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:
Steve Mendelson
President
David L. Gray
Secretary
Vincent Moretti
Assistant Secretary
Also present were:
Ed Goscicki
Interim Manager -
Terri Lusk
Cassandra Cox
Dennis Lyles
Attorney
Jane Early
Engineer
Sean Skehan
CH2M-Hill
John McKune
Capital Improvement Coordinator
Nick Schooley
Field Superintendent
Doug Hyche
CSID Staff
Mike Stokes
Marie Fergie
Warren R. Craven, Jr.
TOUSA Homes
Salvatore J. Mendolia
Consultant
Representative from Triple R.
Paving
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS
Roll Call
Mr. Goscicki
called the meeting to order and called the roll.
Mr. Gray stated I apologize for missing the last meeting. The change from Thursday to Wednesday
never made my calendar.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS
Organizational Matters
A.
Appointment of Supervisor to Fill Unexpired Term of Office
(6/2008)
Mr. Goscicki
stated you received three resumes at prior meetings; however, one candidate has
now withdrawn their interest. You
have two candidates remaining for the open seat. It is at the pleasure of the Board on
how to proceed.
Mr. Mendelson nominated Mr. Vincent
Moretti as supervisor to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Mendolia and Mr. Gray
seconded the motion. There being no
further nominations, with all in favor, Mr. Moretti was appointed
supervisor.
B. Oath
of Office for Newly Appointed Supervisor
Ms. Cox being a Notary of the State of
On MOTION by Mr. Gray
seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the current slate of officers with
Mr. Mendelson serving as President, Mr. Gray serving as Secretary, Ms. Rower
serving as Treasurer, Mr. Koncar serving as Assistant Treasurer and Mr. Goscicki
serving as Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary was approved and Mr.
Moretti was elected Assistant Secretary as evidenced by Resolution 2008-1.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS
Approval of the Minutes of the October 11, 2007
Meeting
Mr. Goscicki stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of
the
There not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the minutes of the
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Agreement with Miller, Legg & Associates for
Monitoring of Heron Bay Golf Course Wetlands Mitigation
Bank
Mr. Goscicki stated this item was tabled from the last meeting. A contract has been in effect for a
number of years with WCI Communities for monitoring of the golf course wetlands,
which is required as part of the SFWMD permit. We evaluated whether or not we could do
this with internal staff but decided we did not have sufficient resources as
this required TECO expertise in terms of the monitoring. We are working with CH2M-Hill in
developing this contract.
Ms. Early stated Miller, Legg has been performing the monitoring with WCI
Communities for a number of years and we felt it was better to continue with
this arrangement. We looked at
their price and felt it was competitive for this type of work. The hourly rates are in order with
current rates for this type of service.
Mr. Gray asked have they been performing this work for a certain amount
of time?
Mr. Goscicki responded yes.
Mr. Gray asked does WCI Communities participate in the BCEPD license
transfer as referenced in Task 4?
Ms. Early responded they were paying Miller Legg for the installations
and monitoring up to this point.
However, we are now at the point where we need to turn these wetlands
over to the District. I do not
think WCI Communities is going to pay for the monitoring.
Mr. Gray asked is the purpose of this request for WCI Communities to turn
the wetlands over to us?
Mr. Goscicki responded yes.
Mr. Gray asked are we paying Miller, Legg to turn them
over?
Ms. Early stated we are paying Miller Legg to prepare the paperwork for
the turnover.
Mr. Mendelson asked what are we paying for?
Ms. Early responded for maintenance and engineering
services.
Mr. Gray asked is the monitoring for five years?
Ms. Early responded yes.
Mr. Gray asked does this become a five year
agreement?
Ms. Early responded yes.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the Agreement with Miller, Legg & Associates for
monitoring of the Heron Bay Golf Course Wetlands Mitigation Bank was
approved.
Mr. Goscicki stated even though this is a multi-year agreement, there is
a termination provision with seven days notice.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Discussion Item – Status of
Mr. Goscicki stated as the Board may recall, we have some issues with
Tousa Homes. There are construction
agreements in place with Florida Sewer & Water and Triple R. Paving to
construct the water and sewer improvements as well as roads, drainage and
lakes. Ms. Early can give you a
breakdown of which improvements are in which contract. Concurrent with this, we have Funding
Agreements with Tousa/Engle Homes to pay for the construction currently taking
place. We now have a situation
where Tousa Homes is significantly behind in their reimbursement to us. As a result of their non-payment, we are
behind in our payments to the construction contractors. We are working diligently with Tousa
Homes to resolve this matter and make them current. However, we are talking about hundreds
of thousands of dollars owed to the contractor for completed work. We wanted to make sure the Board was
aware of this situation. We spoke
with Engle Homes the day before Thanksgiving and they are moving forward with
getting us reimbursement.
Mr. Mendelson asked what type of time table are we looking at? We can take away most of the liability
from the District by receiving payment.
Mr. Goscicki responded we are talking about payments due over 60 days in
some cases.
Mr. Mendelson asked will a correction be made?
Mr. Goscicki responded we are hearing from Tousa Homes they intend to
make payments to us.
Mr. Mendelson asked within the next 60 days?
Mr. Goscicki responded within the next week.
Mr. Gray asked do you expect to be current as far as the payment
schedule?
Mr. Goscicki responded they are telling us all of the money is in
process.
Ms. Lusk responded we only collected $300,000 thus
far.
Mr. Goscicki stated of the $600,000 owed. Ms. Terri Lusk is your accountant. She is a Severn Trent Services
employee.
Ms. Lusk stated some of these payments are 30 to 60 days
outstanding. The contractors are
here if you wish to hear from them.
Mr. Mike Stokes stated I am the owner of Florida Sewer &
Water.
Ms. Marie Fergie stated I am also with Florida Sewer & Water. This also includes the advanced funding
from WCI Communities.
Mr. Goscicki stated we have a similar issue with WCI Communities but not
to this extent. I believe they are
much more current.
Mr. Gray asked what happens if they default?
Mr. Lyles responded we sue them.
Mr. Gray stated I assume we are responsible if they file for
bankruptcy.
Mr. Lyles stated I am not going to tell you this is the case sitting here
today because this is a new situation and I have to review all documentation
including the primary construction agreement and the Funding Agreement with
Tousa Homes, which is similar in nature to Funding Agreements the District used
for 30 years and has always proven to be a successful model for these types of
obligations. It will be necessary
for us to stop or suspend the agreement in order to discover what arrangements
Tousa Homes is making towards reimbursement. Ultimately, we want to protect everyone
including the contractor and stop the work if it looks like we are not going to
be compensated.
Mr. Craven asked is the work still in progress even though we are behind
on payments?
Mr. Lyles responded the work is currently
suspended.
Mr. Stokes stated it was suspended two weeks ago.
Mr. Lyles stated during the same week, accounting staff and management
were engaged in discussions with the President of Tousa Homes who assured these
payments were being processed and checks were being cut.
Mr. Craven stated 50% of the payments.
Ms. Fergie stated we received two letters from the President. The first letter was received in October
where he promised to pay $300,000.
Mr. Lyles asked did he indicate in any way the remaining monies will be
processed just not at the same time?
Ms. Fergie responded yes.
Mr. Lyles stated they are late but there was no indication of them not
making these payments either voluntarily or involuntarily. I questioned staff before the meeting
and they indicated the checks were being processed late. The work is suspended and any potential
losses are being minimized by this fact.
All we can do is to continue coercing Tousa Homes to fulfill their
obligations under the Funding Agreement.
Since we are a public entity, your contracts are only enforceable when
there is a funding source for those contracts. The funding source in this particular
instance is the Funding Agreement.
If it turns out the Funding Agreement is not going to be complied with,
then we do not have a funding source and we are down to having a valid
contract. We do not intend to get
to this point. However, if we did,
it would be the first time this ever happened in the history of
NSID.
Mr. Gray stated I read articles in the newspaper about Tousa
Homes.
Mr. Lyles stated they are facing challenges but right now we are not
letting anything further happen resulting in damages to either the contractor or
the District. We are doing what we
need to do to ensure WCI Communities complies.
Mr. Mendelson stated there is nothing we can really do unless they pay,
at least 50%.
Ms. Fergie stated the President of Tousa Homes informed us the money will
be in the next check run.
Mr. Lyles stated the question is if the first set of payments were in
fact processed and the payments were made, how far behind the submittal to NSID
for payment was and whether they are 30 days behind or beyond 30 days past
due.
Mr. Gray asked do they become current if they pay $300,000 now and the
remaining $300,000 within the next 30 days or are they late on the next $300,000
as well?
Ms. Lusk responded they will become current if they pay the remaining
$300,000 in the next 30 days.
Ms. Fergie stated if I am not mistaken, $300,000 was already
paid.
Ms. Lusk stated we received a portion of the $600,000. We already paid all of October’s advance
funding agreements.
Ms. Fergie stated even though you are getting money, we are not receiving
any.
Mr. Craven asked are the contractors going to resume work if half of the
funds are received?
Ms. Fergie responded no.
Mr. Craven asked how much money will it take to make you
current?
Mr. Stokes responded $1.2 million.
Mr. Craven asked are you the only entity we owe money to or are there
other entities?
Ms. Early responded Triple R. Paving is also owed
money.
Mr. Craven asked has Triple R. Paving stopped work?
Ms. Early responded yes, but they are complete.
Mr. Craven asked how much behind are we in paying Triple R.
Paving?
Ms. Early responded from what Triple R. Paving sent me, they are owed
$100,000.
Mr. Mendelson asked is the $100,000 part of the
$300,000?
Ms. Early responded no.
Mr. Gray stated $1.2 million is owed to
Mr. Goscicki stated some of the $1.2 million has not even gone through
our system. Our current numbers
show $900,000 but we have not processed this last round of payments
yet.
Mr. Lyles stated we also went through the process of validating and
assessing. Everything short of the
final document was signed to issue bonds for these purposes. We have approval from the courts and
concluded our public hearings.
However, because of the current investment climate, the Underwriter’s are
advising us not to go into the bond market because they do not feel they can
sell these bonds at an appropriate interest rate. We have this backed up by the process we
followed including the judicial process to issue tax exempt government bonds to
pay for this work. At the end of
the day, there is delay between starting the work and having the bonds closed
and the funding in a construction trust account, which we will submit
requisitions for construction draws from.
I do not think these bonds will be closed in December of 2007. It should have occurred some time ago
but we are dealing with it. There
is an ultimate safety mechanism out there for this.
Mr. Gray asked how will this affect the bond issue?
Mr. Lyles responded bond issues are affected by many things; primarily in
the rates and the month the bonds are issued as not much happens in
December. You can always issue the
bonds because the security for the bonds is so iron clad. The total capital amount of the
assessments levied against the parcels of property within this sub-assessment
area and the value of the property exceeding the total amount of the
assessments, makes this a safe investment.
With the current state of the credit markets, the situation is in a dire
state.
Mr. Gray asked will a recession affect just the interest
rate?
Mr. Lyles responded yes. The
interest rates are presumed at a certain level and when the interest rates are
higher, it generates less capital but the capital amount in any conceivable
interest rate scenario would be more than sufficient to cover these outstanding
delays.
Mr. Mendelson asked is the District protected if the money is
there?
Mr. Lyles responded this money will be there when we have the final
closing on the bonds. We applied to
the mortgage company and were approved but we have not signed the mortgage or
received the money.
Mr. Mendelson asked is it in the best interest of the Board to wait until
we receive this money before taking further action?
Mr. Lyles responded you have to wait until you receive the money because
the Investors and Underwriters are not going to hold any bond closings in
December. Therefore, we have no
choice but to wait. They are your
experts and tell you when you can go into the market.
Mr. Gray stated we appreciate this information. However, apart from the fact this is
only informational, what is Florida Sewer and Water, Inc.
requesting?
Ms. Fergie responded we want to know when we are getting paid, what the
correct procedure is if there is no Funding Agreement and whether NSID can
provide any money to us while they are trying to get payment from Tousa
Homes.
Mr. Lyles stated we have to work with them.
Ms. Fergie stated my explanation from Tousa Homes is slightly different
than yours.
Mr. Lyles stated maybe we should discuss what is occurring and you can
give us some additional information.
Ms. Fergie stated I will contact you at the beginning of next
week.
Mr. Lyles stated it will help us to be successful with Tousa Homes
because as a result of today’s discussion, the District Manager is going to make
a written demand on them regarding payments. Correct?
Mr. Goscicki responded correct.
Mr. Craven asked are they going to increase our interest rate? In some contracts, when you get behind
in payments, there is a clause dealing with an increased interest rate. Are you talking about us repaying back
what we currently owe you, the contract still being in effect and the contractor
going back to work when they are paid?
A representative from Triple R. Paving responded on this project, we are
currently 95% complete. On a $4
million contract, we only have $136,000 owed to us. Once we are paid this money, the project
will be completed.
Mr. Goscicki stated we are continuing to work with Tousa Homes and the
contractor through our engineers to make sure we are apprised. Our goal is to recoup what we are owed
from Tousa Homes so we can complete this project.
Mr. Mendelson stated we cannot do anything until the payments are
made.
Mr. Lyles stated I do not think there is anything for the Board to vote
on but I think both the District Manager and I wanted you to be aware of what
was occurring and what we were doing on your behalf. If you have any other thoughts or wish
to proceed in a different direction, let us know. We want all of this to be out in the
open and in the public.
SIXTH 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
$129,601.11
Ms. Early stated this Change Order was brought to the Board two months
ago. However, there were some typos
and we wanted to clean it up. This
is just a formality.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Gray with all in favor Change Order No. 1 with Florida Sewer & Water,
Inc. for
B.
Change Order No. 3 & Final – Triple
R. Paving for
Ms. Early stated this is a final balancing Change Order. Unfortunately the last page was split
backwards. The actual WCI
Communities cost is a negative $2 million while the NSID cost is an increase of
$200,000. The reason for the
increase is due to more unsuitable material being encountered than what was
originally estimated. Fortunately,
there is a bond in place for this cost.
According to the itemized list of additions, which is attached to the
change order, some pipes were removed when we refigured the lakes. The majority of the decrease is due to
not having to haul material on-site for the embankment or doing any on-site
crushing.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Gray with all in favor Change Order No. 3 & Final for Triple R. Paving
for Heron Bay North Plats 3 & 4 Drainageways for a Net Decrease of
$2,496,885.15 was approved as amended.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Permit Requests
A.
Request for Modification of Permit 2006-18 for Parkland
Commons
Mr. Gray stated the company constructing Parkland Commons requested
permission to temporarily use the closed portion of
Mr. Goscicki stated we asked them to come back to apply for a permit
rather than just allowing them on-site.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the permit request from Keith &
Associates for a modification of Permit 2006-18 for temporary use of University
Drive, north of Trails End during construction of Parkland Commons was
approved.
B. Simkins Residence Addition – Drainage
Permit
Mr. DaSilva stated this was a simple drainage request from a
resident. We request the Board’s
approval based on our recommendation letter with our standard
conditions.
Mr. Gray stated they are asking for permission to install a pipe in a
courtyard to drain runoff into our canal.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr.
Mendelson with all in favor the permit request from Mr. Lance Simkins
for a Surface Water Management Permit for a courtyard at the applicant’s
residence in Landings Estates was approved.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Request for Reimbursement of $476.41 for the Repair of a Sewer Blockage
at
Mr. Goscicki stated I already approved this reimbursement based on past
Board policy for this type of work and this is only for ratification. I also wanted to get your concurrence on
having a policy going forward to reimburse residents who have undertaken water
or sewer corrective work resulting from a problem we created. In this particular case, the resident
hired a plumber due to a sewer blockage and later found out the blockage was due
to a break in a sewer line. We
corrected the problem but in the meantime, they received a bill from the plumber
for $476.41.
Mr. Gray stated apparently this was due to the age of the
construction. However, if the
person caused the blockage, which in this case they did not, we would not be
responsible for paying.
Mr. Goscicki stated exactly.
Mr. Lyles stated if they damaged our line, we will repair it but they are
going to pay for it.
Mr. Gray stated if they cause the damage, regardless of what side the
lines are on, we are not paying for the repair.
Mr. Lyles stated correct.
Mr. Gray stated I do not want to be responsible for sludge backing up and
flooding a house. They can claim
this through their homeowners insurance.
This is just a minor blockage but if it flooded their entire home and
caused extensive damage due to molds, I would not want to take
responsibility.
Mr. Goscicki stated we have responsibility if our sewer line backs up and
floods a home. You will receive a
claim.
Mr. Gray stated it depends on the failure. I want to take these issues on a case by
case basis. For instance, if a
particular failure was not caused by us and was caused by the resident
installing a mailbox, they should have insurance and be responsible for the
damage. This is for a small amount
but if the bill was for $1,000, we would not pay.
Mr. Goscicki stated in another district, I am dealing with $40,000 in
damages to a home due from a sewer backup because it caused mold. We are contesting it but you are
absolutely correct whereby those claims can escalate dramatically. The bottom line is we will still be
involved and our insurance company will be involved.
Mr. Gray stated but we can defend it, assuming it was not our direct
responsibility; meaning something we caused.
Mr. Lyles stated we have taken these cases all the way to trial and a
jury verdict. It is not
uncommon. It happens and we will
handle it.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Gray with all in favor the request for reimbursement of $476.41 for the
repair of a sewer blockage at
NINTH ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Award of Contracts
A.
Purchase of Chemicals
Mr. Goscicki stated these are chemicals we use for aquatic weed
control. We did a cooperative
bidding between CSID, NSID, Sunshine and Pine Tree WCD. The bid summary was provided in your
agenda package. There are a number
of different chemicals. The bid was
structured with each company providing a price with the option of the District
to choose the vendors so you are not required to take one vendor for all. However, in some cases we did not choose
the lowest price. The bid also
allowed us to specify the chemical we were looking for. We allowed them to submit a generic
chemical but they had to demonstrate it met the same criteria. In some cases, these were chemicals we
tried in the past and discovered they were not our equal or required additional
chemical agents to assist and therefore were not equal.
Mr. Schooley stated many of these chemicals have different
compositions. For example, we used
a generic of the Copper in Mr.
Mendelson’s area earlier this year for two weeks on a major aquatic weed and
received no results. We went back
three to four weeks later and used our existing chemical, Reward with this product and it did not
work. I cannot spend tax dollars
and not get sufficient results. We
are very busy and must get good results.
There is something called Pectin but I have no idea what this
is. We have a standing order with
some of these chemicals but if you want a certain chemical used, give me the
name of the chemical and we will try it.
If it works, we will include it in the bid. However, we are trying to get what will
work for this District, which is why we do not take the lowest
bid.
Mr. Mendelson asked are the highlighted ones your recommended chemicals
as they are a better value?
Mr. Schooley responded not only a better value but ones which actually
worked. The F-30 did not work at all. We purchased 150 gallons and now I do
not know what I am going to do with it.
Last year, I purchased a large amount of Cutrine Plus to complete your area. We are still treating this area and I
should have been done six months ago.
This is not good in my business.
We need to work on the aquatics now. On the Captain, for two years they have been
telling me they were going to let me test it in our system and I have not been
able to do it. They keep bidding it
and I do not know what it is. It is
a Copper product but there are
hundreds out there.
On MOTION by
Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the contract for the purchase of chemicals
was awarded to the lowest responsive bidders as indicated on the bid tabulation
sheet, unless otherwise recommended by Mr. Schooley.
B.
Trucks
Mr. Goscicki stated we apologize for not including this item in your
agenda package but the estimates were received late. We went out for bid on two replacement
vehicles; F-150 and Ford Ranger and received prices from Maroone Chevrolet and
Plantation Ford. We actually had to
solicit prices twice because we thought Plantation Ford would honor the prices
they provided us six months ago and they refused to so we had to re-price
them. They still came in at the
lowest price as you will see in the summary document. Therefore, we are recommending award to
Plantation Ford for both vehicles.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor the contract for the purchase of trucks was
awarded to Plantation Ford in the amounts indicated on the bid tabulation
sheet.
C.
Uniforms
Mr. Goscicki stated we planned to solicit bids for uniforms for the
employees; however, we currently have a contract with CSID, which we are tied
into. This contract comes up for
renewal on
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Staff Reports
i.
Release
of Liability
Mr. Goscicki
stated this is a settlement with an individual who was injured outside of the
NSID Water Plant. I believe we
discussed this matter several meetings ago. This was in regards to an older
gentleman who rode his bicycle into our vehicle as our vehicle was making a left
turn. He was severely injured and
treated at the hospital for a ruptured spleen, broken ribs and a broken
collarbone. He filed a claim
against the District for $100,000 knowing this was the cap on our
insurance. Our Insurance Agent
worked with them and got them to agree to a settlement for $95,000. The recommendation from our Insurance
Carrier was to settle it and get this over with. It is within your insurance cap and we
are recommending approval.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Gray with all in favor the Release of Liability with Ole Westerheim was
approved.
ii.
Status of
Discussion with the City of
Mr. Goscicki
stated I met with the Public Works Director for the City of
We are also working with the City of
iii.
Complaints
Received/Resolved
Mr. Goscicki stated we received a number of water quality complaints over
the past year regarding water hardness.
Some of the complaints were due to WCI Communities instructing some
residents to contact us as these were not plumbing problems. These were not District water issues and
were actually plumbing issues. We
shared the water quality information with these residents and resolved their
issues. You may still hear
residents complaining periodically about the water quality in their home;
however, your water meets all Federal, State and local requirements and even
exceeds it.
B.
Attorney’s Report
Mr. Lyles stated I mentioned to the Board at a prior meeting about a
draft preliminary Bill by Senator Ring of
C.
Engineer’s Report
There not being any, the next item followed.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Financial Matters
Mr. Goscicki stated for the first time in a very long time, you have
financial statements and not just check registers. In the nine months I have been serving
on this Board; this is the first financial statement I have seen. I was surprised to find out we have 19
different funds. I am very
impressed with all of the work Ms. Lusk and her staff have done in getting this
information together and distributed.
We still have more work to do.
We probably gave you more information than you need or want to see on an
ongoing basis but we wanted to provide this to you. I am happy to report all of your funds
are in good shape and we are not in an unexpected funding position. The Water and Sewer Fund, your largest
single fund, is on track with revenues at 99% and 93% of expenditures. These are not audited financials but the
numbers look good through year end.
We are pleased to see the numbers come in this way since we were
operating without enough facts. As
we move forward and refine these, we will work on the type of management you
wish to see. Some Boards like a
great deal of detail while others want a higher level synopsis. We can work on this after you have had
more of a chance to review all of this information and I have had more time to
work with Ms. Lusk.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor the financial statements
for
TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Supervisor’s Requests and Audience Comments
There not being any, the next item followed.
THIRTEENTH 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