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
Hal Anderson Attorney
Jane Early Engineer
John McKune CH2M Hill
Jean M. Rugg
Janice Larned
Denise Ganz Ruden McClosky
Rhonda Mossing Prager,
Sealy &
Fernanda Haido Prager,
Sealy &
Jorge Gutierrez Synalovski,
Gutierrez and Romanik
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll Call
Mr.
Mendolia called the meeting to order and Mr. Petty called the roll.
SECOND
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of the Minutes of the July 13, 2006 Meeting
Mr.
Petty stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the
There
not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the minutes of the
SIXTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration
of Agreements and Documents Related to Bonds for
Mr.
Petty stated this process has been ongoing since the fall of last year. Tonight is to review these documents after
staff reviewed them in substantial form to go over them for an understanding
and then to approve them subject to staff finalizing them.
Mr.
Anderson stated we have been going through this process, which may be familiar
to you from last fall when the public hearings were held to put assessments on
the different areas within NSID. They
anticipated this particular bond issue for Heron Bay North as well as the
property of Golf and Country Club assessment areas. Those two were done last year. This one is ready to be done. There will also be a
This
is a series of documents we have been through before from the other bond
issues. All the different professionals
involved have worked to make sure everything is in order for you to review and
approve today. Based on these documents
we will be in a position to have a bond closing in a month or two. There are several things before you. I will ask Ms. Early to talk about the
Engineer’s Report. I will talk about the
brief agreements we have. Ms. Ganz will
summarize the details of the bonds.
I. Supplement to Master Engineer’s Report
Ms.
Early stated there is a supplement to the Master Engineer’s Report in the
agenda. The booklet we put out last fall
had the assessment area for Heron Bay North.
We updated the same projects. It
goes over the road projects, the lake projects and what this bond will
cover. We had to update the cost because
construction costs have increased substantially.
The
area we are talking about is called Supplementary B on this map, but it is
referred to Heron Bay North. It includes
all of the lakes in Heron Bay North all of the way down to the pool deck. It includes
Mr.
Anderson stated I believe we are a little over $13 Million in costs.
Ms.
Ganz stated costs have gone up significantly since the original Engineer’s
Report was approved. A portion of
This
also creates a cap on cash flow which can be generated from assessments. We anticipate approximately $8.4 Million in
bonds will be issued, which will net approximately $6.9 Million to put in the
construction fund for this project. WCI
will be responsible for the balance of the costs not funded through the bond
issue. The total projects, both master
and parcel specific, will be partially funded through bonds. We made sure the assessments in the
supplemental report do not exceed the maximums permitted by the assessment
proceedings you conducted. We also made
sure the amount of bonds we want to issue are within
the limits of the conditional bond delegation held last year where the court
validated the bonds.
Mr.
Petty asked is it safe to say the District’s position is virtually the same as
it was before and is slightly updated for construction issues?
Ms.
Ganz responded yes.
Mr.
Petty stated we do not have additional assessment levels. We are not looking at higher levels. We have gone through the hearing
process. The exposure is mostly to the
developer. I see we are trying to
maximize our ability to pay for the development without increasing it. Any interest in the reserve funds will go
into this account as a fourth level to pay off any projects which may be
outstanding.
Ms.
Ganz stated that is up to a certain point.
It goes to a different obligation account, which we will keep
repaying.
Mr.
Petty asked are we going to exceed our maximum under this issue?
Ms.
Ganz responded no.
Mr.
Petty stated we are not asking the Board to consider anything new. This is within the guidelines you looked at
last fall. All of the exposure is to WCI
for the increased construction cost of the project.
Mr.
Anderson stated we would like to get a motion on record to approve the
supplement to the Engineer’s Report.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the supplement to the Master Engineer’s Report was approved.
A. Completion
Agreement
Mr. Anderson stated this agreement commits WCI to pay for
all costs, which we do not have funds for.
We expect to have approximately $6.9 Million in available funds. This is based on the assessments in place
from last year. Because of the cost
increase, this agreement will obligate WCI to pay additional costs.
B. True-Up
Agreement
Mr.
Anderson stated this agreement allows for changes in the development plan. After the bonds are issued they assume 852
units are being built. If a few are not
built, there are bond assessments on those units which need to be paid. This obligates WCI to pay off any downward
adjustments in the number of units built.
C. Improvement
Acquisition Agreement
Mr. Anderson stated a great deal of construction will be
done by contracts lead by the District, but WCI will be building certain components
such as landscaping, sidewalks and a portion of the roadways. We will buy the completed improvements from
them. This is like a purchase agreement
on a house. It obligates them to sell it
to us at the engineer’s cost.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the completion agreements, true-up agreement and the improvement
acquisition agreements were approved.
D. Preliminary
Limited Offering Memorandum
E. Third
Supplemental Trust Indenture
F. Resolution
2006-9, Delegation Resolution
G. Continuing
Disclosure Agreement
H. Contract
of Purchase
Ms. Ganz stated in August of 2005 you approved a resolution
authorizing the issuance of bonds for the three assessment areas WCI was
involved in; two Parkland Golf and Country Club assessment areas and Heron Bay
North. You also approved the form of the
master indenture. This indenture and the
issuance of those bonds for the projects described in the indenture were
validated by the circuit court. We do
not have to go back to the court and we have a master indenture in place. The trustee under the indenture was Wachovia
Bank, but they sold their Trust Department to US Bank. They are the successor trustee.
We
are asking you to authorize bonds for the Heron Bay North bond issue not to
exceed $10 Million. We believe it will
be in the $8.4 Million range, but depending on how interest rates go we might
be able to generate more proceeds. We
want to have the flexibility to create a not to exceed cap within the
constraints of the assessments. By
adopting this resolution you will be giving us the authority to move forward
and close the bond issue within the parameters set forth in this resolution as
well as using the financing documents approved substantially in the form
attached to this resolution.
The
concept is to have two series of bonds; a long term series and a shorter term
series to be paid by WCI or the landowner as residential units are sold to end
users. This portion of the assessment
will not be passed along to the end users.
It will be the B Bond, which is a short term bond. The A Bond will be the long term assessment,
which will be within the parameters I mentioned when we were talking about the
Engineer’s Report.
The
resolution provides for the sale of bonds to Prager, Sealy & Company as the
underwriter. It attaches a form of a
bond purchase agreement, which will be entered into between the District and
Prager, Sealy & Company. It
authorizes the President or any member of the Board to sign the bond purchase agreement
subject to these parameters after we market the bonds.
The
parameters are in section five on page five of the Resolution. The aggregate principal amount of the series
will not exceed $10 Million. The final
maturity will be no later than
Mr.
Petty stated there was a parameter on the last one you
and I talked about, which was the audit being March 31.
Ms.
Ganz stated it is not a parameter. It is
a different issue. It comes up in the
context of the Continuing Disclosure Agreement.
There are terms of which the bonds will be sold to the underwriter. There is a Preliminary Limited Offering Memorandum
attached to this resolution. By adopting
this resolution you approve it substantially in this form. This is the document the underwriter will use
to market the bonds. After they have
been out in the market the interest rate will be set for the bonds, the actual
par amount of the bonds as well as the final maturity and redemption
provisions. As long as they are within
these parameters, we can consummate the sale of the bonds to Prager, Sealy
& Company. We hope to do this by the
end of September.
This
provides for continuing disclosure in the secondary market once the bonds are
issued. This is a modern form. It
provides up to 365 days for the District to complete its audit. Separate and apart from this there are other
bond issues outstanding in the District from the late 1990s which had more
restrictive time periods. We will be
dealing with it apart from this bond issue to get appropriate amendments in
place.
Mr.
Petty stated we are trying to get it to mirror state statute because it is how
we operate.
Ms.
Ganz stated I will ask for you to consider the resolution for approval. We have Ms. Mossing and Ms. Haido from
Prager, Sealy & Company on the phone.
They can talk to you about the market.
They reviewed this and feel the parameters are appropriate.
Ms.
Haido stated the parameters are conservative.
The long term bonds, which have a 2027 maturity, will probably have an
interest of 5 ⅜ percent. The B
Bonds, which have a maturity of 2016, will be approximately 5.25 percent. Long term rates have not moved a great deal
since last year. The Parkland Golf and
Country Club long term bonds we priced last year were 5.5 percent with a 26 maturity. The B bonds, which had a 2015 maturity were 5
⅛ percent. We are close to where
we were a year ago. We are in a good
interest rate environment.
Ms.
Ganz stated we are close to being able to print the prospectus. We have been working with WCI and your
counsel to get it ready. There are a few
open issues. I am hopeful we will be
able to get into the market in the next three weeks or so. How long do you need before we can price
them?
Ms.
Haido responded after we mail, we will need a week to 10 days to market the
bonds. We will need another week after
we price and sell to close.
Ms.
Ganz stated I believe we can still shoot for closing before the end of
September.
Ms.
Haido stated all the documents are in final and good shape, subject to final
sign off by WCI and the financing team.
We will likely close by the end of September.
Mr.
Mendolia stated the rates show 7 percent, but you are saying 5 ¼ percent to
5⅛ percent. Do you think it will
be the same within a month?
Ms.
Haido responded it has not moved in the past year. I do not believe we will exceed 7 percent,
which is conservative. I believe we will
be close to 5 ¼ percent.
Mr.
Petty stated the interest rate is not as material to the residents because they
will be paying a maximum amount. If we
get a lower interest rate, they will get a higher principal amount. This is the impact to the developer. Higher rates mean they will get less payback
on the infrastructure.
Ms.
Haido stated the numbers attached to the Engineer’s Report assume a 6 percent
interest rate for the long term bonds and a 5 ½ percent for the short term
rate. The assessments will be the same,
but it will generate a higher par as well as more construction proceeds.
Mr.
Petty asked do you have a specific suggestion on how you would like them to
approve the order?
Ms.
Ganz responded we need to approve the resolution in the form presented with the
documents attached.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor Resolution 2006-9, delegation resolution, presented along with the
documents attached within the resolution was adopted in substantial form.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
C. Engineer
Mr. Petty stated we would like to have the engineers talk to
you about the repair and construction of new tennis courts at The Commons.
Ms.
Early stated I would like to introduce Mr. Gutierrez from Synalovski, Gutierrez
and Romanik. They are the architects who
did the original buildings. We hired
them to go through it because they are familiar with it. He can give you a rundown of his report.
Mr.
Gutierrez stated I am going to give you a summary of the items we are planning
to work on. They involve the clubhouse,
the pool as well as the pool cabana, and the restroom building. We looked at the building. Our structural engineer climbed in the attic
to look at the structure. The structure
on the roof is in good shape. There are
no structural repairs to be done in the building. The structural repair will be replacing the
roof cosmetically. Most of the work will
be cosmetic.
In
regard to the exterior of the building, we feel the existing columns need to be
pressure cleaned, refinished and waterproofed.
We noticed cracking on the walls and want to patch, repair and paint
them. There is damage on the trim. We want to repair the trim and seal
everything around the exterior.
Mr.
Petty stated there are iron screens showing signs of rust. We need to sandblast and repaint those. They are artistic screens which set off the
entry. A great deal of the front entryway
has lost its impact. They have a huge
lantern the storm ripped away from the ceiling.
It has to be replaced. These are
signature pieces.
Mr.
Gutierrez stated when we install the new light fixture we are going to have
chains giving it support. We are going
to do the same for the bathroom facilities.
We are replacing the roofs on the clubhouse, the restroom building and
the pool cabana. We are going to
refinish the fascia. The gates at the
pool are in need of repairs. The self
closing hinges need to be replaced. We
will install new locks as well.
Mr.
Petty stated we are fighting with the insurance company and FEMA in regard to
payment. They tried to get us to accept
a check in the amount of $24,000. We
sent it back.
Mr.
Mendolia asked when will this materialize? Are we waiting on insurance?
Mr.
Petty responded no.
Ms.
Early stated he is estimating these repairs will come in at $520,000.
Mr.
Petty stated we have the money in reserves for this. You will see it in your budget. We can do this work and we are ready to go.
Ms.
Early stated because it is over $500,000 it requires a 30 day bid to be
advertised. We can probably get it in
the paper next week, open the bids in September and bring it to the October
meeting.
Mr.
Petty asked can we make the September meeting?
Ms.
Early responded no.
Mr.
Gutierrez stated we included a 10 percent contingency and 5 percent cost
estimate in our estimate. If we estimate
the roof will cost $150,000 for all three buildings, four months from now it
may cost an additional 5 percent.
Mr.
Petty stated it is possible it will come in under $500,000, which will beat the
30 day requirement and we will be able to have it for the next meeting. Why do we not try it? We cannot hurt ourselves. We will still be ready by October if we do
not make it.
Ms.
Early asked when is the next meeting?
Ms.
Rugg responded if we meet on the second Wednesday, it is
There
was Board consensus to meet on
Mr.
Gutierrez stated in regard to the tennis courts we have the existing facility
with all the approved courts, which have been built already. We feel we can add four courts. The plan is to do the same things we did with
the other courts. We spoke to the city
regarding zoning requirements. We should
be okay in terms of getting this approved.
They are not going to make us go through a full blown site plan approval
process. We will do an amendment to the
existing site plan. We think we will
have to show them four or five additional parking spaces. Because we have sufficient asphalt parking
spaces, we can add the parking spaces required for the additional courts in the
grass area.
Ms.
Early asked do you want to tell them how much you think it will cost?
Mr.
Petty responded we believe we have funding for a minimum of two courts at the
moment. We will try to get funding in
the next year and a half to do the other two courts. We have cash for at least two, hopefully all
four.
Mr.
Mendolia stated I would not do only two.
I would do all four and forget about it.
Mr.
Petty stated we will pull as much cash as we can. If we need to pull money from other funds,
Ms. Larned will look into it. We will
report the options at the next meeting.
Our intention is to get the courts done now while we are doing the
permits.
Ms.
Early stated we need authorization if you want us to proceed.
Mr.
Mendolia asked do you have a price for this?
Mr.
Petty responded it is approximately $250,000 per court.
Mr.
Gutierrez stated it includes lights, fencing and irrigation.
Mr.
Mendolia stated we have to negotiate.
That is too high.
Mr.
Petty stated the husband of one of the girls who works here does the asphalt
version. They are in the price range you
talked about. The clay courts are
pricy.
Mr.
Mendolia stated we need to price it.
Mr.
Petty stated they will be bid.
Mr.
Mendolia stated let us do it and do all four.
Ms.
Early asked can you give them a timeframe?
Mr.
Petty responded I thought you were going to advertise now.
Ms.
Early stated we need design plans for this.
Mr.
Petty stated we should post a sign instructing the residents who use the
facility of the new construction, which will be ongoing, so they understand the
mess as well as post a sign showing where the new tennis courts will be.
Mr.
Mendolia stated you should send a brochure to the
THIRD
ORDER OF BUSINESS Public
Hearing to Consider Adoption of General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2007,
Resolution 2006-6, and Levy of Non Ad Valorem Assessments, Resolution 2006-7
Mr. Mendolia opened the public hearing.
Mr.
Petty stated I will direct you to the summary page and talk about the
assessment levels. If you look at the
general fund, which is where all of your operation and maintenance actions are,
you will see assessments went down. We
have plenty of action going on as you just saw.
We are providing improvements. We
are enjoying economies of scale. Our
District has grown by unit count and the services have not jumped up as
much. You will see a bigger number next
year. We increased unit counts by a
little over 2,000, yet our requirements for service were not as great. These are brand new units. Operation and maintenance is not caught
up. In the next year or two you will see
the number go back to the $80 to $90 range.
The debt service tables remain as they were before and they are fixed by
the bond cost.
Mr.
Mendolia asked have you met with anyone from each of the areas?
Mr.
Petty responded I met with WCI in regard to The Commons. I met with the landscape committee for
Parkland Isles. We met with field crews
for water and sewer as well as drainage.
We met with our engineers on this issue.
We also met with Ms. Walker. There
are some things which came in late in the process for the general fund. We will have them for your consideration in the
water and sewer budget. We would like to
leave the general fund as is.
There
is an item I want to bring to your attention under Special District, which is
the mitigation area, on page 16. The
mitigation area started around 1995 and was considered to be beneficial to the
area called
Mr.
Mendelson asked what is the difference economically?
Mr.
Petty responded they have to cover it because they did not get approval for the
entire process. They need to rebuild a
great deal of this to the current standard, which is good for us. We met with WCI. We terminated the contract with
Acquagenics. We are working with WCI’s
environmental engineer, Miller Leg. They
are writing the specifications for a better maintenance contract. We have our maintenance people gearing up to
oversee it. We cannot rely on
contractors. This is why this number
went up. It has gone from the tax levy
of $83,000 to $218,000. It was $27 to
each unit. It is now $72. This is real maintenance, not “play”
maintenance. The impact to the residents
is minimal. The percentage impact is
significant, but the dollar amount is not.
WCI is putting in over $500,000 for corrective actions. You will see a significant change. We will jump on top of this with
maintenance. We will be going out to bid
for the contractor within the next 30 days.
Our own staff will take over in a six month transition. The contractor will be utilized for the big
plantings.
Ms.
Early stated Ms. Reed received approval from
On
MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the public
hearing was closed and Resolution 2006-6 adopting the general fund budget for
fiscal year 2007 was adopted.
Mr.
Petty stated this is a two part process.
We will ask you to consider the next resolution, which is how we levy
the non ad valorem assessment to the property appraiser. It is Resolution 2006-7.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor Resolution 2006-7 levying the non ad valorem assessments for fiscal
year 2007 was adopted.
FOURTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Distribution
of Proposed Water and Sewer Budget for Fiscal Year 2007 and Consideration of
Resolution 2006-8 Setting a Public Hearing
Mr.
Petty stated I apologize for bringing this to you late. In doing the assessments and getting the TRIM
notices out, we had trouble and it put us back in the schedule. We are asking you to approve this in order to
disseminate it to other government agencies.
We will ask you at a later date to adopt it for implementation in the
next fiscal year.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor Resolution 2006-8 approving the water and sewer budget and setting the
public hearing for
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of
Permits
A.
B.
Ms. Early stated these are typical surface water
permits. These are the last two parcels
in Heron Bay North. We had two parcels
at the last meeting. It meets the
District’s criteria.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the permits for Heron Bay North Plat 3 50’s and 75’s were approved.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
(Continued)
A. Manager’s
Report – Meeting Schedule for Fiscal Year 2007
Mr. Petty stated in your agenda package we have a
recommended meeting schedule for fiscal year 2007. We would like to advertise this at one
time. If the schedule is not to your
liking, we can do it monthly.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the meeting schedule for fiscal year 2007 was approved.
Mr.
Petty stated we will be doing a communication officer position. It is in the water and sewer budget. It is important for us to talk to the
residents about what we do. We will be
talking about how we project our image to the residents. This is based on feedback from The Commons. This is to put us in the proper light for
what we do, receive customer appreciation and to find out from the public what
they want from us.
B. Attorney’s
Report
There
being no report, the next item followed.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of Requisitions
and Invoices
Mr. Petty stated we asked Mr. McKune to mutiny his current
position and join us. We have a couple
of concerns. CH2M Hill is an engineering
firm we do not know very well. Mr.
McKune and Ms. Early we rely on and trust.
We are asking Mr. McKune if he will consider being an independent
contractor for us in order to do quality engineering and oversee the invoices
we are getting. We can pay his salary
from the savings he will generate.
Mr.
Mendolia stated it is done.
Mr.
Mendelson stated yes.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the requisitions and invoices were approved.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
There being no further business,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the meeting was adjourned.
Steve Mendelson Salvatore Mendolia
Secretary President