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, January 7, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the Parkland City Hall, 6600
North University Drive, Parkland, Florida.
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Paul Brewer Vice President
Neil Study Supervisor
Mark Weissman Supervisor
Also present were:
Kenneth Cassel Manager
Warren Craven Engineer
Warren Craven, Jr. Engineer
Randy Frederick Drainage
Supervisor
Howard Poznanski Resident
Linda Coyle Resident
John Coyle Resident
Gus H. Carratt, Esq. Lawyers
1st Title Company
FIRST ORDER OF
BUSINESS Roll
Call
Mr. Cassel called the meeting to order and called
the roll.
Mr.
Weissman stated I would like to discuss the items under the fourth order of
business first.
FOURTH ORDER OF
BUSINESS Manager’s
Report
A. Discussion
Regarding Access to Backyard from Canal Area at 7580 NW 61st Terrace
Mr. Cassel stated this is a request from Mr.
Poznanski regarding access to install a pool utilizing the District’s
maintenance easement along the canal access to install a pool utilizing the
District’s maintenance easement along the canal bank. He would like to have the contractor come in
through his backyard in order to install the pool. My understanding is typically in the past the
Board has not authorized this kind of action; therefore, it has been brought
before the Board so you can decide whether you want to continue with that
policy or modify it.
Mr.
Weissman asked can we have an agreement in place so the property has to be
brought before the Board prior to the construction from them?
Mr.
Cassel responded that can be a condition if you permit it.
Mr.
Study stated a hold harmless agreement.
Mr.
Weissman stated I would just want to be able to inspect it prior to
construction and then again after.
Mr.
Cassel stated you can also increase your trash bond so you have funds available
if needed.
Mr.
Weissman asked is someone here to discuss this?
Mr.
Poznanski responded yes.
Mr.
Weissman asked would this be acceptable to you?
Mr.
Poznanski responded I have no objection to any type of an agreement to restore
the property to the condition it was in prior to the construction. It is my understanding after speaking to our
property management company that the Mill Run HOA maintains the property right
now. We do whatever mowing of the grass
is necessary as well as maintaining anything else that may occur in terms of
growth; not that anything grows back there, but we pretty much maintain
it. I have no objection to restoring it
to the same condition.
Mr. Weissman MOVED to authorize the property owner
at 7580 NW 61st Terrace access to the District’s easement pending an
agreement to be drafted by the District attorney stating the property will be
restored to its original condition after the construction is complete.
Mr. Study stated I believe there is a legal
question. I do not have a problem
seconding that, but if something were to happen we need to be released from
that contractor getting injured or a piece of equipment going into the
canal. I walked it. It is pretty wide, but you never know.
Mr.
Weissman stated we can include that in the motion.
Mr.
Doody stated I suggest a temporary construction easement. You would give a timeframe for the
construction. In that you would include
a condition for the property owner to agree to restore the property to its
original status as well as to indemnify and hold harmless the District with
regard to any of the construction activity.
Is it just going to be the pool?
Mr.
Poznanski responded yes sir. That is
it.
Mr.
Study asked is it your intent to just lower the fence and then put the fence
back?
Mr.
Poznanski responded yes. It is my
existing fence. I will remove the
fence. When the construction is complete
I will restore the fence and make sure the condition of the property is placed
back in the same condition it is in; in its existing state. I have no objection to that. I certainly have no objection to a hold
harmless agreement in connection with the activity. If the Board requires it, I would obtain
certificates of insurance from the contractor who will be doing the work.
Mr.
Doody asked just for the record; what is the physical condition of the area in
question?
Mr.
Study responded right now it appears to be grass, weeds and there is a traffic
path going down through there.
Mr.
Frederick stated that is from our mower and truck from when we mow the canal
bank and maintain the canal. It is very
difficult to get into that canal because the banks are so steep. The problem I have with this particular area
is that if something should happen and for some reason vibrations from heavy
machinery should cause a problem; this is the main canal that drains the whole
area. This is it. This is the main canal. If anything happens to that area, it has to
be addressed immediately. It is not
something which could wait for months.
It would have to be resolved immediately because this is where all of
the water exits the District.
Mr.
Study asked can I get some clarification because apparently the letter stated
that was the association’s property? Do
we have an overlaying easement there?
Mr.
Cassel responded we have an easement on Tract R according to Plat 1989, which
states Tract R is hereby dedicated to
PTWCD for water management purposes. We
have an overlaying water management easement.
Mr.
Poznanski stated I anticipate a dump truck sitting outside on the actual
embankment while we have the ground being dug up in the backyard. As far as vibration is concerned, vibration
can be caused just by the digging in my own backyard from what you are telling
me. I do not know to what extent digging
in my backyard is going to cause any type of erosion issue.
Mr.
Frederick stated when you are talking about digging to that extent it can cause
a problem. I am not saying it will, but
there is the potential.
Mr.
Poznanski stated even if I was to come in through the side of my gate you are
still going to have the existing issue with vibration of equipment.
Mr.
Frederick stated the further away from the bank the better off I will be as far
as vibration goes.
Mr.
Brewer asked what would the worst case scenario for damages be? How wide of a piece of property is this?
Mr.
Frederick responded it is a pretty wide piece of property, but he will need to
get a dump truck back there as well as other equipment which I imagine will be
large. It is fairly possible nothing
will happen. I just want to have it on
record that if anything does happen, it is something that has to be addressed
immediately and restored to the exact condition it is in now.
Mr.
Brewer asked can we bond it and then have staff certify there is no damage
after completion?
Mr.
Frederick asked what if something happens later on?
Mr.
Doody responded that is a different issue.
We are talking about issues of immediate concern which can be directly
related to the construction activity. If
it is two years removed, it will be difficult to trace whatever the source of
the problem was. Do you own the property
yourself?
Mr.
Poznanski responded my wife and I do.
Mr.
Doody stated so you and your wife would enter into an agreement subject to
inspection. Once you are finished staff
can go out, take a look at it and sign off on it. Is this fair?
The idea is we will not get into a dispute later as to what the
restoration constitutes.
Mr.
Brewer asked how far is the pool going to be from the edge of the water?
Mr.
Study responded it is a good distance. I
do not see that as a problem and if I may volunteer, you can call me so I can
watch the excavations so that I know what is going on with that bank.
Mr.
Poznanski stated I have no objection with that.
Mr.
Doody asked will you draw up a temporary easement agreement and send it to me?
Mr.
Poznanski responded sure.
Mr.
Cassel stated I will have Mr. Frederick photograph the area prior to the
construction so we have photographs prior to and post.
Mr.
Poznanski asked do you want me to email it directly to you?
Mr.
Doody responded email it directly to me please.
Mr.
Frederick asked where are you planning to enter from, the north or south?
Mr.
Poznanski responded my inclination was to access it through the south. I can tell you just about anybody and
everybody accesses that way. I do not
know if it is proper or not. Parkland
Police has a tendency of driving back and forth back there. There are other types of equipments that go
through back there. I am not going to
say they are dump trucks, but pick up trucks seem get access through
there.
Mr.
Frederick stated I’m sure you obtained approval from the city as well in case
they destroy the sidewalk or curbing. That
will have to be replaced also. I was
concerned because if you accessed from the north you would hear from all the
homeowners north of you. The less travel
you have from there, the better off we will be.
Mr.
Poznanski stated from what I have been informed it is a big pool, but by
standards it is not the biggest. It is a
14 foot by 20 foot pool. It is not out
of the ordinary. From what I have been
informed and explained by the construction manager, after the day of the dig
they should be able to access through the side of my home for the most part. My intent and hope is once the first dig is
out to close it up. They might be able
to pour the gunite from the side of my home.
My fence was down for the better part of a year after the hurricane when
my HOA was going over whether we could put PVC fencing back there or we were
required to put back the other type of fencing.
I have three kids. The last thing
I need is to have my wife give me a hard time about any gate being opened. The sooner I get it closed up the happier I
am. I was told this should just take one
day. Hopefully that is all it will
take.
On MOTION by Mr. Weissman seconded by Mr. Study with
all in favor a temporary construction easement for 7580 NW 61st
Terrace was approved contingent upon the execution of a Hold Harmless Agreement
to be reviewed and accepted by District Counsel.
B. Discussion
Regarding Encroachment Agreement for 5542 NW 57th Way
Mr.
Cassel stated apparently part of a pool structure was built into our utility
easement. They are coming at this point
in time to discuss and seek approval for an encroachment agreement with the
District for the amount in which it encroaches into our easement.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated there was a plat waiver done back in 1993. At that time the City of Coral Springs
vacated all of their easements. I think
this was overlooked or I think someone assumed that if Coral Springs vacated it
meant everyone vacated it. The way our
canal operates now we have the easement we need on the back of the property
based on a deed WCI gave the District back in 1996. From an engineering standpoint the easement
in question is no longer needed.
Mr.
Brewer stated I am not sure it exists.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated I think the intent was to make it disappear.
Mr.
Doody stated I do not think it has.
Mr.
Craven stated after looking at it I think it is still of record because it was
our easement.
Mr.
Doody stated there are two reasons for this.
One, it is my understanding and I have been told it was created by
plat. The easement runs in favor of the
District so whatever action Coral Springs takes does not affect the
District. They cannot abandon the
District’s easement. I am not sure you
can effectuate that through a resolution.
You place an instrument of record which would clarify the position. Basically, the engineers have identified this
easement serves no purpose to the District.
I have had numerous conversations with Mr. Carratt who is here
today. He represents the buyers or
sellers of the property, or both. I have
suggested what we have done in the past, which is to utilize an encroachment
agreement that acknowledges an encroachment agreement exists and that the
District has no objection to the encroachment.
I think that is the way to go in this case because there is no benefit
to the District with regards to utilizing this easement. We are not utilizing it so it is really a
title issue for the buyers because there is an encroachment into an easement on
the plat. We would enter into an
encroachment agreement that they can place on record, which would address this
from a title standpoint.
Mr.
Carratt stated on behalf of the sellers I want to state I saw that resolution
as well. I spoke to the title insurer
and they do not believe the Coral Springs resolution abandons the easement. They cannot do it; obviously, the District would
have to do it. This property is under
contract. The sellers were supposed to
have closed last month. We are trying to
close as soon as possible. I have been
advised that this is of no use to the District and it is of no benefit. This easement sits ways away from the lake. We just ask that the District allow the
sellers to use it without any interference from the District. This way the buyer can get title insurance,
they can close and the buyer will not be hindered in the future from trying to
sell it by anyone questioning it in the future.
From a seller’s point of view it is important to have that extra
language in the agreement if there is no objection from the District. I do not think it has any negative impact on
the District based on my understanding of what is taking place.
Mr.
Study asked what exactly is encroaching; the pool or pool deck?
Mr.
Carratt responded it is part of the structure of the house. I believe it is the Florida Room. I am not sure if that is a deck or pavers
from the survey.
An
unidentified person stated it is a deck.
Mr.
Carratt stated it is the pool, the deck and part of the house. I think all of these homes were built
thinking this was abandoned. I called
the prior surveying company who did this when the sellers bought the house. Everyone notated this resolution from Coral
Springs abandoned all the easements. I
said I saw the resolution from Coral Springs, but I did not see anything from
the District abandoning their lake maintenance easement. I think the survey companies all assumed that
when Coral Springs did this everything was vacated and it is not. The home was built that way.
Mr.
Study asked do you maintain by boat in this area?
Mr.
Frederick responded yes.
Mr.
Study stated it is quite tight. I could
not get behind the property without knocking on the door and I did not want to
do that. I do not know what is actually
encroaching, but we certainly do not want to be liable for what is
encroaching. If there is a means of
doing this, I do not have a problem voting in favor. However, I do not want the District, at a
later time, to be involved in something structural that was approved by this
Board. Do you understand?
Mr.
Doody responded yes sir. No good deed
goes unpunished. You want to make sure
that by entering into this encroachment agreement we are not incurring any
potential liability. What I suggest is
two fold. I would ask that the
encroachment agreement Mr. Carrat sent to me, which I have several comments on,
include both the buyer and the seller and that both parties would indemnify the
District for the encroachment. Also; at
a future meeting following this one we adopt a resolution abandoning the
easement.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated that easement affects every house along there.
Mr.
Doody stated that would cure the problem in the future. It renders this ineffective, but this one
allows them to close in the immediate future.
Mr.
Brewer stated maybe we should send a letter to Coral Springs telling them they
cannot abandon our easements.
Mr.
Carratt stated I would like to include that the District does not object to the
owners’ use of the easement and will not exercise its right to use the easement
in the meantime just so I can have a closing where I think everyone is
comfortable. I was going to add a
sentence to paragraph five. I was going
modify it and say the District will not interfere with its right to use the
easement nor will the District exercise its right to use of the easement and
then delete the next paragraph that they cannot expand their encroachment. You guys are going to abandon it in the
future.
Mr.
Doody stated I would rather not have the expansion. I think we can just do away with it.
Mr.
Carratt stated okay. Can I use that
language about not interfering?
Mr.
Doody responded that is acceptable if that is a policy decision. It is up to the Board of Supervisors.
Mr.
Carratt stated the buyer was quite apprehensive when this all came up. I think it is a comfort level for him to do a
closing.
Mr.
Brewer stated I do not think we are ever going to go in there.
Mr.
Doody stated we will come back and wipe it out.
Mr.
Brewer asked is there any reason to have that easement?
Mr.
Doody responded not from what I am hearing.
Mr.
Brewer asked how about we swap them?
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded that was my original thought, but if you look at the deed
we received in 1996 from WCI it dedicated the whole part and it includes the
land portion we need to maintain it if we were to do it by land. Looking at it we have plenty of room outside
of the property line to do what we need to do from an engineering
standpoint.
Mr.
Doody asked if we abandon it, will we need to obtain a portion of it?
Mr.
Craven. Jr. responded no. It is actually
separated. There is a hiatus point
between the property line and the easement.
It is twice removed from the lake.
Mr.
Doody stated it is just a title problem.
Mr.
Brewer stated there are a lot of them there.
Mr.
Study asked was it that wide because it was a potential flood position.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded no. Under the
original plat the lake was supposed to come up to that point. Instead of re-platting the property they used
a mechanism called a plat waiver.
Mr.
Brewer stated it made the lot 15 feet bigger.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated the legal description is no metes and bounds. They are not platted lots anymore.
Mr.
Frederick stated I do not originally think that was a lake when it was first
dug. It was a straight canal that was
later on made into a lake.
Mr. Weissman MOVED to approve entering into an
encroachment agreement with the owners and buyers of the property on 5542 NW 57th
Way after review by District Counsel and Mr. Study seconded it.
Mr.
Doody asked can you clarify the language you want to place in there?
Mr.
Carratt responded that the District will not interfere with the use of the
property of the easement and also the District will not exercise its right to
use the easement.
Mr.
Study stated I do not want to open a can of worms that at a later time everyone
will expand out.
Mr.
Doody stated that will be addressed when we abandon it. It is better to just get rid of it from our
standpoint.
Mr.
Brewer stated probably every house in there is encroaching the easement and
they just do not know about it.
Mr.
Doody stated I will prepare a resolution for the next meeting where you will
abandon the easement. We will record the
resolution and all of these concerns will go away. For purposes of this document I do not think
we want to allow an expansion.
On MOTION by Mr. Weissman seconded by Mr. Study with
all in favor the Board approved entering into an encroachment agreement with
the owners and buyers of the property on 5542 NW 57th Way with
language stating the District will not interfere with the use of the property
of the easement and also the District will not exercise its right to use the
easement.
Ms. Coyle asked gentlemen, can we say something?
Mr.
Brewer responded yes.
Ms.
Coyle stated we are the owners. We were
stunned when we learned this. We had an
attorney handle the purchase of the house in 2001. We had a survey done and we thought we had
done everything legally and right. We
found this out three hours before closing.
I certainly appreciate the willingness of everyone at this table to get
this agenda item on so quickly so we can sell our home to the buyer. This is his first home. I do want to assure you this is not the norm,
but I thank you.
Mr.
Brewer stated we try to get it done.
Thank you.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Organizational
Matters
A. Acceptance
of Resignation of Ms. Bertolami
There being no questions or comments,
On MOTION by Mr. Weissman seconded by Mr. Study with
all in favor Ms. Bertolami’s resignation was accepted.
B. Appointment
of Supervisor
Mr. Cassel stated this is typically put on the
agenda when someone resigns from the Board.
This part can be put off until a future meeting when the Board is ready
to appoint someone.
Mr.
Weissman stated I do have an individual who is interested in serving. His name is Dominick Peri and he serves on
the Parkland Planning and Zoning Board.
Mr.
Brewer asked is there any procedure we have for appointing someone?
Mr.
Cassel responded what typically occurs is the Board members contact people who
might be interested in serving. They
send in a brief resume to the District manager.
It gets distributed to the Board members. The Board members review it and then at a
meeting they decide which of the resumes they received they believe would be
the best suited for the position and then they make their appointment.
Mr.
Brewer asked do we have any timeframe?
Mr.
Doody responded you can do it at the next meeting or put it on the agenda. I would have it as an agenda item.
Mr.
Cassel stated we will put this on the agenda for the next meeting.
C. Oath
of Office of Newly Appointed Supervisor
D. Election
of Officers, Resolution 2010-1
The above items were tabled until the next
meeting.
Mr.
Weissman stated I do not have a problem with the District manager serving in
the position of Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, but I believe the
officers should remain with the appointed Supervisors. At least one Supervisor should be signing the
checks.
Mr.
Brewer stated I do not believe we ever did before. Have we?
Mr.
Cassel responded no.
Mr.
Weissman stated I think that is what we should do.
Mr.
Cassel stated most districts are signed by the management company because
otherwise one of you would have to be running to the office or assign a stamp
with your signature.
Mr.
Study stated there is a record of the ledger and the accounting process. I do not see where it is necessary.
Mr.
Weissman stated I would feel more comfortable having someone who is elected
co-sign these checks because ultimately if something goes on, we are the
elected Supervisors.
Mr.
Study asked are you willing to take on that role?
Mr.
Weissman responded I did not say that.
Mr.
Cassel stated I suggest the elected officials be the President and Vice
President. The recording secretary put me
in as Secretary, but we can leave one of you as Secretary, the General Manager
of Severn Trent Services would be Treasurer and Mr. Bloom who is our Financial
Manager in Coral Springs would be left as Assistant Treasurer. I can fill a spot as an Assistant Secretary
as needed. Sometimes there are documents
which need to be executed immediately and part of our service to the District
in managing it is to make sure you are compliant with all of the information
which needs to be submitted to the state and various agencies.
Mr.
Brewer stated let me ask you something, Mr. Doody, in reference to what Mr.
Weissman is talking about. The buck
stops here, but are we bonded or are they bonded? Is there some cushion to stop this financial
burden from coming back on our lap? I am
not going to go and sign checks.
Mr.
Doody responded it is a matter of policy.
I do not know the day to day operations of the District. Cities generally do not sign checks. The mayor does not necessarily sign checks,
but a lot of cities approve invoices. To
address the concerns of the day to day operations I suggest you put a cap on it
that says you need a Board member to sign anything above a certain amount. That addresses your accountability as
well. I do not think you want to stop
your day to day operation of paying your invoices and having someone come in
for five minutes to sign a whole series of checks. I can tell you it happens in municipalities
where that person plays games with the checks and the rest of the Board does
not even know it. It hurts them from
doing business with people. There are
pros and cons, but I throw it back to you as a policy decision. I think if there is a concern you can require
a Board member to sign after a certain amount or have it require Board approval.
Mr.
Cassel stated I think a number of things above a certain limit require Board
approval anyway such as a bid. It comes
before the Board. You get the check
registers and you actually approve those expenditures. You have the ability to look at all of them,
question them and then by your action you can approve the fact that this is the
check register, they were expended and you confirmed them. You are in the loop in the process. This is why we also send you the email with
all of the back up.
Mr.
Brewer stated I am not going to go sign them.
Mr.
Study stated me neither.
Mr.
Weissman stated I can live with the fact that if we have an extraordinary
purchase, whether it be $5,000 or $10,000.
Mr.
Study asked how stringent are you going to follow that? For Example; I know Mr. Craven is a
consultant and has been working on all of these deeds. It is like he is hitting a target and I am
sure none of us have signed that check, but I hope he has been paid.
Mr.
Cassel responded yes he has.
Mr.
Study stated that is sizable, but it was within the budget.
Mr.
Brewer asked does it make you comfortable if we are working within the budget?
Mr.
Weissman responded if we actually voted for it.
Mr.
Brewer asked are you spending money outside of our budget?
Mr.
Cassel responded no; nothing that has not been authorized within the budget
constraints. If there is a project which
needs to be worked on and it is budgeted for, I monitor the invoices and those
are included in your financials.
Mr.
Study stated I am not sure what you do.
I look at it and go line by line.
If it looks like it is falling within our budget, then the expertise is
not on our side in this particular case.
I do not know how much fish actually cost. I see the bids and then determine from
there.
Mr.
Brewer stated I am not going to sign checks so if you are not and I am not,
then Mr. Weissman can sign the checks or we can leave it the way it is. I agree with you in that I do not want you to
go outside of the budget and spend money that we do not know about.
Mr.
Cassel stated no.
Mr.
Brewer stated it does not appear that we have been doing that.
Mr.
Cassel stated no and from Severn Trent Services’ perspective part of our
fiduciary responsibility to the District is to watch that. I treat the District’s money as if it were
coming out of my pocket as well. That is
my personal philosophy. It is taxpayer
dollars. I am a taxpayer someplace. I want to make sure they are getting
service.
Mr.
Weissman asked do you do the work at NSID?
Mr.
Cassel responded we used to.
Mr.
Weissman asked when did that end?
Mr.
Cassel responded in June or July of 2009 they decided to take it in-house.
Mr.
Weissman asked what about the rest of the districts in this area?
Mr.
Cassel responded we still do CSID and PTWCD.
SWCD is managed by another management firm. Other districts in Broward, Dade and West
Palm Beach are managed by one of the ten management companies out there.
Mr.
Weissman stated but we are tied with CSID.
Mr.
Cassel stated for a lot of services. You
have interlocal agreements with CSID to provide services.
Mr.
Weissman asked did we have any interaction with NSID?
Mr.
Cassel responded not that they were providing services. There is no interlocal agreements. We combine the bids for NSID, CSID and PTWCD
on the fish and on the chemicals. Even
now that they are managing internally I am working with them as well because it
is a cooperative. You go out and bid one
time. You only have one advertisement
payment, etcetera and etcetera.
Mr.
Weissman asked is NSID in the same office facility?
Mr.
Cassel responded NSID is working out of their plant. They have some things done by another
management company.
Mr.
Weissman asked is anything being done in the same location as CSID?
Mr.
Cassel responded no. All of their field
work is out of another location. By
pulling it together and working together on one bid we cut the cost for
everyone.
Mr.
Weissman stated okay. I am done with
this discussion. What about the
officers? Are we going to wait until
after?
Mr.
Cassel responded it will be better to wait because if you change the officer
structure, we need to notify everyone of the change and then if you change them
again after you appoint someone, you have to re-notify. For now we will note that Ms. Bertolami has
resigned and all the other officers remain the same until you appoint a new
individual. Then you can adopt the
resolution at that time.
Mr.
Study asked does the Vice President automatically move up to President?
Mr.
Cassel responded no.
THIRD
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of the Minutes of the November 5, 2009 Meeting
Mr.
Brewer stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the November
5, 2009 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.
There
not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Weissman seconded by Mr. Study with
all in favor the minutes of the November 5, 2009 meeting were approved.
FIFTH ORDER OF
BUSINESS Attorney’s
Report
Mr.
Doody stated I have nothing to report other than Mr. Craven, Sr. and Mr.
Craven, Jr. have done an excellent job in providing me with the basis to review
title work or ownership interest within the District. I am in the process of doing that, I have to
concede not on a steady basis. It is
very comprehensive; much more so than I thought. It will be a big assistance in resolving any
issues we have encountered in the past.
Mr.
Brewer stated that was what we were hoping.
Mr.
Doody stated thank you for your help too.
Mr.
Weissman asked are there any other easements similar to what we had tonight
where we would be better off abandoning?
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded there probably are.
Unfortunately, with that plat labor process it is impossible to
track. They had a good surveyor who
picked up on it. Most people would have
missed it because most people are looking at the property as it is now and they
are not looking at the underlying plats.
That is what happened here. I
guess the only place where you could have that type of problem is where you
have something that surfaces during the survey process, which the plat labor
does. If you are re-platting something,
that is part of the process. Those are
vacated and the new ones take its place.
In the plat labor process it is only one entity looking at it, which in
this case it was the City of Coral Springs.
They took care of their business and did not really look at our
business.
Mr.
Doody stated they are also few and far between.
This is an isolated incident in terms of attorney’s coming in. We have had encroachments.
Mr.
Brewer stated but in the situation of this piece we just looked at, probably every
house in there is the same.
Mr.
Study stated we had one a few meetings ago where someone wanted to put a pool
in where there was an easement.
Mr.
Doody stated that was different. They
wanted to put the pool in. Those are for
easements along the canal for maintenance reasons. This is why I used this encroachment
agreement. We have done that in the
past. It has not happened in terms of a
title issue and not having any use.
SIXTH ORDER OF
BUSINESS Engineer’s
Report
A. Discussion
of Easement for Parkwood X HOA
B. Report
on Easement Identification
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated to go further on this Parkwood issue I will get a hold of
that plat later and we are going to look at the whole thing. I will also do a search in the city of any
plat labors which may have been done in PTWCD so we can address it. As far as the overall project on the mapping
we need to sit down with Mr. Doody and compare notes. We have moved forward on drawing up the
flowage easements across the roadways we needed. That is done.
The updates Mr. Doody and you suggested to the map have been done. We are working the cross referencing we
talked about. I will give you an example
of how useful I think this tool is going to be.
As soon as I got the call on this Parkwood issue I went to the
binders. I found everything I needed
except for the plat paper. Everything
else was in the binder. I think it is
going to be a good tool for the District to have at its fingertips. You will have all of the information for the
District. If we can work out the issues
with the Sawgrass Expressway and DOT, I think in the next few months we should
have this wrapped up and you can have a final product.
Mr.
Study asked were those the culverts going under for the DOT?
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded yes. There were
two issues. One was all of the culvert
crossings with the county, city and private roads. We have gone ahead and drawn up the flowage
easements we need. We did the survey
work we needed to do. The Sawgrass
Expressway is a different situation because we want to try to enter into an
agreement which covers all of the Sawgrass Expressway issues at one time. There was a draft done a few of years ago, but
that was prior to the widening. It seems
a little too broad right now so I think we need to narrow that a little bit and
make it protective of the District. They
gave us some obligations I do not think we want to take on. We want the right to cross the road with the
water, but if the pipe fails it needs to be DOT’s responsibility.
Mr.
Study asked what about BJ’s?
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded that one is a matter of an existing easement which
contained a ditch. When they developed
the parcel they rerouted the drainage through a lake, through some pipes and
filled that ditch. There are notations
that we were supposed to be granted easements over the lake and over the pipes. That never happened. We are following up to close that loop.
Mr.
Study asked are we not responding?
Because this has been on the agenda for a while.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded it took a while to figure out who we needed to talk to
and in the last month we have not been able to move it forward. We will get it resolved quickly.
Mr.
Brewer asked do we have an easement where the ditch used to be?
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded we have an easement.
Mr.
Brewer stated so we can request they put our ditch back.
Mr.
Study asked is there anything over the ditch now?
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded no. It is just
landscaped. Basically, the ditch was up
to the property line. They built the
lake a little bit into the property so it is the lake bank now where our ditch
was.
Mr.
Brewer stated we just need a new easement.
Mr.
Frederick stated that particular ditch does not really do anything for us
except for back pumping.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated that is correct. It
does not affect the operations of the District at all. It affects the drainage of State Road 7 as
well as the back pumping.
Mr.
Study asked are we recharging our system at this point by pumping in?
Mr.
Frederick responded we left it high after the last rainfall because we
anticipate coming into some dry months.
I am trying to hold as much water as possible. We had already dropped below our normal water
level. Then we got that big rain and I
did not want to get stuck with low water going into a dry season. I am trying to hold as much as possible, but
with the control gates we have you are limited to how much you can hold. I had to leave it high and let it run down
slowly by itself to get as much out of it as I can. When we had all of that rain I opened the
gate. When I closed it I closed it at
about 11.5, which is half a foot higher than normal.
Mr.
Brewer asked do we have any issues on the Sawgrass Expressway easement? What are we saying we are utilizing for along
the Sawgrass Expressway on the north side?
Are you using the “miscellaneous map”?
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded that is what we are basing everything on. In addition to the miscellaneous map certain
properties along there have been dedicated by plat. There are a couple of individual plats
there. Probably about half of them have
dedicated easements in addition to what is on the maintenance map. We still have to make a final decision on
whether that maintenance map holds water, so to speak.
Mr.
Brewer asked does our attorney think it is valid?
Mr.
Doody responded yes sir. I will go back
and look at it.
Mr.
Brewer stated I have been involved in several projects which have abutted
it. You looked at the maintenance map
and said that map is valid.
Mr.
Doody stated oh, you are talking about the Broward County map. No. I
misunderstood.
Mr.
Brewer stated my point is nine out of every ten houses built along it are in
violation of the set backs if that map is good.
Mr.
Doody stated no. That is the county’s
position, which I think is advocated by one individual.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated if anyone along there does come in, we need to take the
easements we need when doing the plat. I
think we need to sit down with the map and have a serious discussion about what
we have, what we do not have, what we might have and how we get everything we
need eventually.
Mr.
Brewer stated the issue I had with it is trying to plat against that map. The county wants to take it by plat. I do not want to surrender it by plat because
once I surrender by plat, I have to go back and get it by plat. I always argued with them and never won, but
I still do not believe it is a valid map.
Mr.
Craven, Sr. stated when you look at it, it is amazing that almost every
structure along there conforms to the map.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated whether it is valid or not people have honored it. No one has come in and tried to fill in have
the ditch to build a bigger house. I
guess in that case we are lucky.
Mr.
Doody stated it is of record.
Mr.
Craven, Jr. stated it is recorded.
Mr.
Doody stated that is an obstacle in itself.
Mr.
Brewer asked is that all you have?
Mr.
Craven, Jr. responded yes.
SEVENTH ORDER OF
BUSINESS 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 Mr. Study 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 Mr. Study with
all in favor the meeting was adjourned.
Kenneth
Cassel Paul
Brewer
Assistant
Secretary Vice
President