MINUTES OF MEETING

NORTH SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

 

            The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the North Springs Improvement District was held on Wednesday, December 5, 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

            Vincent Moretti                                          Assistant Secretary

 

            Also present were:

 

            Ed Goscicki                                                Interim Manager - Severn Trent Services

            Brenda Schurz                                            Severn Trent Services

            Terri Lusk                                                  Severn Trent Services

            Cassandra Cox                                           Severn Trent Services

            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                                               Florida Sewer & Water

            Marie Fergie                                               Florida Sewer & Water

            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 Goscicki stated you received three resumes at prior meetings; however, one candidate has now withdrawn their interest.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 Florida, administered the Oath of Office to Mr. Moretti, a signed copy of which is attached and made a part of the official record.

            C.        Election of Officers – Resolution 2008-1

            Mr. Goscicki stated two meetings ago, Mr. Mendelson was elected President and Mr. Gray was elected Secretary.  There is no mandate to hold another election but typically with a new member on the Board, you may want to consider holding one.  I will defer to the District Attorney as to whether or not there is a requirement.

            Mr. Lyles stated typically when you have a new Board member appointed, elections occur.  You can either designate officers for one position or a slate of officers.  It is up to the Board on how to proceed.  You now have someone who can serve as an Assistant Secretary if the Board desires this position to be filled by one of the Board members.  The offices you can fill are President, Secretary and Assistant Secretary.  Typically District staff serves as Treasurer, although it is not required.  Many times a slate is proposed by a Board member by way of a motion.  In your agenda package, you have a copy of Resolution 2008-1, effectuating this action.

            Mr. Gray asked are the individuals listed in the resolution District staff?

            Mr. Lyles responded the individuals listed are serving in those positions.  In case a document needs execution fairly quickly, you can designate a Board member to serve as Assistant Secretary, but this is not required.  All you are required to do is to elect a President and Secretary for the purpose of signing documents.

 

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 October 11, 2007 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.

            There not being any,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the minutes of the October 11, 2007 meeting were approved.

 

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 Parkland Village Construction

            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 Florida, Sewer & Water and $100,000 is owed to Triple R. Paving.

            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 Parkland Village paving, drainage, water distribution and wastewater collection for a net increase of $129,601.11 was approved.

 

 

 

B.                 Change Order No. 3 & Final – Triple R. Paving for Heron Bay North Plats 3 & 4 Drainageways for a Net Decrease of $2,496,885.15

            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 University Drive.  

            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 6380 NW 110th Avenue

            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 6380 NW 110th Avenue was ratified.

 

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 January 9, 2008 but CSID was dissatisfied with the level of service and was planning to terminate the contract.  As a result, we went out for bids but we have since worked out any differences with the vendor and CSID plans to extend the contract for another year with this vendor.  We are currently in the process of extending the contract, if CSID chooses to continue to contract with multiple one year renewals.  If we decide to renew this contract in future years, we will have this option on our own, whether or not CSID decides to stay with them.  At this time, we are locked into this contract.  The bottom line, is the Board does not need to take any action and can continue with the current vendor for another year.

 

TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                       Staff Reports

A.        Manager’s Report

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 Coral Springs on Emergency Water Interconnect Agreement

            Mr. Goscicki stated I met with the Public Works Director for the City of Coral Springs and we are moving forward on an agreement with the city to provide for emergency water connecting off of Wiles Road.  We have a similar agreement with CSID.  The form of the agreement has been worked out and we are waiting for them to provide an engineering cost estimate, which they will pay for.  We will share in the cost of construction, which is probably a year away.  Our goal is to get this completed before construction of the new Home Depot starts, which will result in widening of the road, which this pipe will go under. 

            We are also working with the City of Coral Springs to take over a portion of the Holmberg Road median.  We are currently paying for the maintenance because WCI Communities stopped maintaining it.  We own it and it has already been dedicated to us.  The City of Coral Springs informed us they will take it over and maintain it but not until October 1, 2008.  It costs us $200 per month to maintain this median with our Valley Crest contract for the Parkland Isles berm.  I just wanted to make you aware of what is occurring and no action is necessary from the Board.

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 Parkland regarding the establishment of a Broward County Special District Commission.  Its objective will be to review and make a determination as to whether a District should be continued, modified or dissolved.  The Bill has now actually been filed and revised a couple of times.  It covers a total of 96 county districts, drainage districts, city, community development agency districts, this District and many others.  The first public hearing before the Legislative Delegation on this Bill will be tomorrow evening.  I will attend on your behalf to make sure this matter does not get out of hand or statements applicable to another district are not made in such a way, which might be seen as applicable to this District.  One of the complaints has been what are viewed as extensive benefits and pensions/payments to Board members.  As you are aware, this is not the case here.  We will make sure no one on the Legislative Delegation has this impression regarding NSID.  There will be two separate public hearings, with tomorrow being the first.  I will give you an update at your next meeting.

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 September 30, 2007 for the General Fund and Water and Sewer Fund and check run summary for September 30, 2007 for the General Fund in the amount of $1,952,192.31 and for the Water and Sewer Fund in the amount of $1,620,431.87 were approved.

 

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