Heron Bay North Plats 3 & 4
Drainageways for a Net Increase of $28,200
Ms. Early stated
this is for the lakes north of
Mr. Mendolia asked do you see any problems with this?
Ms. Early responded no. We
checked the drawings and we needed to increase the size of some of the
structures. This project is going
to take approximately a year.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Mendolia with all in favor Change Order No. 2 with Triple R. Paving for a
net increase of $28,200 was approved.
D.
Change Order No. 4 –
Ms. Early stated this is a change to the entrance. It is a WCI Communities
cost.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor Change Order No. 4 with Florida Sewer and Water,
Inc. for a net increase of $4,058 was approved.
E.
Change Order No. 5 –
Ms. Early stated this is the same project. It is for price increases due to the
delay in starting the project. They
are also a WCI Communities cost. We
bid them based on WCI Communities’ schedule. The projects did not get started because
WCI Communities was not ready. We
had price increases because it went past 90 days. WCI Communities will have to incur the
cost.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Mendolia with all in favor Change Order No. 5 with Florida Sewer and Water,
Inc. for a net increase of $27,601.87 was approved.
F.
Contract Modification No. 1 – Chaz Equipment Co., Inc. for 20” Alternate
Water
Mr. McKune stated this is a water main coming out of the water plant to
reinforce the distribution system.
The job was recently completed.
It is now in service. During
the construction we had a fairly narrow alignment to stay within a newly platted
easement and connect with an existing easement adjacent to our existing water
site. We were halfway through
constructing the pipeline. We had
to trim trees and the city ordinance came out. They told us we were not trimming the
trees in accordance with city code.
The job was stopped. We were
told if we were to move our pipeline, we have to stay a minimum of 100” from the
side of the tree trunks to the edge of the trench. When they were done telling us all of
the things we cannot do we were left with one thing we can do and stay within
our easement without impacting a neighborhood swimming pool. We had to get the contractor to buy 20”
fittings to make the appropriate jogs to the pipeline. After negotiating with the contractor,
we took his request of $30,000 down to $20,000 for the extra work. Part of it came out of an
allowance. The remainder is
represented by this change order.
Mr. Mendolia asked do you think it is fair?
Mr. McKune responded yes.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor Contract Modification No. 1 for a net increase of
$10,825 was approved.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Work Authorization #167 for Heron Bay Commons Design of
Additional Tennis Courts
Ms. Early stated this includes any coordination we need to do with the
subcontractor. The architect was at
the last meeting and showed you the drawing. He gave his proposal for $61,000. He is going to be a subcontractor to
us. Any coordination we do going
through the city and making sure Ms. Smith’s needs at the clubhouse are met, we
will bill on an as needed basis.
The majority of the cost is with the architect of the
design.
Mr. Petty stated Ms. Smith’s comfort at The Commons is minimal because
they are a contractor. It is for
working within the system. You told
us you want us to go forward with the tennis courts and we are going full speed
ahead.
Mr. Mendolia asked is this fixed?
Ms. Early responded yes.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Mendolia with all in favor Work Authorization #167 for the Heron Bay Commons
design of additional tennis courts was approved.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Staff Reports
A.
Manager’s Report
i. Ratification of Agreement
with Ron Sachs Communications, Inc. for Public
Relations
Mr. Petty stated
there is a copy of the agreement in your agenda package, which is the public
relations company we talked to you about when we were going through our
budget. They are on board and
helping us out. You have some of
the work they helped us out with on the table today. At the last meeting we discussed how we
would communicate with the residents at The Commons regarding the tennis courts
and the repairs we are doing. What
you see is their input on a great deal of material. We are sharing the cost of this public
relations firm with our sister districts; SWCD and CSID. We are looking for the Board to ratify
the agreement I signed.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the agreement with Ron Sachs Communications, Inc.
for public relations services was ratified.
B.
ii. Discussion
of Agreement with WCI Communities, Inc. to Manage Heron Bay
Commons
Mr. Petty stated staff and counsel have worked hard on this. Mr. Lyles’ office has been working on
this for two years. This agreement
and structure is fine with staff.
We are recommending the Board’s approval. We have one item to bring to your
attention. There are fixed assets
of the District still onsite.
According to our agreement, the management contractor is responsible for
replacing all fixed assets as they wear out. We came up with an inventory we will
tag. As this material wears out
they have to replace them. This is
a list of what will be replaced in the first year, second year, third year and so on.
It has been reviewed with WCI Communities and their staff.
We need the Board to understand there are fixed assets, which will be
there for a period of time. The
management company is responsible for replacing them when their life expectancy
is over. The dollar value you see
is what we paid to put the facility onsite eight to nine years ago. The current value is approximately 1/10
of what you see. If the Board
understands this philosophy, the basic agreement prepared by counsel and
reviewed by staff is what we are asking the Board to
consider.
Mr. Lyles stated this is a modification to the original agreement, which
was a two step agreement. The
District was in agreement with the HOA, which in turn contracted with an
operator. This puts us directly in
privity with the HOA. They are
going to comply with the new requirements we installed. One of the most important ones is the
ability to terminate this agreement with a 30 day written notice. We will not run into a problem again
where we have a long period of going back and forth if the parties are not
getting along properly or if the work is not being done to the standard you
established for this facility. This
is an important concession WCI Communities has made. It indicates confidence on their part in
their performance under this agreement.
I, as well as the manger, recommend you approve execution of this
agreement between NSID and the Heron Bay HOA.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the agreement with WCI Communities, Inc. to manage
Heron Bay Commons was approved.
Mr. Petty stated I have a couple of things to bring to your
attention. One is the insurance on
The Commons for Hurricane Wilma is not acceptable to staff. They sent us a check for $24,000 and the
roof itself is going to be close to $150,000. We instructed our engineer to do leg
work on this before it hits counsel.
Their job is to evaluate and fight with the insurance company because
they are the ones with the specifications and can see the damage. We have the structural engineers
report. We have found an angry
person and the only reason I bring it to your attention is because it is Ms.
Early’s husband. He is considered
to be one of the best out there and they have contracted him through his
company. Since there is a
relationship with your engineer I am bringing it to your attention.
Mr. Mendolia stated I do not see a problem.
Ms. Early stated The Commons has a great deal of damage and you wanted it
fixed. We had the architect do a
report. We put it out to bid. After talking to Mr. Petty we decided to
include as a bid item that the contractor hire a public adjuster to go back with
the insurance company. The public
adjuster’s payment is based on whatever they collect. We went out to bid for The Commons
repairs and this was part of the bid.
He is a subcontractor to the contractor.
Mr. Petty stated the bid prices were in line with the architect’s
estimate.
Ms. Early stated the architect’s estimate was $520,000. We had two bidders and the low bid was
$514,555.60. The contractor as well as my husband want to get started as soon
as possible. If you approve this
contract, they would like to get started on Monday. They met with the architect onsite and
have gone over the job. They met
with Ms. Smith several times. I
have contracts ready to go for them to sign once you approve it.
Mr. Petty stated we are looking for the District to do a work
authorization with CH2M Hill so they can have as their subcontractor whomever
they feel is the best. If we are
going to do work with this other company, we will normally talk to counsel to
see if there are any issues. In
this case I believe they will be a sub to CH2M Hill.
Ms. Early stated no. We
ended up including it in the job of the contractor. They are going to work directly through
the contractor. We are asking for
approval of this contract, which includes the public
adjuster.
Mr. Petty stated let me rephrase what I said. They took bids on The Commons. They received the bids and they were
underneath the estimate. They did
not have time to put it in the package.
They did not have time to discuss it before the meeting. Since we are looking to react as quickly
as possible, are you willing to consider this matter
tonight?
Mr. Mendolia responded yes.
Mr. Lyles stated what I am hearing from the District Engineer is in
anticipation of this matter being ready to go today you have properly noticed
and bid the job. You have a record
of all of this. Although I have not
seen the agreements or bid specifications, I know staff has handled it in normal
fashion complying with legal requirements applying to this District. I see no reason to hold this up for
additional review.
Mr. Mendolia asked who is handling the insurance companies?
Mr. Petty responded your manager is in discussion with the insurance
agency. We told them their initial
offering of a settlement is unsatisfactory. We will be working with them through the
engineer on specific costs. I have
been doing a value add on to the contract, which gives us the entity who can
speak to them from an adjuster’s viewpoint. Should this not work and we feel we are
not being satisfied from our insurance position, we
will bring it to counsel.
Mr. Mendolia stated most insurance companies change their numbers upward
when approached. This should not be
a problem.
Mr. Petty stated we ask you to consider approval of the contract for
repairs and renovation of The Commons in an amount not to exceed $514,555 with
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the award of contract to
Mr. Petty stated you asked for a brochure to be made discussing the
repairs. It is sitting at the
clubhouse as we speak. We have two
additional signs. One says,
“Construction. Please excuse our
dust. This is being done by your
Board of Supervisors of NSID.” It
should be going up by Friday or Monday.
There is an additional sign going up where the tennis courts will be
constructed. We hope to get a
positive response.
The next item is an issue with WCI Communities development. It refers to the mitigation area, which
has been a matter before this Board from time to time since 1995. There is a mitigation area. It is a new form of water management
where you have littoral plantings.
The concept is if you have aquatic plants, they will pull up the
nutrients and will save you money from spraying because you will not have broken
your main channels. This has been
going on for 20 years. The
mitigation area was planted by WCI Communities and it was deeded to the
District. The District accepted it
and put money in the budget for O&M and it has been sitting out there since
1995.
The contractor is not doing a good job and the mitigation area has
declined. WCI Communities never got
it approved by
We just went through a hurricane preparation. It was a great exercise for us. One of the things we saw at NSID is a
couple of pumps are down for repair.
Since that time, two more have failed. We are on high alert when it comes to
our pumps. Our staff is working
around the clock with various suppliers to get materials in. We have an issue on line with our
engineer who has proposed we do a manifold on the outfall of Pump Station No.
1. We have four or five pumps
there. They are all going in a
singular direction. You cannot turn
Pump No. 1 and send it north. It
can only go south. The engineer has
proposed coming up with a design.
The engineer has already received authority to work on the project. We are notifying you of the status. They are expediting this so Pump Station
No. 1 can be used to its fullest.
We will discuss pump replacements or repair at a future
meeting.
B.
Attorney
Mr. Lyles stated
at the last meeting you discussed your desire to pursue an amendment to the
special act authorizing this District to exist. I began working with the staff of the
Legislative Delegation. The
deadline for filing local bills to amend acts such as the NSID special act is
One of those areas is bidding thresholds, which are currently
$4,000. It will come into line with
other state agencies such as CDDs allowing us to have a threshold of $150,000
before having to go through a formal bidding process. We will still have the same limits on
construction projects, which is $200,000.
Our engineers have said this hampers them in doing work for the District
efficiently and economically. We
will ask the $4,000 cap be eliminated and follow state law for local government
agencies.
The elections process is something we have discussed in the past. Several years ago we were the target of
efforts by certain local delegation members to change the method of
elections. One of the ways we will
get a positive reception is something you previously discussed and
authorized. We will propose to add
a section allowing this Board the option of converting to a popular election
system without the necessity of having a special referendum with a vote and
petition process.
The salary level for compensation of a Board member is outdated. It is currently $200 per meeting. I am struggling with this one because we
are going to have to align ourselves with another existing structure for
compensation of people elected to serve on these Boards. Chapter 190 for CDDs has an annual cap
of $4,800. It is $200 per meeting,
but it is $4,800. If we were to
change the compensation level to $400 per meeting with a cap of $4,800, it will double the current compensation schedule assuming we
have twelve meetings. It is a
reasonable target, but I am looking for direction from the Board on how to
handle this.
Mr. Mendolia stated what you are saying is perfect.
Mr. Lyles stated CSID is going to want to do the same thing. We will be going in there with two large
districts, which have been on the books for many years. We will carry this through for you here
and in
C.
Engineer
Ms. Early stated
I want to give you an update on the tennis court. We proceeded with the architect’s
design. We ordered the survey. It should have been done today. Once the survey is complete the
architect can complete his design work.
He should be ready for submittal to the city for the DRC review by the
first week of October. We
anticipate a two week turn around for any comments from them. We will address those comments and get
them back as soon as possible. We
will get an approval and go out to bid.
Mr. Petty stated we will not look for a contractor until after this. You will consider this in November or
December. We talked about funding
for this. We have some funds
available. The costs for these
things are high. If you want a
quality court, you have to pay for a quality court. We may come back to you with a funding
issue as well.
Mr. Mendolia stated it will be helpful for the residents of
Mr. Mendelson asked are they going to be using red clay?
Ms. Early responded it will be the same as what they have now.
Mr. Mendelson stated there is a composite they mix with clay, which helps
with drainage and absorption of water.
Mr. Petty stated we will have the renovating repair contractor
onsite. We will put notices up as
we close sections.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Approval of Requisitions and Invoices
Mr. Mendolia asked why are they separate from the agenda package?
Ms. Rugg responded they were not ready on time.
Mr. Petty stated they were not ready a week before the meeting. Since you just received them today, we
understand if you want to hold approving them until the next meeting.
Mr. Mendolia stated that is a good idea.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Supervisor’s Request and Audience Comments
There not being any, the next item followed.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Adjournment
There being no further business,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the meeting was adjourned at
Steve Mendelson
Salvatore
Mendolia
Secretary
President