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 Thursday, September 20, 2001 at 4:00 p.m. in the Egret Room, 25000 Tamiami Trail, Naples, Florida.

 

 

Present and constituting a quorum were:

 

Richard Gatti                                        Chairman

Bernard Wolsky                                   Supervisor

Richard Burgeson                                 Supervisor

Ted Bissell                                            Supervisor

 

 

Also present were:

 

Darrin Mossing                                     Manager

Dan Cox                                              Attorney

Ron Benson                                          Engineer

Tim Stephens                                        Field Manager

residents

 

 

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                   Roll Call

 

Mr. Gatti called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. and stated all supervisors are present at roll call with the exception of Supervisor Gross.

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS              Approval of Minutes of the August 16, 2001 Meeting

 

Mr. Gatti stated the minutes of the August 16, 2001 meeting are enclosed in your agenda package. Are there any correction, additions or deletions?

Mr. Wolsky stated on the motions on page 3 the should have been seconded by Mr. Bissell.

 

ON MOTION by Mr. Wolsky, seconded by Mr. Bissell, with all in favor, the minutes of the August 16, 2001 meeting were approved as amended.

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                 Consideration of Rezoning of Lot 72

 

Mr. Gatti stated we are not really looking to rezone that lot. There have only been three units built there even though it is zoned for four units. Those units have .8 of an ERU attributed to them. In order to sell that property it has to have a full ERU. The engineer has looked into it and there is no problem with capacity. I have talked to Mr. Cox and there is no problem as far as setting a legal precedent.

Mr. Cox stated we have in place a rule for transferring ERC for development purposes but this is distinct from that. It is just a leftover lot that cannot be developed in any other way by itself. We suggest that a one-time charge be assessed to the property for the difference between what he would have paid over the course of time for one whole ERC as opposed to the .8 ERC that he is currently paying for. When the water plant was built some of the houses that existed were charged a one time capacity fee of approximately $3,300. We feel that it would be appropriate to charge $883.04 to accommodate the additional .2 ERC in capacity that we will be adding to the plant.

 

ON MOTION by Mr. Bissell, seconded by Mr. Wolsky, with all in favor, the Board approved increasing Lot 72 by .2 ERC’s for a one-time charge of $883.04.

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS              Staff Reports

 

A.     Attorney

Mr. Cox stated since the hearing on the pending motion last month, the judge ordered the attorneys to present bench memos, which are due tomorrow. Therefore the closed session will not be necessary.

B.     Engineer

Dr. Benson stated we have a permit application still pending with the DEP. We have a meeting with them next week to iron out the technical details regarding the issuance of our permit. The normal community that would use reclaimed water is considerably bigger than this District. Their first look at permit application was to try to apply rules that would cost more money than we could consider for this project. We have an understanding that we are trying to comply with all the intent of the rules. We have proven water quality.

Mr. Gatti asked what happens once we get the permit?

Dr. Benson responded we can find a contractor to build the pipeline that would go from US 41 to the wastewater treatment plant and tie into the irrigation system.

Mr. Gatti asked are the easements all taken care of?

Mr. Cox responded we have the easements from the Northport property and the North Hotel property owner. We have filed a joint motion for approval to grant the easement across the small portion of the Olde Florida Investments, LTD property.

C.     Manager – Consideration of Meeting Schedule for Fiscal Year 2002

 

ON MOTION by Mr. Burgeson, seconded by Mr. Wolsky, with all in favor, the Board approved the meeting schedule for Fiscal Year 2002 which reflects the third Friday of the month at 10:00 a.m.

 

D.    Field Manager

Mr. Stephens stated I wanted to inform everyone that the water plant should be back on line by the end of next week. The painting is done and we are just waiting for it to cure. We have been spraying for mosquitoes every other day.

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                   Supervisors Requests and Audience Comments

 

Mr. Gatti stated there has been an alleged problem with employee time off. That is not the case and I want to set the record straight. After six years, District employees get three weeks vacation. After 16 years, they get four weeks. One year’s vacation can be accumulated. The maximum an employee can have on the books at any given time is six weeks. Each employee gets 10 sick days per year which can be accumulated without restriction but at the time of termination those hours are lost without pay. I wanted to address the misunderstanding.

Mr. Wolsky stated the 2001/2002 budget summary for Collier County states that the proposed millage rate for the fire control is 4.0. It is more than what anyone in the county pays. In the past Mr. Gatti has requested that we form a committee to attend these meetings in order to have District representation. We have great deal of things going on in this community that are beyond the ability of the members of the board but within the ability of the residents. I would like to propose that someone volunteer to offer their expertise, whatever it may be.

Mr. Gatti stated I think it is a great idea. We had some concerns regarding the Sunshine Laws and we have to address them. We are paying about $900 per year for fire protection.

Mr. Wolsky stated if anyone wants information about what we have in mind, please contact one of us.

Mr. Gatti asked what should we be concerned with in regards to the Sunshine Laws?

Mr. Cox responded you cannot discuss items that are going to come before you as a board outside of a duly noticed public meeting.

Mr. Gatti asked so there can be only one board member in attendance. Can I suggest that we put this in the newsletter?

A resident stated I can put it on the next one.

Mr. Wolsky stated every now and them there are meetings that have large amounts of information. Would it be all right if I extracted some of those statements and included them in the newsletter?

Mr. Gatti responded yes, that is a great idea.

Mr. Bissell stated the entryway to Cays Drive is in horrible condition. Is that ours to maintain?

Mr. Stephens responded yes, it is.

Mr. Bissell asked could we get that painted?

Mr. Gatti stated we can have Mr. Stephens get a few quotes on that and present them at the next meeting.

Mr. Bissell stated my experience is that if funds are not spent they are then transferred to another fund that has over spent. What do we do with excess funds?

Mr. Mossing responded we can prepare a budget amendment and reallocate the line items within the budget but the funds must remain in the fund the they were designated for. This district has two funds, the General Fund and the Water and Sewer Fund.

Mr. Bissell stated the personnel budget totals $121,000, which includes the hiring of another person. Could we have a contingency fund to put the excess money in?

Mr. Mossing responded those funds are brought forward as reserves. I will present the unaudited year end financial statements next month and will go over all of the areas that you are concerned with.

Mr. Gatti stated any money left over at the end of the fiscal year is carried over into the next fiscal year and redistributed wherever it is needed.

Mr. Cox stated a district that collects its assessments through the tax collector has a gap from October 1st through November 1st, which is when the residents begin making their payments. The tax collector has to process the payments and distribute our portion to the District. There is no income during that period of time. Those excess funds are used for operations and maintenance during those months.

Mr. Bissell asked who do Mr. Stephens and Mr. Venvertloh work for?

Mr. Mossing responded they work for the District.

Mr. Bissell asked who sets their salaries?

Mr. Mossing responded the board does.

Mr. Bissell asked has that ever been brought to this board?

Mr. Gatti responded we look at the budget and review the salaries. The board approved the increases and benefits. A few years ago we began providing a pension program.

An audience member asked if at the end of the year the salaries total $80,000 what happens to the other $41,000?

Mr. Mossing responded it stays in the fund and is carried forward to the next year.

A resident asked do we ever have excess funds?

Mr. Mossing responded yes, the expenditures in the General Fund are typically under budget. The problem is that the collections are below budget.

A resident asked now that we are more populated has there been any increase in the amount of income in the Water & Sewer Fund?

Mr. Mossing responded yes, there has been but it represents a very small part because most of the revenue in that fund comes from the standby fees.

A resident asked could you look at the signage on the north side? It is in bad shape.

Ms. Marchand stated there is an artist in the park that could repaint it.

A resident asked what is the status of the North Hotel?

Mr. Gatti responded I do not know.

 

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                  Financial Statements and Approval of Check Registers

 

ON MOTION by Mr. Burgeson, seconded by Mr. Wolsky, with all in favor, the Board approved the General Fund check register in the amount of $37,651.24 and the Water & Sewer Fund check register in the amount of $23,546.93 as presented.

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS            Adjournment

 

ON MOTION by Mr. Burgeson, seconded by Mr. Bissell, with all in favor, the September 20, 2001 meeting was adjourned.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                               

Darrin s Mossing                                                          Richard Gatti

Assistant Secretary                                                       Chairman