MINUTES
OF MEETING
PINE
TREE WATER CONTROL DISTRICT
The
regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Pine Tree Water Control District
was held on October 5, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. at Parkland City Hall, 6600 North
University Drive, Parkland, Florida.
Present and constituting a quorum were:
David Rosenof President
Margaret Bertolami Vice
President
Paul Brewer Secretary
Donna Benckenstein Assistant
Secretary
Also present were:
John Petty Manager
D.J. Doody Attorney
Warren Craven Engineer
Randy Frederick Field Superintendent
John McKune CH2M Hill
Michael Udine Parkland City Mayor
Mark Lauzier Parkland City Manager
Several Residents
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll Call
Mr.
Rosenof called the meeting to order and Mr. Petty called the roll.
SECOND
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of the Minutes of the September 7, 2006 Meeting
Mr.
Rosenof stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the September
7, 2006 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.
Mr.
Rosenof stated on page seven, in the fourth paragraph a resident said, “Someone
came and cut down our tree. I want to
make sure we will discuss this.” I think
I may have asked what the public was here for.
It does not make sense the way it was written.
There
were several places where the transcriber could not transcribe the tape due to
multiple voices speaking simultaneously.
I would like to keep this meeting in order so the minutes are transcribed
accurately. I request everyone speak one
at a time so all of our voices are heard.
On MOTION by Mr. Brewer seconded by Ms. Benckenstein with
all in favor the minutes of the September 7, 2006 meeting were approved as
amended.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Reconsideration
of Management Services Contract
Mr. Rosenof stated this item was requested by Ms.
Ribotsky. Unfortunately she has an illness
in her family. In all fairness to her, I
wish to table this item to a time when she can be here.
On MOTION by Mr. Brewer seconded by Ms. Bertolami with all
in favor the reconsideration of the Management Services Contract was tabled to
the next meeting.
FOURTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration
of Engagement Letter with Grau & Associates to Perform Financial Audit for
Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2006
Mr. Petty stated this is a housekeeping item. We have a multiple year contract with an
independent auditor to review the finances of the District as required by
statute. We request the Board authorize
staff through this letter of engagement, to honor the contract.
On MOTION by Ms. Bertolami seconded by Mr. Brewer with all
in favor the engagement letter with Grau & Associates to perform the audit for
fiscal year ending September 30, 2006 was accepted.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Manager’s Report
A. Consideration
of Resolution 2007-1 Designating Janice Moen Larned as Treasurer and John Petty
as Assistant Secretary
Mr.
Petty stated we request the Board table this item until the next meeting as we
are anticipating management changes, which may necessitate us updating the
names on this list.
B. Discussion
of Procedure for Determining District Purview
Mr. Petty stated during our last meeting, the Board asked
staff to consider scheduling a series of workshop meetings to discuss topics such
as right-of-way, easements and other such items associated with drainage
essential to our District. We are
working on the matter but staff has been unable to put anything together for
this meeting. We request the Board’s indulgence
to table this item to the next meeting.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Attorney’s Report
There not being any, the next item followed.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Engineer’s Report
Mr. Craven stated at the Board’s direction, I attended two
meetings with the manager, consultant and contractor regarding the removal of
trees.
Mr.
Petty stated we are in consultation with various parties.
Mr.
Rosenof stated I request a status report.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Manager’s Report
(Con’t)
Mr.
Petty stated at our last meeting we discussed the current tree removal
contract, which is to remove trees from the flowways within the District, which
went down with Hurricane Wilma. We found
our contractor exceeded those instructions and removed trees from the banks for
various unknown reasons. The
instructions by this Board were to have the contract held until we determine
why these trees were removed. We asked
District Counsel to send a letter to the contractor instructing him to hold the
contract for 30 days. We spoke with the
contractor about how this may have occurred, the context of the contract and
whether or not he was able to come to any amicable solutions.
In
Country Acres, there is a 1,000 foot long ditch. Next to the ditch is a berm where there were
very large Australian Pine Trees, approximately 80 feet tall. Several had fallen into the water and were
supposed to be removed under this contract.
The contractor retrieved those trees with his barge but when he pulled
the roots, he started loosening up trees further down the berm. As he tried to minimize the damage he caused,
he broke more and more trees. He called
his supervisor out and they ended up saw cutting the trees. He then moved to the next tree that had
fallen and the same thing happened again.
They started to get concerned about their liability. Where they failed in our minds is they did
not contact the District and go through our engineers to discuss the
problem. They immediately went to Mr.
Ron Gold. They ended up talking with
many people and received verbal approval to use a road adjacent to the
canal. They proceeded to remove as many
of those trees as they could. This is
where the District entered into the action and made them stop.
Mr.
Rosenof asked what was their liability factor?
Mr.
Petty responded their industry has a high liability factor for disturbing trees
of this nature. Once you are in there, if
you are the individual who is doing the work and the tree comes down in the
storm, you are going to find yourselves accountable. This has been their concern. We were wondering why they were taking trees
down at no cost to the District or the residents. It turns out they were trying to get away
from a future lawsuit. This is the
explanation we received from the supervisor and the President of Stiles
Landscaping.
In
Winners Circle, they discovered they had to come across a public roadway of the
city to get to the canal. They asked the
city where the roadway stopped and were told the roadway goes all the way down
the lake bank past Winners Circle.
Mr.
Rosenof asked who told them?
Mr.
Petty responded a city worker. I am not
sure which one but I believe this was the city worker who was onsite monitoring
the park conditions. They thought they
had public access all the way down. They
were working on the barge in the canal moving trees but found their equipment
was not large enough to pick up the stumps.
Instead of taking out the equipment and using new equipment, they have a
small crane onsite. Since they thought
they had public access, the contractor started to go down the public right-of-way. However, they did not receive permission from
the City of Parkland nor the District to do so.
They cleared quite a few Brazilian Peppers and Australian Pines. At each location where they went to the bank
to pick up a stump they had marked, that is where they cleared. In some areas, this was extensive. When we learned about this, we went onsite
and stopped the work. District Counsel
delivered a letter in writing within 48 hours of the event.
There
were discussions with the contractor, the City of Parkland, the City of Coral
Springs and several residents. Those
discussions were mainly between District staff and the contractor and later
with the City of Parkland to address the issues. We spoke to the contractor about being
accountable for actions under the contract requirements as well as the issues
and concerns. The contractor offered to plant
Areca Palms or similar plant material acceptable to the city and residents in
Country Acres where approximately 400 feet of Australian Pines were
removed. There is proper spacing to
provide a vegetative buffer on the top of the berm. The contractor will also repair certain parts
of the berm where the materials were removed and fill in the cut made to the
berm. He will try to put it back into
the same condition it was in before he arrived.
The contractor offered an option to clear the remaining 600 feet of
Australian Pines because he is concerned about future liability. These pines are approximately 80 feet tall
and FP&L lines go through them. They
appear to have a history of knocking power off to the community during some
storms. This is not the District’s
business but in our discussions with the residents, this is something we may
wish to bring to their attention for consideration. If the contractor removes the remaining 600
feet without cost to the District or the residents, it is a significant
contribution of funds. He feels to
replace the berm would be more costly than what he has harmed. We are looking for outside sources to fund
the replanting of the berm.
We
received correspondence 10 minutes before this meeting stating there may be
trees available through the Broward County Tree Trust Fund, which we would like
to investigate. We are not asking this
Board for a decision on the trees at this time, but are simply informing you
what has taken place to date and looking for Board consensus to go to the next
step, which is to take this before the residents. I will go through the city staff of Parkland
or Coral Springs to get their comments and then come back to this body and ask
for permission to proceed.
Mr.
Rosenof asked do you have any memorandum or Letter of Understanding from them
regarding what they will replace?
Mr.
Petty responded yes. We have a Letter of
Understanding, which we submitted to City of Parkland at last night’s
meeting. There was discussion with the
City Manager.
Mr.
Rosenof asked should this Letter of Understanding be made part of the contract
or will the payment and performance bond cover it?
Mr.
Doody responded the Letter of Understanding needs to be formalized as an
agreement from the contractor.
Mr.
Rosenof asked can we change order the contract for zero dollars?
Mr.
Doody responded yes.
Mr.
Rosenof stated the payment and performance bond could become an umbrella for
the additional work.
Mr.
Doody stated correct. Pursuant to the
terms of the contract, notice was provided to the contractor to suspend the
work for a period of 30 days. The date for
re-commencing the contract is October 9th. This date was purposely selected to allow the
Board to meet on this date and make a determination. Prior to tonight’s meeting, I received
direction to send another letter continuing the suspension with a date certain
where they could recommence the work under the terms of the contractor or continue
to perform as required under the contract.
Mr.
Rosenof asked can you redo the stop order?
Mr.
Doody responded yes, however, under the terms of the contract, they can resume
work on October 9th.
Mr.
Petty asked does Mr. Lauzier have anything to add on Country Acres?
Mr.
Lauzier responded the following letter from County Commissioner, Ms. Ilene Lieberman
was received at 5:08 P.M. today”:
Dear Mr. Petty,
I am the District County Commissioner for
the residents of Country Acres and unfortunately am unable to attend your
meeting tonight. I have been in touch
with the residents of Country Acres regarding the Australian Pines which have
been removed from their community. It is
my understanding the Parkland City Commission has also discussed your proposal
for completing the tree removal along their canal in County Acres as well as
replanting the berm.
Due to the location being a district
easement, I am requesting the district expeditiously remove all of the
remaining Australian Pines/hazardous trees located on the district’s
embankment/berm at the district’s expense.
I’ve been advised that there is a disagreement between the City and the
district on paying for the replanting of the berm after the removal of the
remaining Australian Pines. I have discussed
with Eric Myers, Broward County Director of Biological Resources, a
reimbursable grant from the Broward County Tree Preservation Trust Fund as a
source of funds to replant trees along the public right-of-way after completion
of the tree removal. In order to proceed
to secure this county funding, the district must submit a letter of request to
Eric Myers containing a brief description of the proposed project, including
plant materials and cost. You may reach
Mr. Myers at (954) 519-1231. It is my understanding
that the district’s contractor, Stiles Landscaping, will plant the
materials.
I hope that this will resolve the matter
on behalf of the Country Acres residents.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at
your convenience.”
In
closing, Ms. Lieberman believes and the city concurs with the residents that the
trees are hazardous and there was a way to have Stiles Landscaping make
corrections, although it is at the District’s expense. She is saying if any residents want to come
down, it is a hazard and they will fall down and there needs to be re-stabilization
of the embankment. There is an
opportunity to avail itself to the funds for planting. Since Stiles Landscaping offered to provide
the labor, this is probably a good opportunity for the District to get the
county to agree to this. As far as the
City Commission’s policy on Country Acres, since this is a District project and
District property, the Parkland City Commission did not get involved nor do
they want to get involved from a funding standpoint.
Mr.
Rosenof asked what is the hazard with the trees?
Mr.
Lauzier responded the hazard as described by Mr. Petty is as they try to remove
some of the trees, there is the entanglement of the roots and destabilization
of the trees. The Environmental
Resources Director said those trees can come down in a mild wind. They are in close proximity of homes across
the canal and structures such as screen enclosures, which could be taken out if
they fall down. Those are the hazards.
Mr.
Rosenof stated for the record, the Environmental Resources Director said Stiles
Landscaping actually caused the hazard.
Mr.
Lauzier stated he did not say that. He
said this situation is hazardous and did not point to the party who caused the
damage as he was not there. After the
work was done he said, “Yes, the residents are right, it is hazardous”. I agree with him. He is not placing blame.
Mr.
Rosenof stated understood. Mr. Petty, do
you believe Stiles Landscaping caused the hazard or was the hazard there all
along?
Mr.
Petty responded I believe the hazard was there all along. Stiles Landscaping caused an unstable
condition by removing 400 feet of Australian Pines.
Mr.
Rosenof stated this is different from what Mr. Lauzier is saying. I thought you said by removing some of the
trees we untangled some of the roots and loosened them up to a hazardous
condition.
Mr.
Petty stated Mr. Lauzier said the Australian Pines were a hazard before and
after our actions. It is in the Drainage
District and we had an opportunity to have the trees cleared at a relatively
low cost or no cost. With a tree
program, this may be a good time to address the concern.
Mr.
Lauzier stated whether there was an existing hazard or Stiles Landscaping
caused it, Stiles Landscaping said they would take the trees down at no cost.
Mr.
Rosenof stated I understand but we are a Drainage District, not a tree
service. If it is something we caused,
we are more than willing to facilitate it being fixed. However, I do not want to set a precedence of
us being a tree service. What about
Winners Circle?
Mr.
Petty responded in Winners Circle, the contractor crossed the public access to
the public right-of-way. They thought it
was part of the easement and cleared out large areas. We talked to them about this and what they
should do in addressing this situation.
They are willing and are anxious to do so. In this area on top of the bank the Pepper
Trees were a vegetative buffer. Granted
they may not be the most popular tree in the world but it provided the coverage
between two communities. Stiles
Landscaping offered to replant 20 Bald Cypress Trees approximately 20 feet
tall, which is an extraordinary offer along with any and all materials
necessary to fill in the gaps along the banks.
We spoke with city staff and without a commitment from the city, we offered
to cooperate with staff on any dedication of existing plant material.
At
last night’s meeting with the City of Parkland, without commitment and after
discussion, they gave us the indication they believe this was a good first
step. After meeting with staff, I spoke
with the City of Coral Springs and Parkland to address the residents’
issues. We feel the option before you
should be considered by the Board, not as a commitment but as an indication to
staff we should proceed to step two.
Step two is to meet with both city staffs and the residents regarding
this program. Once we obtain consensus
from those groups, we will come back to the Board and ask for permission to
proceed.
Along
those lines, we have a small part of the contract we wish to address in order
to complete the contract to remove plant material and trees from the
flowway. We do not want to go anywhere
on the land and will not be authorizing the contractor to use any equipment on
the land. He will be instructed to
remove his equipment from the right-of-way of Winners Circle, pick up any
materials or trash he left behind, get on the barge and pull the trees
out. He will then remain on standby until
we can resolve these issues.
Mr.
Rosenof asked do you have anything to add, Mr. Lauzier?
Mr.
Lauzier responded no. Once the Board
considers the option, Stiles Landscaping will remove debris and their equipment
and do whatever cleanup needs to be done per your contract. It will not be land based work; but water
based work. We will work with the
residents to come up with a replanting plan, which we can memorialize through
with the city and work with the residents on the next phase.
Mr.
Rosenof asked who is the permitting agency?
Is it the City Department? Are we
allowed to replant?
Mr.
Petty responded counsel asked us to formalize this because we will be planting
trees into the city’s right-of-way. We
should be doing this through an Interlocal Agreement.
Mr.
Lauzier stated we do not know because when we look at our surveys, we concluded
work done by the District was not on District property. When we replant, we have to determine where
to replant and we need assistance on who is the owner and what parcels of land
are in this area.
Mr.
Rosenof stated whether it is in your easement or not, you are still the
permitting agency.
Mr.
Lauzier stated I guess we are the permitting agency because the area lies
within the City of Parkland. However,
with a city easement on city property, we have to go through some
research. If it is in your easement, we
are working together so it is not a problem.
Mr.
Doody stated I do not know whether any of our easement is above water. As a Board, we had discussions about the
right-of-way as the canal is built out.
It has to be someone else’s property.
Mr.
Lauzier stated this is just like us identifying the easement in Country
Acres. There are many pieces of
parcels. Coming through the east side
and working our way west from Winners Circle, is more identifiable as you are
going back 17 feet from the sidewalk edge.
For the most part, there is a double buffer. This work probably was not on city land.
Mr.
Petty stated I do not think this is going to be too big of an issue for us.
Mr.
Lauzier stated it is an ownership issue.
Mr.
Rosenof asked what is the difference whether it is on our easement or not?
Mr.
Lauzier responded there is no difference, but I do not know whether this is
your easement.
Mr.
Rosenof asked are you worried about it being on private property?
Mr.
Lauzier responded I do not know.
Mr.
Petty stated there are not going to be hundreds of parcels. This is well within the ability of our
contract, whether the area is within a public easement or not. They will get the property owners permission
before we do any replanting. I do not
think there is going to be any problem.
We can put the onus on the contractor and hold him to his actions.
Mr.
Lauzier stated it may be a good idea to get someone out there to survey where
everything is. At least in general, if
there are public lands out there, then there is no issue. The Environmental Resource Director looked at
the parcel amounts. Where our land ended
seemed to be extremely vegetated.
Mr.
Udine stated I am the Mayor of Parkland.
Mr. Petty provided us with some information on this matter before our
City Commission meeting last night and we had a brief discussion about the
issues in Country Acres and Winners Circle.
The feeling of the City Commission at the time was and remains, there
are some procedural and staff related issues such as where our easements end
and begin but at the end of the day, the residents of Country Acres and Winners
Circle have a nice buffer. The city had
problems in the past there and we are going to correct the city’s problem. Then Pine Tree WCD came through and had
problems with their contractor. We want
you to correct Pine Tree’s problem. We want
to see you make the residents of this area feel at home. This is the first step so they can get their
equipment out of there, start this process and then we will work with the
community to see if additional steps need to be taken. The city is going to be looking at this from
the city’s point of view because the city is committed to the residents doing
additional planting on city property. We
want to work with you but need to get started immediately so the residents can
be corrected. We need to make sure the
residents have the protection they did when they moved into their homes.
Mr.
Rosenof stated we took this project on because we were concerned about the
number of trees in the canal after Hurricane Wilma. Our main concern was getting this cleaned up
to facilitate the drainage of our District.
Mr.
Petty stated we are looking for approval from the Board so we can move to our
next step, which is to continue working under the city’s direction so we can
firm up this action plan and bring it back to you as quickly as possible.
Mr.
Rosenof asked are there any supervisor comments?
Mr.
Bertolami responded yes. We should work
with the city and residents on having the contractor correct the damage.
Mr.
Rosenof asked are there any resident comments?
A
resident responded yes. I live in
Country Place. My property borders part of
the canal. Once these Australian Pines
are removed and the berm is left with interconnecting stumps, what prevents
them from re-growing and over taking the Areca Palms? The berm has to go and the ground should be re-sculpted
to attune to our drainage needs. There
is a solid knot of interconnected Australian Pine stumps through the berm.
Mr.
Rosenof responded we will maintain the berm once it is replanted.
Mr.
Petty stated the berm is supported entirely by root mass and compost
materials. If we cleared the area, as
recommended by both the contractor and our engineering staff, they recommend
the stumps be cut off at the ground so they do not grow back. This is currently in our contract specs. Areca Palms will be planted in places where they
can grow and the back of the berm will be reshaped. If any places are too steep, they will put plant
material in. The contractor will be
responsible for watering the area for a period of time until the trees can be
established. After this period of time,
the Areca Palms will be a maintenance item.
The
resident stated it is in our easement.
Mr.
Rosenof stated it is our property.
Mr.
Petty stated the question as to whether we can remove the berm, we will try in
any way we can to consider it. We can
reshape it to some degree and fill in the gap where the equipment went
through. We can cut the trees down and
plant Areca Palms. The maintenance
requirements are fairly low. We heard
from the City of Parkland and City of Coral Springs but not from the residents.
A
resident stated there must be something outlined in the Broward County records regarding
which areas we are allowed to use. This
dates back to a division of when the park was a 10 acre park and is now a six
acre park, which is dedicated to the City of Parkland. There was mismanagement and lack of
supervision by the District or the contractor you hired because no one was
supervising them. I have lived there for
10 years and no one ever went out there to clean up except in 2003 when the
city received a grant for the trail.
Then there was construction. We
deliberated about who owns the property.
A 12’ or 18’ road was bulldozed and a crane was used to remove the trees
and the stumps. Now we have no
Australian Pine Trees above the bank for a minimum of 12’ to 18’ along the
trail towards Winners Circle. This
occurred from the moment the Coral Springs Police removed the workers and sent
them over to Winners Circle. If this was
in the awareness of environmental removal it was a disaster. No one was overseeing it. This was a breach of contract between Stiles
Landscaping and their two subcontractors.
Who was managing the job? Did the
subcontractors or Pine Tree obtain any permits from the city to go over city
land? If residents have to do any work,
they have to obtain a permit to destroy all natural vegetation, whether evasive
or non-evasive. According to the city,
there has to be a three layer buffer on any plantings done between a
residential property and multi-use housing property. There is nothing there. I have been out there and have pictures. I spoke to the men the day they were
working. They used chain saws.
According
to Mr. Petty, there was no requirement for anyone to remove any trees because
what was hanging over the canal in the canal was not done. I contacted the city on Tuesday of that week
and sent emails on Wednesday. I received
an email from the City Manager and he said it is not their property. Is there a time limit for your discussion
about replanting and what can be replanted or is this an open ended issue? Is the city going to do the replanting or the
District? I think it is important for
you to find out. Between Cypress Creek
from one end of the park to the other to the covered bridge, there are piles of
debris. Trucks are parked there and
people are fishing. There are pit bulls
and dogs without leashes. It has become
a water park. I do not know if that was
the generalization of what was supposed to happen. The city had an agenda of removing anything
evasive. The trees are not evasive. I submitted to the city on February 8th
a petition signed by the residents of Country Place requesting they be told
when anything was going to happen. If
you need a copy of the petition, I can provide a copy to you. Your contractors and subcontractors made a
huge mistake.
Mr.
Rosenof stated you can look through all of our minutes but all they wanted to
do was to clear the canals.
The
resident asked are those minutes for the public to review?
Mr.
Rosenof responded absolutely.
The
resident asked are the permits available for review?
Mr.
Petty responded our records are available to the public for review. If you call my office, we can provide you
copies.
The
resident asked can you find out if a permit was issued?
Mr.
Rosenof responded the work was completed without a permit.
Mr.
Petty stated the contractor was authorized to remove downed trees, which does
not require a permit. The contractor
will be held accountable for going after a healthy tree on our bank and public right-of-way.
Mr.
Paul Burrell stated I live in Country Acres and would like to thank the Board
for their efforts. Sometimes you get criticism
for doing the right thing. Is there any
opposition to removing the stumps on the Country Acres berm as opposed to
cutting them?
Mr.
Petty responded we discussed this with District and city staff and no one had
any concerns. We have not heard from the
residents yet.
Mr.
Burnell asked is the contractor opposed to removing them?
Mr.
Petty responded our engineers looked at it and it is one huge tree root per
1,000 feet. The only materials in there
with any structural integrity are the tree roots and the root ball. Removing the stumps will destabilize the
berm. As the Drainage District, we do
not remove them. We think we can plant
the trees amongst the root balls to stand up over time.
Mr.
Burnell stated there is a concern because over time it will deteriorate. Will it compromise the berm and cause
sinkholes?
Mr.
Petty responded we do not think there will be any sinkholes. This is a spoilage berm and compost area, not
a landscape berm. If the District plants
Areca Palms, we will do the standard drainage maintenance.
Mr.
Rosenof asked how are these discussions going to be held? Is there going to be a public workshop with
the residents?
Mr.
Petty responded we hope to have a Town Hall meeting with the City of Parkland
and the City of Coral Springs.
Mr.
Rosenof asked how will the residents be able to know when meetings will be held
and decisions are made?
Mr.
Petty responded we will take suggestions from the City of Parkland and City of
Coral Springs.
Mr.
Rosenof stated I do not know if we want to create a mailing list of put
something on the website.
Mr.
Lauzier stated the City of Parkland is willing to do a mailing at the direction
of the Board.
Mr.
Rosenof stated please put something on your website.
Mr.
Lauzier stated we can put something on the website and send emails.
Mr.
Petty stated both the City of Parkland and City of Coral Springs have excellent
communication logs.
Mr.
Rosenof stated I request we utilize those means.
Mr.
Burnell stated I assume it will be scheduled quickly so you can stabilize the lake
bank quickly.
Mr.
Petty stated we will take comments from the public and address any
concerns. This meeting will be more of a
town hall type meeting. Workshops tend
to be more for the Board and the public cannot participate. We want participation from the public.
Mr.
Burnell stated whatever choice you make, if this is an opportunity to stabilize
the area without deterioration of the material in the ground, I would like to
see this happen.
Mr.
Michael Rottenberg stated I live in Country Place. It is disenchanting to see what is taking
place. I have lived here for five years
and this issue has been discussed for five years. We certainly will not be using this as a
learning process. There has been no communication. I personally have been attending the meetings
for the last 15 months talking with Parkland residents and the Board. I specifically sat here and said, “If they
pull anything out, they are going to undermine the earth”. There was concern about the Australian Pines
and Brazilian Peppers. This is a
landmark piece of property flowing from Holmberg Road to Hillsboro. There is water on one side and homes on the
other. It is of no threat to any other
piece of property and serves a purpose. It
is a preserve where an otter, turtle and birds live. We still have an environmental concern.
The
most important thing we can learn about this is there is no communication
between the Board and the City of Parkland.
I live across the street from the property and right now I am looking at
a parking lot, lights and buildings. We
talked about this specific issue for the last three years. I certainly hope you do what you say by
having someone watching over the contractor.
I do not have confidence in the Board.
There are families with young children living there. I have a two and a half year old and a six
month old. This property is not the same
as it was five years ago or two years ago.
The City of Parkland was glad this occurred. They said it was not their property. If someone came on my property to do work, I
would see what is going on. No one went
out there. Now we have an unsafe
situation as you have kids playing there and people fishing. I certainly hope you go in there and make it
the way it the way it was. However, you
cannot do that because the trees are gone.
You certainly are not going to plant any Brazilian Peppers or Australian
Pines. It was the best thing to do there
and were of no harm to anyone. Thank you
for your time. I hope you carry through
with your intention. So many supervisors
say, “Look what we did. We did a good
job”. You better not do this because
there has been no communication, which disgusted me.
Mr.
Rosenof asked do you need a recommendation from us?
Mr.
Petty responded I need a recommendation from this body to proceed with step
two, which is to start talking to the public and the cities. We will also ask the Board to consider the
matter of lifting the stop work order so we can finish the job of removing
material only from the water.
Mr.
Rosenof asked if we authorize you to proceed, will it include the removal of
the Australian Pines?
Mr.
Petty responded no. The contractor will
only be removing some materials in the flowway near Winners Circle, remove the
equipment from the Winners Circle area on top of the lake bank and remove the
trench piles.
Mr.
Rosenof asked along with this recommendation can we establish a timeline for
milestones in this process, i.e. the Memorandum of Understanding becoming a
draft and approved and having a town hall meeting with the residents regarding
the permitting and construction process.
Mr.
Petty stated in order for staff to get this job completed as quickly as
possible, we will work with the City of Parkland and City of Coral Springs to
find an amenable date to have a town hall meeting with the residents.
Mr.
Rosenof asked do we need 30 to 60 days to schedule the meeting?
Mr.
Petty responded I am hoping this is a two to three week scheduling process.
Mr.
Rosenof asked will we have a response from the residents by the next meeting?
Mr.
Petty responded yes.
Ms.
Bertolami asked who will be responsible for supervising the work once the stop
order is lifted?
Mr.
Petty responded the oversight for the contract will be the same. The District Engineer who will commit more
people to the task, will oversee the contract.
When we talk about supervision, it calls for the contractor to have
total responsibility for his actions. If
the District staff starts supervising this work, we take on the liability.
Mr.
Rosenof stated as a real estate developer and contractor, I disagree. There is liability but you being out there
once a day to check on them does not relieve their liability.
Mr.
Petty stated I agree. The minute by
minute, job by job supervision is what we were trying to get away from. If they go back onsite, we will have an
inspector from the engineering firm, CH2M-Hill spend 100% of their time with
the contractor onsite.
Mr.
Rosenof asked can we count on daily inspections at a minimum?
Mr.
McKune responded no problem.
On MOTION by Ms. Bertolami seconded by Ms. Benckenstein with
all in favor staff was authorized to proceed with step two of the tree removal
program to commence discussions with the City of Parkland, City of Coral
Springs and the residents and Stile Landscaping Company was authorized to
complete step one of the tree removal contract.
Mr.
Rosenof asked Mr. Doody, do you have any comments?
Mr.
Doody responded no. I think this is
sufficient. You can direct the engineer
to resume the tree removal contract pursuant to the terms of the contract as of
October 9, 2006.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor’s Requests
Mr.
Rosenof stated I would like to recognize Mr. Bill Keith from Keith &
Associates who passed away this week. He
was a great friend to the city and a leader in the Civil Engineering industry.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments
There
not being any, the next item followed.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of Financials
and Invoices
There being no questions or
comments,
On MOTION by Ms. Bertolami seconded by Ms. Benckenstein with
all in favor the financials and check registers for October 2005 in the amount
of $36,496.34 were approved.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
There
being no further business,
On MOTION by Ms. Bertolami seconded by Ms. Benckenstein with
all in favor the meeting was adjourned.
Paul
Brewer David
Rosenof
Secretary President
Notes
from 10/5 meeting
Agenda Items
1. Reconsideration of Management Services
Contract
2. Consideration of Resolution 2007-1
Designating Janice Larned as Treasurer
3. Discussion of Procedure for Determining
District Purview