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 Carter WCI Communities,
Inc.
Warren Craven Tousa Homes
Jason Engleman Tousa
Homes
Paul Brewer Paul E. Brewer
& Associates
John McKune Consultant
Jean M. Rugg
Janice Larned Severn
Trent Services
Sandra Demarco Severn
Trent Services
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 October 11, 2006 Meeting
Mr.
Petty stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the October
11, 2006 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.
There
not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the minutes of the October 11, 2006 meeting were approved.
THIRD
ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration
of Release of Canal Reservations
A. Heron
Bay North Plat 1
B. Heron
Bay North Plat 2
Ms. Early stated this is a typical release of
easements. We review them when new
development is taking place. There is a
recommendation letter in the agenda.
Mr.
Mendolia asked has this been processed through the system?
Ms.
Early responded yes. They send it to us
to verify we will not have a problem.
Mr.
Lyles stated the end of the process is for you to approve it after staff has
reviewed it and made recommendations.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the release of canal reservations for Heron Bay North Plat 1 and 2
were approved.
FOURTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration
of Change Orders
A. Change Order No. 1 with Triple R. Paving
for Parkland Village Drainageways for a Net Increase of $15,005
Ms. Early stated if you recall, we did the
lakes for the Parkland Village development in May. This change order is for new criteria. We need to install fences as required by
NPDES. A portion of it will be Tousa
Homes’ cost and a portion of it will be NSID’s cost. The NSID portion will be $6,300.
Mr.
Mendolia asked did you know about this?
Mr.
Petty responded no sir. Parkland Village
is an area being undertaken by Tousa Homes.
We approved them as an inheritor of WCI Communities, Inc.’s arrangement
with us for funding. They are doing the
work out there and I believe this has to do with a funding agreement. We do not have any money to pay for
this.
Ms.
Early stated this change order is incorporating the NPDES requirement for
stormwater prevention. They need to have
sediment control for the existing catch basins around the system. They need to have wash areas for the trucks when
they enter and leave the site.
Mr.
Petty stated because we granted Tousa Homes the same privilege of working with
us on funding agreements, if they get a change order they bring it to our
attention for approval. The intention is
at some point we will issue bonds for this particular parcel in which these
types of projects, certified by the engineer and approved by the Board, will be
paid for. The funds are not coming from
us now, but we are committing to them.
Mr.
Lyles stated they will not come from your general revenues. If and when we close on the bonds you previously
authorized, it will be paid for from that particular area. It will come out of bond proceeds. At this point you are agreeing to work
cooperatively with them. The financial
risk is the developers. It will never
become a general obligation of the District.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor Change Order No. 1 with Triple R. Paving for Parkland Village
drainageways for a net increase of $15,005 was approved.
B. Change Order No. 2 with National Home
Building and Remodeling Corporation for a Net Increase of $41,950
Mr.
Petty stated this is our contractor working on The Commons. The contractor miscalculated the shingles and
roofing materials. He is asking for a
change order after checking his calculations.
The engineer recommends we approve the change order. This is an honest mistake. He is openly admitting his fault and agrees
to abide by our decision. The roof will
be paid for by our insurance carrier and FEMA funds. Our concern is he will cut back on quality if
we do not approve the change order.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor Change Order No. 2 with National Home Building and Remodeling
Corporation for a net increase of $41,950 was approved.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of
Permits
A. Rayel
Estates
Ms. Early stated this is a typical surface water
permit. It is a re-submittal. When they do a development they have to
submit for a drainage permit. We have to
go through the calculations and make sure they meet requirements.
Mr.
Mendolia asked why was this not done sooner?
Houses are being developed in the area.
Ms.
Early responded I was not aware of this.
Mr.
Petty stated they are not supposed to be able to pull a building permit until
they get our approval for a drainage permit.
Ms.
Early stated they cannot get a stamp until they have a permit from us. I do not believe they can develop without
this permit.
Mr.
Petty stated we will check and make sure he has not started construction.
Ms.
Early stated I will go over there. I do
not see how he could have pulled a permit to start building without our
permit.
Mr.
Brewer stated they started constructing houses.
Ms.
Early stated the City of Parkland needs to issue them a permit.
Mr.
Brewer stated they did.
Mr.
Petty stated we need to talk to the city and make sure our process is put in
there so they do not give permits without our drainage permits. Our permit should be part of their checklist
before issuing a building permit.
Mr.
Mendolia asked do you want to table this?
Mr.
Petty responded I would hold off until we find out what is going on.
Mr.
Mendolia stated I agree.
Ms.
Early stated there is no problem with the permit application. They meet the criteria.
Mr.
Lyles stated there seems to be a miscommunication or a gap at the city in
processing the permits they issue. There
is no problem with the application before you for which you have
jurisdiction. With the engineer’s
positive recommendation you can approve it.
Staff has indicated we will get to the bottom of the problem with the
city. If we hold this up, it is possible
the city will red tag the project when we go to the city. The applicant did not do anything wrong. I feel with Ms. Early’s commitment to talk to
the city, you can approve the application before you today.
Mr.
Petty stated I agree with counsel and I do not want to hold anyone up. A great deal of this is done in faith. When they submit an application we assume
they are doing so honestly and according to our criteria. The plans Ms. Early reviewed are on fair
ground. It will now have to be as built
conditions. The calculations before you
build and after you build, change.
Mr.
Brewer stated the number of houses is calculated in the design.
Mr.
Petty stated I suggest we give approval conditioned upon the engineer’s further
review.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the permit for Rayel Estates was approved pending further review by
the engineer.
B. Revised
Plans for Elementary School ‘Z’
Ms. Early stated this is the elementary school on the
southwest corner of University Drive and Trails End. They made revisions to their plans and
resubmitted them. We reviewed the
calculations and recommend approval of the permit.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the revised plans for Elementary School ‘Z’ were approved.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A. Manager’s
Report – Bids for the Purchase of Light Trucks
Mr. Petty stated we put out competitive bids for
trucks. In the past we leased them. Leasing costs have crept up year after year. The prices have become so high, it is less
expensive to buy. We put them out to bid
and the price is phenomenal. We
recommend award of bid to the lowest responsive bidder, which is Plantation
Ford.
Mr.
Mendolia asked how many?
Mr.
Petty responded we are looking to purchase two.
If we need more, we will come before the Board.
Mr.
Mendolia stated it is a good price.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia with all
in favor the bid for purchase of light trucks was awarded to Plantation Ford in
the amount of $14,688.75 for a 2007 Ford Ranger and $16,299.75 for a 2007 Ford
F150 4x2.
Mr.
Petty stated I have a slide show for you.
This is informational only. We
are not asking for action at this time. We
will ask you for direction. It has to do
with Heron Bay. This is a recent issue
brought to us by our engineer. We
received a call from WCI Communities, Inc. approximately two days after our
recent bond issue. They told us they are
going to stop some contracts or slow down.
We just closed on the bonds with an absorption schedule, which did not
anticipate a slow down.
Funding
comes from a close interaction between ourselves and WCI Communities, Inc. We look to them for part of the funding
because we want a completed development where people can live. It is what substantiates the assessments on
the lots and secures our long term debts.
We have a close knit partnership with WCI Communities, Inc. When they change their development timeframe
we also look to it.
The
issue is there is a change in development status. It is not a big change in the industry. We always had hot times and cold times. We are currently in a cold time. WCI Communities, Inc. is looking to slow down
or stop and we discussed whether the District should slow down or stop its
corresponding contracts as well. Will
WCI Communities, Inc. participate in further funding? If due to an industry wide slow down, should
the District continue with the Parkland Village Bond? We are going forward and we wanted you to
know it. We will carefully move ahead
with your permission. If we are in a
material slow down in the industry, Tousa Homes may ask us to slow down in the
future as well.
We
planned approximately 852 units in this bond issue. There are 102 units sold. There are 164 units in construction and they
are near completion. There are 336 units
completed, which is WCI Communities, Inc.’s inventory to sell. There are approximately 250 undeveloped
units. This will put over 500 units in WCI
Communities, Inc.’s inventory. We have a
bond issue out to make ready if WCI Communities, Inc. completed there part of
the financing as well.
We
talked with WCI Communities, Inc. and their slow down/stop will affect the
areas known as the 50’s, 65’s and 75’s.
The other areas should be completed because we are so far along, it will
be silly not to complete them. The money
in the bond funds will sit until the period of time until the market changes or
until such time actions are required by the bond. We do not want to get ahead of WCI
Communities, Inc. We want to be shoulder
to shoulder as they go along. They do
not want excess inventory because if we put the money in the ground,
assessments will hit them hard. If the
money can sit and earn interest, it will offset these costs. There are limits to how far we can go, but it
is what we would like to do.
We
have the issue of Parkland Village, which is Tousa Homes. They are doing their work and planning
ahead. We have a bond issue planned for
them and our underwriter is actively going ahead. Staff is working with the engineer and would like to work with the underwriter
as well as the developer. We want to
discuss their schedule. We do not want to
do a bond issue prematurely and have their timeframe shortened in a soft
market. If you concur, staff will work
with counsel to work with our contractors in order to slow them down to the
same pace as WCI Communities, Inc. We
will do it through negotiation and will follow up by change order. If it is felt the contract should be
cancelled, we will need to come back to you for consideration because there
will be costs and concerns. Mr. Lyles
and I had a brief discussion about it.
We would like your permission to talk with the contractors and negotiate
a slower schedule.
Mr.
Mendolia asked did you have a meeting with WCI Communities, Inc. and Tousa Homes in
reference to Parkland Village?
Mr.
Petty responded we have not met with Tousa Homes, but we did meet with WCI
Communities, Inc. This happened
recently. It is a soft market. Because WCI Communities, Inc. is a public
player open in the stock market, they are getting battered. We wanted to check with them first. Tousa Homes has not spent a great deal of
money. They are starting on their earth
work.
Mr.
Mendolia stated we still need to talk with them.
Mr.
Petty stated yes sir.
Mr.
Mendolia stated if any problems come up, we will discuss them.
Mr.
Craven stated I represent Tousa Homes on this project. Our plan is to move at the pace we originally
discussed. We are actively finishing the
infrastructure plans and hope to have them out to bid within the next 30
days. We do not anticipate a slow down
at this point. We would like to sit down
with the District Manager as well as the bond team to go over details because we would
like to proceed with the bond issue. It
sat in limbo waiting for permits. We now
have all the permits to start working.
We would like to move forward.
Mr.
Mendolia stated there may be a problem because they are not WCI Communities,
Inc. They want to go full speed ahead.
Mr.
Petty stated it is set up so the land receiving the benefits pays for it. The risk is borne by the landowner.
Mr.
Carter stated I am the Vice President of Development for the east cost for WCI
Communities, Inc. They have a blank
slate and are coming off the ground. We
have over 2,300 units in Heron Bay. We
have a backlog in place and we would like to see some of the inventory move
before we commit to adding to the inventory.
Tousa Homes is coming off the ground and they do not have this
situation. We do not want a complete
shutdown. Our desire is to look at this
on a phase by phase situation. We will
work with the District and the contractor.
Mr.
Mendolia stated it is fine with me.
Mr.
Craven stated I agree we are in different situations. I will call next week to set up a time.
Mr.
Petty stated that will be good.
B. Attorney
Mr.
Lyles stated we met the deadline and had the final version of our amendment to
the special act filed with the Broward County Legislative Delegation. We did not get a sponsor for our bill yet
because of the elections. We are working
on getting sponsors and so far it is smooth sailing.
I
want to go back to the matter Mr. Petty brought to your attention regarding the
two developments, the assessment areas and the bond issues. He brought this issue to me approximately 10
days ago. I had a number of calls with
bond counsel and Ms. Early. We are on
this to make sure it is handled in a correct way. We have certain potential downsides to
terminate or slow down the project. If
we negotiate something with a little cost involved, it will come out of the
bond proceeds.
The
key thing is to not have something happen, which is a benefit fault or a
material change we have to report to our dissemination agent as well as the
investment community. We have a
schedule, which carries through 2009. We
see no indication from WCI Communities, Inc. that the overall schedule will not
be met. It may not be as front loaded as
originally anticipated. There is a three
year period you can run into trouble with arbitrage and lose some interest
earnings, but the risk is with Tousa Homes and WCI Communities, Inc.
The
properties they own are the source of the assessment payments to retire these
bonds. If the program is slower, it is
their choice. They will be writing a
check to the District to pay these assessments as opposed to a future
homeowner. Although it is unusual to
bring this to you and point this out, it is being carefully reviewed. Bond counsel knows if certain things fall
through, it has to be the subject of a report through the investment
community. There is no reason to tell
you there is trouble. It is an
adjustment we are going to make on your behalf and if anything happens, it will
come before you.
C. Engineer
Ms.
Early stated I have to discuss the mitigation bid we were doing with WCI
Communities, Inc. The existing mitigation
area in Heron Bay is not up to standards.
They have died off and have not been taken care of. There are additional mitigation areas they
have to build. We had meetings with Mr. Carter
regarding the cost. He agreed to a 50/50
split to cover the costs because the District had a contract with the
maintenance company to maintain the mitigation area and it resulted in some
loss . We bid the project. Miller Legg’s estimate was $280,000. I had one bid for $688,000.
Mr.
Petty stated our recommendation is to reject the bid.
Ms.
Early stated I talked to Miller Legg. He
will revisit his plans and possibly make them more detailed. There may be some things they did not
understand. We might have a pre-bid
meeting as well.
Mr.
Mendolia asked were you aware of this?
Mr.
Petty responded we accepted this approximately 10 years ago. WCI Communities, Inc. built it. It was one of the first conditions of the
county to put plants in the water management system. The District hired a contractor to maintain
the plants. No one replaced any of the
plantings as they died off. WCI
Communities, Inc. did not get their permit approval at the time. The county came out and looked at the
mitigation area, which does not look good.
I talked to you about this during the budget process. We have money in the budget to do this. WCI Communities, Inc. was doing the bid
specifications with the engineer. The
problem is Ms. Patton was doing this and she is no longer with WCI Communities,
Inc. We need to discuss this with her
replacement. We need to re-bid this and
stay within our budget.
Mr.
Mendolia asked do you need us to do anything?
Mr.
Petty responded we need you to reject the bid.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all
in favor the bid received for the mitigation area in the amount of $688,000 was
rejected.
Ms.
Early stated I have one more item regarding the insurance claim for the
clubhouse. The original claim Travelers
wanted to give the District was $83,103 minus the $50,000 deductible. We received a check for $33,000. Early public adjusting has it up to $182,000. Travelers agreed to this number. We are trying to get an additional $10,000. They agreed to $182,000, which means minus
the $33,000 check we received as well as the $50,000 deductible we will receive
a check in the amount of $99,315.
Mr.
Mendolia asked is this subject to approval?
Mr.
Petty responded this is just for status.
Ms.
Early stated I received the final plans for the tennis courts today from the
architect.
Mr.
Petty stated we are progressing slower than we hoped, but we are doing well by
other people’s standards.
Mr.
Mendolia asked will we have something by next month?
Ms.
Early responded it depends on what we want to do. I can get a bid from the contractor currently
working on the clubhouse. I am having
trouble getting bids.
Mr.
Petty stated in the past the Board directed us to bid this as soon as
possible. We were waiting for the site
plan approval from the City of Coral Springs before bidding it because we
needed to know what the layout was going to be.
Now that we have it, you gave us instruction to put it out to bid as
soon as possible for all four courts subject to funding. It is our job to get funding for you by the
time you award the bid.
Ms.
Early stated I have to do the specifications and I do not know if I will have
it for the next meeting.
Mr.
Mendolia asked why can we not submit the architect’s plans for the bid
specifications?
Ms.
Early responded I can get a quote from the contractor who is currently working
on the clubhouse.
Mr.
Petty stated our normal procedure is to advertise the bid. Tennis contractors are well known in the area. I see no reason why we cannot invite them to
bid. It may help out the process, but we
are still stuck with 30 days. We will
put these out to bid as soon as Ms. Early finishes the specifications. We will hopefully have it at the next
meeting. If not, we will have it the
soonest possible.
SEVENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of Requisitions and Invoices
There
being no questions or comments,
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
Requests 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.
Steve Mendelson Salvatore J. Mendolia
Secretary Chairman