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
Jane Early Engineer
John McKune CH2M Hill
Jean M. Rugg
Brenda Schurz
Janice Larned
Tara Lynn-Patton WCI
Communities, Inc.
Mike Hessler WCI Communities,
Inc.
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 May 10, 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
THIRD
ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration
of Permit Requests
A.
Ms.
Early stated this is a simple surface water permit for the construction of
lakes. It meets all requirements.
Mr.
Petty asked has there been any change to the surface area?
Ms.
Early responded no. They meet the
required acreage.
Mr.
Mendolia asked who is paying for this?
Ms.
Early responded it will be by funding agreement, which you will see under award
of contracts. There will be a District bond
issued.
Mr.
Petty stated it will be part of our system.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the permit request for the Parkland Village Lake Excavation was
approved.
B. Wal-Mart
Store #4498-00 Winn-Dixie Takeover
Ms. Early stated the Winn-Dixie on the northwest corner of
Mr.
Mendolia asked are they going to open a Super Wal-Mart?
Ms.
Early responded no. I do not believe so.
Mr.
Mendolia asked do you know if it is strictly food?
Mr.
Petty stated from what I understand from the business review it is strictly
food.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the permit request for the Wal-Mart Store #4498-00 Winn-Dixie takeover
was approved.
FOURTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration
of Award of Contract and Associated Agreements
A.
i. Award
of Contract
ii. Work
Authorization #160
iii. Funding
Agreements #449 and #450
Ms.
Early stated on May 18, 2006 we received bids for the
Mr.
Mendelson asked who is going to be paying for part of it?
Mr.
Petty responded the District will take on a certain amount and the rest will be
borne by the developer at their expense and risk. If we have excess funds at a later date,
there is a back way for us to pay it.
The
funding agreement is for $873,372 and it is for the lake portion. There is a funding agreement for water and
sewer. We are putting a small piece of
water and sewer. We have to put a
culvert and a bit of the infrastructure.
This funding agreement amounts to $40,400. Everything else will be paid by the property
owner, which is Tousa Homes.
Mr.
Petty asked under these types of agreements where we are funding less than half
of the total amount, are we still in control of the contract?
Ms.
Early responded I do all of the pay estimates and review everything, which
comes in.
Mr.
Petty asked how much of the project will be turned over to the District? Will we be obtaining facilities through
grants?
Ms.
Early responded the lake was dedicated to the District by plats and then the
water and sewer portion.
Mr.
Mendolia asked is what we just broke down within this number of $2,199,999?
Ms.
Early responded yes.
Mr.
Mendolia asked why is it under Triple R. Paving, Inc.?
Ms.
Early responded that is how much they bid.
Of this amount, the portion of the lake excavation, which is the
District’s, will be $873,372. The water
and sewer, which will be along NSID is $40,400.
This is within the Triple R. Paving, Inc. bid. The remaining amount will be paid by Tousa
Homes. When I get a pay estimate, I
split it and tell everyone who pays what.
We will prepare the requisitions for the funding agreements. At some point when the bond is sold, the
District’s portion will come out of the bond.
Mr.
Mendolia asked can you break down what you said on this paperwork?
Mr.
Early responded yes. If you look at
items eight, nine and ten, it amounts to the water and sewer. The portion of the bond I break down by
percentage. Item one, three, five, six
and seven are for the NSID lake portion, which will be paid out of the bond
issue. The District is going to pay for
de-mucking the lake area, digging the lake and putting in the culvert.
Mr.
Mendolia asked is this within the number of $2,199,999?
Ms.
Early responded yes.
Mr.
Mendolia asked why can we not break it up by what goes to Triple R. Paving,
Inc.?
Ms.
Early responded it all goes to Triple R. Paving, Inc. Triple R. Paving, Inc. is the only contractor
and this is his bid for the entire job.
We only received one bid.
Mr.
Mendolia stated that was my other question.
Ms.
Early stated we cannot get any bidders.
We faxed it. We advertised it for
a month in the paper two times. We did
not get any bidders. I have another job
I did not receive any bidders for.
Mr.
Petty stated it is convoluted and your concerns are our concerns. We were talking with the engineer so these
types of agreements are presented to the Board in a more easily digestive
format in the future. We know we have
these basic agreements and responsibilities.
We are looking to see as they come in if we are filling up, if we
reached our end cap, when is the new one and the old one going away. We are talking about having the status on
each project. We hope this will help
answer many of these questions. As for
the availability of contractors we are doing okay. I am glad we have a competent one out
there. It is hard to find good people.
Ms.
Early stated he has all of his equipment out there. The funding agreements have a breakdown
showing who is paying for what.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the award of contract for the
B.
i. Award of Contract
ii. Work Authorization #162
iii. Funding Agreement #452
This is for Phase II of Cypress Pointe. We already have Cypress Pointe Phase I
done. We only received one bid and it is
from Florida Sewer and Water, Inc. in the amount of $1,489,994.35. This requires a funding agreement with WCI
Communities, Inc. The amount of the
funding agreement is for $340,349.50.
WCI Communities will pay for all of the paving and drainage. The District is responsible for D, E and F,
which totals $340,349.50.
Mr.
Mendolia asked are there any problems with this?
Ms.
Early responded we only got one bid.
Mr.
Petty stated it is close to the engineer’s estimate.
Ms.
Early stated it is also close to what they have been bidding.
Mr.
Mendelson asked is it within the range you were looking for?
Ms.
Early responded that is correct.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the award of contract for Heron Bay North Plat 1 Phase II to Florida
Sewer and Water, Inc in the amount of $1,489,994.35, Work Authorization #162
and Funding Agreement #452 were approved.
C. Pine Island Road Extension
i. Award of Contract
ii. Work Authorizations #163 and #164
iii. Funding Agreement #451
Ms. Early stated the funding agreements should be #451 and
#453. We also received only one bid from
Triple R. Paving, Inc. in the amount of $1,816,153.92. A portion of this project is being paid out
of the new bond for Parkland Golf and Country Club and Supplement 3. There are two funding agreements we
need. There are two turn lanes, which
will be going into
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the award of contract to Triple R. Paving, Inc. for the Pine Island
Road extension in the amount of $1,816,153.92, Work Authorizations #163 and
#164, and Funding Agreements #451 and #453.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of
Change Orders
A. Change
Order No. 4 – Triple R. Paving, Inc. for Nob Hill Road, University Drive (Phase
2) and County Line Road for a Net Increase of $24,735
Ms. Early stated this job was completed and filed. Going through the paperwork we could not find
when this particular change order came before the Board. This is a follow up to get it approved by the
Board. The change order was paid for by
WCI Communities, Inc.
Mr.
Petty asked does this mean it is a housekeeping issue?
Ms.
Early responded that is correct.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor Change Order No. 4 with Triple R. Paving, Inc. for
B. Change
Order No. 4 & Final –
Ms.
Early stated this is a final balance change order. The project is complete. It is to finalize the quantities adjusted to
the as-builts. At the end you will see
there is a decrease to WCI Communities, Inc. in the amount of $17,065.77 as
well as a decrease to the NSID contract in the amount of $24,496.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor Change Order No. 4 and Final with Florida Sewer and Water, Inc. for
Heron Bay Northeast “Greenbrier” for a net decrease of $41,561.77 was approved.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A. Manager’s
Report – Distribution of Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2007 and Consideration
of Resolution 2006-5 Approving the Proposed Budget and Setting a Public Hearing
Mr. Petty stated a copy of the proposed budget was
distributed. There are some on the back
table for any audience members who wish to look at it. We do this in order to disseminate to the
public for their input as well as to local government for their review. This is a proposed budget and it is not
adopting anything final. It is coming
from your manager based on projects the manager and engineer wish to bring
before the Board or items the Board has asked for during the last fiscal
year. We ask you to approve this so we
can send it out, discuss it at future meetings and set a public hearing where
we can adopt a final budget. We will
send it to the property appraiser to set the assessments. I would like to go over some items and tell
you why we changed the numbers.
The
third page, which is actually page one, is a line item break down of the
general fund. You will see salaries went
from $42,687 to zero. This is because of
a change from our sister district, CSID.
We are modifying the way we are applying the personnel share. CSID will be responsible for all of the
employee costs and will work with NSID in the same manner. It will do so through ownership of the
employee and will part it out to us for our benefit at the same rate as before. We will do it through Interlocal Agreements
from Mr. Lyles’ office.
The
costs are not reflective of any increase other than the cost of living with one
exception. The retirement program is
being amended to change from a contribution to an IRA type benefit to one with
the State of
Mr.
Mendolia asked is it a 401K?
Mr.
Petty responded no sir. This is a
participation in the State of
The
next item going up a bit is technology sharing.
This is not a new item. You were
sharing this with CSID through Severn Trent Services. This is for the main frame computer system,
the software running your utility billing program and your human resources
system. This system is approximately
eight years old. It is time to rebuild
it. CSID will be doing it at a cost of
approximately $250,000. We are putting
it in a singular line item so you can monitor it.
Electronic
storage document is a new line item. We
estimated it at $5,000. It will be
provided by Severn Trent. We started
this process. You have a large stack of
blue prints. You can see the documents
we handle financially. These are all
paper documents we do not store electronically.
Our concern is we cannot wait to do this because of the hurricanes. It is time to store these
electronically. We brought in a large
system to handle the blue prints. We
have a new copy machine at CSID, which will convert all copied documents to and
electronic format. CSID is building a
storage system with redundancy back up so we have access to these files. In the case of an emergency, they will be
leaving the site.
The
next item is transaction overlay in the amount of $5,000. This refers to our shared cost with CSID. We just completed a special audit of the
accounting functions of the District to share.
It is Ms. Walker’s office, our management service and how we interact
with our equipment. We came through in a
good report. The weak spot is there are
single entities responsible for 99% of the accounting functions. If something should happen to Ms. Walker, we
will be in trouble. This is a secondary
system so all actions hitting the accounting function are written down in a
transaction style journal so it can be rebuilt at anytime by anyone. We call it a double entry overlay.
The
next item I want to talk to you about is building rent. It has maintained its current position. We feel it will probably go up in future
budgets because it has not changed in 15 years.
It is for the space we rent in this building. The point I am trying to make is CSID has
been a good neighbor and partner.
Other
current charges were $1,500 in the past.
We cannot have millions of dollars sitting there in case of an
emergency. We have to figure out in our
budgeting whether or not it is accurate and to what degree. Other fees and charges are
contingencies. This budget is plus or
minus five percent. Instead of being at
$1,200 for miscellaneous fees and charges, I would like you to consider five
percent as a more accurate way of trying to anticipate the fees and charges we
do not anticipate during the budget process.
We will look in other areas of the budget to hold the reserve more
closely to a number more reflective of an immediate cost for a financial
position, which will carry us to the issuance of a note. It is something we need to get through the
first 30 days.
If
you go to field operations, salary and wages is your field crew. Because of the expansion of the District, we
have more lakes and canals to maintain. The
increase is for a new crew to begin addressing it. Pension expenses are similar. Keep in mind we are converting from an IRA
style to a
Mr.
Mendolia asked what about health insurance?
Mr.
Petty responded our staff is getting older.
Young people in this community will be harder to come by as the cost of
housing increases. The next item, which
went up is electric due to additional flows we will be pumping from additional
lakes and canals. Insurance is a
relatively small increase based on the rumors flowing after Hurricane Wilma on
what is to be expected of increases. Even
though it is an increase, we are doing okay.
We
have a new item called aquascaping. This
is for plants we are required to plant within our lake system. They are used in littoral zones. It is mandated in quite a few areas. This is a dollar amount, which goes in for
plants destroyed by things like heavy winds, chemicals entering the water
supply by accident and those dying from other natural conditions. We have seen plant material die off and we
are now in a position where we need to spend money to replenish the area.
Project
management contract was for Mr. Moore in the past. We filled the position with either onsite
personnel or my contract administration from here. I am familiar with operations to this
degree. The next thing is other current
charges, which is our contingencies. We
are considering the accuracy of the budget and we would like to recommend five
percent plus or minus. This means you
will finance five percent of the operations.
Dues,
licenses and subscriptions are for our aquatic guys to maintain various licenses
they need to get in order to spray with aquatic chemicals. In the past we used a contractor for littoral
plantings. It is intended with this new
crew they not only be the typical boat applicator in a canal, but to also go to
the next level of applicator. This way
they will be able to handle the mitigation areas as well as plantings and
specialized applications on a wetland environment. We can save money by having this be in
house.
Capital
outlay is an estimate from accounting, which is basically between last year and
the year before, based on expectations. The
reserves are at a similar level as last year and you will see details in the
budget. This is from what the Board
discussed in previous years as to what is a level of assurance for certain
equipment and machinery. We want to have
funds available if they fail to work.
Those
were the changes I wanted to speak to you about. On page five I want to point out management
fees. We will discuss this further when
we talk about the water and sewer budget.
The presentation from Severn Trent Services is for your management
finance and the recording secretary duties we give you as well as a great deal
of new items we discussed today such as document management and overlays. Ms. Larned’s expertise in finance is a
welcomed addition to the team and is being provided to NSID. Ms. Rugg is extremely reliable and we are
grateful she is with us. Hopefully I
have shown there is a new found commitment to the management responsibilities
for the District. It is our intent to
resell to you our services and for you to know exactly what we are
providing.
Unless
there are additional questions, the rest of this is a work in progress with
definitions coming in over time. The
rest is in line with what we did in the past.
We have been in contact with some of the sub-parts of the general
fund. We talked with the Parkland Isles
Landscaping Committee and discussed what they want their expenses to be. We have a nice number they are familiar with
in our proposed budget. We will be
working with them on their estimates as we go through better definitions with
the landscaper. We will put in actual
numbers when they get estimates.
WCI
Communities, Inc. has been good at presenting and discussing their
numbers. What we have in the proposed
budget is what we gave them as a maximum box they have to fit into. We took last years assessments and increased
them by 30%. We are 99% done with the
agreement. Mr. Lyles has been working
directly with their attorney. The only
thing I have to go through is the transition document, which needs to be
attached for fixed assets. Under the new
policy, WCI Communities, Inc. will operate this facility and we will give them 1/12
of whatever the single line item was for the operation. Their task is to keep residents happy in a
recreational facility we supply. We have
some additional costs in the budget. On
page 19 you have the details.
I
will refer you to the top where you have management contract. You will see under the proposed budget many
numbers have been pushed up to the management contract. This is not the proposed number from WCI
Communities, Inc. It is the cap we feel
can be considered. They have to fit
within this. They look to us to give
them guidance in this matter. They are
doing very well. Under this contract the
District will hold them responsible for satisfaction to the residents. If the residents are unhappy with the
managers of the facility, they can ask us to fire them. We will consider it if we have enough
residents complaining.
Mr.
Mendolia asked what about the subject of additional tennis courts?
Mr.
Petty responded there are funds available in our construction account, which
the District may be able to utilize to construct additional tennis courts. It appears as many as six courts can fit on
the existing property available. We can
get more courts if we modify the end of The Commons, which touches our
swale. It appears we can have a nice
program and we will bring it to you before we adopt the final budget.
Mr.
Mendolia asked how long?
Mr.
Petty responded we will probably be ready at the next meeting.
Mr.
Mendolia asked will it be finalized?
Mr.
Petty responded no sir. We will have a
proposal to give you for the budget.
Mr.
Mendolia asked the subject is how many courts will there be? How are they going to do it? Do they have a layout or survey?
Mr.
Petty responded we are working on it as we speak.
Mr.
Mendolia stated this has to move on. We
have been talking about this for a few months.
Mr.
Petty stated I will be glad to expedite.
Mr.
Mendolia asked where are the Board’s figures?
Mr.
Petty responded on page one.
Mr.
Mendolia stated I believe it is time to consider an increased fee for the Board.
Mr.
Petty stated there is a process to follow for such consideration. Mr. Lyles is familiar with this process and
it will be his office, which will guide us through it. I see no reason why we cannot consider this
during the budget process.
Mr.
Lyles stated we cannot consider it during the budget process because it is
capped by the special act establishing the District. The law will supersede any internal processes
the Board and staff will want to pursue.
We will be required to seek an amendment to the special act, which
authorizes the District to operate and gives it its powers. What we can do is going to require us to go
into next year’s legislative session. We
can prepare a special bill, file it with the Broward County Delegation
Legislation, take it to
We
can also address the bidding threshold as well as the compensation
reimbursement for the Board. I do not
know how it will be received. I cannot
predict you will receive a positive reception.
It is very easy for elected officials to say, “No. We are going to hold the line on these
expenses. We are not going to approve
it.” They may say yes because it has
been the same fee for the past 30 years and it is time for it to be
adjusted. It will require lobbying and
effort on your part as President to justify this matter. You may want to enlist the service of a lobbyist
to help with this change as well as other changes to benefit the District. You might want to see if CSID wants to share
the cost. They have some of the same
problems you do. It is a way of doing it
in a more efficient and less expensive way.
The
management and efficiency study committee the Broward County Commission sets up
was looking into special districts and water drainage districts all over the
county. Their preliminary draft report
has come out. As far as I know it is not
final. The report, which will go to the
commission, makes a recommendation that the Board members of special districts
be elected in the same fashion and at the same time as city and county
officials and no longer in landowner elections.
The county may or may not want to pursue this. If the county does pursue this, it will
require a special amendment to your special act. If they do want to pursue this next year, it
will be the time to piggy back into a process with the adjustment to the
reimbursement to the Board members. I
feel the staff should take your request and direction to proceed to find the
best way to implement it as things shape up in the coming months.
Mr.
Petty stated staff has a long list of items we would like to address on our
establishing document. We would like to
update and modernize many things. The
election issue is one we need to begin discussing. I have no personal opinion on it. We have a large amount of landowners in NSID
we should talk to see if they have any concerns before we volunteer ourselves
to this program. I do not believe there
will be a problem. We are an urban area
and it is intended by current legislation that this is how a special district
should evolve. I want to make sure we
consult with our major landowners to make sure they do not have any
concerns. It is time we do this. For budgeting purposes, we can put a line
item in under administration with a dollar value.
Mr.
Lyles stated it is beyond any process we can adopt at the District level. It is controlled by state legislature. We have to go to them if we want to have an
amendment.
Mr.
Petty stated if we are successful, this change may become effective October of
next year.
Mr.
Mendolia stated it is good for future Supervisors to push it and process it.
Mr.
Lyles stated staff will take this as direction and we will pursue it. Do you have a figure you want to suggest to
the Board in order to budget it?
Mr.
Petty responded let me check with the current lobbyist the District is using.
Mr.
Lyles stated I am talking about the line item you will have in case the
legislature approves the increase.
Mr.
Petty stated we can pick it up with our five percent. Resolution 2006-5 is “a resolution of the
Board of Supervisors of the North Springs Improvement District approving the
budget for fiscal year 2007 and setting a public hearing thereon pursuant to
Florida Law.” The public hearing will be
held on August 9, 2006 at 4:30 p.m. in this office.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor Resolution 2006-5 approving the proposed budget and setting a public
hearing on August 9, 2006 at 4:30 p.m. in the District Office was adopted.
B. Attorney’s
Report
There
being no report, the next item followed.
C. Engineer’s
Report – Consideration of Rate Increase
Mr. Petty stated we have consideration of a rate increase
which was submitted by CH2M Hill. We
have looked at the fees and they are not out of line with what other corporate
engineering firms are charging. In
reference to Ms. Early and Mr. McKune, their value is beyond measure. We ask you to consider this.
Mr.
Mendolia stated I agree with you. They
are fantastic and I depend a great deal on them.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the rate increase submitted by CH2M Hill was approved.
SEVENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of Requisitions and Invoices
Mr. Petty stated in the future we
hope to add to this a break down by projects.
Mr. Mendolia asked what are these
refunds to WCI Communities, Inc.?
Mr.
Petty responded I want to make sure I look at them before I spit anything
out. As we are doing final change orders
for these contracts there are lower numbers.
The checks come to us and I believe we give them their shares. You have some water and sewer bills in your
general fund.
Mr.
Mendolia asked are these the deposits being refunded?
Mr.
Petty responded they are either getting their deposits back, which is a refund
because they are moving or it is a correction because we read their meter
wrong.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the requisitions and invoices were approved.
EIGHTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor’s
Request and Audience Comments
There
not being any, the next item followed.
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 at 5:30 p.m.
Jean M. Rugg Salvatore J. Mendolia
Assistant Secretary President