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:
Steve Mendelson President
David L. Gray Secretary
Also present were:
Ed Goscicki Interim Manager -
Pamela Rower
Terri Lusk
Cassandra Cox
Dennis Lyles Attorney
Jane
Early Engineer
Sean
Skehan CH2M-Hill
John
McKune Capital
Improvement Coordinator
Nick Schooley Field Superintendent
Doug Hyche CSID Staff
Mark Capwell Resident
Vincent Moretti Resident
Salvatore J. Mendolia Consultant
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll Call
Mr. Goscicki called the meeting to order and called the
roll.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Organizational Matters
A. Appointment
of Supervisor to Fill Unexpired Term of Office (6/2008)
Mr. Goscicki stated with Mr. Mendolia’s resignation from the
Board at the last meeting, we have a vacant seat for the Board to fill. We will keep this item on the agenda until a
new supervisor is appointed. The Board
received resumes from Mr. Mark Capwell, Mr. Edwin Stacker and Mr. Vincent
Moretti. It is the Board’s
responsibility to appoint someone from the community who meets the requirements
of the statute. This is an “at large”
position meaning as long as they live in the District, they are eligible. Two candidates are here tonight. The Board may want to ask Mr. Moretti to
address the Board since Mr. Capwell spoke to the Board at the last meeting.
Mr.
Mendelson stated the Board wishes to hear from Mr. Moretti.
Mr.
Moretti stated good afternoon. I am the
President of Pro-Bowl Plumbing, a local company in
Mr.
Goscicki stated it is the pleasure of the President as to how you want to
proceed with this matter. You can either
take these resumes under advisement and make a decision at the next meeting or
solicit additional input from the community.
It is at the convenience and necessity of the Board.
Mr.
Mendelson stated I suggest tabling this matter and making a decision at the
next meeting.
Mr.
Gray stated I agree to voting on this matter at the next meeting. I reviewed the resumes and feel fairly
confident with my decision but I want to review them further.
Mr.
Goscicki stated the individual Board members can certainly contact any
candidate to ask questions or learn more about them. You just cannot discuss the candidates
amongst yourselves.
Mr.
Gray stated I also want to wait because we have not seen the third candidate. He was not present at the last meeting.
Mr.
Goscicki stated he submitted his resume between the two meetings. I thought he might be here today but it looks
like he is not present.
Mr.
Gray stated since the other two candidates are here, we will consider their
resumes. If Mr. Stacker wishes to attend
the next meeting, we will discuss his resume.
Mr.
Goscicki stated we will advise him the Board will be taking action at the next
meeting.
C. Oath
of Office for Newly Appointed Supervisor
There not being any, the next item followed.
THIRD
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of the Minutes of the September 13, 2007 Meeting
Mr.
Goscicki stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the
There
not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Gary seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor the minutes of the
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Change
Orders
A.
Change Order No. 1 & Final – Florida
Sewer & Water, Inc. for
Ms.
Early stated Change Order No. 1 is the final one for Cypress Point, Phase
II. This is a balancing change order to
bring the quantities to final. There was
a decrease in the amounts.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor Change Order No. 1 & Final with Florida Sewer & Water, Inc. for
Heron Bay North Plat I, Phase II (Cypress Point, Phase II) for a Net Decrease
of $220,667.20 was approved.
B.
Change Order No. 1 – Arazoza Brothers
Corp. for
Ms.
Early stated after the
Mr.
Gray stated it looks like this was already budgeted for.
Ms. Early stated the budget included
the
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor Change Order No. 1 with Arazoza Brothers Corp. for Heron Bay Wetlands
Mitigation and Maintenance for a Net Increase of $9,966.93 was approved.
Mr.
Goscicki stated on a related matter, we will be bringing a contract to the next
meeting for the continued inspection and maintenance of the mitigation areas,
which is our long term responsibility.
It is currently being undertaken by a joint agreement between WCI and
the District. However, there was
restoration work to be done and it is getting to the point where it is being
finally accepted. The contract will be
an amendment to the existing contract to provide for the ongoing maintenance
and inspection for next year. We are not
talking about a large amount of money to do this work.
Ms.
Early asked for Miller-Legg?
Mr.
Goscicki responded yes.
Ms.
Early stated we are talking about maybe $12,000.
Mr.
Goscicki stated I was thinking between $10,000 and $20,000. This will keep the contract in place to make sure
we have the required maintenance so we do not get into other issues.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Permit
Requests
A. Higgins Engineering, Inc.
for a Right-of-Way Permit for Use of County Line Road R/W West of Nob Hill Road
for Temporary Access to Bishop Pit
Ms.
Early stated an issue came up at the northern end of Nob Hill Road; west of
County Line Road in regards to trucks using the dirt road to haul dirt to
Bishop Pit. I received complaints from
homeowners, the City of
Mr.
Weissman asked what time frame does the temporary permit allow?
Ms.
Early responded I am waiting to see what the schedule is for the construction
of
Mr.
Gray asked is there a time frame for the
Ms.
Early responded construction is supposed to be completed under the 50th
C.O. but the City of
Mr.
Mendelson asked is he going to maintain whatever he is doing on-site?
Ms.
Early responded he is going to maintain it and keep the signage there. If there is a problem such as trucks speeding,
he has to handle it.
Mr.
Gray asked did the homeowners complain about the speeding?
Ms.
Early responded the trucks were causing a great deal of dust.
Mr.
Gray asked is he doing something to keep the dust from spreading?
Mr.
Frederick responded he already installed temporary asphalt. I was out there yesterday and could not see
any dust.
Mr.
Mendelson stated as long as he maintains it, I am satisfied because we do not
know when the road is going to be completed.
Mr.
Gray stated so he responded to complaints and will maintain it.
Ms.
Early stated correct.
Mr.
Goscicki stated part of the reason for going through this permit process is to
put them on notice this is not public property; it is NSID property and they do
not have right of access. This is an
undeveloped piece of property. The concern
was the user was treating themselves as if they had proprietary rights. We wanted them to understand they needed to
have an agreement with the District through a permit and they had
responsibilities as a result of their operations to indemnify against the
insurer, maintain the property and put it back in its original condition. We are doing this with another contractor who
wants access off of
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in
favor the permit request from Higgins Engineering, Inc. for a right-of-way
permit for the use of
B. CRJ
& Associates for a Surface Water Management Permit for
Ms.
Early stated this is one of our typical surface water management permit
requests for the new fire station on the southwest corner of
Mr.
Schooley stated we have a number of permit requests where we obtain a $2,500
trash bond in areas where there are no canals.
I do not care whether or not they hook up to the drainage line or if the
water is plugged up but I do not think it is our responsibility to oversee it until
the water hits our canal. I would only release
it when they request it back. I do not
know why we are getting them unless it is standard practice to get one from
every applicant. The purpose of the
trash bond is to prevent the applicant from disturbing the waterway and from
leaving debris on the property. Before
releasing the check, I do an inspection to insure the property is left in an
acceptable condition. In these areas, I suggest
releasing the check.
Ms.
Early stated I just assume taking the trash bond because then they will leave
their equipment in the way.
Mr.
Goscicki stated the onus is on them to request release of the bond. They put up a bond when they complete and meet
the obligations of what the bond was posted for. We are not thwarting this process for them.
Mr.
Frederick stated if they do not get drainage, I do not think it is our
responsibility to fix what is underground.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor the permit request from CRJ & Associates for a Surface Water
Management Permit for a City of Parkland Fire Station West of Pine Island Road and North of Trails End Road was
approved.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A. Manager’s
Report
Mr. Goscicki stated the Board requested we recognize the
efforts Mr. Mendolia put forth with his seven years on the Board by presenting
him with a plaque. The Board wanted you
to have a memento to take with you. The
plaque says the following:
“We present to Sal Mendolia, President in
recognition of and appreciation for the dedicated service on behalf of the
North Springs Improvement District Board of Supervisors, July 2001 through
September 2007”
Mr. Mendolia stated I am overwhelmed. Thank you! I will never forget this.
i.
Consideration
of Consultant Agreement with Sal Mendolia
Mr. Goscicki stated at the last meeting, the Board discussed
entering into a Consultant Agreement with Mr. Mendolia in order to benefit from
his experience and history with the Board.
We prepared this agreement and provided it to the Board. It is a straightforward Consultant type of
agreement, reflecting Mr. Mendolia as a Consultant of the Board and providing
for a basic fee and reimbursement of direct expenses with a not to exceed
amount.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in
favor the Consultant Agreement with Mr. Sal Mendolia was approved.
ii.
Discussion
of
Mr. Goscicki stated I wanted to bring the Board up to speed
on some of the direction in regards to the Parkland Isles landscape
maintenance. The Board will recall, NSID
owns the landscape buffer surrounding the entire Parkland Isles community and
has a contract with Valley Crest Landscape to perform the landscape
maintenance. We currently have an
informal arrangement with the HOA of Parkland Isles to provide some oversight
on this contract rather than us providing for an on-site inspector to manage
the work. This had been a practice for
the last two to three years. We
recognize this is not a good relationship to have but they are not directing
any work or are authorized to spend any money.
They are only providing the oversight and coming back to us. The Board made it clear to us they do not
want to be in the landscape maintenance business. I met with some representatives of the
community and I am trying to get on their agenda for November to propose this
District enter into an agreement with the HOA where the HOA will assume the
responsibilities for the management of this berm. This agreement will be similar to the one we
have with the Heron Bay Commons HOA where they take on the contractual
relationship with this Board to maintain and operate this facility. We will have Parkland Isles enter into a
similar type of agreement with us to maintain the berm.
The
units have sold well through NSID and the ownership stayed with NSID. The assessments will flow the same way as
In
a related issue,
Mr.
Gary asked was there a legal issue?
Mr.
Goscicki responded there was some dispute over one section of this road as to
whether or not we own the road or the City of
Mr.
Lyles stated as part of the normal development process, when WCI was ready to
turn the medians over, they recorded a Quit Claim Deed in favor of NSID. However, the Board never took any action as
they never came before this Board. Our current
position is the conveyance is not complete until the Board takes formal action to
accept the medians. Management is trying
to work out a peaceful resolution but you may want to take action to accept the
landscape medians and therefore the landscape responsibilities. However, as your attorney, I am going to take
the position, the medians still belong to WCI and a corrective deed needs to be
filed.
Mr.
Gray asked who is currently maintaining it?
Mr.
Goscicki responded WCI is providing the maintenance responsibilities. They are mowing the grass and keeping it from
getting a Notice of Violation.
Mr.
Gray stated if we do not own it, we are not bringing money into it.
Mr.
Goscicki stated not at this point.
Mr.
Lyles stated you gave us direction in the past and predecessor Boards dictated
we were not created to be in this business and are not going to get into this business. In response to the question of why we should
maintain the medians, as a responsible government agency, you may not want to neglect
them. In the meantime, you may wish to do
some rudimentary things, but only as a transitional step to get this issue
resolved. We are close to this
happening.
Mr.
Mendelson stated I agree. I just do not
want to get into a permanent situation.
It is a liability every single month to do what should be done by
someone else.
Mr.
Goscicki stated we asked Valley Crest to break their proposal down into two
segments; the one we know is going to the City of
Mr.
Mendelson stated makes sense.
Mr.
Gray stated they have a quit claim.
Ms.
Early stated they think they do not have one.
The issue is whether
Mr.
Lyles stated it appears they unilaterally recorded a Quit Claim Deed in favor
of NSID, which this Board did not accept and therefore is not a complete
conveyance of interest in this median.
Ms.
Early stated they have been maintaining it for years and stopped four months
ago. This is how the issue came about.
Mr.
Gray stated if they stopped, I assume the city approached WCI.
Ms.
Early stated they looked it up on the
Mr.
Lyles stated the Property Appraiser’s records show there is a deed recorded in
our favor. They do not look behind the
recording of a deed. If we do not work
this out with WCI in a voluntary way, we will straighten this out.
Mr.
Goscicki stated one significant item we have been working with the engineers on
is the Consumptive Use Permit for the Water Treatment Plant. The Consumptive Use Permit is coming up for
renewal in January of this upcoming year. The engineers are moving forward with the
renewal of this permit and fully expect to get into some significant
confrontation with SFWMD over this issue.
The basic issue is we have a Water Treatment Plant built for the
capacity of 6,000,000 gallons per day. The
current Consumptive Use Permit has a capacity of 4.5 million gallons per
day. We have current usage on an annual
average basis of 3.5 million gallons per day and ultimate build-out of 7
million gallons per day. Obviously we
are going to ask for as much capacity as we can. The Water Management Districts has already said
“We are not giving you any more capacity in the Consumptive Use Permit than you
already have and can show use for in 2006”, which is going to ration us back to
our current usage. These have been
significant issues in
Mr.
Mendelson stated all communities in this area will benefit from it.
Mr.
Goscicki stated the challenge we are facing is there is a limited resource in
the Biscayne Aquifer. The Water
Management District said in 2006 “If you are not using the water, I am not
giving you any more. If you need more,
even though you had a permit, you did not use it and I am not giving it to you. If you need more water, go someplace
else”. The “someplace else” is the
Floridian Aquifer, which is deeper brackish water. For us, this is a double blow because you
literally have a Water Treatment Plant meeting your needs and will continue meeting
your needs for the next five to ten years if you can get the Consumptive Use
Permit renewed. We may be forced into
building a new Water Treatment Plant for the capacity of the Floridian Aquifer
and spending millions of dollars to do so.
This is a big dollar item not only for you but for most of the cities in
Mr.
Gray asked can any organizations help us out?
Mr.
Hyche responded there is the Southeast Florida Utility Council but they have no
power.
Mr.
Goscicki stated I created this entity 14 years ago to deal with such an
issue. When I was with
I
also wanted to discuss moving forward with an agreement between NSID and CSID
regarding stormwater Pump Station 1. We
are looking at modifying the permit to allow us to pump water south towards
CSID. The Water Management District has
said “We do not have a problem with it but you need an agreement with CSID
recognizing this and there will be conditions depending on what they are
doing. Ms. Early is taking the lead in
drafting this agreement, which we will bring before the CSID Board on Monday.
In
regards to the Pine Tree WCD, there is a small section of Pine Tree WCD
property just south of the Sawgrass Expressway bordering NSID by
Mr.
Lyles stated Mr. Goscicki is in the middle of a conflict situation. I am not the Attorney for Pine Tree but I
represented Drainage Districts and Special Districts who have been in similar
situations where they were asked to accept some flowage into their stormwater
system. It is not uncommon for a Board
to authorize this. What will happen is
some calculation on an engineering basis will be made as to what increment of
cost we had incurred in the past allowing us to accept this extra
drainage. It could be as simple as the
issuance of a permit, which you could authorize at an engineering based fee to
make this District whole for accepting this flowage and any potential problems
arising from it. This is fairly
common. We are all part of regional
stormwater management systems and it is within your purview to favorably look
upon it but you want to be able to tell your own residents and taxpayers, to
the extent any cost is to be borne, it is reimbursed by the people draining
into our District.
Mr.
Gray stated I do not think the homeowners will ever get together to fund
it. However, any cost incurred in
getting this done, they will certainly have to pay. Who will give us the numbers for how this
will impact us on a financial basis?
Ms.
Early responded the maintenance costs will come from Mr. Schooley.
Mr.
Schooley stated many of these areas are horse farms and the water is going to
be horrendous in terms of the water quality.
To be honest with you, I do not want this water in my canal. We already have enough problems.
Mr.
Gray stated there was an article in the newspaper last week about the horse
farms.
Mr.
Schooley stated those horses have been there for years and we do not know the
condition of the ground water. I have
been to horse farms where the manure is fairly high.
Mr.
Gray asked is there a high phosphorus level?
Ms.
Early responded yes. This is what we are
trying to reduce.
Mr.
Schooley stated this is something we need to talk about before drafting an
agreement. Maybe the phosphorus level
will come up and cause problems.
Mr.
Mendelson stated it has to.
Mr.
Lyles stated you may have to talk about having some type of pre-treatment done
before the water gets discharged. I am
working with a District in
Mr.
Mendelson asked how much does it dissipate?
Mr.
Lyles responded if it is pre-treated, it will get to the levels our engineers
will consider acceptable for surface water dumped into the system. There are calculations, which can be made but
they have a cost increment associated with them. I am suggesting to you when these things are
looked upon, it will be appropriate to tell the people asking you for a helping
hand, they will have to pay all of the costs we incur.
Mr.
Gray stated I certainly want to see what those costs are.
Mr.
Mendelson stated you have to calculate the cost to pre-treat the water.
Mr.
Lyles stated this is not my area of expertise but we are not talking about
something getting treated like it is treated here. It is treated so the water can be put into
the groundwater and not ever be part of a potable water system.
Mr.
Goscicki stated if we move forward towards having some agreement, they will build
any infrastructure they need to within their District. It will be theirs to build, own and maintain.
Mr.
Mendelson asked will they have to treat the water in both pumps?
Mr.
Goscicki responded yes. They will treat
it and then you will have a point of connection where they pump the water in
and we monitor it.
Mr.
Lyles stated but it will meet your standards.
Mr.
Gray stated any water has to meet certain standards under the federal
guidelines.
Mr.
Goscicki stated on stormwater management, you get into best management
practices rather than the defined water quality level you have to meet. Is this still the current regulation?
Ms.
Early responded yes. They are trying to
push it to where they have a certain limit before discharging.
Mr.
Gray stated these are the best practices for controlling the flow and keeping
the silt out but there is no regulation.
Ms.
Early stated correct.
Mr.
Schooley stated I am not sure whether this is possible. I think the area you are referring to is free
flowing water down a gutter, over to a canal by the Sawgrass Expressway. We are not talking about a canal.
Mr.
Goscicki stated this is the way the water was supposed to flow.
Mr.
Schooley stated this has nothing to do with Pine Tree. I believe the area is owned by the City of
Mr.
Goscicki stated correct. These are city
roads. Pine Tree WCD was not responsible
for the on-site drainage down those streets or the on-site drainage on those
properties. The Pine Tree Board already
told this community “Fixing the drainage on your property is your
responsibility. We will be happy to act
as a facilitator to try to bring the community together but you will incur the
cost of redoing your swales, re-draining it and putting in a pump station. The residents need to create an association
and do what you need to in order to make it work but this is our only
connection.” In this discussion, the
residents said “rather than us doing something here and pumping the water into
Pine Tree, it will be easier putting it over the berm and right into
NSID.”
Mr.
Gray stated as long as the water is treated and all costs will be paid for by
Pine Tree, we will consider it. However,
I want to see what they plan on doing.
Mr.
Goscicki stated I think they need to go through many steps before this comes
back before the Board.
Mr.
Gray stated I do not think the homeowners will come together.
Mr.
Schooley stated there is no way the water goes into a pond to be treated and
purified. The water is going to come
from their horse lots straight into our waterway.
Mr.
Lyles stated it is not going to be allowed.
Mr.
Schooley asked where is the water going?
Mr.
Goscicki responded they will have to find some available property to build a
pump station on to get the water into our canal and do some stormwater
retention and treatment if necessary.
There are many things they have to do.
Mr.
Schooley stated I do not think there is any available property.
Mr.
Goscicki stated a homeowner will have to dedicate property to the District.
Mr.
Mendelson asked what are the chances of a homeowner doing this?
Mr.
Goscicki responded slim to none.
Mr.
Schooley stated right when you leave our District and into Pine Tree, the weeds
grow 50 to 75’ in the air. I contacted
the
Mr.
Goscicki stated it is in the City of
Since
the Board may be appointing a new Board member at the next meeting, I suggest
scheduling a workshop shortly after the next meeting as an orientation. I learned an amazing amount of what goes on
in this District in my five to six months here.
The purpose of this workshop is to bring everyone up to speed at the
same time on the activity taking place in terms of new development, current
programs and what we are and are not responsible for, etc.
Mr.
Mendelson asked is there any way we can change the date of the Board meetings
from Thursday to Wednesday?
Mr.
Goscicki responded it is at the Board’s pleasure.
Mr.
Gray stated I assume you have to revise the notice of the meeting dates.
Mr.
Lyles stated correct. Starting next
month?
Mr.
Mendelson responded yes.
Mr.
Lyles asked any Wednesday? Mr. Goscicki
and I are involved in many different districts who typically set their schedule
a year ahead of time. The second
Thursday at
Mr.
Mendelson responded this works.
Mr.
Goscicki stated works for me. Pine Tree
meets on the first Thursday.
Mr.
Lyles stated we are always done here before the Pine Tree meeting starts at
Mr.
Goscicki stated Pine Tree only meets quarterly now.
Mr.
Lyles asked is the first Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. good for everyone?
Mr.
Mendelson responded yes.
Mr.
Gray responded works for me.
Mr.
Goscicki responded I am free. Does
Mr.
Mendelson responded yes.
Mr.
Gray asked do we need to vote on this?
Mr.
Lyles responded the Board approved the current schedule by motion so it makes
sense to do this by motion as well.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor the meeting schedule for 2008 was changed to reflect the regular meetings
being held on the first Wednesday of every month at
B. Attorney’s
Report
Mr.
Lyles stated Ms. Early finalized negotiations with the contractor on the tennis
court expansion project, which the Board requested termination of. Ms. Early did a great job in getting the
contractor to agree to call it a day and execute a mutual release in our favor
waiving any rights, any additional costs, any damages or fees for the amount
already paid. The contractor took some
of the materials we paid for and used them on another project, which we
received reimbursement or credit for.
The final resolution of this matter is through an Agreement and Mutual Release
in the total amount of $213,000. The
contractor already executed the same and I have the original documents. I believe this is what the Board directed us
to do. A motion to authorize execution
of the Agreement and Mutual Release between NSID and
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in
favor the President was authorized to execute the Agreement and Mutual Release
between NSID and
C. Engineer’s
Report – Pump Station Evaluation Report
There not being any, the next item
followed.
SEVENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of Requisitions and Invoices
Mr.
Goscicki stated you will notice there are no requisitions or invoices in your
agenda package. As the Board will
recall, we shifted the accounting from CSID to in-house. As expected, some transitional items have
taken place. Ms. Terri Lusk is the
Accountant for this District. Bills are
getting paid but we have not been able to prepare together the reports for this
month. We will provide them to you next
month along with the financial statements.
For the first time in over a year, we will be providing you with the
financial statements in addition to the check register. We are making good progress in getting the
financial statements straightened out.
Related
to this issue, as we took over the accounting, we noted numerous checking
accounts for NSID. Almost each separate
fund and bond issue had a separate account.
For the Water and Sewer Fund, we have two different checking
accounts. Within the General Fund, we
have four checking accounts.
Ms.
Rower stated plus reserves.
Mr.
Goscicki stated you need to keep separate accounting but there is no need to
have separate checking accounts. We are planning
to do some consolidation and save a few dollars in bank transaction fees. We will be bringing this back to you next
month.
EIGHTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor’s
Requests and Audience Comments
Mr.
Craven stated I represent the developer for