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
Vincent Moretti Assistant
Secretary
Also present were:
Ed Goscicki Interim Manager -
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
Mike Stokes
Marie Fergie
Warren R. Craven, Jr. TOUSA Homes
Salvatore J. Mendolia Consultant
Representative from Triple R. Paving
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll Call
Mr. Goscicki called the meeting to order and called the
roll.
Mr.
Gray stated I apologize for missing the last meeting. The change from Thursday to Wednesday never
made my calendar.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Organizational Matters
A. Appointment
of Supervisor to Fill Unexpired Term of Office (6/2008)
Mr. Goscicki stated you received three resumes at prior meetings;
however, one candidate has now withdrawn their interest. You have two candidates remaining for the
open seat. It is at the pleasure of the
Board on how to proceed.
Mr. Mendelson nominated Mr. Vincent Moretti as supervisor to
fill the unexpired term of Mr. Mendolia and Mr. Gray seconded the motion. There being no further nominations, with all
in favor, Mr. Moretti was appointed supervisor.
B. Oath
of Office for Newly Appointed Supervisor
Ms.
Cox being a Notary of the State of
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor the current slate of officers with Mr. Mendelson serving as
President, Mr. Gray serving as Secretary, Ms. Rower serving as Treasurer, Mr.
Koncar serving as Assistant Treasurer and Mr. Goscicki serving as Assistant
Treasurer and Assistant Secretary was approved and Mr. Moretti was elected
Assistant Secretary as evidenced by Resolution 2008-1.
THIRD
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of the Minutes of the October 11, 2007 Meeting
Mr.
Goscicki stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the
There
not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor the minutes of the
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Agreement
with Miller, Legg & Associates for Monitoring of Heron Bay Golf Course
Wetlands Mitigation Bank
Mr.
Goscicki stated this item was tabled from the last meeting. A contract has been in effect for a number of
years with WCI Communities for monitoring of the golf course wetlands, which is
required as part of the SFWMD permit. We
evaluated whether or not we could do this with internal staff but decided we
did not have sufficient resources as this required TECO expertise in terms of the
monitoring. We are working with
CH2M-Hill in developing this contract.
Ms.
Early stated Miller, Legg has been performing the monitoring with WCI
Communities for a number of years and we felt it was better to continue with this
arrangement. We looked at their price
and felt it was competitive for this type of work. The hourly rates are in order with current
rates for this type of service.
Mr.
Gray asked have they been performing this work for a certain amount of time?
Mr.
Goscicki responded yes.
Mr.
Gray asked does WCI Communities participate in the BCEPD license transfer as referenced
in Task 4?
Ms.
Early responded they were paying Miller Legg for the installations and
monitoring up to this point. However, we
are now at the point where we need to turn these wetlands over to the
District. I do not think WCI Communities
is going to pay for the monitoring.
Mr.
Gray asked is the purpose of this request for WCI Communities to turn the
wetlands over to us?
Mr.
Goscicki responded yes.
Mr.
Gray asked are we paying Miller, Legg to turn them over?
Ms.
Early stated we are paying Miller Legg to prepare the paperwork for the
turnover.
Mr.
Mendelson asked what are we paying for?
Ms.
Early responded for maintenance and engineering services.
Mr.
Gray asked is the monitoring for five years?
Ms.
Early responded yes.
Mr.
Gray asked does this become a five year agreement?
Ms.
Early responded yes.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor the Agreement with Miller, Legg & Associates for monitoring of the
Heron Bay Golf Course Wetlands Mitigation Bank was approved.
Mr.
Goscicki stated even though this is a multi-year agreement, there is a
termination provision with seven days notice.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Discussion Item –
Status of
Mr.
Goscicki stated as the Board may recall, we have some issues with Tousa
Homes. There are construction agreements
in place with Florida Sewer & Water and Triple R. Paving to construct the
water and sewer improvements as well as roads, drainage and lakes. Ms. Early can give you a breakdown of which
improvements are in which contract. Concurrent
with this, we have Funding Agreements with Tousa/Engle Homes to pay for the
construction currently taking place. We now
have a situation where Tousa Homes is significantly behind in their
reimbursement to us. As a result of
their non-payment, we are behind in our payments to the construction
contractors. We are working diligently
with Tousa Homes to resolve this matter and make them current. However, we are talking about hundreds of
thousands of dollars owed to the contractor for completed work. We wanted to make sure the Board was aware of
this situation. We spoke with Engle
Homes the day before Thanksgiving and they are moving forward with getting us
reimbursement.
Mr.
Mendelson asked what type of time table are we looking at? We can take away most of the liability from
the District by receiving payment.
Mr.
Goscicki responded we are talking about payments due over 60 days in some
cases.
Mr.
Mendelson asked will a correction be made?
Mr.
Goscicki responded we are hearing from Tousa Homes they intend to make payments
to us.
Mr.
Mendelson asked within the next 60 days?
Mr.
Goscicki responded within the next week.
Mr.
Gray asked do you expect to be current as far as the payment schedule?
Mr.
Goscicki responded they are telling us all of the money is in process.
Ms.
Lusk responded we only collected $300,000 thus far.
Mr.
Goscicki stated of the $600,000 owed.
Ms. Terri Lusk is your accountant.
She is a Severn Trent Services employee.
Ms.
Lusk stated some of these payments are 30 to 60 days outstanding. The contractors are here if you wish to hear
from them.
Mr.
Mike Stokes stated I am the owner of Florida Sewer & Water.
Ms. Marie Fergie stated I am also
with Florida Sewer & Water. This
also includes the advanced funding from WCI Communities.
Mr. Goscicki stated we have a
similar issue with WCI Communities but not to this extent. I believe they are much more current.
Mr. Gray asked what happens if they
default?
Mr. Lyles responded we sue them.
Mr. Gray stated I assume we are responsible
if they file for bankruptcy.
Mr. Lyles stated I am not going to
tell you this is the case sitting here today because this is a new situation
and I have to review all documentation including the primary construction
agreement and the Funding Agreement with Tousa Homes, which is similar in
nature to Funding Agreements the District used for 30 years and has always
proven to be a successful model for these types of obligations. It will be necessary for us to stop or
suspend the agreement in order to discover what arrangements Tousa Homes is
making towards reimbursement.
Ultimately, we want to protect everyone including the contractor and
stop the work if it looks like we are not going to be compensated.
Mr. Craven asked is the work still
in progress even though we are behind on payments?
Mr. Lyles responded the work is
currently suspended.
Mr. Stokes stated it was suspended
two weeks ago.
Mr. Lyles stated during the same
week, accounting staff and management were engaged in discussions with the
President of Tousa Homes who assured these payments were being processed and
checks were being cut.
Mr. Craven stated 50% of the
payments.
Ms. Fergie stated we received two
letters from the President. The first
letter was received in October where he promised to pay $300,000.
Mr. Lyles asked did he indicate in
any way the remaining monies will be processed just not at the same time?
Ms. Fergie responded yes.
Mr.
Lyles stated they are late but there was no indication of them not making these
payments either voluntarily or involuntarily.
I questioned staff before the meeting and they indicated the checks were
being processed late. The work is
suspended and any potential losses are being minimized by this fact. All we can do is to continue coercing Tousa
Homes to fulfill their obligations under the Funding Agreement. Since we are a public entity, your contracts
are only enforceable when there is a funding source for those contracts. The funding source in this particular
instance is the Funding Agreement. If it
turns out the Funding Agreement is not going to be complied with, then we do
not have a funding source and we are down to having a valid contract. We do not intend to get to this point. However, if we did, it would be the first
time this ever happened in the history of NSID.
Mr.
Gray stated I read articles in the newspaper about Tousa Homes.
Mr.
Lyles stated they are facing challenges but right now we are not letting
anything further happen resulting in damages to either the contractor or the
District. We are doing what we need to
do to ensure WCI Communities complies.
Mr.
Mendelson stated there is nothing we can really do unless they pay, at least
50%.
Ms.
Fergie stated the President of Tousa Homes informed us the money will be in the
next check run.
Mr.
Lyles stated the question is if the first set of payments were in fact
processed and the payments were made, how far behind the submittal to NSID for
payment was and whether they are 30 days behind or beyond 30 days past due.
Mr.
Gray asked do they become current if they pay $300,000 now and the remaining
$300,000 within the next 30 days or are they late on the next $300,000 as well?
Ms.
Lusk responded they will become current if they pay the remaining $300,000 in
the next 30 days.
Ms.
Fergie stated if I am not mistaken, $300,000 was already paid.
Ms.
Lusk stated we received a portion of the $600,000. We already paid all of October’s advance
funding agreements.
Ms.
Fergie stated even though you are getting money, we are not receiving any.
Mr.
Craven asked are the contractors going to resume work if half of the funds are
received?
Ms.
Fergie responded no.
Mr.
Craven asked how much money will it take to make you current?
Mr.
Stokes responded $1.2 million.
Mr.
Craven asked are you the only entity we owe money to or are there other
entities?
Ms.
Early responded Triple R. Paving is also owed money.
Mr.
Craven asked has Triple R. Paving stopped work?
Ms.
Early responded yes, but they are complete.
Mr.
Craven asked how much behind are we in paying Triple R. Paving?
Ms.
Early responded from what Triple R. Paving sent me, they are owed $100,000.
Mr.
Mendelson asked is the $100,000 part of the $300,000?
Ms.
Early responded no.
Mr.
Gray stated $1.2 million is owed to
Mr.
Goscicki stated some of the $1.2 million has not even gone through our
system. Our current numbers show
$900,000 but we have not processed this last round of payments yet.
Mr.
Lyles stated we also went through the process of validating and assessing. Everything short of the final document was
signed to issue bonds for these purposes.
We have approval from the courts and concluded our public hearings. However, because of the current investment
climate, the Underwriter’s are advising us not to go into the bond market
because they do not feel they can sell these bonds at an appropriate interest
rate. We have this backed up by the
process we followed including the judicial process to issue tax exempt government
bonds to pay for this work. At the end
of the day, there is delay between starting the work and having the bonds
closed and the funding in a construction trust account, which we will submit
requisitions for construction draws from.
I do not think these bonds will be closed in December of 2007. It should have occurred some time ago but we
are dealing with it. There is an
ultimate safety mechanism out there for this.
Mr.
Gray asked how will this affect the bond issue?
Mr.
Lyles responded bond issues are affected by many things; primarily in the rates
and the month the bonds are issued as not much happens in December. You can always issue the bonds because the
security for the bonds is so iron clad. The
total capital amount of the assessments levied against the parcels of property
within this sub-assessment area and the value of the property exceeding the
total amount of the assessments, makes this a safe investment. With the current state of the credit markets,
the situation is in a dire state.
Mr.
Gray asked will a recession affect just the interest rate?
Mr.
Lyles responded yes. The interest rates
are presumed at a certain level and when the interest rates are higher, it
generates less capital but the capital amount in any conceivable interest rate
scenario would be more than sufficient to cover these outstanding delays.
Mr.
Mendelson asked is the District protected if the money is there?
Mr.
Lyles responded this money will be there when we have the final closing on the
bonds. We applied to the mortgage
company and were approved but we have not signed the mortgage or received the
money.
Mr.
Mendelson asked is it in the best interest of the Board to wait until we
receive this money before taking further action?
Mr.
Lyles responded you have to wait until you receive the money because the Investors
and Underwriters are not going to hold any bond closings in December. Therefore, we have no choice but to
wait. They are your experts and tell you
when you can go into the market.
Mr.
Gray stated we appreciate this information.
However, apart from the fact this is only informational, what is Florida
Sewer and Water, Inc. requesting?
Ms.
Fergie responded we want to know when we are getting paid, what the correct procedure
is if there is no Funding Agreement and whether NSID can provide any money to us
while they are trying to get payment from Tousa Homes.
Mr.
Lyles stated we have to work with them.
Ms.
Fergie stated my explanation from Tousa Homes is slightly different than yours.
Mr.
Lyles stated maybe we should discuss what is occurring and you can give us some
additional information.
Ms.
Fergie stated I will contact you at the beginning of next week.
Mr.
Lyles stated it will help us to be successful with Tousa Homes because as a
result of today’s discussion, the District Manager is going to make a written
demand on them regarding payments. Correct?
Mr.
Goscicki responded correct.
Mr.
Craven asked are they going to increase our interest rate? In some contracts, when you get behind in
payments, there is a clause dealing with an increased interest rate. Are you talking about us repaying back what
we currently owe you, the contract still being in effect and the contractor going
back to work when they are paid?
A
representative from Triple R. Paving responded on this project, we are
currently 95% complete. On a $4 million
contract, we only have $136,000 owed to us.
Once we are paid this money, the project will be completed.
Mr.
Goscicki stated we are continuing to work with Tousa Homes and the contractor
through our engineers to make sure we are apprised. Our goal is to recoup what we are owed from Tousa
Homes so we can complete this project.
Mr.
Mendelson stated we cannot do anything until the payments are made.
Mr.
Lyles stated I do not think there is anything for the Board to vote on but I
think both the District Manager and I wanted you to be aware of what was occurring
and what we were doing on your behalf.
If you have any other thoughts or wish to proceed in a different direction,
let us know. We want all of this to be
out in the open and in the public.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Change
Orders
A.
Change Order No. 1 – Florida Sewer &
Water, Inc. for Parkland Village Paving, Drainage, Water Distribution and Wastewater
Collection for a Net Increase of $129,601.11
Ms.
Early stated this Change Order was brought to the Board two months ago. However, there were some typos and we wanted
to clean it up. This is just a
formality.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in
favor Change Order No. 1 with Florida Sewer & Water, Inc. for
B.
Change Order No. 3 & Final – Triple
R. Paving for
Ms.
Early stated this is a final balancing Change Order. Unfortunately the last page was split
backwards. The actual WCI Communities
cost is a negative $2 million while the NSID cost is an increase of
$200,000. The reason for the increase is
due to more unsuitable material being encountered than what was originally
estimated. Fortunately, there is a bond
in place for this cost. According to the
itemized list of additions, which is attached to the change order, some pipes were
removed when we refigured the lakes. The
majority of the decrease is due to not having to haul material on-site for the
embankment or doing any on-site crushing.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in
favor Change Order No. 3 & Final for Triple R. Paving for Heron Bay North
Plats 3 & 4 Drainageways for a Net Decrease of $2,496,885.15 was approved
as amended.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Permit
Requests
A. Request for Modification of Permit
2006-18 for Parkland Commons
Mr.
Gray stated the company constructing Parkland Commons requested permission to
temporarily use the closed portion of
Mr.
Goscicki stated we asked them to come back to apply for a permit rather than just
allowing them on-site.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor the permit request from Keith & Associates for a modification of
Permit 2006-18 for temporary use of University Drive, north of Trails End
during construction of Parkland Commons
was approved.
B. Simkins
Residence Addition – Drainage Permit
Mr.
DaSilva stated this was a simple drainage request from a resident. We request the Board’s approval based on our
recommendation letter with our standard conditions.
Mr.
Gray stated they are asking for permission to install a pipe in a courtyard to
drain runoff into our canal.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in
favor the permit request from Mr. Lance Simkins for a Surface Water Management
Permit for a courtyard at the applicant’s residence in Landings Estates was approved.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Request for Reimbursement
of $476.41 for the Repair of a Sewer Blockage at
Mr.
Goscicki stated I already approved this reimbursement based on past Board policy
for this type of work and this is only for ratification. I also wanted to get your concurrence on having
a policy going forward to reimburse residents who have undertaken water or
sewer corrective work resulting from a problem we created. In this particular case, the resident hired a
plumber due to a sewer blockage and later found out the blockage was due to a
break in a sewer line. We corrected the
problem but in the meantime, they received a bill from the plumber for $476.41.
Mr.
Gray stated apparently this was due to the age of the construction. However, if the person caused the blockage,
which in this case they did not, we would not be responsible for paying.
Mr.
Goscicki stated exactly.
Mr.
Lyles stated if they damaged our line, we will repair it but they are going to
pay for it.
Mr.
Gray stated if they cause the damage, regardless of what side the lines are on,
we are not paying for the repair.
Mr.
Lyles stated correct.
Mr.
Gray stated I do not want to be responsible for sludge backing up and flooding
a house. They can claim this through
their homeowners insurance. This is just
a minor blockage but if it flooded their entire home and caused extensive
damage due to molds, I would not want to take responsibility.
Mr.
Goscicki stated we have responsibility if our sewer line backs up and floods a
home. You will receive a claim.
Mr.
Gray stated it depends on the failure. I
want to take these issues on a case by case basis. For instance, if a particular failure was not
caused by us and was caused by the resident installing a mailbox, they should
have insurance and be responsible for the damage. This is for a small amount but if the bill
was for $1,000, we would not pay.
Mr.
Goscicki stated in another district, I am dealing with $40,000 in damages to a
home due from a sewer backup because it caused mold. We are contesting it but you are absolutely correct
whereby those claims can escalate dramatically.
The bottom line is we will still be involved and our insurance company
will be involved.
Mr.
Gray stated but we can defend it, assuming it was not our direct
responsibility; meaning something we caused.
Mr.
Lyles stated we have taken these cases all the way to trial and a jury verdict. It is not uncommon. It happens and we will handle it.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in
favor the request for reimbursement of $476.41 for the repair of a sewer
blockage at
NINTH ORDER OF
BUSINESS Consideration
of Award of Contracts
A. Purchase
of Chemicals
Mr.
Goscicki stated these are chemicals we use for aquatic weed control. We did a cooperative bidding between CSID,
NSID, Sunshine and Pine Tree WCD. The
bid summary was provided in your agenda package. There are a number of different
chemicals. The bid was structured with
each company providing a price with the option of the District to choose the
vendors so you are not required to take one vendor for all. However, in some cases we did not choose the
lowest price. The bid also allowed us to
specify the chemical we were looking for.
We allowed them to submit a generic chemical but they had to demonstrate
it met the same criteria. In some cases,
these were chemicals we tried in the past and discovered they were not our
equal or required additional chemical agents to assist and therefore were not
equal.
Mr.
Schooley stated many of these chemicals have different compositions. For example, we used a generic of the Copper in Mr. Mendelson’s area earlier
this year for two weeks on a major aquatic weed and received no results. We went back three to four weeks later and used
our existing chemical, Reward with
this product and it did not work. I
cannot spend tax dollars and not get sufficient results. We are very busy and must get good results. There is something called Pectin but I have no idea what this
is. We have a standing order with some
of these chemicals but if you want a certain chemical used, give me the name of
the chemical and we will try it. If it
works, we will include it in the bid. However,
we are trying to get what will work for this District, which is why we do not
take the lowest bid.
Mr.
Mendelson asked are the highlighted ones your recommended chemicals as they are
a better value?
Mr.
Schooley responded not only a better value but ones which actually worked. The F-30
did not work at all. We purchased 150
gallons and now I do not know what I am going to do with it. Last year, I purchased a large amount of Cutrine Plus to complete your area. We are still treating this area and I should
have been done six months ago. This is
not good in my business. We need to work
on the aquatics now. On the Captain, for two years they have been
telling me they were going to let me test it in our system and I have not been
able to do it. They keep bidding it and
I do not know what it is. It is a Copper product but there are hundreds
out there.
On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor the contract
for the purchase of chemicals was awarded to the lowest responsive bidders as
indicated on the bid tabulation sheet, unless otherwise recommended by Mr. Schooley.
B. Trucks
Mr.
Goscicki stated we apologize for not including this item in your agenda package
but the estimates were received late. We
went out for bid on two replacement vehicles; F-150 and Ford Ranger and
received prices from Maroone Chevrolet and Plantation Ford. We actually had to solicit prices twice
because we thought Plantation Ford would honor the prices they provided us six
months ago and they refused to so we had to re-price them. They still came in at the lowest price as you
will see in the summary document.
Therefore, we are recommending award to Plantation Ford for both vehicles.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Gray with all in favor the contract
for the purchase of trucks was awarded to Plantation Ford in the amounts
indicated on the bid tabulation sheet.
C. Uniforms
Mr.
Goscicki stated we planned to solicit bids for uniforms for the employees;
however, we currently have a contract with CSID, which we are tied into. This contract comes up for renewal on
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
i.
Release
of Liability
Mr. Goscicki stated this is a settlement with an individual
who was injured outside of the NSID Water Plant. I believe we discussed this matter several
meetings ago. This was in regards to an
older gentleman who rode his bicycle into our vehicle as our vehicle was making
a left turn. He was severely injured and
treated at the hospital for a ruptured spleen, broken ribs and a broken
collarbone. He filed a claim against the
District for $100,000 knowing this was the cap on our insurance. Our Insurance Agent worked with them and got
them to agree to a settlement for $95,000.
The recommendation from our Insurance Carrier was to settle it and get
this over with. It is within your
insurance cap and we are recommending approval.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in
favor the Release of Liability with Ole Westerheim was approved.
ii.
Status of
Discussion with the City of
Mr. Goscicki stated I met with the Public Works Director for
the City of
We
are also working with the City of
iii.
Complaints
Received/Resolved
Mr.
Goscicki stated we received a number of water quality complaints over the past
year regarding water hardness. Some of
the complaints were due to WCI Communities instructing some residents to
contact us as these were not plumbing problems.
These were not District water issues and were actually plumbing
issues. We shared the water quality
information with these residents and resolved their issues. You may still hear residents complaining periodically
about the water quality in their home; however, your water meets all Federal,
State and local requirements and even exceeds it.
B. Attorney’s
Report
Mr.
Lyles stated I mentioned to the Board at a prior meeting about a draft
preliminary Bill by Senator Ring of
C. Engineer’s
Report
There not being any, the next item
followed.
ELEVENTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Financial
Matters
Mr.
Goscicki stated for the first time in a very long time, you have financial
statements and not just check registers.
In the nine months I have been serving on this Board; this is the first
financial statement I have seen. I was
surprised to find out we have 19 different funds. I am very impressed with all of the work Ms.
Lusk and her staff have done in getting this information together and
distributed. We still have more work to
do. We probably gave you more
information than you need or want to see on an ongoing basis but we wanted to
provide this to you. I am happy to
report all of your funds are in good shape and we are not in an unexpected
funding position. The Water and Sewer
Fund, your largest single fund, is on track with revenues at 99% and 93% of
expenditures. These are not audited financials
but the numbers look good through year end.
We are pleased to see the numbers come in this way since we were
operating without enough facts. As we
move forward and refine these, we will work on the type of management you wish
to see. Some Boards like a great deal of
detail while others want a higher level synopsis. We can work on this after you have had more
of a chance to review all of this information and I have had more time to work
with Ms. Lusk.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by
Mr. Gray with all in favor the financial statements for
TWELFTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor’s
Requests and Audience Comments
There
not being any, the next item followed.
THIRTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
There
being no further business,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in
favor the meeting was adjourned.
David
Gray Steve
Mendelson
Secretary President