MINUTES OF MEETING
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
on Friday, March 21, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in the Egret Room; 25000 Tamiami Trail;
Present and constituting a quorum
were:
Theodore
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
Robert
Edge Field
Operator
Tonya
Phillips
Judy
Haner SFWMD
Media and Outreach Specialist
Sue
Beck Resident
Corinne
Connelly Resident
Keith
Connelly Resident
George
Cramer Resident
Yolanda
DiBartolo Resident
Ron
Gilbert Resident
Larry
Kane Resident
Jean
Kungle Resident
Robert
Magloy Resident
Dar
Maehug Resident
Jim
Morris Resident
Duane
Ott Resident
Victor
Ptach Resident
George
Ricci Resident
Brian
Sheehan Resident
C.R.
Webster Resident
The following is a summary of the
minutes and actions taken at the
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
February 15, 2008 Meeting
Mr. Bissell stated each Board member
received a copy of the minutes of the
·
On Page 1 in the first paragraph Dining should replace Egret.
·
On Page 3 in the first bullet, per should replace and.
·
On Page 8 under the third bullet, Ms. Kungle
also inquired about the PILT dollars,
which is not reflected in the minutes.
·
Mr. Ziko expressed there is not enough detail in
the summary minutes.
There
being no further additions, corrections or deletions,
On MOTION by Mr. Gatti
seconded by Mr. Lambert with all in favor, the minutes of the
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Discussion
of Bond Payoff
·
The District collected enough money to pay off
the bond, since there was approximately $557,000 available as of the end of
February.
·
There will be $44,000 remaining after the bond
payoff and interest payments, which will be deposited to a CID-designated fund.
·
Over the last two years the District assessed at
a higher rate than necessary.
Ø
An outsourced contractor over-estimated the
payment, causing residents owing to pay at a higher rate.
Ø
Some bad debt which was collected was applied.
·
There is a provision within the Bond Indenture
requiring the District to pay off the bond if it has sufficient funds to do so.
Ø
The Trustee must be notified and is responsible
for taking care of this.
Ø
The District will be considered to be in breach
of the contract if this is not done.
Ø
This falls under the provisions of contract law
as opposed to state law.
Ø
The District may be challenged if they ask those
who have not paid off their debt to continue contributing their share to the General Fund.
·
The Debt Service Reserve Fund was depleted,
leaving no funds to cover for the last balance owed.
Ø
It was replenished through penalties and
interest above what was accrued on bonds collected from the RV Park.
·
Mr. Cox discussed special assessment issues.
Ø
The valid special assessments, which are lienable under
o
Lienable
property must legally have special and peculiar benefits arising from the
improvements to be applied to the special assessment.
o
There is no longer a lien on the property once
the bond is paid off; thereby providing no benefit.
o
Any assessments will have to come from Operations & Maintenance.
·
The Board discussed possible benefits for those
who paid off their assessment early.
Ø
The District is under no obligation to give
special bonuses to those people.
Ø
They receive the benefit through the remaining
funds going into the Renewal &
Replacement Fund.
Ø
Those people avoided the additional interest by
paying early.
Ø
Early payoff has no bearing on whether or not
the District needs to impose an assessment.
·
The summary sheet indicates the District is
short on funds as of May 1st.
Ø
Collections for March and April have not yet
been taken into consideration.
Ø
There is a possibility of coming up short on May
1st by approximately $10,000.
Ø
No other Districts are in the same situation.
·
The Board wants to defer taking further action
until all funds are received prior to the November 1st interest
payment date.
·
Once the Fiscal Year 2009 budget is adopted, the
District will be in a position to determine whether or not to pay off the bond.
·
If the funds are available after this date, the
call date for the bonds will have to be
Ø
Formal action will have to be taken 45 days
prior to this.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Public Hearing to
Consider Adoption of a Proposed Rule to Implement a Tiered Rate Structure
Relative to Block Rates for Water Utilities and Development of Utility Rates
Relative to Late Fees and Turn On Fees – Consideration of Resolution 2008-1 to
Adopt Said Rates
The
first public hearing is for development of the rules.
·
Mr. Benson submitted information which Mr. Cox
incorporated into Resolution 2008-1.
·
Mr. Teague outlined the goals to be
accomplished.
Ø
There will be a tiered rate structure for
irrigation water in order to promote conservation.
Ø
A late fee in the amount of $25 will be assessed
10 days after the due date.
Ø
Water service will be shut off if the bill has
not been paid after 45 days.
o
A re-connection fee in the amount of $25 will be
established.
Ø
Mr. Benson gave a detailed overview of the
program using a single-family unit as an example.
o
The first 10,000 gallons of water used for
irrigation per month will be at the current rate of $1 per 1,000 gallons.
o
The next 5,000 gallons per month will be at $1.50
per 1,000 gallons.
o
The next 5,000 gallons after this will be at $2
per 1,000 gallons.
Ø
o
The different phases reduce the number of days
for watering.
o
It encourages conservation.
o
The SFWMD implements surcharges on water bills
since the cost to produce water never changes.
Ø
Reclaimed water in communities is used for
parks, golf courses and medians.
o
Some areas using 100% reuse water can be exempt
from some conservation rules.
o
Most people use potable water for irrigation and
are being charged $88 per month.
§
The water is removed from the wells.
§
This water is treated to ensure it is drinkable.
v
POI does not charge this fee since it is not
necessary.
Ø
Mr. Benson discussed single-family versus
multi-family units.
o
Multi-family units technically use less water
per person since they have small lawns requiring less irrigation.
Ø
The rates will decrease for residents
conserving.
Ø
The rates will increase for residents not
conserving.
Ø
Water restriction phases were discussed.
o
The county will notify Severn Trent Services of
changes in phase restrictions for water conservation.
o
There is usually one-month’s notice of a change
in phase.
o
The county conducted a series of workshops to
prepare communities for these water phase restrictions.
o
Mr. Ziko suggested Severn Trent indicate which
water restriction phase the CID must adhere to on each water bill.
Ø
Ms. Judy Haner of SFWMD commented on water
restriction issues.
o
The District is in a Modified Phase 3 Restriction.
o
Ground water levels will be reviewed next month
in order to determine whether or not the District must move to Phase 4.
o
Changes in restrictions are determined at the
Governing Board meeting.
o
She directed residents to look at their web site
for changes.
o
Notifications of change go to the utilities.
o
The Governor is proposing a two-day per week,
year-round watering restriction for the entire state.
o
The restrictions prevent saltwater intrusion
which takes many decades to alleviate.
o
o
The steps the District is taking to implement
this rate structure is a positive measure.
o
Ms. Haner distributed brochures indicating the
best landscaping to have under these circumstances.
o
Grants are possible, depending on the
circumstances and how many other communities apply for them.
o
Residents may have a free and confidential
assessment of their irrigation systems.
o
Most plants are adaptable to watering changes.
o
Ms. Haner and Ms. Tonya Phillips of Collier
County Utilities will make a formal presentation at the next Board meeting.
Ø
DEP makes it extremely difficult to authorize
blending of reuse water with non-reuse water.
o
This has been the case for more than 20 years.
o
The District previously received a grant from
SFWMD to put in part of the pipeline in order to make the connection.
o
SFWMD changed their ruling and stated the other
water must be treated to the same quality of disinfection as the reuse water.
Ø
Ms. Haner and Ms. Phillips discussed citation
procedures.
o
They document and take photographs of the
irrigation.
o
They usually issue citations during the middle
of the night when many residents are actually running their irrigation.
o
The first citation costs $80.
o
The second citation costs $255.
o
The third citation costs $405.
o
The fifth citation requires a court appearance,
in which the Special Magistrate may impose a daily penalty of up to $1,000 at
their discretion.
o
They rely on other residents to ensure everyone
complies with the appropriate restrictions.
o
If there is a power outage, it is imperative to
reset irrigation timers after the power comes back.
Ø
Water restrictions relating to new construction
were discussed.
o
The county now prohibits digging for wells for
new construction.
§
Although the well may actually be dug for future
use, it must be capped off until restrictions are lifted.
o
New developers may still obtain permits for
county water.
o
The new golf course on Route 41 has been
prohibited from further development.
o
These types of facilities may be required to
build on-site utilities with some form of RO capacity.
o
Reuse water is going to be required immediately
for new construction.
·
Mr. Teague gave an overview of the Public
Hearing.
Ø
The Board must establish rates for the proposed
rule.
o
Mr. Ziko and Mr. Bissell recommended some
changes, which require Board consensus.
o
The Public Hearing will be open for audience
input.
o
The Public Hearing will be closed.
o
The second Public Hearing for adoption of the
proposed rule will be open.
o
These Public Hearings may be continued to next
month.
The
first Public Hearing for establishment of rates for the proposed rule was open
for Board discussion.
·
Mr. Bissell believes the starting rate for both
single- and multi-family units should be 10,000 gallons @ $1 per gallon.
Ø
Mr. Lambert is not certain whether or not this
is an accurate number since Mr. Bissell did not take the amount of water used
for irrigation at Stella Maris into consideration.
o
Mr. Benson determined Stella Maris’ water use is
within the required allocation and they have been good customers.
·
Mr. Ziko is proposing to delete the 10 to 15 gallon
range and change the ranges to 0 to 10; 10 to 20; 30 to 40; and over 40; and
multi-family unit ranges should be 0 to 6; 6 to 12; 12 to 18; 18 to 24; and
over 24.
Ø
Ms. Dillon concurs with these changes.
Ø
Mr. Lambert concurs as long as Severn Trent
Services can appropriately administer it.
Ø
Mr. Gatti concurred.
Ø
Mr. Teague outlined the following changes to Single-Family Residential Customer Class
Irrigation Rate:
o
0 to 10,000 gallons remains at $1.
o
10,001 to 20,000 gallons at $1.50.
o
20,001 to 30,000 gallons at $2.