MINUTES
OF MEETING
CORAL
SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
The
regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Coral Springs Improvement
District was held on Monday, November 15, 2004 at 4:05 p.m. at the District
Office, 10300 N.W. 11th Manor, Coral Springs, Florida.
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Robert D. Fennell President
William J. Eissler, Jr. Vice
President
Glen Hanks Secretary
Also present were:
Rich Hans Assistant
Superintendent
Dennis Lyles Attorney
Cedo DaSilva Engineer
John McKune CH2M-Hill
George Keller Severn Trent Services
Roger Moore Severn Trent Services
Ed Goscicki Severn Trent Services
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll Call
Mr.
Fennel called the meeting to order and Mr. Hans called the roll.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Minutes of
the October 18, 2004 Meeting
Mr. Fennel stated that each Board member received a copy of
the minutes of the October 18, 2004 meeting and requested any additions,
corrections or deletions.
There
not being any,
On
MOTION by Mr. Eissler seconded by Mr. Hanks with all in favor the minutes of
the October 18, 2004 meeting were approved.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Continuation of Public
Hearing to Adopt Amendments to the Permit Criteria Manual, Establish a Fee for Permit
Renewals and Provide for a Cash Trash Bond
Mr. Fennel asked was Mr. Hanks and Mr. DaSilva able to reach
an agreement on the manual?
Mr.
Hanks responded yes, and we subsequently met with SFWMD relating to my
concerns. There is one item that should
not hold up approval of this permit criteria manual, but we should establish
the maximum building coverage by permit through the SFWMD; basically, how much
building can you put on a site and not push storm water onto your neighbors
lot. Can that be taken care of by an
addendum?
Mr.
Lyles responded it sounds like it would be a rule of the District so we need a
public hearing notice for a rule making, much like we did with this permit
criteria manual and the schedule fee and charges. We would insert the corrected page on the
matter you will take up under the rule making authority.
Mr.
Fennel asked were there any additional changes made to the manual?
Mr.
DaSilva responded the only new item is the exhibits.
Mr.
Eissler asked can you fill me on the trash bond? Is the $2,500 enough to ensure the
right-of-way is left in equal to or better condition than what existed? Will the proposed application fee cover the
administrative cost and subsequent inspection cost at the end?
Mr.
DaSilva responded yes. The application
fee is for three hours of the engineer’s time and any additional time will be
billed to the applicant for cost recovery.
The
Board and staff continued to discuss the following issues:
·
the
design flood elevation of 100 year flood;
·
the
necessity to have all drains cleaned [whether it be the state, the city, the
county, the district, the HOA, or private landowners] during storm events to
allow the flood waters to dissipate;
·
the
implementation of the five year recertification process to ensure the systems
are functioning as originally designed;
·
the
possibility of better communication with the other agencies to ensure proper
drainage;
·
Severn
Trent Services was requested to come back with a report on possible solutions
in a month or two on better way to keep the drains clean;
·
The
suggestion of asking the city to install F-curbs and putting in a grate, but
those are the city streets;
·
Street
flooding being around 25%, and this problem needs to be addressed, and who is
ultimately responsible; and
·
The
District’s authority to ensure the standards in place by SFWMD, the county and
city are met in order to have a permit from us; the District can only issue a
permit to tie into the District’s system [storage criteria, pre-treatment
criteria, and discharge amounts]; there is no regulatory authority like that of
SFWMD.
Mr.
Hans stated we need to open to public hearing to invite the public to offer any
comments and testimony on the permit criteria manual, and to co
Mr.
Fennel opened the public hearing and asked for any comments?
There
not being any,
On
MOTION by Mr. Hanks seconded by Mr. Eissler with all in favor the permit
criteria manual was adopted, as corrected.
On
MOTION by Mr. Eissler seconded by Mr. Hanks with all in favor Resolution
2005-2, Adopting Amendments to the Permit Criteria Manual to Establish a Fee
for Permit Renewals and Provide for a Cash Trash Bond was adopted.
The
public hearing was closed.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Co
Mr.
Hans stated the chemical bid tabulation indicates those bids received from the
respective bidders. Staff’s
recommendation is to accept the lowest bidder for each respective
chemical.
Mr.
Fennell stated ProSource is the low bidder for Rodeo, Reward, Induce, Plymer,
Hydrothol 191 and Aquathol K; UAP is the low bidder for Reward and 2, 4-DL
4Ester; and Future Horizons is the low bidder for Citrine Plus.
On
MOTION by Mr. Eissler seconded by Mr. Hanks with all in favor contract for the
purchase of chemicals and herbicides was awarded the lowest bidder for each
respective chemical and herbicides; and in the case of two low bidders staff
has the ability to purchase from the company with the best delivery time.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Co
Mr.
Eissler stated we have done this every year and it is a worthwhile project for
the county. Last year we gave $2,500 to
this program.
On
MOTION by Mr. Eissler seconded by Mr. Hanks with all in favor the request to
sponsor the annual waterway cleanup in the amount of $2,500 was approved.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Co
Mr.
Eissler stated in talking about cleaning out the storm drains, it is a disgrace
to see these out-buildings at the schools; it looks like tenement city.
Mr.
DaSilva stated Ramblewood Middle School has recently added 13 classroom
buildings. They provided the trench
basin to accommodate the additional buildings.
They are holding water on site and are not discharging into the drainage
system. Staff recommends approval based
on the conditions outlined in our letter of November 5.
Mr.
Eissler stated every five years the permit will need to be recertified which is
a good thing.
On
MOTION by Mr. Hanks seconded by Mr. Eissler with all in favor the permit
request for Ramblewood Middle School for Surface Water Management and Drainage
Outfall was approved, with the conditions outlined in the engineer’s letter of
November 5.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Change Order No. 1 & Final
with Youngquist Brothers, Inc. for Injection Well 1 and Injection Well 2 Contract
for a Net Increase of $38,104
Mr.
McKune stated this is the first change order and final one to close out the
job. The change order represents
saw-cutting the existing slab and cutting the well casing at the request of
DEP; replacing the leaking valves on the IW-2 backflow; replacing for casing
leak at MW-2, and surface repairs for MW-2.
This completes the injection well program for mechanical integrity
testing.
On
MOTION by Mr. Eissler seconded by Mr. Hanks with all in favor Change Order No.
1 and Final with Youngquist Brothers, Inc., for Injection Well 1 and Injection
Well 2 Contract for a Net Increase of $38,104 was approved.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A.
Attorney
Mr.
Lyles stated we submitted last week to Lake Coral Springs Association the form
of the Lake Maintenance Agreement which I distributed for you to review at your
convenience. We are awaiting their
response, and we hope to have this finalized by your next meeting.
As
a point of information, the final public hearing before the Broward County
Legislative Delegation was held last week regarding the North Springs
Improvement District codification bill; and the proposed bill was proposed
unanimously. The new representative does
not seem to have any problems with what is going on, and I think we will be
okay this year.
B.
Engineer
1. Monthly Water & Sewer Charts
Mr.
Moore stated the city forwarded to me an email sent to them commending the
individuals who cleaned the canals, and I will pass that on to the District
employees.
We
are still working with FEMA, and we will be collecting back $10,000 in
overtime. They pay 90% of overtime and
equipment use, and in the first 72 hour period 100% of our expenses.
2. Update on Construction Analysis and
Capital Improvement Plan for Next Five Years
Mr.
Moore gave a presentation on the history of the utility plants, wells and pump
stations, storage facilities, and the lakes and canal system maintained by the
District.
Mr.
McKune gave an overview of the estimates [$31 million in total] needed to
upgrade the District’s utility system in the long run, the projects needing co
Mr.
McKune continued with a status report on the projects now being completed.
Mr.
Eissler stated we are potentially looking at $16 million in the next five years
[$3 million per year]. We realize things
come up like piping and electrical that fails.
We generate $500,000 a year and we have $8,000,000 in cash. This is a great start.
Mr.
Fennel stated I like what you are doing.
It is a rational viewpoint of what we are doing, where we are going and
how we are going to get the cash.
Mr.
Eissler asked how realistic are your engineering numbers? Are these rounded off? I have a feeling some of these numbers will
come down significantly.
Mr.
Hanks responded generally these numbers are good minus 10% to 15%. We cannot control the price of oil, steel,
etc. This is our best guess.
Mr.
Fennel stated we also need to prioritize the projects, and how much risk do we
want with this system. We need to know
the major risks of our system—the water generation and the 4 million gallon
aging plant, and how to get rid of our waste products [the solids and deep well
injection].
Mr.
Hanks stated there is a push to get this turned around and put the water into
the Everglades.
Mr.
Fennel stated they want to do phosphate counts in our canals and get it down
lower. They see this as pollution to the
Everglades. The smartest solution is to
filter the water more and have it naturally filtered into the Everglades. I don’t think it will happen in the next 10
to 15 years. That leaves two
choices—deep injections or out the ocean.
The more immediate information we can get from the engineers, but the
philosophy of where we go will be a discussion among all of us.
Mr.
Hanks stated we need to establish the priorities, the funds available to
address these improvements, the immediate function issues; performance of the
system by reducing infiltration and leaks, and improving the efficiency of the
system.
Further
discussions related to:
·
If
water bills increase, the water and wastewater production will decrease due to
residents being more conservative;
·
Alternatives
to using potable water, the increased use for reclaimed water;
·
The
expense of the capital projects possibly reducing operating costs;
·
The
addition of new operating plants increasing operating costs due to additional
personnel being added and additional chemicals being purchased; and
·
Building
another 4 million gallon plant for fresh water, allowing for excess capacity to
be sold.
Mr.
Hans presented the list for the cost reduction analysis staff is addressing
which consists of revenues, salaries and wages, plant efficiency and security
issues, and recommendations will be forth coming in the following month. Staff is also looking at the District’s
investment program.
Mr.
Fennell stated we also need a cash flow expectation; and when we do expect a
project to be completed and bills to be paid.
If we manage our cash, we should be able to generate enough cash to
handle these little projects of $500,000.
The goals are a time frame for the schedule, the costs, what the
expected expenses will be and the time frame for payment. We also need the cash flow of funds we have
coming in, the cost improvements we can get, and the possible increase in
revenues. Typically in cost reduction
you have a hard time generating ideas.
This is the way we have done it and if there was a reduction in cost we
would have already done it, but you really weren’t thinking about it.
Mr.
Eissler stated in a utility we are not increasing sales, we are increasing
liability and personnel. We sell the
same people the same water and take back the waste.
Mr.
Fennell stated if we replace something, I expect it to be 20% more efficient.
Mr.
Eissler stated that may be true, but you may not save money in the process.
Mr.
Fennell stated the cost per gallon of water should go down.
Mr.
Eissler stated your fuel goes up, the power generation goes up, and you have no
control over these costs.
Mr.
Fennell stated I am hoping the cost per gallon will go down.
Mr.
Goscicki stated the reason we bring in outside experts is to give a fresh
perspective and we will give recommendations and other alternatives for this
cost efficiency process that we will bring back in January.
Mr.
Fennell asked do we have any idea what are costs are? Gross-profit margin? We need to know where our costs go.
Mr.
Goscicki responded without looking at the budget—60% to 70% in labor, 20% to
30% in power, 10% in chemicals, and whatever is left into what is
remaining.
Mr.
Fennell stated we are not a cost plus organization. The difference between a profit organization
and a well run non-profit organization is 10%.
We should be just as efficient as a profit organization at 10% less
because the landowners within the District own this facility.
C.
Superintendent – Status of Newsletter
Mr. Hans stated if there are any comments or editions to the
newsletter please email them to me.
D.
Complaints
There not being any, the next item followed.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor’s Requests and
Audience Comments
There
not being any, the next item followed.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of Invoices
The financial reporting for November 15, 2004 is attached
hereto as part of the public record.
There
not being any comments,
On
MOTION by Mr. Eissler seconded by Mr. Hanks with all in favor the November
invoices were approved.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
Mr. Fennel stated this was a great meeting. We talked about our plans going forward, how
we are going to spend our money, how to generate the funds and how to become
more efficient. These are difficult
topics to face, and we want this to become the best run organization in
On
MOTION by Mr. Fennell seconded by Mr. Eissler with all in favor the meeting was
adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
Glen Hanks Robert D.
Fennell
Secretary President