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, September 13, 2007 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 L. Gray                                            Secretary

 

            Also present were:

 

            Ed Goscicki                                                Interim Manager - Severn Trent Services

            Pamela Rower                                            Severn Trent Services

            Brenda Schurz                                            Severn Trent Services

            Terri Lusk                                                  Severn Trent Services

            Dennis Lyles                                               Attorney

            Jane Early                                                   Engineer

            John McKune                                             Capital Improvement Coordinator

            Nick Schooley                                            Field Superintendent

            Doug Hyche                                               CSID Staff

            Warren R. Craven, Jr.                                TOUSA Homes

            Mark Capwell                                            Resident

            Salvatore J. Mendolia                                 Consultant

 

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                         Roll Call

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

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS                    Organizational Matters

            A.        Acceptance of Resignation from Mr. Sal Mendolia

            Mr. Goscicki stated Mr. Mendolia has moved from Coral Springs and is now residing in Ocala.  For the immediate time frame, he is no longer a property owner or resident within Coral Springs and within NSID.  As such, he is no longer qualified to serve on this Board.  Unfortunately for us, we need to accept his resignation.  We appreciate Mr. Mendolia coming today.  On my behalf and on the behalf of Severn Trent Services, I want to thank you for everything you have done for NSID.  You certainly provided a great deal of leadership to this Board over some challenging times in the past couple of years with bond issues, growth in the District, continued concerns on utility issues and a few hurricanes.  It has been an exciting and challenging time.

            Mr. Mendolia stated at this time, against my better judgment, I resign from the Board.  I will provide the necessary paperwork.  I am choked up about this because I enjoyed all of my years here.  Thank you!

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the resignation of Mr. Mendolia was accepted.

 

            D.        Election of Officers – Resolution 2007-10

            Mr. Goscicki stated according to your legislation, when there is a vacancy; the Board is required to have an election of officers.  The required positions are President and Secretary.  Mr. Mendelson currently serves as Secretary.  We provided a resolution in this regard.  Under Section 1 of the resolution, “Chairman” should be “President”.  You may or may not want to appoint a Vice Chairman as it is not called for in your House Bill but you need to designate a Secretary.  We request Ms. Pam Rower be appointed Treasurer, which is the role she currently provides for you.  I currently serve as Assistant Treasurer and request you re-appoint me to continue serving in this capacity.  We also request you appoint Mr. Bob Koncar as Assistant Treasurer who is the head of our management services group.  You met him two months ago and he is in the process of relocating to Coral Springs.  It is the decision of the Board to appoint the President.

 

Mr. Gray nominated Mr. Mendelson as President and Mr. Mendelson seconded the nomination; there being no further nominations, with all in favor Mr. Mendelson was elected President.

 

            Mr. Goscicki stated Mr. Gary will take on the role of Secretary.

 

Mr. Mendelson nominated Mr. Gray as Secretary and Mr. Gray seconded the nomination; there being no further nominations, with all in favor Mr. Gray was elected Secretary.

 

            Mr. Goscicki stated Resolution 2007-10 appoints the offices of NSID which is Mr. Mendelson as President, Mr. Gray as Secretary, Ms. Rower as Treasurer, Mr. Koncar and me as Assistant Treasurers.  I also request the Board appoint me as Assistant Secretary. 

            Mr. Lyles stated Resolution 2007-10 incorporates the names previously announced by the manager.  

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor Mr. Mendelson was elected President, Mr. Gray was elected Secretary, Ms. Rower was elected Treasurer, Mr. Goscicki was elected Assistant Secretary and Mr. Koncar and Mr. Goscicki were elected Assistant Treasurer as evidenced by Resolution 2007-10.

 

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

            Mr. Goscicki stated we placed this item on the agenda as a formality.  This is not something the Board needs to do today but we wanted to make you aware this was the next course of action.  We will solicit interest from the community in terms of filling this position; however, we already received one resume, which we forwarded to the Board members.  If anyone else is interested in serving on the Board, they should submit their resume to me and we will provide to the Board.  The Board can take up this item at their pleasure.  Unless there is an appointment from the Board today, we will continue this item.  The way the House Bill reads, this is an appointment by the existing Board members.

            Mr. Mendelson stated I request tabling this item to a later time.  Thank you, Mr. Mendolia for all of your years of service.

            C.        Oath of Office for Newly Appointed Supervisor

            There not being any, the next item followed.

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                       Approval of the Minutes of the August 9, 2007 Meeting

            Mr. Goscicki stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the August 9, 2007 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.

            There not being any,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor the minutes of the August 9, 2007 meeting were approved.

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                    Public Hearing to Consider Adoption of the Water and Sewer Budget for Fiscal Year 2008 (Resolution 2007-11)

            Mr. Goscicki stated at this time, I request the President to open the public hearing to consider the adoption of the Water and Sewer Budget for fiscal year 2008.

            Mr. Mendelson stated the public hearing is now open.

            Mr. Goscicki stated the Board received in their agenda package a copy of Resolution 2007-10 adopting the budget and the revised proposed budget.  This version of the budget is slightly different than the one provided to you last month, but only in a positive way.  I met with Mr. Hyche and his team to review this budget in great detail and we ended up reducing some of the expenditures.  We eliminated one vacant position, which has been open for the better part of the year.  Mr. Hyche and I realized we do not need to fill this position as we are working fine without it.  We also reduced some capital expenses such as budgeting for too many generators in the initial draft.  Mr. Hyche is credited for bringing to my attention the fact we can get by with fewer generators.  CSID already has several generators, which we can share.

            The budget in front of you is a flat budget from last year with no proposed increase in rates as we are staying within the current water and sewer rate structure funding this budget.  Revenues increased from $9 million to $9,100,000 due to interest income, which is higher this year than what we budgeted for.  We were conservative and budgeted well under this year’s current estimates of interest income.  Debt service is the same.  The administrative costs decreased slightly while the plant operations costs increased slightly due to chemical costs for the Water Treatment Plant.  We increased the maintenance expense from $130,000 to $261,000 as there are significant maintenance items we need to move forward on.  We also increased operating supplies to reflect some increased costs.  Field operations decreased slightly, due to the elimination of the open position.  This is the most significant change.  Additionally, there was a reduction in repairs and materials as we found out we were over budget in the previous year on the meter replacement program.  We reduced this item to more reasonable levels.  You are looking at a budget where total operations last year was $6,057,000 but this year is $6,100,000.  Even with cost of living and employee raises, we still have a flat budget and stay within the framework the Board laid out for us.  If there are any questions, we are happy to answer them. 

            Hearing no public comments, we will close the public hearing. 

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor Resolution 2007-11 Adopting the Water and Sewer Budget for Fiscal Year 2008 was adopted.

 

            Mr. Goscicki stated I had the opportunity last week to spend a day touring the Water Treatment Plant.  Mr. Hyche is doing an excellent job of identifying issues, advancing the program and making sure we get the correct technologies in place.  Having seen Water Treatment Plants throughout the state and the country, this is one you can be proud of.

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                         Consideration of Change Orders

A.                 Change Order No. 1 – Florida Sewer & Water, Inc. for Parkland Village Paving, Drainage, Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection for a Net Increase of $127,206.21

 

B.                 Change Order No. 2 – Triple R. Paving, Inc. for Parkland Village Drainageways for a Net Increase of $116,867.00

            Mr. Goscicki stated these change orders are for the Parkland Village project. 

            Ms. Early stated I request the Board table Change Order No. 1 for Florida Sewer & Water until next month.  Change Order Number 2 is for Triple R. Paving who is doing the earthwork portion, mainly the digging of the lakes.  This change order calls for construction of the perimeter berm, which will belong to NSID if and when the bond is sold.  The developer is currently Tousa Homes and all of the money comes from them.  However, this will be a cost from this future bond issue.

            Mr. Mendelson asked are we tabling this change order?

            Ms. Early responded no.  We are only tabling the change order for Florida Sewer & Water.  Mr. Craven obtained several different prices.

            Mr. Gray asked is the purpose of this change order to change the intended completion time or move to a different time?

            Ms. Early responded the plans were not ready at the time we started digging the lakes and was not included in the original bid.

            Mr. Mendelson asked will the prices remain the same?

            Ms. Early responded we are still within the numbers we priced out the bond issue at.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor Change Order No. 2 with Triple R. Paving, Inc. for the Parkland Village Drainageways for a Net Increase of $116,867.00 was approved.

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                  Staff Reports

A.        Manager’s Report

            Mr. Goscicki stated when we prepared the General Fund Budget; we talked about transitioning some of the functions being done by CSID back to Severn Trent Services, specifically the accounting function.  Over time, this evolved from a Severn Trent Services responsibility because staff migrated back and forth between CSID and Severn Trent Services, the work moved back and forth and the fee adjusted back and forth.  Our contract never changed and we still maintained all of the responsibilities in our contract.  However, we were concerned about not doing the work, the contract not reflecting the reality and the efficiencies of the contract not being there.  Mr. Hyche is a CSID employee and a shared employee with NSID.  This makes a tremendous amount of sense because we have the benefit of a Senior Operations Manager to provide all of the services but we share in the cost with CSID. 

            In the case of the accounting, we currently have a single individual with no backup and no additional resources providing this service.  Within Severn Trent Services, we have professional staff with over 22 people doing this work.  Therefore, effective October 1st Severn Trent Services will take over the accounting services.  We have been working with current CSID employees to start transitioning the files and I wanted to make the Board aware of this and introduce Ms. Terri Lusk who will be the Senior Accountant for the District.  You already met Ms. Pam Rower who is our Fiscal Manager.  Another name you may hear every now and then is Ms. Paula Davis who heads up our Accounts Payable Department and will be handling this side of the business.  The transition is moving along smoothly.

            We are trying to move forward with the bond sale for the Parkland Villages Development.  I met this month with representatives of the commercial development along with their consultant in regards to some of the issues.  One such issue is there will be a perimeter berm around the entire development, which we will own through the bond sale.  There will also be a village green within the commercial area, which we will own as well as a road through the middle of this District.  The message we gave to the developers is we expect them to create a Master HOA for this development for the purpose of entering into an agreement with the District to provide maintenance.  This Board does not have any interest in maintaining the landscape berms.  Finally, there will be a park surrounding an interior drainage lake.  When it comes to these types of amenities, we told them this is not the core business of the District per the Board’s previous direction.  I just wanted to confirm this with you.  If there is no change in your direction, we will continue our negotiations.

            B.        Attorney’s Report

            Mr. Lyles stated this has been a quiet month.  We are going to be busy next month because of the bond closing, which the developer is interested in proceeding with as quickly as possible.  They are already incurring expenses on behalf of the District and already validated the bonds to pay for these capital infrastructure improvements.  The scheduling will happen fairly quickly.  Shortly after or at your next meeting, we will be in a position to have this closing where the President and Secretary will have to execute a number of documents.  In the absence of the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary will execute these documents but we will need the Board’s presence at this closing. 

            Mr. Mendelson asked do we have the date for this closing?

            Mr. Lyles responded no.  My best estimate is the closing will be in connection with or just after your October meeting. 

            Mr. Gray asked at the next meeting, will we receive all of the details?

            Mr. Lyles responded yes.

C.        Engineer’s Report – Pump Station Evaluation Report

            Ms. Early stated we are currently constructing a Lift Station in Parkland Village.  However, for some reason the Lift Station easement did not get recorded and now as the contractor is trying to build the slab, the City of Parkland is requesting an easement.  WCI Communities prepared the easement and I request it be approved subject to Mr. Lyles review so we can proceed.  Otherwise, we are at a standstill because the City of Parkland will not issue the permit.

            Mr. Lyles stated this looks like a standard form of easement you and I have seen before whereby WCI Communities transfers an easement directly to the District.  I have not seen this particular document and want to check to make sure all of our issues are covered.  I am sure this is the case but in order not to delay the project for 30 days, I feel it is in order and request the Board pass a motion authorizing acceptance of this Grant of Easement, subject to final legal review by District staff.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the Grant of Easement for Parkland Village was approved, subject to final legal review by District Counsel.

 

            Ms. Early stated a few months ago we had a work authorization to do a study on the pump station to see if there needed to be any repairs or improvements. 

            Mr. Mendelson asked did we already discuss this report?

            Ms. Early responded Mr. Schooley took some pictures and requested a pump repair. 

            Mr. Schooley stated this was for an emergency pump repair, which was not included in the work authorization.  I do not need direction from the Board but I wanted to inform you I met with Mr. Schooley the other day and we went through the list in front of you.  Many of these items are mechanical and architectural in nature in order to bring them up to hurricane code.  Basically, the pump stations are in good condition.  This is a wish list of items we thought the District should take care of.  The yellow highlighted items, Mr. Schooley feels he can either do himself or are not necessary.  I want to meet with Mr. Goscicki and Mr. Schooley over the next month to come up with a plan we all agree on and at the next meeting, provide you with a final list.  The Board can then decide on how to move forward with these improvements.

            Mr. Mendelson stated so everything is up and running now.

            Ms. Early stated everything is running.

            Mr. Schooley stated many of these items include painting of the walls and filling in cracks.  We are certainly capable of doing some of this work ourselves.  For a certain amount of money we can go to Home Depot and purchase the materials.  This is what I recommend but if the Board wants something different, we can certainly do something different. 

            Mr. Gray asked what items does he feel are not necessary?

            Ms. Early responded Mr. Schooley does not feel the fence needs to be replaced.  We are recommending a prison type of fencing to curtail vandalism but Mr. Schooley said he does not have any vandalism.

            Mr. Schooley stated we probably need a new fence, but they are talking about an 8’ fence.  We have no problem with vandalism as of today.  Therefore, I cannot see us spending $18,000 for something we do not have any problems with.  However, if the Board wants an 8’ fence, we can certainly get one for you.

            Mr. Goscicki stated the problem at the south pump station is being able to get off of the highway to gain access.  There is not easy access anymore.

            Mr. Schooley stated Sunshine has a lot of vandalism.  All of their pump stations were vandalized.

            Mr. Goscicki stated they are probably more visible.

            Mr. Schooley stated CSID has little vandalism other than getting hit by bullets.  However, you do not need to cross the fence to shoot a gun at the building.  This has stopped in the last few years.  Personally I do not recommend spending money for an 8’ fence when we already have one in place.

            Mr. Goscicki stated this is only for the Board’s information.  We will be looking over this list and comparing it to the budget to come up with a course of action of what we can do internally and what we need to contract out.

            Mr. Mendelson stated for only necessary items. 

            Mr. Gray asked is this report a comprehensive review of everything out there we maintain.

            Mr. Goscicki responded yes.  It is the type of report you do every five years to get an outside view of the current status of everything mechanically, electrically, structurally and architecturally.

            Mr. Gray asked will you have a revised list at the next meeting?

            Ms. Early responded yes. 

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                  Approval of Requisitions and Invoices

            There being no questions or comments,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the requisitions for August 31, 2007 and check registers for the month of August for the General Fund in the amount of $413,506.78 and the Water & Sewer Fund in the amount of $1,231,793.14 were approved.

 

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                     Supervisor’s Requests and Audience Comments

            Mr. Mendolia stated since there is a vacant seat and you have not appointed anyone to this seat, I wish to offer my services until you have a third member on the Board.  If this is possible, until a replacement is found, I will assist you in any way I can. 

            Mr. Gray stated we appreciate your assistance.

            Mr. Goscicki stated the correct way to do this is by establishing some type of consulting arrangement with Mr. Mendolia where he can participate as staff, not as a Board member and provide any input or advice to the Board at meetings.  This is not a usual situation but certainly not unheard of.  In terms of compensation, I am not sure what either party is looking at.  Typically you pay for travel expenses for attendance at Board meetings.

            Mr. Gray asked could you prepare some type of agreement for the next meeting?

            Mr. Goscicki responded yes.

            Mr. Mark Capwell stated I submitted a resume several months ago when Mr. Petty was the manager.  The only issue presented to me at the time was not being a Parkland resident.  It is my understanding you need one resident from Parkland, one from Coral Springs and a third resident living in between.  I want to be considered for the open seat.  In terms of background, I have my own law practice.  I also own a commercial cleaning company.  I support 28 staff members and have been in the management field for 15 years.  The reason why I wish to serve on the Board is because I can fit these meetings into my schedule.  I am a quick learner and understand the legalese.  I want to get involved.  I am hoping the Board will review my resume and appoint me to the Board at the next meeting.

            Mr. Mendelson stated we will take your resume under consideration.

            Mr. Craven stated I have been doing business with the District for 15 years and I wanted to thank Mr. Mendolia for his years of service to NSID.  I think he did a great job as the Board President and he will be missed.  Thank you, Mr. Mendolia!

 

NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                       Adjournment

            There being no further business,

 

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

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                     

David Gray                                                                   Steve Mendelson

Secretary                                                                      President


Notes for 9/13/07 Meeting

 

AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING

1.            Appointment of Supervisor for Mr. Mendolia’s Unexpired Term

2.            Oath of Office

3.            Consideration of Consultant Agreement for Sal Mendolia