MINUTES
OF MEETING
CORAL
SPRINGS
IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT
The regular meeting of the
Board of Supervisors of the Coral Springs Improvement District was held on
Present and constituting a quorum
were:
Bob Fennell President
Glen Hanks Secretary
Also present were:
Dan Daly Interim Manager
Ed Goscicki Co-Manager –
Dennis Lyles Attorney
John McKune Engineer
Jane Early CH2M-Hill
David Green CH2M-Hill
Isabello Rodriguez Ch2M-Hill
Randy Fredericks Field
Supervisor
Doug Hyche District Staff
Roy Gold Vice Mayor of
Kay Woodward
Jan Zilmer
Numerous Residents
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll
Call
Mr.
Goscicki called the meeting to order and called the roll.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Minutes of
the June 18, 2007 Meeting
Mr. Fennell stated each Board member
received a copy of the minutes of the
Mr. Fennell stated on page seven, in
the second paragraph from the bottom of the page “$10,000” should be
“$500,000”.
Mr. Hanks stated on page eight,
“ASE” should be “ESE”.
Mr. Hyche stated on page 13, the fourth
paragraph should say “Approximately $1,200 to inspect. I can check on the cost for a pressure
tank. You are required to inspect the
fuel system every five years. The cost
for inspection was $100 per tank after all was said and done”.
Mr. Daly stated at the last meeting,
Ms. Woodward and Mr. Zilmer were in attendance and will be attending future
meetings.
On MOTION by Mr. Hanks seconded by Mr. Fennell
with all in favor the minutes of the
THIRD
ORDER OF BUSINESS Public
Hearing to Consider Adoption of the Budget for Fiscal Year 2008, Resolution
2007-5 and Levy of Non Ad Valorem Assessments, Resolution 2007-6
Mr.
Fennell stated Ms. Zich could not make the public hearing but sent me an
email. She agrees to stay on the Board
permanently. Ms. Zich is a good
contributor to our accountants.
Mr.
Fennell opened the public hearing.
Mr.
Hanks asked is this for the General Fund Budget?
Mr.
Fennell responded yes. We are
responsible for adopting two budgets; one for the General Fund and another for
the Water and Sewer Fund. The General
Fund Budget is for the canals and pumps.
The way we collect revenues is by charging each household a certain
amount of money for water. We spent the
most money on the canal bank maintenance.
The canals were built by us and we are responsible for them. The city does not maintain them nor does the
state or the federal government. We
report to SFWMD and have certain restrictions put upon us in terms of how much
water we can pump out and the quality of our water. You and I pay for this. The canals have been here for 55 years. The first thing the developer did was to dig
out the canals. Then they created a
public agency, which was the CSID to take care of the bond issues. There are now 11,000 homes and you and I are
now responsible for the canals, which were turned over by Westinghouse. Every individual within the District pays an
equal assessment. Part of this has to do
with the fact of us having severe flooding issues.
Even
though we had some severe wind hurricanes in the last couple of years, we have
not received much water from them. What
astounded us was the number of trees damaged and went into our canals. It cost us millions of dollars to remove the
trees from the canals, which diminished our reserves and had us wondering what
could happen next. In 1979, we did not
have as many trees around here. We
recently found out a significant amount of trees were planted by homeowners along
the canals. Those trees fell down. We wondered what would happen if in fact they
blocked our pumps and culverts. We
commissioned an engineering firm to look at the original water flow plans to
see if we have any problems. From a
study costing us $175,000, we found out we need to maintain our pumps and the
water flow through the culverts and making sure they are adequate. If they are not, our water is going to back
up to our houses.
We
paid off our taxes and bonds and were down to an assessment of $90 per year. However, Hurricane Wilma came along and depleted
our reserves. Our plant is 35 years
old. We have been replacing and/or
refurbishing the pumps and engines.
Those of us who live east and west of
Mr.
Hanks stated we needed to have the money in hand as opposed to borrowing
money. Part of the discussion we went
back and forth on was in regards to the appropriate amount of reserves to have
on hand. We know we are in an active
hurricane season and have to quickly build those reserves back up. Being an engineer, I do not like sitting out
there without a Reserve Fund. This is
why we sent out the notice informing the residents there would be an increase
in the ad valorem assessments. We are
not seeing this as a long-term increase but as a short-term increase to bring
the reserves back up to a point where we are comfortable should we get hit with
another hurricane.
Mr.
Fennell stated we directed our engineering firm to prepare a report on the
status of our canal systems. I want
someone from the engineering firm to discuss the results of this study.
Ms.
Early asked on the pump stations?
Mr.
Fennell responded yes.
Ms.
Early stated I have a copy of the report.
Our Mechanical Engineers evaluated all of the pump stations and prepared
a summary of what needs to be refurbished and the costs involved, which we
provided to the Board.
Mr.
Hanks stated you found the buildings and roofs were 30 years old and
recommended repairs being made to the roofs and having hurricane proof doors.
Ms.
Early stated kids vandalized the buildings.
Mr.
Hanks stated we had dry hurricanes, which gave us 6” of rain. You see staff pumping down the water into the
canals. If we were to get hit by a
hurricane, which was a huge rainmaker, those pump stations would become
useless. We are looking at what we can
do to provide a level of safety to the residents.
Mr.
Fennell stated we need somewhere between $500,000 to $1 million to do such
improvements as replacing fencing, trash rack replacements at the pump station,
replacing bypass lines and seal pipe penetrations. These improvements recommended by the engineers. We already spent down our reserves. We are currently in a position where we did
not want to go out for long-term bonds because frankly we do not need much
money. Furthermore, it costs a great
deal of money to borrow in order to pay off Bond Counsel and other
professionals.
The
question was what we wanted to do. We
decided to increase the per unit assessment over and above what we originally
planned, which was $150 or $12 to $13 per month. We want to increase the assessments so we can
afford to do these improvements right now and build up the reserves, although
our reserves will not be back up to where we want them to be. When we had to hire people to remove all the
trees from the canal banks, we discovered they wanted to be paid
immediately. We ended up bidding for
this work, which ended up saving us some money.
However, this caused us a partial delay.
The bottom line is no one helped us pay for this work and we had to come
up with the money. The city certainly
did not assist us. Luckily we had the
reserves at the time in order to get things done. The budget we are proposing is a compromised
budget, which will start funding back some of our reserves and paying for the
$500,000 we expended. Unfortunately,
this requires us to raise assessments.
We will only assess what is needed and even though our property values
increased, our assessments did not increase with them. They only increase in times like these. Therefore, this is a need based
assessment.
For
the benefit of the audience, the Board is made up of three supervisors. We are elected to our seats. We usually only meet once or twice a month
and receive supervisor fees of $200 per month.
We live in this area and want to make sure it is safe, we have good
water and the canals are properly maintained.
We do this as a public service. In
terms of what we proposed for the fiscal year 2008 budget, the most important
items are the two items at the bottom of the page. This refers to the capital improvements,
which amount to $580,000. However, what
we are actually doing is refurbishing.
The other item is the reserves for R&R, which are $301,000. Frankly, we have been spending these
reserves, which we are not happy about. Both
of these items total $800,000. At this
time, I will open up the floor to comments.
A
resident stated when you were talking about the pumps, there are two pumps.
Ms.
Early stated there are two pump stations and four pumps at each station for the
entire District.
Mr.
Hanks stated the District runs from
Mr.
Goscicki stated this setup is similar to
Mr.
Hanks stated whatever comes from the sky we have to worry about.
Mr.
Goscicki stated you do not have to worry about the ocean coming in as the water
will have to rise up 12 to 13 feet in order to get in here.
The
resident stated I assume if a hurricane hits, the water will drain.
Mr.
Fennell stated the only way the water can drain out is if we pump it out.
The
resident asked how many inches of water can we handle without it flooding?
Ms.
Early responded the District has a great deal of storage. This is why in the winter months, we try to
hold the water, while in the rainy season, we try to pump the water down. We try to be prepared so all of a sudden, we
do not have an influx of water.
Mr.
Frederick stated rainfall events like you see on the news in other areas flood with
just a couple of inches of rain. We get
two inches of rain every day. On the
fourth of July, we received 4” in rain.
Ms.
Early stated NSID received 12.5” of rain in the month of June. The water did not end up on the road because
they pumped two billion gallons of water out.
This is a great deal of rain in one month. NSID pumps to the L-36 Canal while CSID pumps
to the C-14 Canal.
Mr.
Fennell asked when are we in trouble?
Mr.
Goscicki responded the District conserves as much water as it can. During the wet season, we are hesitant to
draw down lines in the canals to keep the water level to where you are
maintaining as much supply as you can but still be conservative so if you get
some rain, you can fill up the canals but not overflow it. During the dry season, we are not pumping any
water. We try to build as much storage
as we can. This is very much a balancing
act of trying to anticipate the rainy season and keeping the storage as high as
we can but leaving enough room for heavy rainfalls.
Mr.
Frederick stated in order to pump water out of the C-14 Canal; SFWMD has to
approve it. Unless you have plenty of
rain but the lake is not getting rain, there is no way to take the water back
to them.
Mr.
Goscicki stated this is a big issue in South Florida because the land is flat
and there are limited amounts of storage.
We will get all of this rainfall in the next couple of months but not have
much storage so we try to maximize every little bit of storage as we can.
The
resident asked what about going through the everglades.
Mr.
Goscicki responded this is the big question in terms of whether we can clean
the water well enough to get it to the everglades. We also need to compare this to the costs
involved in doing so and who will pay for it.
This becomes a regional statewide issue in terms of how to manage this
water supply.
Mr.
Fennell stated there are a couple of instances where water is back pumped into
the everglades but this conflicts with an Environmentalist’s viewpoint of
having pure water. Sometimes rain water
is not pure enough for the everglades.
Probably the smart thing to do is to pump processed water from a Water
Treatment Plant. However, this is just a
small amount. The amount of water we
actually have in the canals is a large amount.
If SFWMD wanted to do this, we could back pump, if they have pumps
there. Currently, this is not the way
the thinking is going. I agree with
you. SFWMD should look at ways of retaining
more water and holding it. Frankly we
receive a great amount of water and most of the time; we are more worried about
flooding than having a drought. However,
20% of the time or once every five or ten years, we have a drought like this
and then suddenly we get concerned. The
concern is not so much for us than it is for our metropolitan areas towards the
ocean. What happens with them is when
the water drops; they get saltwater intrusion into their well fields. Most of the wells are shallow wells 100 to
150’ down. We do not have this problem
here.
Our
well field goes up and down during the drainage seasons but we store water and
release it when SFWMD wants us to. We
have two issues; how to conserve water and how to make sure it stays. It looks like 15” of rain is the maximum we
were originally designed to hold over a two to three day period. The analysis run by our engineering group recommends
some improvements, especially for the east area for drainage. The north part of our area goes through
canals and if you block any of those canals, the water does not reach the
pumps. I moved here in 1979 and two
months later we received 15” of rain from a tropical storm. The water was backed up along my street. Ms. Zich had flooding in her garage. This is why we are so cognizant of
maintaining these structures to make sure they are working and our budget. We want to make sure we adequately fund the
pumps so we can pump out the water when we need to and have the money on hand
to handle these types of emergencies.
CSID
was well designed versus other areas by limiting the number of homes in each
community and having strict housing specifications. When people built houses here, they had to
specify the type of drainage, storage and percolation going into the
ground. Nevertheless, going forward for
next fiscal year, we directed our engineers to come back to us with an
assessment. It could cost us $4 million
or $10 million to have concrete improvements made to the drainage system,
especially in the east basin where we feel there are issues and in the north
part where the houses are older. New
Orleans had issues with flooding from surrounding drainage districts when their
walls were blown out. What assessment amount
are we going to charge the residents?
Mr.
Goscicki responded the new proposed assessment is $187.70 per unit per year for
a single family resident compared to $150.71, which is on the current tax
bill. This means, you are looking at a
$37 increase from last year to this year.
Our primary goal is not increasing expenses to spend more money on a day
to day basis. We are rebuilding reserves
to be able to deal with the next major storm after depleting our reserves after
dealing with the last one.
Mr.
Hanks asked with the increased assessment amount, how much revenue will be
generated?
Mr.
Goscicki responded it will generate $400,000 in additional revenue over last
year’s assessment. To put this into
perspective, the amount of money the District spent dealing with the last
hurricane was over $3 million, of which we received reimbursements of over $1.5
million from the federal government. We
are trying to build up this reserve by generating another hundred thousand this
year and another hundred thousand next year.
Mr.
Fennell asked are there any comments from the public?
A
resident responded yes. I live on 100th
Drive in back of a canal, which looks like a sewer. People come and clean it but it looks awful.
Mr.
Hanks asked is this off of Ramblewood Drive?
Mr.
Fredericks responded from here you make a left on Ramblewood Drive and your
first right onto 100th Drive.
Mr.
Fennell stated we will talk with you after the meeting.
A
resident asked did you go through a bond issue?
Mr.
Fennell responded we went through a bond issue for the Water and Sewer
Fund. We spent a great deal of money
borrowing bonds.
Mr.
Hanks asked what fees were we looking at?
Mr.
Goscicki responded your fees were 3% to 4% for Bond Counsel and Underwriter and
another fee for the Engineer’s Report.
You are looking at significant dollars to move forward with a bond
issue. This is for a much larger bond
issue.
Mr.
Fennell stated it is not a big enough bond issue.
Mr.
Goscicki stated the other concern the Board discussed was a timing issue. This Board was fortunate enough to have
monies in reserves to be able to re-build our equipment with the hurricane
issues.
Mr.
Daly stated you had a draw in 2006.
Mr.
Goscicki stated correct. It slows the
process down if you do not have the funds available.
Mr.
Hanks stated keep in mind, even if we pursue the route of borrowing money,
whether it be by a loan or bond or other method, we still have to pay it
back. At some point, we have to find the
dollars within our budget to pay Bond Counsel and the Underwriter. We are talking about a “what if”
scenario. Would it be much better to use
the interest to build the reserves back and decrease assessments at a later
date?
Mr.
Fennell stated this $500,000 is more for remedial work as opposed to long-term
capital improvements, like building another canal. The benefits will last 10 to 15 years, is a
substantial amount of money and a bigger budget than what we currently
have. I feel this is a case of needing
to pay as we go since we have 30 year old buildings.
A
resident asked did you say we acquired a bond years ago and have now paid it
off?
Mr.
Fennell responded yes.
The
resident asked can we use this money to decrease assessments?
Mr.
Fennell responded no. We decreased our
rates seven to eight years ago once we paid off the bond because we did not
need to pay it off anymore. We need to pay
off the shorter term items. We are
conscious of the need for this project to be well maintained. If it is not, the amount of money we will
spend on replacing items in our homes will increase. If you get 2” of water in your home, it will
go onto the carpet and walls and you are suddenly talking about spending
$50,000 in repairs. We all know how hard
it is to get reimbursed for flood damages.
It is better for us to spend the money and do what we can to prevent
flooding from occurring as opposed to trying to argue with the insurance company
for damages.
Mr.
Gold stated I am the Vice Mayor of Coral Springs as well as a resident. I appreciate seeing all of the plaques you
received for your support of the Waterway Cleanup. This Board supported the Waterway Cleanup for
a number of years. Last year we had 450
volunteers, which was the single largest number of volunteers for such an
event. I appreciate all of your
support. I do not have any specific
comments on your budget but we received complaints about District property. One suggestion was to enhance and improve the
landscaping, at least around the borders of the Water Treatment Plant so when
people look into this property, it is something they can be happy to look at as
opposed to not being happy. I appreciate
it if this property can be included in this year’s budget.
Mr.
Goscicki stated this property is included in the budget as part of the Site Development
Plan for the Wastewater and Water Treatment Plant improvements. Perimeter landscaping is provided for to meet
the city requirements.
Mr.
Gold stated during our conversations, we talked about certain systems in place
within our District. I have lived in
Coral Springs for 30 years in Maplewood.
You mentioned some systems are not adequate. In other words, if one of those pipes fail,
the water backs up. There is more than
one redundant system lacking pipes. One
of the quicker fixes we discussed was to put one pipe under Maplewood
Elementary. This will only affect one
homeowner and the school. I request this
Board consider my suggestion. There is a
greater picture of the redundant systems because if our waterways are blocked,
we have water flooding into people’s homes.
Mr.
Hanks stated this is one of our bigger issues in identifying where we can make
the best efforts to make improvements.
It is not a small feat as you can imagine the dollars associated with
it. We will go through our due diligence
to make sure what you are proposing as a solution is a good solution.
Mr.
Gold stated Mr. Fennell has approached City Hall on a number of occasions and
we certainly appreciated his candor and courage to come and listen to the five
members of the commission and discuss our differences and similarities. We also work with the SFWMD on alternative
water scenarios. Do you have any money
set aside in the budget for this purpose?
Mr.
Fennell responded this budget is strictly for the operations of the
District. We have a separate budget for
the sewer and water. To answer your
question, we are currently looking at having some fairly large bond issues in
order to replace our Water Treatment Plant.
We plan to remove the older system and install a membrane filtration
system. This type of a system is
instrumental from the standpoint of installing one section and then adding more
sections at a later time. This will mean
better quality and cost effective water and will meet future
specifications. We are only planning at
this point, to install this type of system at the CSID plant. However, in the future, we can look at having
some type of joint system.
Mr.
Goscicki stated this Board has been proactive in looking at the possibility of
alternative water supplies to effluent reuse to create irrigation quality water
and is in partnership with surrounding communities. We have a Wastewater Treatment Plant capable
of producing effluent quality water, which can be used for reuse. Certainly SFWMD is aware of this as well as
DEP. As we move forward, we are anxious
to work with the city and the other districts to start looking at cooperative
regional programs in regards to how we can turn this waste product into a
resource, which can be used for irrigating golf courses. There are monies budgeted in the Water and
Sewer Budget for these purposes, which we can start working with the city on.
Mr.
Gold stated you are the only District using wastewater, which can be reused in the
City of Coral Springs. In order for us
to benefit, we have to bring our pipes towards the Dells and the Meadows. The practicality of this occurring is a
challenge.
Mr.
Fennell stated many people have canals behind their house and it is hard to
sell them something for $50 a month when they are already getting it for
free. We are under pressure and with
good reason from SFWMD in looking at better ways to use the water we currently
have. We have some ideas. It may come down to some fairly strange requirements
both from you and us about water re-usage.
On the other hand, we are underway with plans to build a new drinking
water facility, which we feel is going to be first class at a lower cost. It will give us the water we need to get us
through future years. As you well know,
we have tie-ins. Are you looking for
some type of general procedure?
Mr.
Gold responded I am here as a resident and wanted to hear about the issues
coming forward.
Mr.
Hanks stated if this leads to an increase in their withdrawals and there is an
issue with the water levels in the canals, we may want to introduce an
intraconnector or Cross Pumping Agreement between our canals. There are benefits to being able to pump into
the canals rather than pumping it out.
There are many different options out there and I will not commit to
anything because we do not know if people are going to help and whether the
dollars are going to be there for any one of those systems. We want to make sure you know the system is
right for us, comes at the right time, for the right amount and for the right
purpose.
Mr.
Gold stated I serve on the Water Advisory Board as Vice Chairman and I am aware
of the issues. One issue we talked about
at the city was the fact most people still do not have rain sensors, especially
in the older part of Coral Springs. I
heard about cities giving people $100 for every toilet they switch out to a low
use toilet. This is not what I am suggesting. I think most people do not know how to
regulate their timers on sprinklers.
Mine are off because I thought I knew how to regulate them and then I
came out one morning and they were sprinkling on the wrong day. As a result, I turned them off two months ago
and they are still off. The other issue
is these rain sensors not being installed in the appropriate area and not
triggering. This is another point where
you can come up with a program to supply the sensors and install them. These are only suggestions to your budget.
Mr.
Fennell stated thank you very much for coming.
We appreciate your comments! I
met with the Vice Mayor a number of times and he is interested in all of the
water issues and has been cooperative and understood our study. We presented our engineering studies to him
on a private basis as well as to the City Manager and other city staff. The city is also aware of our issues. In regards to the study, we saw areas in the
east basin where there should be some improvements. These will probably cost $6 million to $8
million. We only have $1.5 million in
our budget and are not going to spend $8 million. However, maybe this is the right thing to do
and we will make sure it happens. The
purpose of this budget is to make sure the system is working. Are there any further comments about the
budget? Not hearing any,
On
MOTION by Mr. Hanks seconded by Mr. Fennell with all in favor the public
hearing was closed.
Ms.
Fallis complained about the hedge around her property not being maintained.
Mr.
Fennell stated we will have someone check out your complaint.
Mr.
Daly stated I will make sure someone takes care of the hedges immediately, preferably
first thing tomorrow.
Mr.
Goscicki asked are you familiar with this area, Mr. Frederick?
Mr.
Frederick responded she is talking about the hedges at the end of the canal
where the guardrails are.
Mr.
Fennell stated this may not be our responsibility. It may be the city’s responsibility.
Ms.
Fallis stated the city cuts the hedges.
Mr.
Fennell stated you need to speak with Mr. Gold.
There are two separate bodies; the City of Coral Springs and CSID.
Ms.
Fallis stated this is your canal.
Mr.
Hanks stated if there are shopping carts in the canal, it is our responsibility
to remove them.
Ms.
Fallis stated there is also debris in the canal. It has to come from somewhere.
Mr.
Frederick stated when we get the southeast wind everything blows into this one
canal.
Ms.
Fallis stated I pick up trash and palm fronds from the canal bank. Are your landscaping people supposed to pick
up the palm fronds?
Mr.
Hanks stated they are not under our control.
Mr.
Daly stated we do not have landscapers.
I can send someone out there tomorrow to survey the property to
determine whether or not it is our responsibility. I understand your concerns. You have every right to give us a call at any
time as we are here to serve you.
Unfortunately we can only do what we are allowed to do. If it happens to be a city issue, we know
people who are very responsive and can take care of this matter. We would be happy to call them on your
behalf.
Mr.
Goscicki stated as part of the budget process, we have some resolutions for the
Board to consider. The first resolution
is 2007-7, which by title is:
“A
RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE FINAL GENERAL FUND BUDGET OF THE CORAL SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008”
On
MOTION by Mr. Hanks seconded by Mr. Fennell with all in favor Resolution 2007-7
as stated above was adopted.
On
MOTION by Mr. Hanks seconded by Mr. Fennell with all in favor Resolution 2007-8
Levying a Maintenance Assessment for the Payment of Maintenance Expenses for
the Water Management System from the Period of October 1, 2007 through
September 30, 2008 was adopted.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Engagement
Letter with Keefe, McCullough & Co., LLP to Perform the Audit for Fiscal
Year 2007
Mr.
Goscicki asked is Keefe, McCullough the current auditor for CSID?
Ms.
Rower responded yes.
Mr.
Goscicki stated this is their engagement letter to perform their audit for next
fiscal year. The amount they are
requesting is a not to exceed amount of $16,500.
Mr.
Fennell asked do we have to go out for bids?
Mr.
Goscicki responded not every year. A
formal process was adopted a couple of years ago requiring us to go through a
competitive selection process. This is
similar to the CCNA process for selection of the engineer.
Mr.
Lyles stated this is due process based on price.
Mr.
Hanks asked how does this price compare to last year’s?
Mr.
Daly responded we pay them half now and half later. The budgeted amount was $8,500 and this is
what it will come in at.
Ms.
Rower stated the engagement letter reflects a higher amount because it is a two
part audit.
Mr.
Goscicki stated it is comparable to last year’s budget amount.
Ms.
Rower stated they are an excellent firm and we have excellent rapport with
them.
On
MOTION by Mr. Hanks seconded by Mr. Fennell with all in favor the Engagement
Letter with Keefe, McCullough & Co., LLC. to Perform the Audit for Fiscal
Year 2007 in the amount of $16,500 was approved.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Discussion by CH2M-Hill
of the Final Conditions and Assessment Report for Pump Stations 1&2
Ms.
Early stated included in your agenda package are two color coded charts. We met with staff several times and prioritized
all of the items based on our assessment report. FPI will provide the labor at no cost to the
District for the items shown in blue.
The District only has to pay for the parts. The items in yellow are of a high
priority. We removed the items in red. One of the items removed was the LP gas replacement,
which is a big ticket item. I believe
Mr. Hyche has information on the detangler we tested.
Mr.
Hyche stated the work has not yet started.
Ms.
Early stated there is the possibility we can just add a tank. In speaking with Mr. Goscicki and Mr. Daly,
we are going to decide which items can be performed by staff.
Mr.
Fennell stated we just passed the budget with reserves of $580,000. Is this money in anticipation of some of
these items?
Mr.
Goscicki responded any unspent money from your capital program will go into
reserves. When the budget was created,
we were looking at a higher number. It
does not include any additional LP tanks.
This is strictly a refurbishment.
Mr.
Fennell asked how many days of fuel do we need?
Ms.
Early responded three.
Mr.
Hanks stated we have to look how much water we can move. We know what a three day storm event can
do. In a five year storm event, I do not
know if there is much of a difference in how much water we can move.
Mr.
Hyche asked is it possible to get the tanks installed this season?
Ms.
Early responded I can find out.
Mr.
Fennell stated we need to make sure we keep them full. You are currently keeping the canals high due
to restrictions from SFWMD.
Mr.
Frederick stated we want to keep them fairly high. If a hurricane is coming, we will pump the
water down and have the gas tanks topped off before the storm gets here.
Mr.
Hyche stated it is all part of the preparations prior to the storm.
Mr.
Fennell asked are there any other comments?
Mr.
Goscicki responded no. This is an
informational item so the Board knows what the improvements are. With the Board’s concurrence, we will
proceed. There are some monies we can
use within the existing budget in order to move forward so we do not need to
wait until October.
Mr.
Fennell stated we can do some things ourselves.
Do we need to go out for bids on others?
Mr.
Goscicki responded yes. We are currently
meeting with CH2M-Hill in terms of breaking these items out and deciding what
needs to go into a general contract in terms of mechanical, electrical and
structural expertise.
Mr.
Fennell stated we should expect bid specs.
Ms.
Early stated we will bring a work authorization to the Board.
Mr.
Fennell asked what is the status of the pump study you were completing for us?
Ms.
Early responded we met with Mr. Fredericks and are completing this report. He knows how long it takes to pump.
Mr.
Frederick stated it takes a couple of hours to get the pump moving.
Mr.
Fennell asked does your experience match their report?
Mr.
Frederick responded yes. One number was fairly
close.
Mr.
Fennell asked do we own the model?
Ms.
Early responded yes.
Mr.
Fennell stated I want to make sure we have a copy of the model in our files.
Ms.
Early stated I will provide a copy to Mr. Hyche.
Mr.
Hyche stated this is one issue. We
should think more about the items Mr. Gold suggested and have more District-wide
improvements.
Mr.
Fennell stated I agree. He is correct in
saying we discussed this and showed him the results of the study. I do not feel the berm matter was resolved to
my satisfaction.
Mr.
Hanks asked did we get the surveyor out there?
Ms.
Early responded the surveyor went out there and did some perimeter measurements
and it is down to 11.5’. According to
SFWMD, the water should be at 9.8’. I
know you disagree but this is the number we obtained. In talking to Mr. Bob Higgins who worked for
Gee & Jenson years ago, about how they determined this number, he said they
modeled it based on the 100 year storm and added a couple of feet. It is not documented by the SFWMD that the
berm has to be at this elevation. I
cannot find where they say we need to put the berm back to this level.
Mr.
Fennell stated it is three feet lower than the C-14 Canal.
Mr.
Hanks asked what is the predicted stage for the 100 year storm in this area?
Ms.
Early responded 11.5’.
Mr.
Hanks stated we are going to have flooding there. You are going to have water levels at 11.5’
regardless.
Mr.
Fennell stated I understand the rationale.
Ms.
Early stated this was permitted through SFWMD.
Somehow this developer got them to agree to take the level down. If we put it back to 9.5’, we are going to
have to put some type of drainage in back of this house and all along the dike. Otherwise, the water is going to sit
there. It is not just a matter of
putting 3’ of fill on the dike.
Mr.
Fennell stated it is still 3’ less than the C-14 Canal. I want a guarantee that the water will never
be any higher.
Ms.
Early stated they never promised us because the highest the water ever reached
was 9.8’. This is according to their
gauge.
Mr.
Hanks stated you need to open the gates coming out of the everglades in order for
Coral Springs and Tamarac to pump their water in there and hold it up at the other
end. You can have a severe storm surge
and have problems getting the water out of there by everyone pumping.
Mr.
Fennell stated you need to measure it again because I cannot see it
happening. You are already telling me
you believe the water is going to get up to 12’. What is really happening is this canal is
hooking up to the district north of us.
Mr.
Hanks stated you need to look at what the hydraulic losses are in this canal
using the SFWMD’s levels to determine the theoretical pump rate for Sunshine. This is what we need to know.
Ms.
Early stated I understand what you are suggesting but I am having a difficult
time finding where it says we need to have this berm. It was probably designed to retain our own
storm water.
Mr.
Fennell stated I think the water was illegally dumped recently.
Ms.
Early stated we have a permit but it was based on the dike being at this level.
Mr.
Hanks stated you should have them provide the as-builts at the end of the
job. They do not care if your berm is
higher. They only care if it is lower.
Ms.
Early stated when Maplewood was completed by the developer, the berm was lower
and they received a certification from SFWMD.
Mr.
Hanks stated if we start touching this berm and a storm blows in, we are
opening ourselves up to problems. Is
this berm the same height as the ones on the east side?
Mr.
Fennell responded no. It was built to
the C-14 Canal height, however on our side, the canal was lower. The other side was at a higher level.
Mr.
Hanks asked what is the lowest elevation on the C-14 Canal side?
Ms.
Early responded I have to look at the data.
Mr.
Hanks stated we have to look at the problems the districts who pump water into
us have. The west outfall canal in
Sunshine cuts right through our District.
They may be encountering a similar problem to what we are encountering
in CSID where the stages vary higher than what they were predicted at 30 years
ago. We do not need this extra
water. Before we repair this one
location, we should take a look at Sunshine.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Non-Exclusive
Easement Agreement for Coral Springs Honda Parking Garage
Mr.
Goscicki stated we will pull this item from the agenda as it has not gone
through complete staff review.
Mr.
Hanks stated before this goes through, we are dealing with a 15’ wide easement between
Atlantic Boulevard and University Drive.
The non-exclusiveness is for other utilities to have the right to go in
there. How will we gain access if we
have to worry about going around FP&L or Bellsouth? Was this agreed to previously about this being
a non-exclusive easement?
Mr.
Goscicki responded you are bringing up reasons for this item being pulled from
the agenda. We have not gone through an
in-depth review with staff.
Mr.
Hanks stated when we do development projects adjacent to canals; we should
request an easement from the affected property owners.
Mr.
Fennell stated make it a condition of them taking ownership.
Mr.
Hanks stated this way we can get extra access.
Broward County is starting to install guardrails at all of our canal
crossings and you are going to find it increasingly difficult to get access to
some of these locations.
Mr.
Hanks stated good point.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Current Status and
History of Open Work Authorizations
Mr.
Daly stated we looked at this briefly last month as more of an informational
piece as opposed to a discussion item.
Staff discussed the ongoing work authorizations, which keep getting
amended and turning into seven year old work authorizations. It is hard to keep track of them and hard for
the Board to know what these approved.
We are trying to come up with some solutions such as closing them out at
the end of the year to make sure they are easily digested by the Board.
Mr.
Hanks stated we need to note the outstanding work authorizations. We will have change orders on some of them
but I agree keeping a seven year old work authorization open is cluttered.
Mr.
Daly stated this started when Mr. Hanks asked us to clean up some of these work
authorizations and listing them on a monthly report in regards to the
percentage of completed ones. You cannot
be expected to recall every work authorization, especially if they are three
years old.
Mr.
Fennell stated this has to be part of our financial reporting.
Mr.
Daly stated it will be in each month’s agenda package. When the Board makes a decision to approve a
work authorization, it will be based on a budgeted number. Every month CH2M-Hill will update the list
and have discussion if necessary.
EIGHTH ORDER OF
BUSINESS Staff Reports
A. Manager
i. Ratification
of Billing Services Contracts with Lake Powell Residential Golf Community
Development District, Bayside Improvement District and Bay Creek Improvement
District
Mr. Goscicki stated CSID has been
providing utility billing and customer service for these districts. We have been doing this in the past through Severn
Trent Services. As part of cleaning up
some of these relationships, we thought it would be much more appropriate for
CSID to contract directly with the other districts.
Mr. Hanks asked Mr. Lyles, have you
reviewed the form of these agreements?
Mr. Lyles responded I worked with
staff on these agreements and they are basic forms of Interlocal Agreements by
which this District will provide certain services to these districts. Our input has been incorporated and these
agreements are ready for consideration by the Board at this time.
Mr. Hanks asked do we need to
approve them individually?
Mr. Lyles responded one motion for all
of them is sufficient.
Mr. Fennell asked how do we bill for
this?
Mr. Daly responded we send a monthly
invoice to each District.
Mr. Fennell asked how did we reach
an agreement on how much to charge them?
Mr. Daly responded I used Severn
Trent’s contract. We are not receiving a
great deal of money and frankly, not performing a great deal of work.
On MOTION by Mr. Hanks seconded by Mr. Fennell
with all in favor the Billing Services Contracts with Lake Powell Residential
Golf Community Development District, Bayside Improvement District and Bay Creek
Improvement District were approved.
Mr. Fennell stated we have some outstanding issues such as getting another District Manager. I think you owe us an understanding of