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:
Mr.
Gatti Chairman
Ted Bissell Assistant
Secretary
John
Robinson Supervisor
Also
present were:
Craig
Wrathell District
Management
Dan
Cox Attorney
Tim
Stephens Field
Manager
FIRST
ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll
Call
Mr. Gatti
called the meeting to order and Mr. Wrathell called the roll.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Minutes
of the August 15, 2003 Meeting
Mr.
Gatti stated that each member of the Board had received a copy of the minutes
of the
Mr. Bissell asked in the first order
of business, was it Mr. Wolsky who called the meeting to order or did you?
Mr. Wrathell responded I believe Mr.
Wolsky called the meeting to order.
On
MOTION by Mr. Bissell seconded by Mr. Robinson with all in favor the minutes of
the
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A. Attorney
Mr. Cox stated one thing I
need to talk to you today a bit about a concern I have with the bankruptcy
proceedings and what is going on there.
I see this being a good point for divergence for the
District with all state in certain strategic areas that we may want to take a
separate tactic than they want to take.
I do not know enough about bankruptcy law to recognize that point.
I have spoken to a Mr. Blaine. He is out of
I need some authorization to meet and talk with him and
for a reasonable rate, use him part of the next month.
Mr. Gatti stated I see what you are saying, especially as
bankruptcy law can potentially be. Do we
have to go to
Mr. Cox responded yes, I think so. I have to drive out there for this meeting
anyway. This is a very complex case and
we need somebody who is very well regarded in the field.
Mr. Gatti asked how does the Board feel about that?
Mr. Robinson responded I have the same concerns you do as
far as going to
Mr. Bissell stated I do not know. If our attorney feels this is the best
approach at this time, I approve. He
could have a meeting with this individual to see. You are going there anyway and you can see if
he can do any good.
Mr. Cox stated we have hearings on October 1st
and 2nd. That is the reason I have this concern. I may need him to come on Board, with your
approval, before that day.
Mr. Gatti asked will you use him as a consultant? First of all, cut to the chase. How long are you going to be here?
Mr. Cox responded I am going to remain of counsel with
the firm after I leave and will continue to represent the C.D.D.s.
Mr. Gatti asked so we do not have to concern ourselves
with that?
Mr. Cox responded no.
Mr. Gatti stated following up with Mr. Bissell’s
comments, you are only meeting with the guy.
Mr. Cox stated I would like to meet with him. I think where he would assist me greatly is
in the bankruptcy procedural matters and in the application of certain
bankruptcy code provisions that we need to probably bring to the forefront at
these hearings on October 1st and 2nd. I guess I would need to have you approve me
meeting with him on Tuesday in Tampa and if we could continue this meeting
until next Friday at 10:00 a.m. to meet just for the sole purpose of me
reporting back and getting approval or not to engage Mr. Blaine.
Mr. Gatti stated I am okay with that if you are. I would also like to have a sense of where we
are with this. How big a hole are we
faced with is what I am asking. Are we
looking at $5,000? What you are asking
us to do is to take on the burden of the litigation.
Mr. Cox stated it is expensive. Mine is still being billed through the
trustee. It is being paid.
Mr. Gatti stated Allstate has paid your fees to
date.
Mr. Cox stated that is actually being paid out of reserve
funds that are used to pay down the bonds and so forth.
Mr. Gatti asked did I understand you today that where we
are going now is the C.I.D. will be paying the legal fees?
Mr. Cox responded Allstate will pick up the tab for
somebody who is going to be advising me.
Mr. Gatti stated I would like to know.
Mr. Bissell stated next Friday you could give us an
estimate of where we are headed.
Mr. Cox stated I can give you an estimate of what you are
looking at. If you want to schedule this
to be a closed session meeting you can do that.
If there is time to advertise that by next Friday, we would have to have
an open session, but frankly, next Friday I have depositions and we will have a
better understanding.
Mr. Robinson asked when is the next hearing?
Mr. Cox responded October 1st and 2nd
we have hearings.
Mr. Robinson stated if we make the decision next Friday,
that is four days later.
Mr. Gatti stated for the initial hearing, I do not think
there is a problem with allowing you to proceed. I am asking the Board, but I do not see a
problem with allowing you to proceed through that phase. I would like to know what we are faced
with. I suspect that the legal fees to
this point have been considerable.
Mr. Bissell asked what do you need 24 hours or 48 hours?
Mr. Wrathell responded to advertise a meeting we need
close to ten days. Seven days is really
already too late.
Mr. Cox stated that is why I suggested continuing this
meeting rather than scheduling another meeting, but I do not think we can
continue it and then hold a closed session.
Mr. Gatti stated we do not need to worry about that. We can get you past that, hold that and
schedule a meeting that is within the realm of what you can advertise in terms
of notification. If it is two weeks,
fine. The point is, at the next meeting,
give us some idea of what we are faced with.
Do you see what I am saying? Is
that okay with you? Regardless of the
outcome, we are stuck to go ahead with this.
Mr. Bissell asked are we going to meet with you on this
before the next meeting in closed session?
Mr. Gatti responded eventually, we could.
Mr. Cox stated we could do that or we can wait until that
meeting if you want.
Mr. Gatti asked have you got
anything between this next session and the next meeting?
Mr. Cox responded it is hard to say what the judge is
going to do at this point. It is getting
to where he wants to get this over with.
He is tired of it being on his docket.
I think things will move rather quickly.
Mr. Gatti stated hold this meeting with the attorney and
then make a judgment and then if you need us to get together we will be
available and we will do it.
Mr. Robinson stated you brought this up as far as getting
another attorney in because we are starting to separate; that’s what Allstate
wants is maybe not the same thing the C.I.D. wants. Can you elaborate on that a bit?
Mr. Cox responded I am not sure that is necessarily
so. I am also at a point where if we
recognize if that becomes true, I need someone who can procedurally help me
implement that divergence. I need
someone to help make sure that I raise the proper objections at the right time
and such.
Mr. Gatti asked all right, do you have your directions
then?
Mr. Cox responded yes.
Mr. Gatti asked what else?
Mr. Robinson stated just to be clear, you are going to
have a meeting on Tuesday.
Mr. Cox stated we will have a
meeting on Tuesday next week. From what
I understood you are saying go ahead and engage Mr. Blain at least through
these hearings on the 1st and 2nd.
Mr. Gatti stated we want some
indication of what we are getting into.
Mr. Bissell stated after those
hearings you need to meet with us.
Mr. Cox asked do you want to
do that sooner than wait?
Mr. Gatti stated if you are
going to have five meetings before the next meeting, then we want to know. If not, we can wait until the next
meeting. We will trust your judgment on
that. We do not want to spend $50,000
between now and the next meeting. Do you
have anything else?
Mr. Cox responded that is it.
B. Engineer
Mr.
Cox stated I thought of something Mr. Benson would have brought up. We had discussed having a deal with the
County to do our sampling to save Mr. Stephens from driving wherever we are driving
now. There was confusion in the County’s
wastewater hierarchy as to the nature of the Community Improvement
District. They feel they cannot do that
because we are a private entity.
I
have one of my clerks working out the letter for me to send to the wastewater
people out there and explain to them that we are a public entity and an
interlocal agreement to allow them to do this would be appropriate.
Mr.
Gatti asked what does that mean to us?
Mr.
Cox responded it means that Mr. Stephens right now is driving to Fort Myers and
he would only have to drive here to the South Wastewater Treatment Plant. Our cost would be a bit less per sample.
Mr.
Stephens stated with this new permit, I have to go four days a week to the
lab. With our new wastewater permit we
are being issued, I have to go four days a week to the lab in Fort Myers and it
involves several hours.
Mr.
Cox stated this would save us a lot of time and expenses on gas and a bit of
savings on the samples.
Mr.
Gatti stated I understand. That is good.
Mr.
Cox stated we will get that taken care of.
C. Manager
Mr. Gatti stated just as a note,
sometimes we ask for things and it seems to fall between the cracks. When the Board asks for something from the
engineer or Mr. Stephens, perhaps we could bring that up as an agenda issue and
if we do not address it at the time, we can at least have it in front of us
until it is addressed so it can be identified and does not slip away. It could be like and outstanding item so it
does not fall away from us.
Mr. Wrathell stated relating to
outstanding items, the problem we had way back where the waste management truck
had done some damage to utility equipment; that was a little over $400/500 in
damage. We have been going in circles
with the Collier County solid waste department on that. Our staff had actually talked to that
department. Now we are supposed to be
paid that money soon, whether it is through the County or waste management.
This has been dragging on for around
six months now, but we are still pursuing that.
Mr. Gatti stated waste management is
usually very conscious of public relations and are usually pretty good about
those things.
D. Field Manager
Mr. Gatti asked who handles Big
Cypress for us in terms of what they do on our right-of-way? Who handles that contract?
Mr. Stephens responded the District
does.
Mr. Gatti stated the word damage
comes to mind. I see two or three trees
that are going over and nothing seems to be happening.
Mr. Stephens stated I can do
that.
Mr. Gatti asked could you see what
is going on with that, please?
Mr. Stephens asked there are some
trees down?
Mr. Gatti responded yes. More importantly than taking them out, is
trying to salvage them. There is one
there that we could have salvaged if we had gotten on it right away. These older Coconut Palms, you will never
replace in a hundred years. Do you have
anything for us?
Mr. Stephens responded at the
moment, I am the only operator for the water and the wastewater plant. I have been trying to find another operator,
but have not been able to.
Mr. Gatti asked what do you need, a
Class C license?
Mr. Stephens responded for both,
yes. Two Class C licenses.
Mr. Gatti asked is it a Class B and
a Class C or two Class C’s?
Mr. Stephens responded two Class C’s
for wastewater. It has been
difficult. I have contacted a couple of
organizations and there has been a shortage in the State. I am having trouble finding somebody.
Mr. Gatti stated there are
periodicals. There is the industry, ABW
and a couple of those.
Mr. Stephens stated I called one
yesterday and I have an ad on the Internet.
Mr. Gatti stated that is another
good avenue. Where did Jim go?
Mr. Stephens responded he went to
Bonita Springs.
Mr. Bissell asked what is he doing
there?
Mr. Stephens responded he is
operating the new R.O. plant they are putting in.
Mr. Bissell asked what is that?
Mr. Stephens responded it is an
osmosis plant.
Mr. Gatti stated it is a simple
operation to run, but it is very complicated if something goes wrong. That is typically where they take salt water
and produce fresh water with it. Is that
what they are doing?
Mr. Stephens responded right, that
is what they are doing. I have one other
thing. I have had carpeting over there
for about ten years and I ripped it out it was so bad. I want to put some tile down in there. It is around 1,000 square feet inside that
building and would probably cost about $3,000 to get that done. The tile is priced at about $3 a square foot.
Mr. Gatti stated I suggest we put
that aside and hold that thought. We can
talk about something a little later where we can address something like
that. Is that okay, Mr. Wrathell?
Mr. Wrathell responded that is fine
with me.
Mr. Stephens stated I have one other
thing. We may have to pay a little more
to get someone in here for the job. I am
not positive, but there is a good chance of it due to the shortages. Everybody wants more money.
Mr. Gatti asked is there any chance
of hiring somebody without a license and then training them?
Mr. Stephens stated I cannot take a
day off. I have not had a day off in
over two months. We have to have a
licensed operator on.
Mr. Gatti asked is that 24 hours a
day?
Mr. Stephens responded for each
plant you need to have a licensed operator there each day. It will get worse too, because with our new
permit, we will have to work six hours a day for the wastewater on Saturday and
Sunday. Where we just had to check on
Saturday and Sunday, now it is going to be like six hours. I wanted you to be aware of that.
Mr. Robinson asked could we use a
courier service to take that sample up to Fort Myers?
Mr. Stephens responded that would
probably be good if we cannot get the County to take it.
Mr. Robinson stated while we are
waiting on that and working on that, because that will take going before the
Board of County Commissioners to approve the interlocal agreement, so that is
going to take a while.
Mr. Stephens stated the permit does
not go into effect for a little while.
Mr.
Gatti stated I prefer we were working something out that is more expeditious if
we can. There are probably better ways
to do it.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor's Requests and Audience Comments
Mr.
Robinson asked is anybody receiving any kind of documentation on what is going
on with this Court case? I know I am
not, so I always feel a bit behind the eight ball.
Mr.
Gatti stated we will let you know of anything.
Mr.
Robinson stated we have a briefing, but I have nothing to refer back to. I have nothing to look at if I have a
question or I am trying to remember what Mr. Cox said.
Mr.
Cox responded to tell you the truth, the documents that are flying around right
now, there is really not anything. I
probably should have sent you the plan that was originally presented.
Mr.
Robinson stated I would just be happy with something in layman’s terms saying
this is what was discussed and this is what was tabled and this is what is
going on. I probably would not
understand the minutes or documentation straight from the Court anyhow. I just want something to refer to.
Maybe
we are looking at two different things between us and Allstate.
Mr.
Gatti stated that is what I was hoping for when we meet at our next
meeting. If possible, could you give us
a brief overview?
Mr.
Cox responded I do not mind having that discussion in an open meeting at this
point.
Mr.
Gatti stated that is a good idea. I do
get those materials and I do not have room in my house any more. We will have Mr. Cox bring us up to date on a
layman’s basis and we will do that in an open meeting. We will do it that way.
Mr.
Cox asked do you want to do that next Friday?
Mr.
Gatti stated I suggest we do it at the next meeting. If there is an interim meeting then maybe we
can do it then. You probably want to put
together a few notes or something.
Mr.
Bissell stated I do not get those either, but my neighbors do and I have been
getting a copy from them.
Mr.
Gatti stated I think it has to do with who responded to the Court.
Mr.
Robinson stated my point is that I want a synopsis in layman’s terms that you
are the attorney for the C.I.D. and this is what is happening. If I get questions or have questions, answers
are nice.
Mr.
Bissell asked were we ever reimbursed for the sign that gentleman tore down with
his boat? That was a hundred and
something dollars. Do you know?
Mr.
Wrathell responded we have not been reimbursed.
Mr.
Gatti asked did we ever identify who did it?
Mr.
Bissell responded I gave you the name and address. We can go back and get it again.
Mr.
Gatti stated that is a tough one.
Mr.
Bissell stated we have a witness to the individual who did it. That is why it was turned in.
Mr.
Gatti stated to give you an example, what if he tells us to take a hike? What are we going to do? Do we get a cop or something? Do the best you can. Turn Mr. Stephens loose on him. It is not the easiest thing to do.
Mr.
Wrathell stated I will be happy to write a letter or something.
Mr.
Bissell stated Mr. Stephens put a water meter in when they were building the
condo. Did we ever bill them and get
reimbursed or paid for that?
Mr.
Stephens responded I am not sure about that.
I am not sure where that stands.
Mr.
Gatti stated check that out and if you have not done that, do it.
Mr.
Bissell stated I address this to Mr. Stephens.
At the Board meeting in April or May, Mr. Wolsky brought up the palm
tree that is next to the fence over there.
He asked you to take that out and the Board agreed that should be
removed.
Mr.
Stephens stated I do not know which tree he is talking about. I have asked him and I do not know which one
he is talking about.
Mr.
Bissell stated it is on the north side of the fence. You have a triangular fence out there around
your whole plant and it is on the northeast corner. There are a couple of trees there. Someone can climb up the tree, over the fence
and onto the mound and go back and forth.
Mr.
Gatti asked do you know what kind it is?
Mr.
Bissell responded I think it is a Washingtonian.
Mr.
Gatti asked is it worth saving?
Mr.
Bissell responded it could be.
Mr.
Stephens asked are you talking about the one next to the dumpster?
Mr.
Bissell responded yes.
Mr.
Stephens stated okay, I will take that tree down. I know there are a couple of them there.
Mr.
Bissell stated yes, there are. With the
backhoe, it will only take about twenty minutes to get it out of there.
Mr.
Gatti stated the concern is about safety.
If the tree is next to the fence, take it out.
Mr.
Bissell stated I have been working on the backhoe and the Silverado. If we pay those off now we would save
approximately $3,700. We have the
money. That is $613 we could save on the
John Deer and $3,013 on the Silverado.
According to our minutes of June 20th, we had approximately
$250,000 at that time. We might have
less now.
Mr.
Gatti stated I do not know enough about that to say yes or no, but I think it
is a good idea to check into this and follow through. I will suggest something that deals with
something like this and we can do this in that package.
Mr.
Bissell stated okay.
Mr.
Gatti asked rather than going through the Board on this in detail, is that
okay?
Mr.
Bissell stated we need a committee to go over our financials. I believe that the Board should have a
finance committee who would look over the requisitions and report back to the
Board and the manager on these.
Mr.
Gatti stated I have tried to initiate this a number of times. Mr. Cox, do we have a problem with that? I understand that it cannot be more than one
member of the Board.
Mr.
Cox responded right, and there is an issue if you are delegating any of your
responsibilities.
Mr.
Gatti stated we are not doing that. Let
me set up the framework. One person from
the Board acts as the Chairman or whatever you want to call him. He picks several people from the
Community. They act as a finance
committee. Their purpose is to review
all financial aspects of what the Board does.
They review the invoices or whatever; review the budget, particularly
what goes into the budget just like a municipality. We appoint somebody from the Board to do
that. That person selects a couple
people from the Community.
I
like that because we get people from the Community involved and they monitor
what is happening with our money. What
is the problem with that?
Mr.
Cox responded I do not know.
Mr.
Gatti stated okay, so we will do it then.
I want from you, advice on how we can do it.
Mr.
Cox stated we can do this without any problem if you want to have noticed
meetings any time this committee gets together.
Mr.
Gatti stated that is why we are going to have one person from this Board.
Mr.
Cox stated I am not quite sure that gets you away from that. The only issue I see is whether they would
have to hold their proceedings in an open, noticed meeting.
Mr.
Gatti stated I can understand that when we go through the budget process and we
have to have public hearings and everything that goes with that. We do not want to get away from that.
The
purpose of the committee is to recommend to the Board just like we do
know. They are not going to take over
the function of any of the Board’s responsibility. They are simply going to make recommendations
to the Board and review what goes on.
Mr.
Cox stated just like you have any advisory Board in the County or City, they
hold their meetings in a noticed, open forum.
What you are trying to avoid is any opportunity for somebody to claim
some sort of agenda capture by these closed sessions. They may not be taking in the input of the
whole Community, but yet they are making recommendations to the Board.
That
is where that issue may come up.
Mr.
Bissell stated if there was a committee, the announcement could be put in the
paper with the announcement of this monthly meeting.
Mr.
Wrathell stated you do not even have to do anything in the newspaper, but my
experience in the past is that you have an area that you commonly post notices
of meetings. It is a public meeting if
you were just to do a posting.
In
a City, hypothetically we always had a posting board. It can be right at the hotel.
Mr.
Robinson stated I think it is a great idea.
Mr.
Gatti stated Mr. Bissell is very interested in the details of the budget and he
is going to be on the finance committee.
Mr.
Bissell asked do we need a motion to do this?
Mr.
Gatti asked is that an appointment?
Mr.
Wrathell asked do you have people that you are ready to appoint? You can discuss that today and maybe come
back at the next meeting if you are ready with the appointees.
Mr.
Gatti stated I do not think the Board should appoint the committee
members. I think we should appoint a
person from the Board to act as a Chairman and let him select his Board
members. That is what I would like to
see happen. Obviously, I would like to
see people in the Community.
Mr.
Cox stated we will look at this procedurally in how you need to take care of
this and address it at the next meeting.
Mr.
Gatti asked are you okay with that?
Mr.
Bissell responded yes. I have one more
thing. I know Mr. Wrathell and Mr. Cox
have spoken with Mr. Benson. This
subject has come up several times about a sidewalk on this side. Mr. Benson was going to check on that and
come back with an approximate cost on that.
Could
one of you see if he has come up with anything so when the Community asks about
this at the Board meeting they can have an answer?
Mr.
Robinson responded I will talk to Mr. Benson.
Mr.
Gatti stated this goes way beyond cost.
You cannot expect the entire Community to pay for that when people on
your side of the fence have paid for the sidewalks already. Then it has to be an assessment. If it is an assessment, then people have to
agree to it.
Mr.
Cox stated they do not have to agree to it.
That is your job.
Mr.
Gatti stated legally they do not have to agree to it, but would it be fair to
impose to the homeowners, a sidewalk if just a few of them want it.
Mr.
Cox stated that was brought up so many times that Mr. Benson was going to find
out a price on that.
Mr.
Wrathell stated we were going to dig up a price and come up with a rough idea
of financing it. Every three or four
years we were going to loan ourselves money from our surplus funds. I have an analysis as far as what monies we
have sitting out there, so it depends on how much it cost.
Mr.
Gatti stated it is not going to be very far from $156,000, plus meters and
driveways. You are talking about around
$180,000.
Mr.
Cox asked how many units do we have on this side? We’ve got 39 multi-family. We have probably 300 units total with the
multi-family and all.
Mr.
Gatti responded it is $600 a unit.
Legally, you are right. We do not
have to have approval, but the way we have always done special assessments is
to look for a little over fifty percent approval. If you do not get fifty percent approval or
more, you do not do it.
Mr. Cox stated you have those type of elections
when you are establishing a municipal services taxing unit and a municipal
services benefits unit. That is unity,
that these people are voting to impose upon themselves. You were established and everybody came to
you. You are already here and you
already have the authority to do what needs to be done. You do not have to get 51 percent of any
vote. You can take a straw vote if you
like.
Mr. Gatti stated legally, I agree with you, but
from a moral standpoint, it is not fair to say you have to have a sidewalk in
front of your house because I want one.
FIFTH
ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval
of Check Register
On
MOTION by Mr. Bissell seconded by Mr. Robinson the check register was approved
as presented.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
On Motion by Mr. Robinson seconded by Mr. Bissell
with all in favor the meeting was adjourned at 10:40 a.m.
Secretary/Assistant Secretary Chairman/Vice
Chairman