MINUTES OF MEETING
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT
The regular meeting of the Board of
Supervisors of the Port of the Islands Community Improvement District was held
on
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Bernard Wolsky Vice Chairman
Leonard Gross Supervisor
Ted Bissell Supervisor
Also present were:
Darrin Mossing Manager
Dan Cox Attorney
Tim Stephens Field Manager
Mr. Mossing called the
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of Minutes of the September 20, 2001 Meeting
Mr. Wolsky stated a copy of the minutes of
the
There not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Bissell seconded by Mr. Gross, with all in favor, the minutes of the September 20, 2001 meeting were approved as presented.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A.
Attorney
Mr. Cox stated we received a telephone call from the court regarding our motion to allow the easement across the portion of property that we have left. That motion was granted. Once the paperwork is done on that we will have all of the easements in place where the reuse system would go in.
Mr. Wolsky asked do you know when our cutoff date is for the grant?
Mr. Cox responded no, I do not but it is not going to take much time once we get the permit. We have tracked it and there is plenty of time assuming everything is in place by the end of November. Should we need additional time we would be far enough ahead of the game to inform the South Florida Water Management District.
B. Engineer
Mr. Cox stated Dr. Benson had bypass surgery two weeks ago. He is doing well and expects to be back to work some time next week.
C. Manager
Mr. Mossing stated a resident has requested a letter from my office stating that the District maintains the roadways and drainage within Stella Maris. I am reluctant to state “drainage” in that letter because of the ongoing controversy related to the drainage problem in that area. I am looking to the board and counsel for direction.
Mr. Wolsky stated my understanding was that the Stella Maris residents were responsible for the drainage of their roads.
Mr. Cox stated that was a notation put on the drawings but it was not on the original drawings.
Mr. Wolsky asked could you verify if that is a legal statement? If so we cannot accommodate the request because it does not conform to the facts.
Mr. Cox responded yes, I will look into that.
A resident asked do the manholes fall under that responsibility also?
Mr. Cox responded I have been asked to research that in order to give you a knowledgeable answer.
Mr. Bissell asked when you find out could you tell me what streets, if any, are private?
Mr. Cox responded yes, I will.
Mr. Mossing stated in some of the other districts we have put a large map on a pressboard surface, which the Field Manager typically brings to each meeting. It is very useful in answering questions regarding roadways and district maintenance areas. If the board agrees we can have it color coded to show the drainage areas, landscape areas and district roadways.
Mr. Wolsky stated I think that is a great idea.
On Motion by Bissell seconded by Mr. Gross with all in favor, the Board authorized staff to prepare a District Map to be used at future meetings in an amount not to exceed $500.
Mr. Mossing stated the financial statements enclosed in the agenda reflect the District’s fiscal year end. They are unaudited but we believe them to be substantially complete in terms of the dollars involved.
Mr. Bissell stated I notice you did not break it down.
Mr. Mossing stated we separated the roadway reserves in the General Fund and transferred $67,200 to a District account with the State Board of Administration. Those funds will accrue interest.
Mr. Bissell stated some of the items such as mosquito control are not in the final numbers.
Mr. Mossing stated on Page 2 of the income statement the total revenues were $233,000. Page 3 shows expenditures of $225,000. We have excess revenues of $7,500.
Mr. Bissell stated the budget shows an excess of $92,000.
Mr. Mossing responded yes, but we did not collect all of the assessments that we levied. There are $90,000 that remain uncollected due to our collection problems.
Mr. Bissell asked is there anything in the foreseeable future that is going to correct that?
Mr. Mossing responded Harbor Club Development closed on their loan for M2, which means that they paid their off the roll assessment of $61,288. Those funds go directly to the Debt Service Fund for the bond issue. However, they also had to pay their property taxes to the tax collector. I will find out on Monday what portion of those funds will be disbursed to the District for operations. I believe it will be about $60,000, which will be split between the General and Water and Sewer Fund operations. The financial statements will improve once that is done.
Mr. Bissell asked could you revise this for next month’s meeting?
Mr. Mossing responded yes, we can do that.
Mr. Bissell asked what is the discount given to 10,000 Islands?
Mr. Mossing responded they paid their assessment early so they were entitled to a discount. On Page 6 is the Water and Sewer Fund. We had a net income of $10,960. While that is not great, we broke even. Keep in mind that we budgeted $95,000 for reserves for Fiscal Year 2002. Once we begin to collect those funds we will keep them separate from the other fund much like we did with the roadway reserves.
Mr. Gross asked why was there an increase in insurance?
Mr. Mossing responded our insurance company hit all of the districts with huge increases primarily in the liability category. Florida League of Cities is a risk pool that specializes in providing insurance to governmental agencies, cities and counties.
Mr. Bissell asked does the district health insurance cover Mr. Stephen’s family?
Mr. Stephens responded no, it only covers me.
Mr. Bissell asked what about Mr. Venvertloh?
Mr. Stephens responded he has individual coverage also.
D. Field Manager
Mr. Stephens stated I have a few proposals for the painting of the Cays entrance for the Board’s review. Out of the six companies I requested a proposal from, only two were interested. I would recommend the lower of the two.
On Motion by Mr. Bissell, seconded by Mr. Gross, with all in favor, the Board approved the proposal in the amount of $830 for the painting of the Cays entrance.
Mr. Wolsky asked did you hear from the contractor on the water plant yet?
Mr. Stephens responded yes, as of yesterday we have begun running water through it and are filling the 135,000 gallon storage tanks. We have to have a trial run to make sure the lines are free of sand. I wanted to mention one other thing. I spent an hour yesterday at the sheriff’s department. They are going to come out and recommend some security measures for us in light of recent events. There may be some additional expenses incurred because of that. They have been patrolling about eight times a day.
Mr. Wolsky asked has your firm taken any security measures?
Mr. Mossing responded yes, they are all having the local police departments come out and evaluate the water plants and make recommendations. Two of our larger plants in Coral Springs actually have armed 24-hour security. Those plants serve about 40,000 residents.
FOURTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor’s
Request and Audience Comments
Mr. Gross asked do we have any control over restricting access to the roads?
Mr. Cox responded the roads were built with tax-free bond money therefore making the roads public. We cannot restrict access but we can have reasonable regulations about the type and time of access.
Mr. Mossing stated I suggest that Mr. Stephens talk to the sheriff department about that while they are out here. They would be the ones to enforce any violations, such as the blocking of roadways.
Mr. Wolsky stated I recall someone saying that the state and county authorities will not come in here because these are considered to be private roads.
Mr. Cox stated I think county staff has a distorted perception of the status of these roads. We have talked to them and explained it to them in other situations. The county attorney does agree with us. I believe the way in which we dealt with this in the past was to write the county a letter giving them permission to include these roads in their patrol. I believe that they will patrol the roads based on their resources and the potential demand.
Mr. Wolsky asked could we ask them to handle that when they are here looking at the water plant?
Mr. Stephens responded yes, I will do that.
A resident stated several people have complained about the contractors blocking the roads. I think a letter from the Board to the contractor stating the problem would take care of that.
Mr. Mossing stated I will contact Mr. Burgeson and advised him of the concerns of the Board and the residents.
An audience member stated we have drainage problems on the west side of Newport Drive.
Mr. Wolsky asked are you talking about the retention ponds? Those are designed to work that way in order to trap the first rainfall.
Mr. Stephens stated once they reach a certain level the water is supposed to go out to the canal.
An audience member asked who is responsible for the vacant property on the other side of the canal?
Mr. Wolsky responded I believe it is Carmagani.
An audience member stated their grass is well over 18” and they have gaps between the land and the seawall. Two people have fallen in.
Mr. Gross stated it is private property so we do not have any control over it but you could call Code Enforcement regarding the grass.
An audience member stated according to the statutes the District is responsible for the canals. Shouldn’t someone have made sure that Mr. Burgeson put in a silt fence so that it does not run into other drainage areas in the District?
Mr. Cox responded that is a Code Enforcement issue.
Mr. Gross stated I would like to go out and look at the areas you are having problems with.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Financial Statements and Approval of Check Registers
On Motion by Mr. Gross, seconded by Mr. Bissell, with all in favor, the Board approved the General Fund Check Register in the amount of $87,159.86 and the Water & Sewer Fund Check Register in the amount of $26,314.08 as presented.
SIXTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
On Motion by Mr. Bissell, seconded by Mr. Gross, with all in favor, the October 19, 2001 meeting was adjourned..
Darrin s Mossing Richard
Gatti
Assistant Secretary Chairman