MINUTES OF MEETING

PINE TREE WATER CONTROL DISTRICT

 

            A meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Pine Tree Water Control District was held on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 6:03 p.m. at the Parkland City Hall, 6600 North University Drive, Parkland, Florida.

 

            Present and constituting a quorum were:

           

            Paul Brewer                                                    Vice President

            Donna McCann Benckenstein                        Assistant Secretary

            Neil Study                                                       Supervisor

            Mark Weissman                                              Supervisor

 

            Also present were:

           

            Kenneth Cassel                                               Manager

            D.J. Doody                                                     Attorney

            Warren Craven, Jr.                                          Engineer

            Randy Frederick                                             Drainage Supervisor

            Dominick Peri                                                 Resident

            Avraham Yeini                                                Resident

            George Zentefis                                              Resident

                                                                                                                                                           

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Roll Call

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

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                            Approval of the Minutes of the January 7, 2010 Meeting

            Mr. Cassel stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the January 7, 2010 meeting and requested any changes, additions or deletions.

           

Mr. Weissman MOVED to approve the minutes of the January 7, 2010 meeting and Ms. Benckenstein seconded it.

           

            Mr. Study stated I volunteered for the easement granted for the new pool.  I thought it was on the record that I volunteered for him to give me a call when they were getting ready to excavate, which did not occur.  I recently went over there.  He is still under construction.  The pool is in; however, the cleanup operation is less than satisfactory as far as I am concerned.  There is no grass or anything else.  I realize he still needs the deck and I am not sure which direction he is coming for this deck; whether he is pumping around the house or he is in that right-of-way.  The clean up operation is not satisfactory as of now, but realize; he is still under construction. 

            The record will reflect Mr. Brewer joined the meeting.

           

On VOICE vote with all in favor the minutes of the January 7, 2010 meeting were approved.

 

            Mr. Cassel stated as Mr. Weissman suggested we will take questions from individuals who are here from the public.  One individual is Mr. Zentefis.  He contacted me last week.  He owns a property which is adjacent to the Sawgrass Expressway.  He had been in contact with FDOT regarding the land adjacent to him.  It is currently owned by FDOT.  This is one of those parcels we are in discussions with FDOT as to land swap.  Part of that is how much land do we need to control what we have to do for the District and how much land can go to the adjacent property owner.  We are working with Sawgrass Authority and FDOT on this at the present time.  We started working with them almost a year ago.  We are finishing up the ownership issues with the engineer so  now we can go back and work with their engineers, their attorney and our attorney to get this squared away.  Mr. Zentefis wanted to speak to the Board about this property and his situation.  I will let you take it from there.

            Mr. Zentefis stated the FDOT told me they are waiting for PTWCD to decide how much land they want.  I think the city has first grabs, but they cannot declare it as surplus until PTWCD determines what part it wants.  They are waiting for you to tell them what you want so they can declare the rest as surplus.  The city will be asked if they want it and if not, I am next in line as the adjacent property owner.  It has been eight months and I was wondering if you can tell them how much you want.  If you look up my property, it is a fictitious name with my name.  My wife is in law enforcement so you will see my property under a fictitious name and not my real name.  That is all I am asking.  For the PTWCD to tell the FDOT what you are keeping. 

            Mr. Craven stated Mr. Cassel and I met on this and a couple of other issues before this meeting.  We have taken the survey we did along the Sawgrass Expressway, we have looked at all of the FDOT parcels and what we feel we need from an engineering standpoint.  Mr. Cassel and I are going to get together with Mr. Frederick within the next week.  We want to make sure what we recommend is satisfactory to what he needs for maintenance.  As soon as we get agreement on that we will go back to FDOT with what we are looking at.

            Mr. Weissman asked will you come back to us at the next meeting before going to FDOT?

            Mr. Cassel responded yes.  We will discuss with FDOT how much land we are going to need and start that process.  Then we will come back to get your approval on what we need for our needs and the rest we will work with FDOT.

            Mr. Craven stated at the next meeting I would like to have a sketch and legal of what we want to take.  That would indicate the surplus, which would get you moving in the right direction. 

            Mr. Weissman stated we can inform him of when our next meeting is that we will have that information.

            Ms. Benckenstein asked what is the next step after we approve it?

            Mr. Craven responded the next step is you and the attorneys work out the language.  It should be straight forward.  It is a burden to the FDOT right now.  It is something they have to maintain and they do not get any benefit from.

            Mr. Doody stated my initial reaction is if there is determination by this Board that this property is surplus, it is an indication you do not want to carry it or own it any longer.  You would sell it, but you will probably need an appraisal to determine a fair market value.

            Mr. Cassel stated we do not know.  That is FDOT.  They were offering it to us and we only want a piece of it.  The rest we do not want.

            Mr. Doody stated that is a lot easier.

            Mr. Craven stated originally when we first sat down with FDOT they wanted us to take everything; obviously, we do not want to take what we do not need.  This works out well for everyone.

            Mr. Weissman asked what types of plants are there?

            Mr. Zentefis responded they are all hollies.

            Mr. Weissman asked is your intention to remove all of that?

            Mr. Zentefis responded eventually.

            Mr. Weissman asked do we have any control over that to require that it be removed?

            Mr. Doody responded not on property we do not own.

            Mr. Brewer asked do we want to own it or do we want an easement?

            Mr. Craven responded I think an easement would be sufficient.  I think FDOT would rather we own it just like we would rather they own it.  Maybe we can structure it as…

            Mr. Brewer stated let him have it and give us an easement.

            Mr. Craven stated exactly.

            Mr. Zentefis asked what does that mean?

            Mr. Brewer responded it means you own it, but you give us access to it.

            Mr. Zentefis asked all of it?

            Mr. Cassel responded no.  Typically there is a 25’ or 50’ easement along the water.

            Mr. Zentefis stated I do not even know how much that is.  The actual land is 2,200 square feet. 

            Mr. Study stated we do not have a measurement on, for example….

            Mr. Zentefis stated I do not know how much 25 feet is.  I called FDOT and they told me it was not theirs.  It is the turnpike’s.

            Mr. Brewer stated it is under the Sawgrass Expressway Authority.

            Mr. Zentefis stated Florida Turnpike Authority.  I told them this thing is overgrown and the hollies are in the easement in the back.  I clean my part.  That is not clean.  They told me they were supposed to clean it, but it is not clean.  Nobody is cleaning it right now.  I asked to get it and eventually I am going to clean it.  They told me about the appraisal.  That is worth nothing to another private owner because it is less than an acre.  There is nothing you can do with it in Pine Tree Estates.  Half an acre is worth what if I have to clean it?  That is going to be negotiated in the price.  There is no need to talk about it right now because we have no deal.  Once you tell me how much I am getting, bring an appraisal and let us see what the deal is.  If I have to clean it, I will clean it.  It has to be cleaned because there are raccoons in there and they ate my chickens two weeks ago.  They may have rabies.  Who knows?

            Mr. Study stated I just want to bring it to everyone’s attention it would be a perfect area for staging any canal cleaning efforts and debris removal efforts.  As you see the further west you go it chokes.  I am not sure what access you have, Mr. Frederick will probably know, for that type of operation.  As you know we got clipped during the storms and had to do some of that.  It is more beneficial to rack and stack and bring a big grinder in than it is to request crossing over people’s properties to get the debris out. 

            Mr. Zentefis asked can I build on an easement?

            Mr. Cassel responded no.

            Mr. Brewer stated if we told you we wanted 25 feet of your property, you are going to lose the 25 feet anyway.  We are saying we do not want to own it, but we want to have an agreement with you to cross it.  You would give us an easement across the 25 feet and you would still own the land, but we would have access to it.  Just like in the rear of your property.  That is an easement. 

            Mr. Zentefis stated I pay property tax on that too.  If it is an easement and I cannot build on it, than it is not a good deal for me. 

            Mr. Brewer stated it is not a good deal for us to own it either.

            Mr. Zentefis stated right now the cities are choking for money.  That property is not contributing anything to the city, the county or anyone.  If I own it, I am going to pay something.  They are hungry for money.  They need money.  There are properties around the city that belong to the government and no one is paying money on it.  I think it is in the best interest of every government that a private party owns it.  If you need 10 feet to clean up, that is fine as long as there are not any machines all of the time.  It is a residential area.  If you are going to use a big machine to clean up all the time, I am going to complain; not only me, but my neighbors too.  I just want to clean it up.  It is a mess in there.  There are raccoons.  There are bobcats.  I have a four year old and a five year old.  When I called the state about the bobcats they told me they do not touch the bobcats.  They told me I have to trap them in my own property.  I tried to trap it and they told me I could kill it.  Shoot it in the head.

            Mr. Brewer stated you cannot shoot it in Parkland.

            Mr. Zentefis stated no.  They told me they give me the right to capture it for euthanization.  All I am asking is for you to keep what you want or keep it all if you want.  If you are going to keep it all, my next step is to ask you to clean it up.  If the turnpike wants to keep it, then I am going to tell them to clean it up. 

            Mr. Cassel stated we will bring it back to the Board and we will let you know after the next meeting where we are on it.  We will keep Mr. Zentefis informed and we will go from there.

            Mr. Brewer stated you have step one in the right direction.  We are heading somewhere.

            Mr. Zentefis asked do you need my information, should I call or when is the next meeting?

            Mr. Cassel responded let me give you my card and you can contact me directly or email me.  I will stay in touch with you.

            Mr. Zentefis stated thank you.

            Mr. Yeini stated I am the owner for 5542 NW 57th Way.  We had a meeting here where we talked about the lake maintenance easement.  At one point we were not sure whether they existed or not.  It turned out it does exist, but it is a part of my pool area and part of the Florida room encroaches it.  We came to an encroachment agreement so I could continue to encroach.  Then the issue came up about abandoning it since you were not using it.  I think it is on the agenda.

            Mr. Cassel stated yes.  It is on the agenda for abandonment tonight.  We will be taking it up in a couple of minutes. 

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Organizational Matters

            A.        Appointment of Supervisor

            Mr. Cassel stated the Board is aware there is a vacant seat.  There was a request that the Board contact individuals to submit resumes for the Board’s consideration.  It is up to the Board’s discretion to fill the seat.  You had one resume come in thus far.  If that is sufficient, then the Board can take action.  The Board has its own pleasure of how they want to handle this.  It is up to the Board.

           

Mr. Weissman MOVED to appoint Mr. Peri to the unexpired term left vacant by Ms. Bertolami and Ms. Benckenstein seconded it.

 

            Mr. Brewer stated I had someone who I thought was going to submit their resume, but he did not put it in.  I guess we have to go with the one we have. 

            Mr. Cassel asked is there any other discussion?

            Mr. Study asked do we want to give your man more opportunity?

            Mr. Brewer responded yes.  It was not the fact that he was not interested.  He just did not give me his resume in time.  I would like to entertain looking at, at least, one more resume if the Board would favor that. 

            Mr. Weissman asked can you tell us a little bit about the individual?

            Mr. Brewer responded he lives in Pine Tree Estates.  He is a general contractor.  You probably know him, Mr. Mrachek of Mrachek Brothers.

            Mr. Weissman stated yes.  He sued the city.  Personally I would not like to see him on this Board.  Anything that causes the taxpayers money in the city I am not in favor of.

            Mr. Brewer stated I am not sure I remember exactly what the details of that were.

            Mr. Weissman stated it had something to do with some construction in the city.  I think it was BJs.

            Mr. Brewer stated I think his brother represented him.  It was not exactly him.  His brother was the attorney for BJs.

            Mr. Study stated being appointed and a fill in, I really think there should be some qualifications in the area of drainage and construction.  That is my only hesitancy.  It is not a reflection on you sir. 

            Mr. Weissman stated I think easements are just as important in land ownership and transfer.  Mr. Peri does serve on the Planning and Zoning Board in Parkland.

 

On VOICE vote with Ms. Benckenstein and Mr. Weissman voting aye and Mr. Brewer and Mr. Study voting nay the motion to appoint Mr. Peri to vacant seat failed to pass.  

 

            Mr. Brewer stated I would like to see us bring a couple of more people to look at.  That is the only reason I said no.  It is nothing personal.

            Mr. Peri stated none taken.  It is what is in the best interest of the city and not one individual.

            Mr. Brewer stated I would like to see all of us try to find someone.

            Mr. Weissman asked when did we last meet?  Was it in the beginning of January?

            Mr. Cassel responded yes.  It was the January meeting.

            Mr. Weissman stated two months and we have had one resume.  If I am not mistaken, when Mr. Study was appointed we had one resume.  This means we will sit with a short Board for an indeterminate time.

            Mr. Cassel stated if that is the direction of the Board at this time. 

            Mr. Doody stated the Board can authorize advertising if you want to spend the money.

            Mr. Brewer asked what will it cost us to advertise it?

            Mr. Cassel responded I am not sure off the top of my head, but we can put a small notice in a local paper to see what kind of response we get. 

            Mr. Doody asked what is the paper?

            Mr. Cassel responded I would have to figure out which one is the best as far as circulation.

            Mr. Doody asked do you want Sun-Sentinel or a smaller circulation paper?

            Mr. Cassel responded I would say a smaller circulation towards the two cities.

            Mr. Peri stated if I may speak, you might want to be careful what you ask for.

            Mr. Cassel stated this is true.  I guess at that point the direction would be for the Board to talk to your neighbors if they are interested, to submit their resumes for consideration at the next meeting.

            Mr. Study asked when does this term expire?

            Mr. Cassel responded this would be for a four year term.

            Mr. Doody stated it is the unexpired term.  It is going to be a short term.  It may even be November.  Mr. Cassel and I were talking about this.  I have to go back and see when Ms. Bertolami came on Board.  She had a four year term.  I think she was here four years or maybe exceeded that, but no one ran or was appointed. 

            Mr. Cassel stated the next cycle should be 2010.

            Mr. Doody stated probably November, 2010.

            Mr. Brewer stated check on the term and give us a cost on what it will cost to advertise it.

            Mr. Cassel stated okay.  I will get that out to you via email to all the Board members. 

            Mr. Doody stated so you two are appointees and we have two elected official and one unfilled elected seat.  There are three elected and two appointed. 

            Mr. Brewer asked what guidelines are we under to fill the position?  Is there anything that controls us or are there any timeframes?

            Mr. Doody responded there is no timeframe.  Usually there is, but it says all Supervisors shall hold their office for the terms which they are elected or appointed until their successor shall be chosen and qualify.  In the case of a vacancy in the office of any Supervisor the remaining Supervisor or Supervisors may fill such vacancy by appointment of a new Supervisor for the unexpired term of the Supervisor who vacated the office.  It does not talk anymore about vacancies.  Usually it says the next meeting.  There is usually a time requirement, but there is no such requirement here.  I would have advised you during the course of this discussion on that. 

            Mr. Brewer stated okay.  The only thing we have is basically not having a quorum.

            Mr. Doody stated you have a quorum.  This is why you are meeting.  You just have an even number and you just saw the result of a two/two vote. 

            Mr. Brewer stated okay.  So we need to get it filled. 

 

            B.        Oath of Office of Newly Appointed Supervisor

            C.        Election of Officers, Resolution 2010-1

            The above items will be addressed at a future meeting.

 

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Manager’s Report

            Mr. Cassel stated I just have a couple of quick things.  I did not put anything on the agenda.  One is the EPA nutrient level rulemaking or requirements.  They are looking into regulations on total nitrogen and total phosphorous in canals and lakes.  In my responsibilities, not only for PTWCD, but other districts, I have been involved with the public carryings and putting forth the parameters that the burden on water control districts, special districts and improvement districts, whose canals were primarily constructed for drainage and not recreation, would not be advantageous to the residents of the districts.  We have been putting forth that the levels EPA is proposing are onerous to meet.  Even in some of them sometimes the rainfalls do not meet the nitrogen levels that they are trying to shoot for.  We have been actively representing the Board and the District in that we need to have some levels which are realistic to what was originally intended for the District, for the drainage and for the water. 

            I just wanted to bring you up to date on this.  There were conference calls today and even several emails.  They have extended the period for public comment.  It was supposed to be over March 30, 2010.  They have extended it to April 30, 2010.  They have extended it another 30 days for the public to comment to the EPA before this rulemaking process is completed.

            Mr. Study asked have we tested?  Do we know the quality?

            Mr. Cassel responded we are not required to test.  Are we Mr. Frederick?

            Mr. Frederick responded no.  We are not required to.  We do it for the other districts, but not for this District. 

            Mr. Brewer asked how do we control it?  Do we have a lot of runoff coming into the District?

            Mr. Frederick responded yes.

            Mr. Brewer stated the Sawgrass Expressway being one.

            Mr. Frederick stated this is why these levels they are proposing are not realistic.  Plus we do not have any control over the stuff that is coming into the system when it is raining and we are letting water out. 

            Mr. Brewer stated I think I talked to somebody a while back.  I do not think even Broward County can conform.

            Mr. Frederick stated I do not think anybody can.

            Mr. Brewer stated so I guess we are not alone.  I do not know if that helps or nor, but I know they were having trouble. 

            Mr. Cassel stated one of the issues which was brought up at one of the public meetings is that the water from the northern part of the state, which flows south and ends up down here, does not have to be as clean as the water we need to have down here.  It would also be putting an undue burden on the people in the southern part of the state to clean up what they did not clean up on the north half.  They are looking at some realistic issues and again, districts do not have the ability to regulate what kind of fertilizer, how much fertilizer, the type of fertilizer that is sold in stores and the cities do not have that authority either.  It becomes a problematic issue to make someone clean something up on the tail end when you cannot regulate it on the front end.  The FASD has been very active in this fight as well because it has major potential impacts on the residents. 

            The other item is for the next meeting we are meeting internally and beginning to work on the budget.  We will have the initial proposed budget ready for the next meeting, which will be in May, for your review.  I just wanted to let you know that was coming up.  It seems like we just finished budget season.

            Mr. Weissman asked do we have a meeting scheduled in April?

            Mr. Cassel responded yes.  We can bring it up at the next meeting and start working through the budget issues.  That is all I have under the Manager’s Report.

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Attorney’s Report

            A.        Consideration of Resolution 2010-2, Abandoning the District’s Easement

            Mr. Doody stated I handed out to you for your consideration a resolution, which serves to vacate and abandon the 15’ lake maintenance utility easement located in the rear portions of lots 1-23 Block U as set forth in the Coral Creek plat.  I do not have a legal description of metes and bounds for that, but that is how I described it.  With the help of Mr. Brewer yesterday I got it straightened out.  As you take a look at the plat you can see the easement runs right along the lake. 

            Mr. Weissman stated we already discussed this in depth at the last meeting.

            Mr. Doody stated then I will read the title and move on.  I will keep my comments short.  A resolution by title only;  A resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the PTWCD authorizing and approving the vacating of the lake maintenance easement created by the Coral Creek plat as recorded in Plat Book 146 at page 6 of the public records of Broward County, Florida; providing for severability, providing for conflicts; and providing for an effective date. 

            Mr. Weissman asked do we have cost recovery on any recording of this?

            Mr. Doody responded no sir.  This will probably cost $10 or $12. 

           

Mr. Weissman MOVED to adopt Resolution 2010-2.

 

            Mr. Brewer stated this is not the same issue we discussed at the last meeting.  It is, but it is not.  Correct me if I am wrong Mr. Doody.  We had a homeowner who wanted the easement to disappear.  In lieu of that we came back as the Board and represented that we were going to abandon the easement on all of the lots. 

            Mr. Doody stated this is going to affect 23 lots.

            Mr. Yeini asked when you say 23 lots; are they everyone who aligns on that lake along the entire street?

            Mr. Doody responded yes.  What lot number are you?

            Mr. Yeini responded I do not know.

            Mr. Brewer stated I think he is lot 15 or 16.

            Mr. Doody stated you are right in the middle so it curves around and goes all the way out.  That whole strip. 

 

On MOTION by Mr. Weissman seconded by Mr. Study with all in favor Resolution 2010-2, abandoning the District’s easement, was adopted.

 

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Engineer’s Report

            Mr. Craven stated at the next meeting we will bring you, not only the sketch and legal for the property of Mr. Zentefis, but there is also three more which are currently owned by the turnpike that we need some easements over.  Since it was brought up in the discussion with the homeowner; do we want to pursue these as easements?  Do we want to pursue these as ownership?

            Mr. Weissman asked if we said we wanted to take ownership, would the Turnpike Authority sell it to us or trade it to us?

            Mr. Doody responded they would probably convey it as a dedication.

            Mr. Weissman asked at that point could we sell the unneeded portion?

            Mr. Doody responded yes, if you declare it as surplus property.

            Mr. Weissman asked would it not be to our benefit to first take ownership?

            Mr. Study responded I thought that was the discussion; that it is being transferred to the city first.

            Mr. Weissman stated no.  It is being offered to the city first, but if the city does not take it and the District takes it, and then the District got the appraisals and offered to sell it, the District would receive the revenue.  Am I correct?

            Mr. Doody responded yes sir; if you have a buyer.

            Mr. Weissman stated well if we came to terms with these landowners.  It is either that or the Turnpike Authority is going to take the revenue. 

            Mr. Study asked are the other parcels as large as this?

            Mr. Craven responded no.  That is probably the largest one.

            Mr. Doody asked was he accurate when he said 2,200 square feet?

            Mr. Brewer responded close to it.

            Mr. Weissman stated he said half of an acre.  That is half of an acre. 

            Mr. Craven stated probably close to it.  We have not done the legal on the land portion of it.

            Mr. Study stated the value of this piece of property to that homeowner goes up if he can cross the boundary of this property, which eliminates the inside easements.  It is valuable to him, but no one else.  I still go back to the maintenance question.  Do we need a staging area under emergency conditions to land debris?  I remember in Homestead that was quite an obstacle for us in the Army Corps of Engineers.  We had battles like crazy down there with heavy equipment sitting. 

            Mr. Doody stated so you would think of it as a staging area.

            Mr. Cassel stated a section of it so you have some place to stage and do stuff.

            Mr. Weissman asked do you need a half of an acre?

            Mr. Study responded yes, when you start pulling big debris out; absolutely.

            Ms. Benckenstein asked how would you get all the trucks in there?

            Mr. Study responded right down the street. 

            Mr. Brewer stated I think it is 79th Way.

            Mr. Study stated I am just throwing it out.  I do not know if you have access from the other side; from the Sawgrass Expressway.

            Mr. Craven stated we have no access from the Sawgrass Expressway.

            Mr. Study stated that is my only thought.

            Mr. Weissman stated it is a good thought.

            Mr. Study stated we actually floated trees down the ditches to get to a landing zone.  The tree is their’s until it falls into your water. 

            Mr. Weissman asked the question is; do we need ownership?

            Mr. Study responded if his intent is to build, it is one thing to install a fence, but I am looking at his property.  He is pushing to the south.  If it is his intent to build a structure there, then that obviously impedes us. 

            Mr. Weissman stated we might be able to work with him on enough room for a barn.  Maybe we can work with the city on setbacks he would be required if we maintained the rest that is undeveloped.

            Ms. Benckenstein stated if we sold part of it to him, not if we kept it as a staging area. 

            Mr. Brewer stated I guess when you meet with FDOT you need to entertain the opportunity of us owning it. 

            Mr. Craven stated that is their preference right now.

            Mr. Weissman stated if we own it, maybe we can get enough revenue from the sale of the portion of it to clean up all of it.  So we could use it.  Then we would have the maintenance expense. 

            Mr. Craven stated you would have a big initial clean up expense and then you would have to mow it.

            Mr. Weissman stated but the sale of the piece may cover that.

            Mr. Cassel asked is this piece next to this wedge another piece of identified land?

            Mr. Craven responded yes. 

            Mr. Doody asked do you need both of the pieces or just one of the two?

            Mr. Craven responded we need both.  We need part of both.

            Mr. Cassel stated we need part of both because it kind of continues to flow down.

            Mr. Brewer asked where is the other piece?

            Mr. Craven responded at the very end, at the termination of the canal where it turns north along Riverside Drive, there is another piece there. 

            Mr. Brewer stated I guess you are going to be talking to FDOT about all three pieces at the same time.

            Mr. Craven stated yes.  Let me put together an aerial that shows all the pieces together.  If we might be considering something different than we initially were, I think we should discuss it before we go too much further with them on it.  I can get something to Mr. Cassel and he can distribute it so you can look at it ahead of the next meeting. 

            Mr. Study asked is there any other large access?

            Mr. Frederick responded the only other place would be…

            Mr. Study stated would be FPL’s easement.

            Mr. Frederick stated there and the other end where FDOT has the retention area, which I am sure they are not going to give up. 

            Mr. Study stated but FPL is a good shot.  It may be profitable to just shove it out the door and maybe some of these other owners would like these.

            Mr. Weissman stated you have to hope they will or otherwise you are stuck with it. 

            Mr. Frederick stated we will have to look and see what kind of access we have under FPL.  You have a lot of people who put stuff up under the FPL lines too to get access back to the canal.  People have corrals back there.

            Mr. Study stated they lease it.  I am on NW 69th Way and if you just go on the east side of it, those guys are leasing.  It is cheap, but they are leasing. 

            Mr. Cassel asked do you have anything else Mr. Craven?

            Mr. Craven responded just that we are going to try to set up a meeting where the three of us, Mr. Frederick, Mr. Cassel and I, can go over maintenance issues and we will look at this area in particular.  We will look at the options of FPL.  This is really the one canal we have very little access to. 

            Mr. Study stated it happens to be pretty deep in water.

            Mr. Craven stated it is kind of critical.

            Mr. Study stated you can get choked.

            Mr. Frederick stated in some areas it is deep and large.  In other areas it is very narrow and thin.

            Mr. Craven stated this one as well as the north/south canal are your two critical canals.  The rest of them are pretty insignificant for draining the District.

            Mr. Cassel asked is there anything else?

            Mr. Craven responded no.

            Mr. Brewer asked what about the finalized map?

            Mr. Craven responded that is another meeting we are setting up.  Mr. Doody, Mr. Cassel and I need to get together to go over where we stand on some of the questions; specially the maintenance map issue along the Sawgrass Expressway.  That is the biggest sticking point right now. 

           

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                      Supervisors’ Requests

            Mr. Cassel asked are there any issues which need to be covered?

            Mr. Frederick responded the erosion problem on 66th Drive.

            Mr. Cassel stated we talked about that.  We are going to do some investigative work.  We are going to chase down some as-built maps.  We will take a look at that to see what might be the conditions or what the issue is with that. 

            Mr. Frederick stated I brought some pictures if you want to look at them.

            Mr. Cassel stated one of the lake banks is kind of shifted.  It is not a pedestrian travel space per se.  We fenced it off and we are going to look to see what the issue is.

            Mr. Study asked where is that?

            Mr. Frederick responded it is at the north end of this lake.

            Mr. Study stated in Coral Creek.

            Mr. Frederick stated yes.

            Mr. Cassel stated we have this same type of issue in CSID in various locations.  They have it in NSID.  They have had it in Turtle Run CDD. 

            Mr. Study stated angle of repose.

            Mr. Cassel stated a little bit of change in stuff, water changes, some shifts a little bit.  What we had in CSID was the reason it shifted was because the original bank was there, but then when they built all the pools and they had all the dirt they were hauling away, they kind of pushed it over and it was not compacted.  After a certain number of years it is starting to shift a little bit.

            Mr. Study stated they broke back the cap rock and they overfill for safety slope and now the slope is breaking.

            Mr. Craven stated this one looks like the cap rock layer there failed and dropped.  You can see some of the rock slipped out into the canal.  What we are looking at whether we want to address the immediate problems and wait and see on the rest of it or whether we need to correct the whole bank at the same time.

            Mr. Brewer asked where is the property line at?  Is it around the tree area?

            Mr. Craven asked in the right-of-way?

            Mr. Brewer responded yes.

            Mr. Craven stated it is probably to the other side of the fence.

            Mr. Study stated that is pretty steep.

            Mr. Craven stated yes.  The other thing you want to note on this one is there are houses on three sides of this lake.  The slope there is much flatter than the slope up against the road.  The good thing is I do not think we are going to have any failure problems in backyards. 

            Mr. Brewer asked what do you think you are going to do to fix it?

            Mr. Craven responded to fix it permanently you will have to go in there with some big equipment, break off that rock ledge and re-grade that bank.  You do not want to just start dumping dirt into the lake until it stops sliding.

            Mr. Brewer asked Mr. Frederick, what did they use in CSID?  Did they put something on those banks to hold them?

            Mr. Cassel responded they used some geo tube on part of it.

            Mr. Frederick stated they also used some material they used in SWCD.  It is like a mesh material they laid down, almost like a carpet. 

            Mr. Craven stated there should be a textile you can put on there.

            Mr. Study stated you have to stabilize underneath first. 

            Mr. Craven stated yes.  That is what I think we need to do. 

            Mr. Study asked what is your estimate on the cheapest route?

            Mr. Craven responded the cheapest route is to push the downhill side down to fill your hole, re-sod it and wait to see what happens.  That is not going to be very expensive. 

            Mr. Study asked can you get to it?

            Mr. Craven responded you can get to it.  There is a guardrail there, but you can get to it.  It is adjacent to the road so it is easy to get to.  You just have to take down a panel of guardrail to get there. 

            Mr. Brewer asked can we pressure grout it?

            Mr. Study responded it would have to be in stages if you did that, but once you have the cap rock on it again you can then do whatever you want on our side. 

            Mr. Craven stated if we are going to look at that route, I suggest we get a geotech involved.  That is not our area of expertise. 

            Mr. Brewer stated the nice part of it is we do not have any homes adjacent to it.  We have a road, but there is quite a bit of distance between the road and the slope.

            Mr. Craven stated I do not think there is any chance of it affecting the road.

            Mr. Brewer stated someone falling in the crack right now.

            Mr. Craven stated that is the biggest concern and Mr. Frederick fenced it off right away. 

            Mr. Frederick stated the homeowners are concerned about the school down the street and the kids that pass by there everyday.  They are concerned about kids getting in there.  We barricaded it off the best we could, but if someone wants to get in there, they will get in there.

            Mr. Brewer stated I think we need to get it fixed.

            Mr. Study stated I do too.  Also, what happens in this case is usually the lake is over dug.  The angle of repose keeps sliding and sliding.  We need to stabilize and take the risk factor out of there for people.  That is the biggest thing.  We do not care if it slides.  It is who is going in with it.

            Mr. Frederick stated if another section breaks off other than that section, you might have the sidewalk involved.  There are trees there, the guardrail and everything.  I do not know if that is going to happen or not.

            Mr. Brewer asked what do you need from us to get to work?

            Mr. Cassel responded you pretty much have given us the direction.  We will get started on finding an appropriate repair for it and get it stabilized.

            Mr. Brewer stated okay.

            Mr. Cassel asked are there any other Supervisors’ requests?

            There not being any, the next item followed.

 

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                         Approval of Financials and Check Registers

            There being no questions or comments,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Weissman seconded by Ms. Benckenstein with all in favor the financials and check registers were approved. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                            Adjournment

            There being no further business,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Weissman seconded by Ms. Benckenstein with all in favor the meeting was adjourned.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                           

Kenneth Cassel                                                           Paul Brewer

Assistant Secretary                                                     Vice President