MINUTES OF MEETING

NORTH SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

 

            A meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the North Springs Improvement District was held on Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. at the District Office, 10300 NW 11th Manor.

 

            Present and constituting a quorum were:

           

            Steve Mendelson                                              President

            David Gray                                                       Secretary

            Vincent Moretti                                                Assistant Secretary

           

            Also present were:

           

            Edward Goscicki                                              Interim District Manager

            Dennis Lyles                                                     Attorney

            Jane Early                                                         Engineer

            John McKune                                                   Capital Improvement Coordinator

            Doug Hyche                                                     Utilities Director

            Nick Schooley                                                  Drainage Supervisor

            Roy Gold                                                         City of Coral Springs

            Warren Craven                                                 Craven Consulting

            Brian DeGirolmo, PE                                        DeGirolmo & Associates

            Cory Johnson                                                   CH2M Hill

            Sean Skehan                                                    CH2M Hill

            Brenda Schurz                                                  Severn Trent Services

            Kim Prenter                                                      Severn Trent Services

            Sandra Demarco                                              Severn Trent Services

           

            The following is a summary of the minutes and actions taken at the February 6, 2008 North Springs Improvement District Board of Supervisors meeting.

                                                                                                                       

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Roll Call

            Mr. Goscicki called the meeting to order and called the roll.

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Approval of the Minutes of the January 9, 2008 Meeting

            Mr. Goscicki stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the January 9, 2008 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.

            There not being any,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gray seconded by Mr. Mendelson with all in favor the minutes of the January 9, 2008 meeting were approved.

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Sponsorship of Waterway Cleanup Program

            Commissioner Gold distributed an informative handout and gave a brief overview of the program.

·        The District has not previously donated funds to this program.

·        Any money donated will come from the District’s general fund.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor a first mate level donation of $3,000 to the Waterway Cleanup Program was approved.

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Discussion of Parkland Village Construction

            The following was discussed:

·        Tousa Homes filed for bankruptcy.  They intend to reorganize their debt structure.  They are in the process of securing a refinance in the amount of $150 Million to pay off their debt.  Communication regarding this issue was sent out to all their vendors.

·        There will be a meeting with Florida Sewer and Water to discuss outstanding invoices.  It is a good sign that they are agreeing to meet without involving their attorney.

·        Tousa Homes asked for the outstanding invoices.

·        GMAC owns the land.  Tousa Homes was the developer.  They renegotiated their schedule twice and defaulted on the project.  The project is back in GMAC’s hands.

·        The funding agreements are with Tousa Homes and not GMAC.  It is Tousa Homes’ obligation to pay.  There is no contract with GMAC. 

·        The Board has approved moving forward with work to the extent that the District’s assets are protected.

·        Mr. DeGirolmo questioned why he was not contacted with regard to certifying the improvements.  CH2M Hill is the District Engineer and has the right to become involved in this project.  Mr. Goscicki and Mr. Lyles will contact Mr. DeGirolmo to discuss this issue further.

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Status Report on Florida Sewer and Water Outstanding Invoices

            This item was discussed under the fourth order of business.

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                              Management Agreement with Parkland Isles HOA for Landscape Maintenance

            The following was discussed:

·        The District owns a landscape berm in Parkland Isles. 

·        Valley Crest does maintenance work for the HOA and they have been maintaining the berm without a formal relationship.

·        Staff met with the HOA in January and proposed an agreement similar to the one the District has with Heron Bay Commons where the HOA is responsible for daily maintenance.  The HOA was receptive to the proposed agreement because it allows them more direct control.

·        No action is needed by the Board at this time.  The Parkland Isles HOA will sign the agreement first and it will then be brought before the Board for approval.

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Consideration of WA #180 – Treatment Plant Planning, Modifications and Improvements

            Mr. Goscicki reviewed the work authorization along with staff and recommended approval.  The $74,413 will provide site master planning for the water plant.

           

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor WA #180 for treatment plant planning, modifications and improvements was approved.

 

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                           Staff Reports

            A.        Manager

                        i.    Status of SBA Account

            At the moment there is no updated information being provided by the SBA.  Staff will continue to monitor the SBA account and follow up on the process. 

 

                       ii.     Discussion of Five Year Storm Water Permit Renewal Program

            The following was discussed:

·        This program was started five years ago.  District staff reviews permits every five years to make sure the property owners have done what they were supposed to. 

·        The person who handles the permit renewal program at CH2M Hill is retiring.  Ms. Schurz will train with CH2M Hill to handle the permit renewals going forward.

                    

                     iii.     Water Plant Operations

            Mr. Hyche provided the Board with an informational packet.  This information will be provided to the Board on a routine basis.  They are also working with Mr. Daly to provide a monthly customer service report.

 

            Mr. Goscicki distributed copies of engagement letters with Deloitte Tax, LLP to provide arbitrage rebate calculations on behalf of the District.  This is a requirement by law when there are outstanding bonds.  Mr. Goscicki signed the engagement letters on behalf of the District in order to meet necessary time requirements. 

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor the engagement letters with Deloitte Tax, LLP to provide arbitrage rebate calculations were ratified.

 

            B.        Attorney – Status of Arbor Tree Contract Claim for Alleged Additional Work

            The following was discussed:

·        The Board previously entered into a contract with Arbor Tree for a lump sum of $100,000 and specified tree removal areas.  There was a provision that $50,000 was to be paid by reimbursement from the NRCS and $50,000 was to be paid by the District. 

·        Because it was hurricane clean up, some of the work was shifted; however any additional work had to be approved by the District engineer.

·        Arbor Tree claims they performed additional work and forwarded pictures to the District engineer.  This work was not authorized.

·        A letter was received two months ago from Arbor Tree requesting payment for additional work.  There is no basis for this claim because the work was never authorized by the District engineer. 

 

C.                 Engineer – Projects Status Report

            No additional items were discussed.

 

NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Supervisors’ Requests and Audience Comments

            There not being any, the next item followed.

 

TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Approval of Financials and Check Register

            Mr. Goscicki briefly reviewed the financials and there were no questions or comments by the Board.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Gray with all in favor the financials and check register were approved.

 

ELEVENTH 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