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 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
There not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Mendolia with all in favor the minutes of the
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
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
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
Ms. Early stated
this is for a
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
B. Work
Authorization No. 171 for
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
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
B.
Attorney’s Report
Mr. Lyles stated our first two public hearings on our special act
amendment is to be held this coming
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
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