MINUTES OF MEETING

PORT OF THE ISLANDS

COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

 

            The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Port of the Islands Community Improvement District was held on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in the Egret Room; 25000 Tamiami Trail; Naples, Florida.

            Present and constituting a quorum were:

 

            Ted Bissell                                                        Chairman

            Dale Lambert                                                   Vice Chairman

            Norine Dillon                                                    Secretary

            Richard Gatti                                                    Assistant Secretary

            Richard Ziko                                                    Assistant Secretary

 

            Also present were:

 

            Calvin Teague                                                   District Manager

            Daniel Cox                                                       District Attorney

            Ron Benson                                                      District Engineer

            Robert Edge                                                     Field Operator

            Jim Vogel                                                         Sunstream Hotel and Resorts

            Ron Anderson                                                  Resident

            Gary Beck                                                        Resident

            Sue Beck                                                         Resident

            Manuel C.                                                        Resident

            David Cramer                                                   Resident

            J. David Dugan                                     Resident

            Jim Dwyer                                                        Resident

            Martha Faralla                                                  Resident

            Raoul Faralla                                                    Resident

            Ron Gulledge                                                    Resident

            Larry Kane                                                       Resident

            Mary Anne Kane                                              Resident

            Kathryn Kehlmeier                                           Resident

            Jean Kungle                                                      Resident

            Maggie M.                                                       Resident

            Tom Mack                                                       Resident

            Jim Meister                                                       Resident

            Garry Moore                                                    Resident

            Robert Moser                                                   Resident

            Duane Otto                                                      Resident

            Tom Weis                                                        Resident

            Jerry Wintern                                                    Resident

            The following is a summary of the minutes and actions taken at the January 18, 2008 Port of the Islands Board of Supervisors meeting.

 

 

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Roll Call

            Mr. Bissell called the meeting to order and Mr. Teague called the roll.

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Approval of the Minutes of the December 14, 2007 Meeting

            Mr. Bissell stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the December 14, 2007 meeting and requested any additions, corrections or deletions.

·                    On Page 3 in the second bullet under the FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS, retain should replace reduce and at should replace by.

·                    On Page 7 under the last bullet, and painting should be inserted after cleaning.

·                    On Page 14 in the second item under the third bullet, upstream of the District’s canal which is being done by SFWMD, should be inserted after work.

·                    On Page 14 in the second item under the fourth bullet, the following sentence should be inserted at the end:  Two will be installed at this time.

·                    On Page 15 in the second item under the third bullet of the TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS, periodically should replace on a monthly basis.

There being no further comments or questions,

 

On MOTION by Mr. Lambert seconded by Mr. Gatti with all in favor, the minutes of the December 14, 2007 meeting were approved as amended.

 

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Audience Comments

·                    Mr. Mack gave an overview of the fire station project.

Ø                  Mr. Mack had a written agreement with the owner of the trailer park for donation of land for a fire station.

Ø                  Hurricane Wilma struck between the time they were applying for an appraisal; after which it took three to four months to get the appraisal back.

Ø                  During this time, the land was sold to Mr. Holecek, who told Mr. Mack he would abide by the original agreement, but he needed six months to one year in order to determine what he was going to do with the property.

Ø                  Outdoor Resorts purchased the land in front of it.

Ø                  They agreed to give up land for a fire station.

Ø                  Mr. Mack and Mr. Gatti had a meeting with staff from the county’s real estate division who expressed interest in assisting with the purchase.

Ø                  EMS, fire department personnel and the District were each going to raise one-third of the purchase price, for a total cost of $600,000.

Ø                  As a result of the state budget cuts, the county decided not to do anything until their budget issue is resolved.

Ø                  Outdoor Resorts came up with a plan which was presented to the District.

Ø                  Mr. Colletta is going to be invited to the February CDD meeting.

Ø                  Residents are concerned with the fact that insurance rates are higher since the District does not have a fire station within five miles.

Ø                  Land must be purchased in order to build a fire station.

Ø                  Money has been the issue for both the District and the County.

Ø                  Mr. Mack is seeking a temporary site.

·                    Ms. Kungle discussed the bond payoff.

Ø                  She wrote an overview of the bond payoff in the newsletter and asked for opinions as to whether or not it should be done.

Ø                  A total of 97 people believe it not be paid off; but 63 have already paid theirs off.

Ø                  A total of 48 believe it should be paid off; out of which 31 have already made their payment.

Ø                  She believes those who already paid theirs off should receive a benefit from this.

Ø                  She does not believe it makes sense for the District to pay off debt for those who still owe.

Ø                  Mr. Bissell expressed Ms. Kungle’s article was missing important facts.

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Manager’s Report

·                    Mr. Teague distributed an analysis of the bond as well as the payoff.

Ø                  There is $545,000 outstanding on the bonds after the November 2007 payment, of which most is principal.

Ø                  There is $592,000 in the Debt Service Fund which was collected from those still owing and those who prepaid.

Ø                  There is a $47,000 surplus in the fund if it is paid off.

Ø                  There are several reasons for the fund being in excess.

o                   The annual debt service was not adjusted.

o                   The settlement from past sewer debt which was collected from the hotel had an impact.

o                   The past assessments were relatively stable and were not adjusted downward.

o                   The earned interest associated with this debt was better than what was projected.

Ø                  The District incurs the debt; the homeowners are responsible to pay their portion of the debt.

Ø                  The collections were solely for debt service, with nothing for the general fund.

Ø                  The Board makes the final decision as to whether or not a bond should be paid off.

Ø                  Mr. Lambert recommended the Board hold a workshop to clarify whether or not this should be done.

Ø                  Each individual property has a tax assessment which includes debt payments, O&M, and water standby.

Ø                  Debt service is not included.

Ø                  Mr. Cox will determine whether or not the District can assess for debt if it has already assessed enough for payment of the debt.

o                   If this is not the case, the District may continue to pay the interest over the next two years.

Ø                  May 2008 is the next bond payment date, for which the actual payment has already been programmed.

Ø                  Severn Trent Services must give the Bondholders 30 days to prepare the payoff documents.

 

Mr. Lambert moved to schedule a workshop to discuss payoff of the Series 1990 Bond within an appropriate timeframe to allow Mr. Cox to investigate the legalities of paying off said Bond; and authorize Severn Trent Services to revise the Bond documents for appropriate reconciliation and Ms. Dillon seconded the motion.

 

Ø                  The Board discussed a possible date for this workshop.

Ø                  Mr. Teague will need 30 days or more to reconcile these documents.

Ø                  The Board decided to hold the workshop on Thursday, March 20th at 2:00 p.m.

Ø                  A resident inquired as to his legal obligations to this bond as a homeowner.

o                   The homeowner is obligated to pay taxes and special assessments which are levied against the property.

o                   The CID is obligated to pay the bond as a result of the special assessments which are levied for tax collection purposes.

There being no further discussion,

 

On VOICE vote with all in favor the prior motion was approved as amended with the workshop scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.

 

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Attorney’s Report

C.                 Update on Sign Variance Request

·                    Mr. Teague updated the Board on this issue.

Ø                  The signs should be up any day.

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Old Business – Discussion of Proposed Utility Rate Charges for Water, Sewer and Irrigation

·                    The public hearing will address three issues:

Ø                  turn-on fees for people disconnected for non-payment;

Ø                  late fees;

Ø                  establishment of a tiered-rate structure in relation to conservation.

·                    Mr. Benson submitted the Proposed Rate Discussion for Irrigation Water.

Ø                  The rate structure is broken down from 6,000 gallons to more than 24,000 gallons.

Ø                  This proposal includes a survey of other communities in Collier and Lee Counties.

Ø                  The base charge will not change, but the consumption charge will change.

Ø                  This proposal focuses on irrigation only.

Ø                  This proposal recommends charging the current rate, which is low for the irrigation meters on the first 6,000 gallons per ERC per month.

Ø                  SFWMD designated a maximum of 12.3 million gallons per month, which equates to approximately 8,000 gallons per month per ERC.

Ø                  In order to encourage conservation as required by the SFWMD, the first increment should be set at less than what residents are expected to use on an annual average basis if they were conserving.

Ø                  Each ERC is allocated at 8,000 gallons per month, but Mr. Benson chose 6,000 for the first tier.

·                    The Board wants to know exactly how much water is being used before making a determination with regards to the rate structure.

Ø                  Mr. Benson will bring this information to the next meeting.

·                    Mr. Benson recommends encouraging residents not to use more than or slightly less than their allocation of water.

Ø                  Mr. Benson recommends the Board implement a rate structure which will increase for people who use considerably more than their equivalent allocation in order to encourage conservation.

Ø                  If too many people in the District go over their allocation, the CID’s future permitting opportunities will be in jeopardy.

·                    The CID may be subject to penalties.

 

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                              Field Manager’s Report

·                    The sewer line replacement on Newport Drive is complete.

·                    Both Hydro-Guard units were installed, one at Morning Star Cay and one at Sunset Cay.

·                    Cleaning of the reuse tank was completed under the approved amount of $10,000.

Ø                  The contractor putting the piping together for the reuse tank will be finished by Wednesday; after which Mr. Edge and his staff will pull all of the weeds in the tank.

Ø                  Mr. Edge will pressure-wash the inside of the tank and determine whether or not it needs to be painted.

·              MBR work is close to completion.

·              Motor control upgrades have started at the water treatment plant.

·              The separate air conditioning unit for the control room of the wastewater treatment plant will be installed next week.

·              The Board discussed the water loss issue.

Ø                  The acceptable industry standard should be less than 15%.

Ø                  The District’s current loss is a little above the industry standard.

Ø                  Mr. Edge recommends a meter change-out program be done in the near future, as this accounts for 10% of the loss.

o                   Mr. Benson recommends Severn Trent determine which meters may require a change-out.

·                    The Board discussed landscaping conditions.

Ø                  Mr. Edge was told by Soto’s Lawn Service the water irrigation was on in the area of the west side of Newport Drive on one of the evenings in which there was a deep freeze, which caused the landscaping to freeze.

o                   Half of what was there had to be removed and the area was re-fertilized.

Ø                  The plants were not replaced in the area with the drainage problem.

o                   This needs to be done soon, since there is only a one-year warranty for replacement of the original plants.

o                   Mr. Edge has been trying to contact them without success, but will continue to do so.

·                    The Board discussed the arch sign.

Ø                  Mr. Edge painted the sign and found out POI’s sign is underneath the sign which was painted.

Ø                  A representative from Sunstream Resorts discussed this.

Ø                  They put up a sign and found out they were not allowed to do so since it is CID property.

Ø                  This sign is easily removable.

Ø                  They have a permit from Collier County for this sign.

Ø                  The Board asked for a copy of this permit for District files.

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Attorney’s Report (Continued)

A.                 Discussion of Developers’ Agreement with Port of the Isles Motorcoach Resort, Inc.

·                    Mr. Cox met with Mr. Henderson and Mr. Holecek to discuss the tentative final details of the agreement for relocation of the road; donations of a fire station parcel and construction of other improvements.

·                    Some changes have been made.

Ø                  The fire station parcel was originally going to be transferred 90 days after execution of the agreement.

Ø                  They have a closing set for the sale of the property from Mr. Holecek to Mr. Henderson for July 1, 2008.

o                   Neither party was going to entertain extensions after this date.

o                   They are going to be marketing another project in the same area, and do not want the two projects built at the same time.

o                   If the CID has an agreement for July 1st, the permitting process can commence.

·                    Mr. Benson gave a description of the Site Agreement Plan and discussed county permitting requirements.

Ø                  It contains the proposed property for the fire station.

Ø                  It contains the area of the relocated wastewater plant.

Ø                  The property will contain a separate building requiring a mock-up in order to determine its size.

Ø                  There will also be an area depicting the site of a future parking lot.

o                   The permit for the separate building and parking lot will likely expire before commencement of construction and will have to be renewed.

o                   An amendment to the permit may be done in the event further changes need to be made.

Ø                  The District is required to obtain a Conditional Use Permit to build the fire station.

o                   There is no zoning district in the county for a fire station.

·                    Mr. Cox will make revisions to the agreement and circulate it in order to ensure everyone concurs with the revisions.

B.                 Discussion of Telephone System Upgrades

·                    The hotel already has a conferencing telephone and they have brought in an analog line.

·                    Mr. Cox may have to attend via telephone a couple of times this year.

C.                 Update on Sign Variance Request (Continued)

·                    The Board previously approved spending $20,000, but the actual cost will be less than $15,000.

·                    The signs will be put on Cays Drive and Union Road.

·                    Mr. Cox explained the process.

Ø                  Two separate applications should be filed.

o                   One is for a sign on the south side.

o                   One is for a sign on the north side.

§                     The north side sign is complicated because three property owners are involved:

v                 the gun club;

v                 the RV Park;

v                 the North hotel

§                     Since these are commercial properties, a separate variance must be filed.

The record reflects the Board took a 10 minute recess.

Mr. Bissell called the meeting back to order.

 

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                           Engineer’s Report – Discussion of Developers’ Agreement with Port of the Islands Marina

Mr. Jim Vogel of Sunstream Resorts made a presentation with regards to the landscape and sidewalk improvements required by the county.

·                    Sunstream is building a parking lot and is working with the Shucarts.

·                    The county requires the following:

Ø            a 10’ to 15’ landscape buffer;

Ø            a sidewalk continuation along Newport Drive;

Ø            crosswalks to access the marina and hotel entrance.

·                    They need approval from the Board to put the sidewalk improvements and landsc