MINUTES OF THE MEETING
OF THE PORT OF THE
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Port of the
Islands Community Improvement District was held
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Richard Gatti Chairman
John
Robinson Supervisor
Ted Bissell Assistant
Secretary
Also
present were:
Craig
Wrathell District
Manager
Dan
Cox Attorney
(by phone)
Ron
Benson Engineer
Tim
Stephens Operations
Manager
FIRST
ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll
Call
Mr. Gatti
called the meeting to order and Mr. Wrathell called the roll.
Whereupon, Item Number 6A was addressed out of order.
A. Attorney
Mr.
Gatti asked before we get a report on the lawsuit, do we have any legal matters
pending?
Mr.
Wrathell stated we had some information regarding the lawsuit and I was hoping
Mr. Cox could update us on that.
Mr.
Cox stated at the first of the month the judge issued an order dismissing the
lawsuit with prejudice. That means now
there is a legal matter to rule on based on a principle called laches, that the
complaint was barred from being prosecuted.
The judge made three specific findings in the case.
The
first was that the assessments that Port of the
The
District is now in a position to begin the process for some of the properties
that have been delinquent of foreclosing those properties and getting the bond
date accelerated and paid off due to foreclosure sales. That will cure the financial emergency and
default status of the bonds as they are.
The only property I have been asked to prepare foreclosure proceedings
for is the North Hotel property and that is largely because of the recent circumstances
and the expectation that it is never going to get better. We are still looking as far as Northport and
the Marchand Properties to try and work out a solution on those. There was a proposal made on Wednesday that
outlines what Ms. Marchand will accept in regards to the RV Park and the
properties and any reorganization plan under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I have been out of town and have not heard
from Ms. Marchand’s attorneys, so I do not know the status of that.
Ms.
Marchand’s attorneys filed a motion asking the Court to reconsider the
order. I expect that will not be
entertained and I see no reason why it would.
We will file our answer on that Monday.
Mr.
Gatti asked what does with prejudice mean?
Mr.
Cox responded the one key thing is that any person who is assessed special
assessments and wants to challenge them; they need to do it in a timely manner
and not wait until the situation has gotten so bad that it would be inequitable
for other parties for it to be corrected.
Mr.
Gatti asked when you say with prejudice, does that set some sort of a time
frame?
Mr.
Cox stated that means that the complaint is dismissed and cannot be refilled by
an amended complaint or otherwise. A lot
of times, like in the earlier part of these proceedings, when the first part of
the complaint was filed, we raised a couple of defenses, one being that the
property owners were essential to resolution of the case and they were not
members of the case at that time. The
judge dismissed that without prejudice, which meant that if they wanted to go through
the trouble of joining all of the property owners they could refile an amended
complaint. The judge has not given them
the option to refile any type of an amended complaint.
Mr.
Gatti asked assuming that the motion to review the case is as you say and the
judge turns it down, does Ms. Marchand have further recourse in a civil court?
Mr.
Cox responded that is unlikely because the assessments have been levied for so
long and potentially the State Court will look at what the Federal Court has
determined in this matter and would lean in the same direction. It is impossible to predict what a Court will
do, but I suggest that will not be an option at this time.
Mr.
Gatti asked does she have the legal right to pursue this in civil court?
Mr.
Cox responded sure, she can file a complaint if she wants to any time, but the
holding of the Federal Court would be a very strong successor to any challenge
in any other court and I do not expect that to happen.
Mr.
Gatti stated I am trying to determine whether we have any other problems to
look forward to it. Are you saying there
is a possibility of it, but it is not very high?
Mr.
Cox responded that is right. At this
point, the complaint has been dismissed, but now because the filing goes under
Chapter 11, they have thirty days from the date that order was entered to file
the plans for reorganization, in other words, a way to restructure the debt so
the property can work its way out of bankruptcy. There is a pending motion to set a value of
the collateral of the bankruptcy estate, which essentially consists of all the
land in the RV Park. Depending on how
that valuation falls in, this is how much each of the creditor’s claims is
being secured and unsecured. The secured
portion would have to be worked out, but the unsecured portion could be paid
pending dollars most likely.
At
this point, we will say your Honor, basically this is the only asset that the
debtor has and it is overburdened by debt and not sufficient security for the
secured creditors and that the property should be allowed to be sold. I do not know that, this is going to be the
first step, but I think that is where it is leaning at this point. The value of collateral is determinate to
what share each of the secured creditors will recover.
Mr.
Gatti asked is it appropriate to open this up to the audience?
Mr.
Cox stated I do not mind.
There
not being any, the next item followed.
Whereupon,
the second order of business was addressed out of order.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Minutes of the April 18,
2003 Meeting
Mr.
Gatti stated that each member of the Board had received a copy of the minutes
of the
Mr. Robinson stated I went through
this and everything that was said is correct, but some names need to be
changed. I have them here.
Mr.
Wrathell stated that is great. Thank
you. We will make those changes.
On
MOTION by Mr. Bissell seconded by Mr. Robinson with all in favor the minutes of
the
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Resolution 2003-04
Approving the Budget and Setting a Public Hearing
Mr.
Wrathell stated Resolution 2003-04 upon approval sets the public hearing, which
is required by Statute for the adoption of the budget, which needs to be a
minimum of sixty days from today, so that would be your Board meeting in July,
which is July 18th at the same location and time.
We
will incorporate comments from the Board today and in between that time frame
and at the public hearing that is typically when you would take public comment
with regard to the budget. It is the up
to the Board’s wishes if you would like to take public comment today also. Typically, when you bring
it back at the public hearing that is when we incorporate public comment and
adopt the budget.
Mr.
Gatti stated you did a very good job of explaining each one of the individual
expenditures on these items. The other
part of this, subject to the Board approval, is that we have a lot of people in
the community who have expertise in these kinds of things and it would not be a
bad idea to get their input. I do not
suggest that we put this out for everyone in the community. I suggest we make it available by their
request. Is that fair enough?
Mr. Wrathell stated I could also put it on the
website.
Mr.
Gatti stated yes, that is a good idea.
Mr.
Bissell stated why is it not possible to have the
public input next month in June and the finalization of the budget in
July. Through the input in June, you
would be able to put together the final budget for approval in July.
Mr.
Wrathell stated you, as a Board, have the discretion to have as much public
input as you like in the process. We can
have public input today, at the next meeting and also in July. This is just your legal requirement that we
need to do. We can discuss the budget as
much as you would like.
Mr.
Bissell stated I would like to do this next month.
Mr.
Wrathell stated for today, we just need the approval of this resolution to set
the public hearing.
On
MOTION by Mr. Bissell seconded by Mr. Robinson with all in favor Resolution
2003-4 approving the proposed budget and setting the public hearing for
Mr.
Gatti asked will you put that on the website, so it is available to
everyone. This way they do not have to
be here in person to get that. Can you
explain the $4,000 a year we have to pay the property appraiser?
Mr.
Wrathell responded you will have everything in between your setting up your
assessment rolls on an annual basis.
That is more specifically what we are looking at. When you actually put it on your tax bill,
your property appraiser and tax collector fees will actually be on your tax
bills. These are the types of fees that
it will take to set the tax rolls up.
That number does seem a bit high to me, so if you like, I will get more
of a breakdown of what comprises that $4,800.
Mr.
Gatti asked Mr. Benson, are you okay with $12,000?
Mr.
Benson stated it seems that in the last year or so the tasks we have been given
are more than they used to be.
Mr.
Gatti stated yes, I was looking at this year’s expenditures and we are just
halfway through the year.
Mr.
Benson stated unfortunately the cost of dealing with the D.E.P., for instance,
have become a lot more than they used to be.
Mr.
Gatti asked will you take a look at that.
Mr.
Benson responded okay.
Mr.
Gatti stated the only thing I am missing is there is no detail in the capital
outlay, unless I missed it. We are
looking at $40,000. Is there something
out there that I missed?
Mr.
Wrathell stated for the general fund we have $500.
Mr.
Gatti stated I am looking at the $40,000 figure.
Mr.
Wrathell asked Mr. Stephens might have a breakdown on that number.
Mr.
Stephens stated we had prepared an analysis a few years ago regarding your
equipment that you have in your water and wastewater system and the average
service life and the major components and what would be the amount per year in
order to keep the system in good condition.
That is provided to the management offices also in the engineer’s
report. It is more than $40,000
actually, but that may have been after the budget was submitted.
Mr.
Gatti stated I do not need it today, but I am asking what our capital outlay
will be next year. All I see now is
$40,000 without an explanation.
Mr.
Bissell stated repair and maintenance went from $40,000 in last year’s budget
to $19,000 this year. Do you expect
less?
Mr.
Stephens stated that is a possibility.
Mr.
Bissell stated I am looking at water and sewer for Fiscal Year 2004 operating
last year with $40,000 and $19,000 for 2004.
That is a difference of $21,000.
Mr.
Gatti stated operation and maintenance is a function of what happens out
there. Just like your house, if
something breaks down, you have to fix it.
You have to anticipate what that is going to be.
Mr.
Bissell stated it dropped from $40,000 to $19,000, which is fine with me.
Mr.
Wrathell stated when we put these budgets together we aggregate the expenses
incurred in a particular category during the year.
Mr.
Bissell asked is there any possibility of looking into another health insurance
company to get the same or more benefits for a lesser price. Last year there was an increase of 49%. This year you are anticipating another
24%.
Mr.
Gatti stated in my personal experience with municipalities that is not so out
of lien. My insurance went from $539 a
month to $689 a month and I am with the City of
Mr.
Wrathell stated we have two issues; one which is the cost of insurance, whether
you are in a public sector or a private sector it is really going out of site
and also, the fact that we are sort of a small entity. It is difficult when you are under the five
people threshold to get any insurance at all and you usually get poor coverage
at that.
Mr.
Gatti asked are we covering his insurance for this entity or for your entire company?
Mr.
Wrathell responded some is done through the Coral Springs Improvement District
and then United Healthcare. We have kind
of a tandem approach. With the CSID,
that is using the advantage of buying the insurance under a larger entity and
spreading it out through other Districts.
There is definitely a savings there.
Mr.
Gatti asked is there anything in here for road improvements or is that just a
general fund number is in reserve?
Mr.
Wrathell responded you have your community improvements. You have your capital outlay for $40,000,
which can be utilized for that purpose.
If we have no specific expenses allocated to that right now and that is
a perfect example of how it can be used.
You are better safe than sorry.
Mr.
Gatti asked what is your prediction on when you want to start roadway work?
Mr.
Benson responded as soon as we are in the financial situation where we have the
dollars. Our estimate of the overall
cost is in the engineering report, spreading it over a number of years.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Resolution 2003-05
Designating Patti Powers as Treasurer
Mr. Gatti stated Resolution
2003-05 designating Patti Powers, as Treasurer is next. She has been our Treasurer for some time now;
has she not?
Mr. Wrathell stated Ms. Archer has
been sitting as Treasurer for the District, with Ms. Powers as the
Assistant Treasurer. Ms. Archer will not
be able to serve this function any longer, so Ms. Powers will be the Treasurer
and I will be the Assistant Treasurer.
On MOTION by Mr. Bissell seconded by Mr. Robinson
with all in favor Resolution 2003-05 designating Ms. Powers as Treasurer was
adopted.
Mr.
Gatti presented Resolution 2003-05 designating Craig Wrathell as Assistant
Treasurer.
On
MOTION by Mr. Robinson seconded by Mr. Bissell with all in favor Resolution
2003-05 designating Craig Wrathell as Assistant Treasurer was adopted.
B. Engineer
Mr.
Benson stated regarding the grant we have for the Water Management District,
the contactor will be completing that work early in June and we will then need
to file the paperwork with the water management District to complete our
grant. Then we will be able to be
reimbursed a portion of the contract that was the grant amount.
Mr.
Gatti asked do we front that money and then they give it back?
Mr.
Benson responded that is right. The
contractor is completing that work in June, which will meet our deadline some
time in mid-June.
Mr.
Gatti asked what will be the impact on the irrigation system?
Mr.
Benson responded we are in the process of our five-year renewal on our D.E.P.
permit. We will not be able to operate
the new equipment until we get the operating permit renewal. Initially, we will have limited use of that
equipment, as we will still have the issue with canal water with the
D.E.P. We will probably be able to
utilize a portion of our system while the remaining part of the system stays on
the canal water while we are still resolving that issue. The area down
Mr.
Gatti asked is that the common area?
Mr.
Benson responded it is all the same pipeline, so it would probably be
everything that comes off of the pipe down
Mr.
Gatti asked for the benefit of some of the audience that knows nothing about
this, could you go through the number that
Mr.
Benson responded I believe the contract we awarded was approximately
$168,000. We had a grant for $75,000 as
long as we spent at least double what the grant money was. We had to spend at least $150,000 and the
project was $168,000. We are going to
finish spending $168,000 and get the minimum equipment as far as what we can
buy for that amount of money. There will
still be some other things we are going to need. Because of the issue with D.E.P., they are
making us at this time; operate two separate irrigation systems for some period
until we finish the project. We are
still working with them on that. On
Mr.
Gatti stated the wastewater treatment plant is cleaner than what we use for our
irrigation. When you pay your water
bill, you pay for the water you use in irrigation. Ultimately, that reduces our water bill
because the water that would be used for irrigation that we would pay for
through our normal payment comes out of the reuse water. That cost is something to use. The idea is to reduce the overall cost to the
community. Unfortunately, we will not be
able to use it throughout the entire community because of the way the
irrigation system is.
Mr.
Benson stated part of it relates to how much water you are producing at the
wastewater treatment plant for reclaimed water.
If there is more water available, then that is more water going into
your system. They are also blending it
with some of the well water before it is treated at the water plant. The issue with the community is that the
water coming out of the wastewater plant is treated at very high standards. Their concern is they do not want to mix that
water which they consider high quality with the water you are already using for
your irrigation. There are issues
between the Water Management District and the D.E.P. that we are still trying
to resolve.
Mr.
Gatti stated another major benefit is down the line,
our water treatment plant is not capable of serving 1,032 units without some
additional improvements.
Mr.
Benson stated the wastewater plant will have some future modifications.
Mr.
Gatti stated I was going to say that puts off some of the improvements, but
actually, it does not.
Mr.
Robinson asked is that line going down Cays drive for the common area on
Mr.
Benson responded all irrigation and fire protection comes off the same
pipeline. The common areas as well as
the individual property would be irrigated with that water. It is just like the water coming out of the
canal, which currently irrigates all the property. We are trying to conserve water, which is why
we got the grant. We will reuse as much
water as possible.
Mr.
Stephens stated that should help eliminate a lot of the sand in our sprinkler
heads.
Mr.
Benson stated the water coming out of the wastewater treatment plant is higher
quality than the water that is currently irrigating. We are moving in that direction as fast as we
can base on a lot of factors.
Mr.
Bissell asked who is responsible for the dam, the weir?
Mr.
Benson responded the South Florida Water Management District. Part of the issue with the salt water
infiltrations going north, that weir was originally put in to keep fresh water
north of Route 41 and the brackish water south.
Over the years that has deteriorated a bit and we do not believe it
really provides an impermeable barrier any more. The water is actually going through the head
differential. When the tide rises, it
pushes water through that weir structure upstream.
Mr.
Bissell stated it leaks underneath, but on the other hand, when the tide gets
so high and the salt water goes north, the salt water is heavier and it will
come out underneath.
Mr.
Benson stated the Water Management District is doing that major project north
of here that will take many years. They
are not looking to do anything to that weir.
We have asked them.
Mr.
Benson stated I have some correspondence received from the D.E.P. It is primarily regarding the wastewater
treatment plant. Mr. Stephens and I are
meeting with the D.E.P. Wednesday next week to go over them. A number of the issues they have raised, we
believe is a potential record keeping issue.
Mr. Stephens feels the records were submitted. The D.E.P. cannot find them, so they are saying
that we are deficient. We will meet with
them on that. There are a couple other
items to be resolved with the D.E.P.
Most of them relate to things that we can take care of and fix. A couple of items require some maintenance
and may require some additional short-term labor. Some of them would be the water storage tank
the reclaimed water goes into. We need
to have that tank cleaned.
The pipelines that send
water out to the wetlands, which is our primary disposal means, has been there
for over ten years. There are some holes
along it to distribute the water out evenly. Over the years roots and weeds have grown in
there and up into the pipe. We probably
need to do some work on that. These are
short-term things and probably the best way to do it would be to hire some
temporary labor. I think you have done
that before.
Mr.
Gatti stated these things are no big deal.
Mr.
Benson stated I do not know the provisions for Mr. Stephens to hire temporary
labor to do some of these activities, but they are more than what they would
normally deal with. It will take some
extra guys.
Mr.
Gatti stated Mr. Stephens can put something together for us pertaining to
estimated costs and we will review that next month.
Mr.
Bissell asked can the Board members get copies of the correspondence, so we can
be informed personally of what is going on in the District?
Mr.
Gatti responded I receive those and will share them with you.
Mr.
Benson stated they are all addressed to Mr. Gatti, as Chairman of the
C.I.D. He is the one that is on the
permits because the permit has to have an individual permittee.
Mr.
Bissell stated every Board member should be made aware.
Mr.
Gatti stated I will make those available to you. All of these issues are really housekeeping
at the water treatment plant and the sewage treatment plant.
Mr.
Benson the project for the storm water improvements at Stella Maris, I drove by
there last week and the work was done, except for the paving. Have they been paid?
Mr.
Stephens responded they have been paid.
Mr.
Benson stated I will inspect the patch after the meeting.
C. Manager
Mr.
Wrathell stated for the month of June, we will place on the utility bills, an
update with regard to contact information for the District. When people have questions or concerns, they
will see this on their utility bills.
This will remind them to call this certain number if they have any
utility questions. If they have
operations and maintenance issues, they have Mr. Stephens and of course, any
other questions can go to me. We have
had a few residents move in the last time something like this was put out
there.
D. Field Manager
Mr.
Stephens stated we have finished the striping job on the north side walking
area.
Mr.
Gatti asked how often are we spraying?
Mr.
Stephens responded we have been spraying pretty much every day. We may have missed a couple days over the
last month.
Mr.
Bissell stated you made a comment in the last minutes that you had left over
from last year’s budget. Was that money
or material?
Mr.
Stephens responded this is material, no money.
Mr.
Bissell asked do you expect to buy your budgets worth of material so that we
have it?
Mr.
Stephens responded I expect to use every bit of that this year. It is impossible to ignore. Everybody wants mosquito spraying on a
regular basis.
Mr.
Bissell stated I want to be sure that the money in that budget was spent for
that material so we have it.
Mr.
Stephens stated we spent every bit of it.
There was not any left.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor's
Requests and Audience Comments
Mr.
Robinson stated I had some paperwork that came from code enforcement, which I
passed over to Mr. Wrathell.
Mr.
Wrathell stated I will check into this.
There was some concern with regard to one of the signs for which they
have no record of the District having a permit.
I assume that one of the developers in the past had built one of these
entry features, so I think the permit may be under one of the developers.
Mr.
Robinson stated they might be looking at the sign that is blank out there. I do not think that sign would require a
permit again.
Ms.
Marchand stated I have seen that sign also and they are commenting on the north
entry sign, that there is no permit and it does not qualify. There is one new one coming from the east
coast in the entranceway. I will get
that to you. They had them under my
company name, which it should not be.
They have them mixed up as to whom they should be. I think one is the Community Improvement
District, the one coming in the north entry.
The other one potentially, is Northport’s. I believe it is theirs.
Mr.
Gatti stated I believe the intent there was to use that as a sign that
identifies Port of the
A
resident stated for the one on the north end, we will get a permit based on how
it is configured right now. You may want
to keep in mind there will be some budget expense there.
Mr.
Benson stated the way those are set up there, the only people who can use them
is the community. They cannot be used
for anything else but the community entrance.
A
resident asked do we have an update on the status for the North Hotel? There is a
stop work order plastered on the door.
What is going on?
Mr.
Gatti responded hearsay does not fit into this meeting and I do not know
anything about the hotel.
A
resident asked regarding the consequence of the past year-and-a-half’s
litigation, will there be a diligent analysis of those costs? If they refuse that, would there be avenues
considered for recovery of those costs?
Is there any plan for the community as to the consequence of the fallout
as to what the future exposure will be for individual residents of whatever
happens?
Mr.
Gatti responded in terms of cost, we can ask Allstate because they paid for it,
but I do not know if they will share.
They paid for all of their legal costs and Mr. Cox’s legal costs. The District did not pay anything out of
pocket. It may have cost us some staff
time, but in terms of out of pocket expense, it cost us nothing.
In
terms of impact to the community, I do not know how you get your arms around
that. Did it decrease the property
value? I cannot really answer that.
A
resident stated my question is for consideration. I do not expect a full answer today. I have just heard these things. If there was no cost that is fine. If there was, then you may want to consider
this.
Mr.
Gatti stated we had no out-of-pocket costs on those.
Mr.
Wrathell stated the District is a mechanism that when the bonds were originally
issued we said we will do everything to our best efforts. We will make all our best efforts to collect
these assessments for this debt. The
bondholder, being Allstate, are the ones who have the financial exposure. Our direct concerns are the day to day
operation and maintenance expenses and collecting those assessments; while the
debt service and water & sewer assessments impact debt service. Obviously, with repayment it improves our
credit-worthiness. With this case, the
way it has gone, it protects you all in the sense that Allstate is definitely
looking to be repaid for those bonds as fast as they can. Success in this regard prevents any
redistribution of any of the debt. That
would be a whole other issue. In
general, this is a positive. This is
Allstate’s exposure and they are the ones pushing to get their money.
EIGHTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of Check Register
On
MOTION by Mr. Bissell seconded by Mr. Robinson with all in favor the check
register was approved.
NINTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
On MOTION by Mr. Bissell seconded by Mr. Robinson
with all in favor the meeting was adjourned at
Secretary / Assistant Secretary Chairman
/ Vice Chairman