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, December 14, 2006 at 4:30 p.m. at the District Office, 10300 NW 11th Manor, Coral Springs, Florida.

 

            Present and constituting a quorum were:

 

            Salvatore J. Mendolia                                       President

            Steve Mendelson                                              Secretary

 

            Also present were:

 

            John Petty                                                        Manager

            Dennis Lyles                                                     Attorney

            Jane Early                                                         Engineer

            John McKune                                                   CIC

            Several Residents

                                                                                               

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 November 9, 2006 Meeting

            Mr. Petty stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the November 9, 2006 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.

            There not being any,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor the minutes of the November 9, 2006 meeting were approved.

 

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                           Supervisor’s Requests and Audience Comments

             Mr. Morris stated I am going to read something on behalf of a few homeowners in Heron Bay.  “Our taxes for the Heron Bay Commons increased $62, or 11%, for the year.  I want to address two areas about how we might be able to stop these increases, and run the Commons more efficiently.  First, I am very pleased with the recent change in management.  The Commons looked run down last year.  Now, The Commons looks so much better.  Rebecca, the new manager, deserves much of the credit.  It looks like it now belongs in our community and should draw more business.

            Second, we need the tennis pro’s to pay for court usage for each lesson, with all fees paid at the front desk.  There needs to be some record of money paid.  Previously, the client would pay the full amount to the pro, who would then remit 10% back to the club.  Why would the facility allow this?  This last year NSID generously allowed them to use the courts for 10% of each lesson fee.  I doubt that this 10% came back to the clubhouse since the pros kept their own records.  They work at least five to seven hours on the courts.  The pros charge $60 an hour for one person and $65 for two on one court.  Sometimes they work six days a week.  Check your records.  You may find that they did not all pay their percentage back to the club, that is, to NSID and the taxpayers.”

            The commons manager should check with the City of Coral Springs Tennis Center, the Frank Veltri Tennis Park or one of the other local facilities funded by taxpayers’ money.  They will find that our pros charge $10 to $14 more than other tennis centers.  You will find that all fees are paid directly to the facility and records are kept.

            Each pro was lead to believe that Mr. Skip Jackson was the Director of Tennis at The Commons.  He even had a sign up at the pro shop but, it has recently been removed by the new club manager.  So for the last six years the pros have signed a contract with the Skip Jackson Tennis and they paid a percentage back to him.  That needs to end with them signing a contract with The Commons.  We need to work on running The Commons with accountability to the taxpayers.”

            Ms. Morris stated the tennis committee made a decision for us taxpayers.  I do not understand how a tennis committee can make decisions for taxpayers.  Has there been a committee formed or am I incorrect?

            Mr. Petty responded this is different than what you may be use to.  If it were our staff working there, we would have to adopt rules about payments and where money goes.  There are various degrees of options available.  Ours is where we have a contract for them to manage it.  The cost of operation has to be borne and the satisfaction level has to be held up by them through the HOA.  This includes every side issue, which comes up at any recreation facility.  All those fees do not come back to the District.  They have to be held by the management company to offset their cost of operation.  If their costs go up and the residents do not like it, we cannot hire another management company.  We do not get involved in running this business because we would create bureaucracy.  This way they are accountable to the HOA and each resident.  The money never comes back to NSID. 

            They do not offset our budget.  We look at their fee each year and they have to give us the fee during our budget review and we consider, as a public entity, whether the residents will support such a fee.  Any income offsetting the fee will come during their internal budget, which you will see at the HOA level.

            Ms. Morris stated it is not your business whether they collect the money or not.

            Mr. Petty stated it is not the District’s business, but the residents’ satisfaction is.  If you see the fee is going up because you believe they have poor money handling practices, you need to bring it to our attention.  When we consider the contract, we will take it into consideration.

            Mr. Mendolia stated we need to have someone watch the store.  This has been going on since I am living here.  Everybody is making money all over the place and nothing comes to NSID.  We have a mortgage to pay and I do not know why we are not using this money to pay some of the mortgage.  Someone in this operation should run it as a business.  I have been hearing about this for seven years. 

            Ms. Morris stated there have been people who were told not to play tennis anymore because they are no longer welcome on the team for speaking up.

            Mr. Mendolia stated that is wrong.

            Mr. Petty stated our options are clear under our current agreement.  We will go to WCI Communities, Inc. and talk to them informally.  If we cannot find a way to solve it there, the next thing is to come back to the Board with a recommendation to cancel the contract and look for another contractor.

            Mr. Mendolia asked a contractor for what?

            Mr. Petty responded for The Commons.  I will contact WCI Communities, Inc. and talk to them about this accountability issue.  We will see if they can come up with a suitable means of disclosure for the residents.

            Mr. Mendolia stated everyone has to be happy and everyone needs to know who is getting money and who is paying.  The tennis pros have too much power. 

 

 

 

 

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Consideration of Change Orders

            A.        Change Order No. 3 with National Home Building and Remodeling Corporation for Heron Bay Commons Clubhouse Repairs for a Net Increase of $49,765

            Mr. Petty stated this is for the tile around the pool area.  We discussed this in the past.  I will defer to Mr. McKune for details.

            Mr. McKune stated I will defer to Ms. Early because she is familiar with the contract.

            Ms. Early stated the original contract was for replacement of the 10% to 15% of broken tiles the architect found.  They cannot locate those tiles.  We had the architect come out to see if we can come up with a pattern.  The contractor came up with five different options.  One option is to put a pool deck on top, but the problem is it will become a tripping hazard.  They recommend taking the tile out.  They will have to jack hammer the tile and fix the concrete underneath.  We recommend putting in a new 18 inch non skid tile.

            Mr. Mendolia asked has anyone considered pavers?

            Ms. Early responded pavers are more expensive.  To do pavers you have to take the coping off the pool and redo it.  You cannot put it on top of the tile.

            Mr. Petty stated I think Mr. Mendolia is talking about removing the tiles, but he is saying your options should be open thereafter and 18 inch tiles may not be the newest solution in the world.  I agree.  We have large tiles in our foyer and we went through the issues of hollow points and cracks.  Trying to maintain a perfect level of flatness underneath large tiles in difficult in a highly traversed area.  We should look at the possibility of various size tiles, including industrial tiles.

            Mr. Mendolia stated I put ¾ inch marble in the last house I did.  They are two by two.

            Ms. Early stated you cannot use marble because it is slippery.

            Mr. Petty stated you may have more choices in installation.  I know you want to try to do this without removing the coping if possible, but we might be able to open up the choices.  Let us discuss the timing. 

            Ms. Early stated they are not going to do it until after the holidays.  You will have to close down the deck for two to three weeks because you have to jack hammer the tiles.

            Mr. Mendolia asked do we have time to look?

            Ms. Early responded yes.  We looked at a pavers/brick option.  Mr. McKune and I felt it was too expensive.

            Mr. Petty stated what is being proposed today has a price of approximately $50,000.

            Ms. Early stated it is $45,000 and there is $5,000 for the chimney repair.  The big expense is due to the jack hammer.  They are going to fix the concrete, put in a new thin set layer and then the new tile on top. 

            Mr. Petty stated let us defer this until the next meeting.  Do we want to modify Change Order No. 3 to be just for the chimney repairs?

            Ms. Early responded it is fixed.  We had to do it.

            Mr. Petty stated we will get the proper paperwork for the next meeting.

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Consideration of Work Authorizations and Funding Agreements

            A.        Work Authorization No. 170 for Parkland Village – ESDC and Funding Agreement No. 466

            Ms. Early stated this is for a Parkland Village project.  Mr. Petty brought up the bond issue last month.  They want to bid the water and sewer paving and drainage portion of the job and enter into a funding agreement with Tousa Homes.  They want to start on it while the bond is being sold.  This is for us to bid the project and get it constructed.

            Mr. Mendolia asked do you see any problems?

            Mr. Lyles responded it is consistent with the presentation they made in recent months.  This is similar to how we have done things in the past.  I see no problem with it.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor Work Authorization No. 170 for Parkland Village – ESDC and Funding Agreement No. 466 were approved.

             

            B.        Work Authorization No. 171 for Parkland Village Bond Issue and Funding Agreement No. 465

            Ms. Early stated the bond issue was prepared previously.  I have to update and do a supplemental engineer’s report.  There is also a funding agreement for this with Tousa Homes to fund our cost prior to the bond being sold.

            Mr. Lyles stated these are costs charged against bond proceeds.  The residents of the District do not pay these fees.  They come out of the proceeds of the bonds, which are going to be issued.  The future residents will be paying it, but the current residents will not pay this. 

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor Work Authorization No. 171 for Parkland Village Bond Issue and Funding Agreement No. 465 were approved.

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Consideration of Permit – Subaqueous Crossing at Sawgrass Expressway

            Ms. Early stated they want to put a fiber optic cable underneath the Sawgrass Expressway.  It is near NSID’s Pump Station No. 1.  They want to drill under our right-of-way, under our canal.  Our engineers reviewed it and provided a cross section of what the canal has to look like.  They will clean the canal for us and put the fiber optic cable underneath.  This specifies the cover we want on the cable.  It is the typical right-of-way permit.  We have special conditions attached.

            Mr. Petty stated if you consider approving this, I suggest you do so subject to certification by the engineer upon completion. 

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the permit for subaqueous crossing at the Sawgrass Expressway was approved.

             

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Staff Reports

            A.        Manager’s Report

            Mr. Petty stated we want to show you what we hope to bring to you every month.  This is due to hard work Ms. Early has been doing for the last several years.  She has worked with our staff to make us understand and help us get to this point.  This is a summary report for the Heron Bay North Assessment Area.  This is for the most current bond issue.  It breaks out how much the engineer expected to do for lakes and culverts, roadways, landscape buffers and sidewalks as well as where the money has been going to date.  It shows what remaining amounts are to be funded to complete the projects.  There is a graph, which tells you where the money is being spent.  The bond issue is underneath the graph.  We are not funding the entire project.  We are funding approximately $7.7 Million of the construction.  This tells you what we have expended to date and what is remaining.  The last item goes back to the engineer’s estimate for the entire project, which is $13.4 Million.  NSID’s share is approximately $7.7 Million.  We will be adding to it as we earn interest income.  The interest income is added towards the building or the acquisition of infrastructure.  This also shows what WCI’s share is.  It should go down as we earn interest. 

 

 

 

 

                        i.          Approval of Requisitions and Invoices

            There being no questions or comments,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor the requisitions and Invoices were approved.

             

            Mr. Petty stated staff has met with Tousa Homes on their schedule and they are looking to move fast.  We will be meeting with WCI Communities, Inc. to talk about their schedule.

            Mr. Mendolia asked are they going to reduce?

            Ms. Early responded they are picking up the pace again. 

                       

                        ii.         Consideration of Appointment of New Supervisor

            Mr. Petty stated staff has been approached by someone who would like to be considered for the vacant seat on the Board of Supervisors.  He is currently the City Manager for Parkland.  We have been working with the City of Parkland on other issues and we have a good working relationship with them.  If it is something this Board can consider, he will submit a resume for the Board to review.

            Mr. Mendelson asked do you think there will be conflict of interest?

            Mr. Petty responded no sir.  I do not believe so.  He lives within the District.

            Mr. Mendolia stated you should try not to mix the city with other operations such as NSID.  You will have the same chaos as you do in the city.  I deal with the city everyday and it is a different world.  NSID is running like a charm. 

            Mr. Mendelson stated I think there is a conflict of interest. 

            Mr. Petty stated the conflict on job performance is real.  He is getting paid for his job at City Hall.  If there is something he can do over here, you will always wonder if he is making his decision based on job performance criteria for Parkland or for here.  I will relay this back to him.

 

            B.        Attorney’s Report

            Mr. Lyles stated our first two public hearings on our special act amendment is to be held this coming Monday, December 18, 2006 before the Broward County Legislative Delegation at the County Government Center in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.  We will be there representing the District.  The first hearing is to introduce the item and read it by its title.  We have been warned we might be questioned. 

            There was feedback regarding the idea of having a referendum among all the voters in the District before they take action.  We told them we are trying to avoid the expense and the hassle.  We want to create a change in the way we compensate the Board members.  We do not expect a substantive give or take on Monday.  We will have a more substantive discussion in January when we have the second and final public hearing.  We have Representative Porth as our sponsor for this legislation.  It is moving as planned.  I will report to you at the next meeting.

 

            C.        Engineer’s Report

            Ms. Early stated we took bids on Friday for the new tennis courts.  I received four bids, but only two were responsive bidders. 

            Mr. Mendolia asked why?

            Ms. Early responded two bidders did not provide the court we specified.  The engineer’s estimate for the work is $1 Million.  The lowest responsive bid was by National Home Building for $744,444.  We recommend we go with them subject to funding being available.

            Mr. Petty asked is there any further review we need to do for legal sufficiency?

            Ms. Early responded Accurate Tennis Courts did the last expansion.  It was a four month project and they completed it in 16 months.  I contacted Welling Construction three times during the bidding process to see if they understood the plans and to see if they had any questions.  They said no.  They indicated they never did a tennis court.  They felt they could do it, but when they submitted their bid they are not providing the hydro grid tennis court system we currently have on all the other courts.

            Mr. Mendelson asked what is the timeframe?

            Ms. Early responded they can do it in four months, but I am waiting on the permit.  I have an update on The Commons.  The inside is done as of tomorrow.  They have to finish painting one wall on the exterior.  It depends on the weather.  The roof is waiting for the tiles to be delivered and it will be done.  The last issue is what we want to do with the deck. 

            Mr. Petty stated for this issue we recommend award of contract to the lowest responsive bidder, which is National Home Building Corporation, subject to funding and legal sufficiency.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the contract for the four additional tennis courts in Heron Bay Commons was awarded to National Home Building Corporation in the amount of $744,444 subject to funding and legal sufficiency.

             

            Mr. Petty stated my assistant has been out for two weeks.  We did an advertisement for aquatic chemicals.  It came in, but did not get into your agenda package.  We can table it for the next meeting.  If you have the time, we appreciate it if you can consider it tonight. 

            Mr. Lyles stated everything was done in accordance with the law.  The absence of Mr. Petty’s assistant meant some of the paperwork did not get into the package.  It is up to the Board if you want to take it up tonight, you can do so.

            Mr. Mendolia stated hold it until the next meeting.

           

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                              Consideration of Capital Improvement Coordinator Bid

            Mr. Petty stated this is the position Mr. McKune submitted for.

            Mr. Mendolia stated I thought we approved this.

            Mr. Petty stated we did in concept.  We put it out to bid.  We only received one bid from Mr. McKune.  We are asking the Board to consider award for Capital Improvement Coordinator to McKune and Associates as the lowest responsive bidder and most qualified.  This position gets paid by saving money to the District.  There are a few odds and ends we need an engineer for.  We use to have Mr. Moore.  We will use Mr. McKune in this capacity.  I believe we have approximately $40,000 in the budget for such things.  He will find ways for us to save money.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor the Capital Improvement Coordinator bid was awarded to McKune and Associates.

 

NINTH 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.

 

 

 

 

                                                                        

 Steve Mendelson                                                            Salvatore J. Mendolia

 Secretary                                                                        Chairman