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 Mendolia
President
Steve Mendelson
Secretary
Also present were:
John Petty
Manager
Dennis Lyles
Attorney
John McKune
Engineer
Jane Early
CH2M-Hill
Mel Entus
Field Manager
Doug Hyche
District Staff
Tara-Lynn Patton
WCI
Mona Slaughter
FIRST ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Roll Call
Mr. Petty
called the meeting to order and called the roll
SECOND ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Organizational Matters
A.
Appointment
of Supervisor to Fill the Unexpired Term of Office of Mr. Lauritzen (6/2008)
B.
Oath of
Office for Newly Appointed Supervisor
C.
Election
of Officers
These items
were tabled until a future meeting.
THIRD ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Approval of the Minutes of the November 3, 2005
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
Award of Contract of Alternate 20” Water Main
Mr. Petty stated at the request of the engineer, this item will be taken
out of order.
Mr.
McKune stated five months ago we discussed
constructing a new 20 inch water main connecting our water plant to the existing
main on
On December 13th, we received four bids for the project, which
are included in your agenda package.
The low bid received was from Chaz Equipment
Co. in the amount of $271,000. The
engineer’s estimate for this work was $280,000. Therefore, we are recommending the Board
award this project to Chaz Equipment Co., subject to
funding being available. According
to the bid tabulation provided to the Board, the first three bidders were closer
to our estimate. I do not know if
the fourth bidder was looking at the same set of plans as he bid
$603,321.
Mr. Mendolia asked have we used Chaz before?
Mr. McKune responded not here but we have used
them on other projects.
Mr. Mendelson asked did they give you a
timeframe?
Mr. McKune responded yes. It should be on the order of 150
days.
Mr. Mendolia asked are they paid in
increments?
Mr. McKune responded they are paid monthly as
they put in their construction.
Mr. Mendolia asked are they paid and inspected
at the same time?
Mr. McKune responded they are paid 10% of the
amount until the end of construction.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor the alternate 20” water main
contract was awarded to Chaz Equipment Co. in the
amount of $271,000.
FOURTH ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Temporary Right of Entry Grant
Mr. Petty stated this letter would be used in an emergency to remove
debris or get access to a facility we could not get access to from any of our
normal entry positions. This is the
standard City of
Mr. Lyles stated this letter is used if we cannot get access onto a
public right-of-way with one of our normal easements and have to go across a
homeowner’s property to get to our canals.
We would have them sign this form authorizing us to move our equipment
onto their property. If we damaged
their property, we will restore it.
This is a last ditch effort to get to a place we need to get to through
normal means. Of course, we cannot
wait until a Board meeting occurs so you will also be authorizing staff to sign
this form along with the homeowner to get access to our easement and storm drain
assets.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the form of grant of temporary
right of entry was approved and staff was authorized to execute same in absence
of a Board meeting.
FIFTH ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Engagement Letter with Berger, Toombs, Elam, Gaines
& Frank for Audit of Fiscal Year 2005
Mr. Petty stated this audit firm has done work for you in the past. Their letter is included in the agenda
package. Management recommends
approval.
Mr. Mendolia asked is this a reasonable
amount?
Mr. Petty responded yes.
Mr. Mendolia asked how long have they been our
auditors?
Mr. Petty responded for more than eight years.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the engagement letter with
Berger,
SIXTH ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Documents Related to Bond
Financing
A.
Preliminary Limited Offering Memorandum for Special Assessment
Bonds
B.
Limited Offering for Water Management Bonds
Mr. Lyles stated this item was continued from the last meeting. We do not need any further action
regarding the bond financing documents as the pre-closing was held
yesterday. We will have another
pre-closing in the January/February time frame.
SEVENTH ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Bid for the Installation of an Automatic Gate Operating
System/Surveillance Monitoring
Mr. Petty stated staff looked into purchasing an automatic gate opener
and a surveillance system for the entry feature. From what I saw and what Mr. Hyche wrote in his letter, this gate is identical to the one
you passed through on the way in here, which has stood the test of time and
seems to be reliable. Will this
gate be at the utility site?
Mr. Hyche responded yes.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor the automatic gate operating
system and surveillance monitoring system contract was awarded to Federal
Security Corporation in the amount of $17,584.58.
NINTH ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Funding Agreements and Work
Authorizations
A.
Revised Funding Agreement #413 for Engineer Inspection Services of
B. WA#
151 – Parkland Country Club – Pod 17, 18 &19 W/S ESDC and Funding Agreement
#437
C. WA#
152 –
Mr. Petty stated these are in standard form and were provided to the
Board. All of these items were
reviewed by staff and recommended.
Mr. Mendelson asked do these have to do with
WCI?
Mr. Petty responded only the Funding Agreements.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor Funding Agreement #413 for
Engineer Inspection Services of Heron Bay Commercial Residential Development;
Work Authorization #151 and Funding Agreement #437 for Water Distribution and
Wastewater Collection for Parkland County Club Pods 17, 18 & 19 and Work
Authorization # 152 and Funding Agreement #438 for Water Distribution and
Wastewater Collection for Parkland County Club Pod 20 were
approved.
TENTH ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Change Orders
A.
Change Order #2 with Triple R Paving for the General Construction of
Heron Bay North Two Drainageways for a Net Increase of
$9,329
Mr. Petty stated this change order was sent to us after review by Gee
& Jenson/CH2M-Hill and is recommended by Mr. McKune.
Ms. Early stated Triple R Paving is the current contractor for the Heron
Bay North Two Drainageways. In the plan we have a manhole connecting
two lakes. After reviewing the
plans further, we decided to increase the size of the manhole to make it
function better. We will have a
decrease at the end of the job, which will show on the final balancing change
order.
B.
Change Order #7 and Final with Triple R Paving for Nob Hill Road, University Drive (Phase 2) and County Line
Road Paving, Drainage, Water and Wastewater for a Net Decrease of
$157,261.62
Ms. Early stated the reason for the decrease is we did not need the final
coat of asphalt because of construction currently taking place. We would rather wait until the
construction is completed before putting the final lift on.
Mr. Petty asked is $157,261.62 enough to do the one inch asphalt when it
comes time to do so?
Ms. Early responded yes.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor Change Order #2 with Triple R
Paving for the General Construction of Heron Bay North Two Drainageways for a Net Increase of $9,329 and Change Order
#7 and Final with Triple R Paving for Nob Hill Road,
University Drive (Phase 2) and County Line Road Paving, Drainage, Water and
Wastewater for a Net Decrease of $157,261.62 were
approved.
ELEVENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Permits
A.
Parkland Commons Drainage Permit
Ms. Early stated this is our typical surface water management permit,
which we review to make sure they have the proper lake acreage and proper
drainage system. We submitted a
letter to the Board regarding this item.
B. Pine
Island Road Extension
Ms. Early stated this is the final piece of roadway in North Springs and
requires the same surface water management permit.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the requests for the
TWELFTH ORDER
OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Reduced Trash Bond Fee for Lennar
Homes
Mr. Petty stated Ms. Jean Rugg evaluated this request and discovered some
economies of scale. Her
recommendation as stated in her letter is for the Board to accept the proposed
fee. It is a slight reduction but
based on cost recovery.
Ms. Early stated the plat for this project shows the lake being dedicated
to the HOA but theoretically they would not need a permit. We typically do not issue an irrigation
permit to a resident for installation of a pipe into the lake because it not
taking a large quantity of water.
However, Lennar insisted on having irrigation permits for the
subdivisions, which was done and this is what sparked the trash bond
matter. Mr. Nick Schooley was wondering why we were doing this since we did
not own the lake. We just received
a letter from an attorney regarding a complaint received by a homeowner on the
lake not being properly maintained.
As a result, Mr. Schooley looked at his map and
discovered we do not maintain the lake because it is owned by the
homeowners. We looked it up and
Toll Brothers prepared a Quit Claim Deed and deeded it to the District without
anyone’s knowledge. There was no
signature from the District and I do not believe this request ever came to the
Board. Mr. Schooley was not maintaining this lake because it was not on
the list of lakes we own.
Apparently the District now owns the lake and I do not know whether or
not this is legal.
Mr. Lyles stated the original request from Toll Brothers was subject to
dedication by the HOA. At some
subsequent time, without going through the HOA or this Board for acceptance, did
they file a Quit Claim Deed?
Ms. Early responded yes.
Mr. Lyles stated the Board needs to accept the Quit Claim Deed. All the Quit Claim Deed does is it gives
us any rights they have, meaning they do not have to go to the homeowners for
permission. We need to straighten
this out with Lennar to make sure we do not have any variation between what is
on the face of the plat and some recorded deed we never
saw.
Ms. Early stated apparently four or five pumps drain into a NSID
canal. The interior lake is not
owned by the District.
Mr. Mendelson asked do we have to maintain
it?
Ms. Early responded not unless they deed it to us and we accept
it.
Mr. Petty stated the current water management system is for drainage
purposes. There are some retention
requirements from your engineer as to what is required according to the permit,
which is what we operate and maintain.
We can have applicants who can come before the Board and say, “we have a
lake not part of your drainage that we would like you to maintain.” Typical considerations by the Board are
to maintain it but they will have to pay for the maintenance. You can raise and lower the assessment
in specific areas based on the cost you are incurring. Did this lake come before the Board at
any particular time?
Ms. Early responded only the surface water management permit to make sure
the system worked properly.
Mr. Petty stated site drainage is different because it is nothing more
than the engineer looking for the site condition. If this is not District property, we
cannot process their request because we do not own the area. If someone has filed a Quit Claim Deed,
which we have not participated in, the attorney is going to want to look at it
very closely.
Mr. Lyles stated from time to time, Ms. Tara Lynn-Patton from WCI will
come before the Board with some conveyance documents. Among those documents will be Quit Claim
Deeds for some of the drainage facilities.
The Board will pass a motion to accept the Quit Claim Deeds and take over
maintenance responsibilities.
However, for someone to record a Quit Claim Deed with no action on our
part and no review by staff or vote by the Board does not complete the
transaction. They can record it but
without actual acceptance by the Board, we do not take responsibility for
it. The solution is to contact Toll
Brothers and clear this matter up.
On the Lennar matter, the Board should not take any action because these
are water bodies excavated as part of a private development project. We do not have responsibility for these
water bodies for maintenance and are therefore, not in a position to issue a
permit for irrigation systems. We
will advise Lennar they do not need anything from us and to go forward with
their project.
Mr. Mendelson stated the Falls in
Ms. Early stated I think the Falls belongs to the
homeowners.
Mr. Lyles stated they were meant to take it over.
Mr. Petty stated those are the reasons you would let them come before
this Board and petition to take it over because HOA’s
are not as stable as governments and you would need this safety net from the
residents. Typically you consider
the matter with the idea of cost recovery from the people benefiting from the
improvement. If only 400 homes
benefit from the fountain and lake, they bare the cost. Staff would be glad to talk to them
about how to do handle the walk through and satisfy our
engineers.
THIRTEENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Conveyance Documents for
Mr. Petty stated Mr. Hyche signed the
Certificate of Receipt for the conveyance documents and is recommending approval
of the water and sewer facilities.
We provided the Board with a list of those facilities. Their engineer valued the sewer system
and lift stations at $300,000 and the water system at $170,000. We required Lennar to build the water
and sewer system and then dedicate it to the District before we supply them with
water to their homes. It is built
in accordance with our engineer’s design specifications. Does CH2M-Hill inspect the as-builts?
Mr. McKune responded one of our civil
engineer’s will review the as-builts and give it to
one of the District’s staff members who will do the
inspection.
Ms. Early stated during construction, we do a month to month
inspection.
Mr. Petty stated staff is requesting approval of the conveyance
documents.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor the conveyance documents for
Parkland Estates were approved.
FOURTEENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Use of
Mr. Lyles stated Triple R Paving who is constructing the roadway, brought
us a request from a not for profit organization. There have been some issues going back
and forth with regards to insurance, who has the right to give permission and
how the District will be protected if we allow them to use them to use the
right-of-way for this charitable event.
Ms. Lynn-Patton is assisting the city, the District and WCI on this
matter and can give some factual background. We resolved the insurance matter and
confirmed while this is on the right-of-way, this is still an active
construction site under the control of Triple R Paving. They will also have to approve this
event because they have the legal control over what happens on the site. I received an email today from the Event
Director notifying me they received permission from Triple R Paving. It looks like this is all going to come
together just in time.
Ms. Lynn-Patton stated the folks from Audi contacted WCI figuring we
owned the roadway. They wish to do
a walk/run utilizing
Mr. Mendelson asked will they have extra police
units?
Ms. Lynn-Patton responded yes.
Units from
Mr. Mendolia asked will the construction
equipment be moved to the side of the road?
Ms. Lynn-Patton responded I do not believe we have any construction
equipment out there.
Mr. Mendolia stated any debris should be
cleared.
Ms. Lynn-Patton stated Mr. Lyles raised the concern of someone tripping
over a soda can.
Mr. Lyles stated in this instance, the District is being made as an
additional insurer under the organization’s insurance policy. We will have a certificate saying we
have the same insurance they do and I am sure Triple R Paving will insist the
same. The right-of-way is ours and
we have tired to help the city but we cannot give them permission as the roadway
is under Triple R Paving’s control.
Assuming everything goes as planned and you authorize this today, we will
ensure we are released from any liability and covered by any insurance they have
for the event.
Ms. Lynn-Patton stated there will be an additional form for the runners
indemnifying NSID.
Mr. Mendolia stated as long as all of the forms
are filled out and we have the insurance coverage, I see no problem approving
this request.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the request for the use of
FIFTEENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Discussion of Structural Observation Reports
A. Pump
Station #1, Pump Station #2 and
Mr. Petty stated structural observation reports were prepared by
CH2M-Hill to assess the structure integrity of Pump Stations 1 & 2 and the
South Amil Gate.
Mr. McKune stated there was a horizontal crack
on pump station #1, which was not hurricane related. Pump Station #2 had a deteriorated roof,
which was not hurricane related as the deterioration may have been ongoing for
some time. There were some roll-up
door cover connections, which were sheared off during the hurricane and some
leakage to the roof in a double tee joint, which deteriorated due to age. The existing fence posts were sheared
from their supports during the storm and there appears to be missing anchor
bolts and a corroded base plat, which are mainly maintenance items. In regards to the South Amil Gate, we are still waiting for someone from the gate
manufacturer to arrive on-site.
This type of problem is normally based upon a change in the seating of
the gate, which can be misaligned by wind or water surf. There is a good chance this was related
to the hurricane.
Mr. Mendolia asked are we insured by the
hurricane damages?
Mr. McKune responded your normal insurance
policy applies.
Mr. Petty stated your current insurance policy only covers the machinery
at our facilities and would not cover these items since this was an act of
god. A hurricane is considered an
act of god and therefore uninsurable.
In many instances, the insurance companies are exempt. However, you can submit claims to FEMA
to cover damages at your facilities.
I believe Mr. Hyche already started this
process. If there is an earthquake,
you will not receive money from most insurance carriers unless you have a
specific earthquake policy.
Mr. Mendolia stated we should have hurricane
insurance.
Mr. Petty stated we are covered for most items but you had damage to
fencing which is not covered. I
will check again but the policies I have reviewed so far do not cover this type
of damage.
Mr. Lyles stated I have not reviewed any of the insurance policies and
will work with the manager. You are
looking for a windstorm rider.
Mr. Petty stated we are covered for our buildings. The residents had to pay for removal of
their trees but if one fell on your house, the insurance company pays. However, if a fence falls down, we do
not have coverage because we did not insure the fence. We insured the building and the
equipment inside.
B.
Clubhouse and Tennis Courts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 &
6
Ms. Early stated we received a request from clubhouse staff to inspect
the clubhouse and tennis courts. I
had a structural engineer from our
Mr. Mendolia stated WCI controls the
clubhouse. Can they do anything
about the damage to the clubhouse?
Ms. Lynn-Patton responded NSID owns the clubhouse but WCI does the
management via the homeowners. My
company has not had any involvement with the clubhouse.
Mr. Petty stated all assets of the District are included in a Boiler and
Machinery Policy we have with the Florida League of Cities. The roof and frame damage will be
covered under this policy. This
property will have to be designated as a recreational facility in order to get
coverage for the fencing.
Mr. Mendolia stated the fencing should be
covered.
Mr. Petty stated I will check on it. The anchor bolts holding the support
bases onto the canopies should also be covered. We may get FEMA coverage for facility
damage.
Mr. Mendelson asked what is the timeframe for
receiving reimbursement from FEMA?
Mr. Petty responded FEMA has given money to the State of
In regards to the buildings, we will apply for reimbursement but will do
it differently than in the past. In
the past, you made your argument up front and if you made your point, you
received the money. Now they are
not arguing with you. We do not
want to put you in a position where you have to go through an audit to get the
money back three or four years later when our memory is not so good and our
pictures are faded. Therefore, we
will be conservative in our application with FEMA and be well covered in our
documentation so if they come back and do an audit in three to five years, we
will have enough proof to substantiate our claim.
Mr. Mendolia asked do we need to take any
action?
Mr. Petty responded this is strictly for the Board’s information. Staff just wanted to let you know what
the evaluation was at those facilities after the storm.
SIXTEENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Staff Reports
A.
Attorney
Mr. Lyles stated I distributed to the manager and members of the Board a
set of proposal documents advising interested contractors to provide
recreational management services for the Heron Bay Commons facility. There is a timeline on page two whereby
we will have a conference with interest proposals, take written questions and
have a final presentation by interested parties who will have to submit their
qualifications and cover certain elements.
There may be a few changes made by staff. We also wanted to give the Board members
any input in terms of the qualifications, obtaining proposals and ultimately
evaluating and approving the management company for the Heron Bay Commons
facility.
Mr. Mendolia asked are we jumping ahead of
ourselves? We have to get WCI out
who is currently running the facility.
Mr. Lyles responded before we sign the contract for someone new to come
in, we need to have WCI’s management company continue
to run the facility while we obtain these proposals and staff reviews them. When you are ready to make a decision
and hire a new contractor, we will give WCI notice under the contract for
termination. We do not want to
terminate the present management company and have no one managing it while we go
through this process. They
basically overlap each other.
Mr. Mendolia stated I would ask WCI to make
arrangements with their management company to have them removed from the job in
two months. By that time we should
have a new company.
Mr. Lyles stated while we have not set a date for the new company to step
in, with Severn Trent’s assistance, we have spoken to the head of the division
who handles this type of activity who agreed to terminate the contract when we
go through this process. They
already agreed to step aside.
However, we do not have this in writing.
Mr. Mendelson asked what is the
timeframe?
Mr. Lyles responded we should have the RFQ in place by the beginning of
January.
Mr. Petty stated the timeframe can be whatever you want it to be. The District always has the option of
doing the management in-house.
Mr. Mendolia stated I would like to have
something in writing from WCI.
Mr. Lyles stated we will pursue this matter with WCI. The District hired the HOA and gave them
authority to run the Heron Bay Commons facility. They have the contract with WCI and this
is why it has to be voluntary on WCI’s part. WCI indicated they will voluntarily step
aside as we will go through this process and have a smooth transition for the
Board and the residents who live in
Mr. Mendelson asked will the homeowners have a
say as to who will be operating this facility?
Mr. Lyles responded it will be your call. We will list this item on the agenda and
there will be a vote by the Board.
You can take input from the residents either before or at the
meeting.
Mr. Mendelson stated it would be a good idea to
have their input.
Mr. Mendolia stated either way, the residents
will be involved. I would like to
have an agreement from WCI stating they will be leaving.
Mr. Lyles stated in working with management staff, I do not know what
their timeframe is. There are
different thoughts on how quickly we are going to be able to accomplish
this. Step one was to get this
proposal in front of you and have you approve it today in substantially this
form so we can publish it and start getting proposals. There has been some reluctance to put
something in writing because staff is not sure when they can get someone in
there or whether they want to bring it in-house through Severn
Trent.
Mr. Mendolia stated it should stay the way it
is but there should be a timeframe.
WCI should know when they are leaving.
Mr. Petty stated we will take direction from the Board in regards to the
timeframe. I suggest you consider
the second week in March. We can do
an RFQ right now and get responses back so you can consider them next
month. We will not ask you to make
a decision on this matter until we have something more concrete in front of you
such as a contract with a company who can be available in two weeks and then we
will firm up this date.
Mr. Lyles stated this Board meets on
Mr. Petty responded this is the date you want to set as the termination
date. The Board will discuss this
matter at the January meeting, consider the contractors and sign the deal in
February. Alternatively, the
contractor can be on site for a couple of weeks and get the facilities
transferred. By the second week in
March, you should be covered as long as we stay on track. If something goes wrong, you can always
extend the date. You need some
overlaps because WCI has been there for a long time. Whomever you choose as the new company,
you have to give them time to work with WCI and cajole them into telling them
how certain things are run. I do
not think WCI is going to walk away and say to the residents they are on their
own. They have been cooperative
when we asked them for things and I think we are going to be okay. The Board seems to be intent on setting
a date and sticking with the schedule.
Staff’s task will be to meet this schedule and I think we can and
will. However, in order to do this,
we need to give notice to WCI that their contract will be terminated on
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor staff was authorized to publish
the request for proposals from interested contractors to provide recreational
management services for the Heron Bay Commons facility and notify WCI of the
termination of their management contract on
Mr. Lyles asked how did item six get on the agenda? To my knowledge these documents were
previously approved and were the subject of a resolution. In an abundance of caution, if we are
not sure why this item was placed on the agenda, we should have both Board
members ratify the approval of the Preliminary Limited Offering Memorandum and
Offering Memorandum for the three bond issues we are closing on today, which
they received copies of.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the Preliminary Limited Offering
Memorandum dated December 5, 2005 for the Special Assessment Bonds for the
Parkland Golf and Country Club Assessment Area A and Limited and Offering
Memorandum for the Series 2005 Water Management Refunding Bonds and Water
Management Bonds were ratified.
B.
Engineer
There being no report, the next item followed.
C.
Manager
Mr. Petty stated as you know, trees were knocked down during the
hurricane, which pulled up some water lines. As a result, some residents received
water bills for hundreds of dollars.
We have been asked by Mr. Dan Daly in the Utility Billing Department to
adopt a one time policy charging anyone having water usage over the average
caused by trees breaking water lines, which can be verified by staff, their
average bill and not the actual usage.
CSID approved a similar policy.
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all in favor a one-time policy was enacted
charging anyone having water usage over the average caused by trees breaking
water lines due to hurricane damage verified by staff their average bill and not
the actual usage.
Mr. Petty stated we have an interconnect with the City of
I am here today because Mr. Pete Witschen has some personal issues, which
prevents him from being here today.
Mr. Witschen is still working on some issues including the RFP and is
trying to continue his work.
However, complications in his personal life are preventing him from
giving the District the time and attention it deserves and needs. Severn
I prepared feasibility and rate studies and business plans for Districts
such as Celebration and
Mr. Mendolia stated I am impressed with you as
you are very professional and recommend you stay. Welcome aboard.
Mr. Petty stated I will do my best and look forward to working with you
in the future.
SEVENTEENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Supervisor’s Requests and Audience Comments
A resident stated I represent the homeowners of Parkland Isles and would
like to voice some concerns. I have
been on the phone countless times with a number of people within this
organization begging them to come out to take a look at the damage incurred on
the berm.
You own the berm around Parkland
Isles.
Mr. Petty asked is this the berm against the
conservation area?
The resident responded around the entire community. I came down here to try to get some
people to react to our concerns and it was four to five weeks before anyone came
out. Last week staff met with
Valley Crest, who currently maintains the berm and
they put together some detailed plans.
The plans were dropped off at our clubhouse last Tuesday or
Wednesday. I called Mr. Mel Entus yesterday who is trying to help us out, only to find
out Mr. Rick Horn went to the clubhouse yesterday to pick up the plans. I am frustrated because no one looked at
this berm for eight weeks. We have bent over backwards and I made
several phone calls. My concern is
FEMA is currently in the area but they are soon going to be out of the
area. The homeowners are not going
to pay for the cleanup FEMA should have done. There are still stumps in the
ground. My understanding is FEMA
was planning to come back to pick up the stumps. I feel I have been getting nothing but
the run around.
Mr. Mendolia asked have you seen anyone from
NSID?
The resident responded I do not know anyone from NSID. No one ever sat down with me. We had our annual meeting a couple of
weeks ago, which Mr. Hyche attended. This poor guy walked into a wall of fire
because he did not know what the berm was all
about. They sent two guys out to
walk the property with me but I have not seen them since. This is not the proper way to operate a
business. The recommendation I
received from the community was to get our attorneys to go after NSID. It has been eight weeks and nothing has
been done.
Mr. Entus stated I was out there right after
the storm and directed Mr. Hyche to find out what the
concerns were. He reported back to
me on a proposal we received from Valley Crest Landscaping, which we are
currently reviewing. We are trying
to get them to define the scope of the work they are
proposing.
The resident stated I understand but I am looking for proactive
action. You guys were not proactive
and did not address anything. I
have been listening for almost two hours on what you did in
Mr. Petty responded no one is a stepchild to
The resident stated I thought the landscaper would remove
them.
Mr. Petty stated FEMA does not remove stumps, only the city does. In this case, it would either be
The resident stated thank you.
Mr. Mendolia stated we need to talk more about
Parkland Isles.
The resident stated we get the same services as everyone else and are
paying what everyone else is paying.
Have we discussed having any hurricane contingencies or reserves? Part of our taxes go into a
reserve.
Mr. Petty responded this hurricane brought a lot of questions to people’s
minds and something as basic as drainage was taken for granted. The District is not putting any money
into public relations because of this issue. We do not spend taxpayers money telling
you about the drainage and do not have a reserve for hurricanes. We do not tax you now for a “what if”
scenario in five or ten years. The
District is predicated upon the philosophy of, “if you get benefit you pay; if
not, you do not pay”. This way
growth pays for growth and existing taxpayers are not paying for something in
the future. With people living in
their homes an average of seven years, this is a good philosophy. In the case of the hurricane, we have
and are continuing to have a financial tool whereby we can provide instruments
for the Board to take money from a bond issue or obtain short term notes from
commercial banks or from the Association of Counties, especially for FEMA
issues. Our philosophy has been our
reserve is based on our financing strategy not cash we take out of your
pocket. This is a discussion we
will probably have more of as we get into another hurricane season as to whether
it is time for us to think about the PR piece we have always said no
to.
Mr. Mendolia asked if the residents have any
questions should they bring them to you?
Mr. Petty responded I would be happy to work with
them.
The resident stated we have a very strong presence within the community
and we are willing to work with you.
Mr. Petty stated my main concern is to get the product out there and bid
properly so we are covered and make sure it fits the budget we allocated or let
the residents know what the impact is going to be to the community. I will give you my card if you have any
questions.
A resident stated on the bottom of my tax statement it says, “Parkland
Isles Improvement District” and another fund. One fund is $300 and the other is $900
for a total of $1,200. According to
our documents, one of those numbers is supposed to be the same for the 20 year
life of this bond issue and the other is supposed to fluctuate each year as the
expenses change. Since 2001, both
of those numbers have changed on my tax statement.
Mr. Petty stated the number that does not change is the debt service
number and the other is the O&M assessment number. The bond issue calls itself a “level
debt service bond” but is not level.
It changes by up to 1.5% in any given year because the bond is issued in
$5,000 increments. Because it is
not a dollar per dollar issue and the calculation for a loan is not perfect, you
end up with increasing and decreasing numbers. Your debt service should not fluctuate
more than 1.5%.
The resident stated I will have to look at the numbers and the
percentage.
Mr. Petty stated the O&M number can jump drastically depending on
what the Board sets the budget at.
For example, if the residents ask the Board to take over a lake, your
assessments can increase.
The resident stated if memory serves me, the percentage was more like
10%.
Mr. Petty stated it could have been a partial year
debt.
EIGHTEENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Approval of Invoices and Requisitions
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the General Fund invoices dated
December 1, 2005 in the amount of $531,151.43; the Heron Bay invoices dated
December 1, 2005 in the amount of $88,369.56; the Parkland Isles invoices dated
December 1, 2005 in the amount of $32,119.42 and the Water and Sewer invoices
dated December 1, 2005 in the amount of $1,441,801.31 were
approved.
NINETEENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Adjournment
On MOTION by
Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the meeting was adjourned at
4:20 P.M.
Steve Mendelson
Salvatore J. Mendolia
Secretary
President
NSID Notes
for December 20, 2005 Meeting
•
Agenda Items for Next Meeting
1.
Organizational
Matters
A.
Appointment of Supervisor to Fill the Unexpired Term of Office of Mr.
Lauritzen (6/2008)
B.
Oath of
Office for Newly Appointed Supervisor
C.
Election of
Officers
2.
Discussion of
New Management for Heron Bay Commons