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, September 14, 2007 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:

            Edward Goscicki                                              Severn Trent Services

            Dan Cox                                                          Attorney (Via Telephone)

            Ron Benson                                                      Engineer

            Bob Dick                                                         Field Manager

            Robert Edge                                                     Field Operator

            Tom Mack                                                       Staff

            R.W. Gulledge                                      Resident

            Mike Motwani                                                  Resident

            Tom Weiss                                                       Resident

 

 

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Roll Call

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

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Approval of the Minutes of the August 10, 2007 Meeting

            Mr. Bissell stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the August 10, 2007 meeting and requested any additions, corrections or deletions.

            Ms. Dillon stated on Page 4 in the third paragraph from the bottom, membrane should replace numbering of the.  On Page 8 in the second paragraph from the bottom, or should replace for.  On Page 9 in the last paragraph, a new should replace from our.  On Page 33 in the third paragraph from the bottom, trimmed should replace turned.  Mr. Somers should be replaced by Mr. Summers from Page 35 throughout the remainder of the document.

            Mr. Lambert stated on Page 25 in the third paragraph, new should replace old.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Lambert seconded by Mr. Ziko with all in favor the minutes of the August 10, 2007 meeting were approved as amended.

 

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                             Audience Comments

            Mr. Weiss stated a Neighborhood Watch sign has been leaning against a tree at the entrance on Newport Drive past the entry building for many months.  It appears to have been taken up out of the ground since the concrete is still around the bottom of it.  It looks bad and should either be replanted into the ground or disposed of, depending on whether or not there is a neighborhood watch in this area.

            Mr. Bissell stated we do not have one at the present time, although a gentleman approached us about doing this.

            Mr. Weiss stated the sign has been there for at least four to five months.

            Mr. Dick stated I will remove it.

            Mr. Weiss stated I was on vacation for six weeks and received two water bills, one for 16 cents and one for 60 cents.  I believe there should be a minimum amount, such as $5, which should be billed because the cost to generate a bill for 60 cents is not reasonable.

            Mr. Goscicki stated I agree with you and this was corrected.

            Ms. Dillon stated we discussed this at last month’s meeting.

            Mr. Goscicki stated we changed our billing system; and the water & sewer portion of the bill for use of those systems is so small that when you reach 100 gallons, it is not necessary to bill during some months.  We are going to be billing for 1,000 gallons or more.

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                          Manager’s Report

A.                 Consideration of Resolution 2007-9 to Write Off Uncollectible Accounts Receivable

Mr. Goscicki stated the resolution is being done in order to bring this significant amount to your attention.  This dates back approximately seven years to some contention which was taking place in the community with regards to bad debt on taxes, assessments and water & sewer from some of the major developments.  This should have been written off at the time the Settlement Agreement was reached with property owners on the tax settlement in which we collected several million dollars to close out the entire settlement.  The auditors brought to our attention the fact we are still carrying this bad debt in the Water & Sewer Fund as uncollected revenue, even though we recognize we are not going to collect this revenue.  We need to formally write it off through a Board action to formally recognize this as bad debt to be removed from the financial statements.  We already took action to resolve this with the property owners as part of the Settlement Agreement two years ago.  This is just an accounting procedure to recognize we do not have to account for this bad debt.

            Mr. Lambert asked will this document be found if we were to go back and look at the settlement?

            Mr. Goscicki responded that is correct.  I reviewed this with Mr. Cox and he verified this was part of the settlement.

            Ms. Dillon stated I understand the auditors brought this to your attention, but I do not understand where it was sitting.

            Mr. Goscicki stated it has been sitting as an accounts receivable issue in the details of the utility billing system, and we identified it when we transitioned to the new billing system, after which we spoke to the auditors and agreed it should be written off.

 

Mr. Gatti moved to adopt Resolution 2007-9 for the District to Write Off Uncollectible Accounts Receivable.

 

            Ms. Dillon stated I want to ensure this is not going to impact our current budget or income in which we may suddenly find ourselves with another line item.

            Mr. Goscicki stated this will not be the case.

            Mr. Ziko asked is it possible to attach a background statement to this resolution?

            Mr. Goscicki responded I believe we can outline the details of this in a follow-up memorandum.

            Mr. Ziko stated I believe this resolution is incomplete since it just has one sentence indicating this large amount was written off.

            Mr. Goscicki stated we can give you the details of what constitutes this amount.

            Mr. Ziko stated this will satisfy me.

            Mr. Lambert stated I want to ensure we have some documentation to refer to if necessary.

 

Mr. Ziko seconded the prior motion.

 

            There being no further comments or questions,

 

On VOICE vote with all in favor Resolution 2007-9 for the District to Write Off Uncollectible Accounts Receivable was adopted.

 

B.                 Discussion of Telephone Service Upgrade for Teleconference Speakerphones

Mr. Goscicki stated I have not been able to get with Mr. Teague on the status of this issue.  We have the speakerphone, but it requires certain service in order to be able to use it properly.

            Ms. Dillon stated you were not going to upgrade the hotel’s telephone line, but we were going to look into what is available in the event someone has to call in which will enable the person to hear and converse clearly.

C.                 Discussion of Assessment Question for a Lot in the Name of POI Development

Mr. Goscicki stated we looked into this further and I reviewed the discussion in the minutes, and it appears you have a parcel on Stella Maris Drive which is on common ground in the condominium development.  However, there is no condominium or any other development on it.  In other words, it is common ground which is getting billed for the water and sewer standby assessment, but not the O&M assessment since they are not connected to the system.  Therefore, they are not using water and sewer service, but they are incurring the debt.  Each condominium in this development is being billed and assessed appropriately for water and sewer standby as well as O&M.

            Mr. Lambert stated it is not consistent with what was done at the condominium development in Sunset Cay.  There are no common areas taxed on the properties on Newport.  There are areas over here with common grounds which have a pool, but they are not being taxed for the individual portion.  I suspect it was divided between each individual unit.  I want to know why we took a different approach at Stella Maris.

            Mr. Goscicki stated we are going to look at the original assessment methodology to see how it was done.  The understanding I have which we are trying to verify is this parcel may not have been part of the original development and was added later.

            Mr. Benson stated it was reserved for a potential future amenity for Stella Maris, but nothing was ever done.

            Ms. Dillon stated I understand it was moved over to the condominiums in the Villages.

            Mr. Goscicki stated you normally look at the ultimate development for the entire parcel of property and divide the capacity within the number of units including common ground and allocate it.

            Mr. Lambert stated I wonder if they had fewer units than what they had ERCs for.

            Mr. Benson stated they transferred the ERCs which were not used from Stella Maris to Sunset Lakes.

            Mr. Goscicki stated since all of the ERCs are being assessed, they were all accounted for.

            Mr. Benson stated since they may not have accounted for all of the bond debt, the developer must pay for it until all of the bond debt is paid off because he did not assign it to any of the units.

            Mr. Lambert stated I suspect when he sells enough units they will all be turned over to the HOA.  However, I do not believe he has done this.

            Mr. Goscicki stated the speculation on my part is the developer was planning to develop this into a clubhouse or amenity center and he may have held some capacity for this.  I believe he allocated the capacity from this property to another development.

            Mr. Benson stated we never required ERCs for amenities such as a swimming pool for a multi-family community.  It was factored into the utilities, and is similar to what Collier County does.  I believe he used all of his ERCs since they are used for the units themselves, and perhaps he had a smaller amount of assessment units than ERCs since the numbers were not exactly the same.  They were close and this may have been a way for him to pay off the bonds.

            Mr. Lambert stated the spreadsheet shows a gap.

            Mr. Benson stated he is aware he can never build a house there.

            Mr. Bissell asked are you referring to the lot on the corner of Cays Drive?

            Mr. Lambert responded I am referring to the common area in the entire group of condominiums.  The assessor’s report indicates this is one parcel.

            Mr. Benson stated they cannot build on it because it is not part of their SDP and the county never approved it.  Therefore, they have no ERCs.  The backyards of all of the Stella Maris condominiums on Cays Drive are part of this parcel.

            Mr. Bissell stated they can never build a clubhouse or pool there.

            Mr. Benson stated this can be done on one part of it.

            Mr. Lambert stated for example, a pool or other type of amenity facility can be put on the corner of our street.

            Mr. Bissell stated they can also get water without ERCs.

            Mr. Benson stated it is similar to any amenity facility which goes with the multi-family units.

            Mr. Lambert stated it will be metered.

            Mr. Benson stated we do not charge for a swimming pool at a single-family home.

            Mr. Bissell asked are we furnishing free water to the swimming pools over here?

            Mr. Goscicki responded they will be billed for the water.

            Mr. Benson stated they do not require ERCs to build swimming pools.

            Mr. Gatti asked who pays the water bill?

            Mr. Benson responded the master association pays the water bill.

            Mr. Goscicki stated the taxes are being collected regardless of how it is allocated.  I agree all the debt or assessments associated with the common property should have been allocated to each individual condominium unit.  However, the developer is currently paying this, and when it becomes HOA property, the HOA will pay for it.

            Mr. Ziko stated there are four different condominium associations on one property.

            Mr. Lambert stated there is a master association.

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                               Field Manager’s Report

A.                 Discussion of Landscaping Improvements on Newport Road

Mr. Dick stated Mr. Edge is in a meeting with the DEP and will be back as quickly as possible.  I have a list from him and the best price he received was from Soto’s Lawn Service in the amount of $700 to landscape this particular area, which is a decrease from $1,000.

            Mr. Lambert stated $700 does not sound unreasonable for this work.

            Mr. Dick stated we contemplated doing this ourselves.  However, it probably makes sense to use a professional landscaper who will provide a warranty if the landscaping does not grow properly and will replace anything which dies off.

            Mr. Lambert asked does he have a proposal?

            Mr. Dick responded yes.

            Mr. Bissell asked is any action required or will it be added to Soto’s contract?

            Mr. Dick responded it can be added to the monthly bill.

            Mr. Goscicki stated I do not believe you need a resolution from the Board for this amount.  Since you have the Board’s consensus, we can proceed to get this done.

 

B.                 Discussion of Purchase of New or Used Mosquito Control Sprayer

Mr. Dick stated we contacted both Lee and Collier Counties.  Collier County told us they have no used equipment available.  Lee County told us they have an auction every March, but they would not tell us whether or not they had one coming up for auction.

            Ms. Dillon asked were you going to let us know the cost for a new one?

            Mr. Dick responded Mr. Edge has the price, which is approximately $7,000 and I will confirm this.  Clark Environmental actually brought the new unit down here and did a demonstration for us.

            Ms. Dillon asked does this unit have a control in the cab?

            Mr. Dick responded that is correct.  It is more modern than the one we use with the sprayer capable of applying a higher dosage; thereby minimizing the amount of time the noise is heard in the neighborhood.  The application rate is double the amount of the existing machine and it will drive 16 miles per hour as opposed to eight miles per hour.

            Mr. Lambert asked how bad of a condition is the old machine?

            Mr. Dick responded we continually make minor repairs.  The gasoline engine runs the blower which requires preventive maintenance as well as minor repairs.  At some point you are going to need a more reliable machine.  I am concerned the blower may fail at the height of the season; and the blower alone is approximately $3,000 because it is actually used in wastewater treatment.

            Mr. Gatti stated perhaps we should include a new one in next years’ budget.

            Mr. Ziko stated we may need it before this.

            Mr. Dick stated there are no parts available for the aspirator and the de-fogging device because the machine is so outdated.  Therefore, we will not be able to repair this if it fails.

            Mr. Ziko asked how much lead time is required from this manufacturer to purchase one?

            Mr. Dick responded it will probably take a couple of weeks.

            Mr. Lambert asked are there any other manufacturers selling these machines?

            Mr. Dick responded Clark is the only manufacturer we found for chemicals, parts and equipment.  However, I can find a blower similar to the one we have through my wastewater suppliers.

            Mr. Lambert asked will this be on a small trailer?

            Mr. Dick responded the one they demonstrated actually slides onto the back of a truck for someone who does this on a daily basis.  I would not want this on the back of my truck.  We can remove the old machine and mount the new one on our trailer, which is in good shape.

 

Mr. Bissell moved to allocate $7,000 in order to purchase a new mosquito control sprayer and Ms. Dillon seconded the motion.

 

            Mr. Lambert asked will we go out for proposal or are we just going to state we only have a single source?

            Mr. Bissell responded I believe we should state there is only a single source, since this appears to be the case.

            Mr. Dick stated I have not been able to find another source.

            Mr. Gatti stated most municipalities use the company which produces sprayers to blow chemicals into trees, but it is a large and loud blower.

            Mr. Dick stated I will look into this.

            Mr. Gatti asked are you going to be able to purchase the sprayer you need for $7,000?

            Mr. Dick responded yes.

            Mr. Ziko stated perhaps we should consider amending this amount in the event we are short by $500.

            Mr. Goscicki stated you may want to amend the motion not to exceed $8,000.

 

On VOICE vote with all in favor the prior motion was approved as amended in an amount not to exceed $8,000.

 

            Mr. Dick stated the DEP is at the plant doing a wastewater plant inspection.  We do not anticipate any problems with this.  There is a significant amount of construction taking place at the plant which involves electrical and wastewater plant upgrades.  When the contractor cleared the entire old park which is near the lift station at the North Hotel, they removed the sewer collection system and water mains because it was on private property.

            Mr. Benson stated it is on an easement.

            Mr. Dick asked are you referring to the lift station?

            Mr. Benson responded that is correct.  The water mains were on their property and the lift station is on the CID easement.  I spoke to the developer in the presence of the owner’s attorney; and they were provided a copy of those easements.  The gentleman contacted me a few days later to acknowledge I was correct and they understood the facility is to remain in its present location.

            Mr. Dick stated they were under the impression it was on their property and wanted to remove it.

            Mr. Lambert asked are we using the lift pump at all?

            Mr. Dick responded the only reason we are using it is for the North Hotel.  The contractor actually disconnected the electricity.  They called the electric company and pulled the meter.

            Mr. Benson stated this was a misunderstanding we corrected.

            Mr. Dick stated on the last page of the Operations Report is a bill from Eddie Bock’s Plumbing in the amount of $4,125 for work done at the sales office coming on Newport Drive in which their sanitary sewer lines were not working properly.  As you can see, there was a 10-day period in which they tried to determine what the problem was and it was our contention no one ever informed us there was a problem.  Otis, the maintenance man told me he tried us a couple of times, but we never received any voice mail messages on the cell phone here or at the plant, even though both are capable of taking messages.  This plumbing company determined there was nothing wrong with the surface line and they proceeded to work on main, which is our property as opposed to the hotel.  They actually sent some digital photos which showed a collapsed clay pipe full of sand and dirt.  They removed this and installed a piece of PVC pipe.  The sales office is back in service, but there is an outstanding invoice and we need to determine who is responsible.  There is no question the main had a problem based on their photographs and it had to be repaired.  However, we should have been notified, in which case we would have made the repair.  I am not certain if the cost would have been less, but I believe they made a temporary repair.  We brought a television truck down there earlier this week and ran our camera down the same gravity main and we verified their repair.  However, it is actually leaking an insignificant amount of groundwater and will have to be redone.  There is also additional fractured pipe further down in the same location they made their repair with sand and water accumulating in the pipe.  I am not prepared to say what needs to be done today, but we are going to prepare a proposal to correct the problem.  The more immediate concern is this plumbing invoice.  Mr. Edge is in the process of clarifying how many hours were spent working on their service line which is not our responsibility.  Therefore, I want to break this down and ensure there are no hours on this invoice related to their service line.

            Mr. Ziko asked who authorized the work?

            Mr. Dick responded the hotel authorized it.

            Mr. Gatti asked why are they coming to us?

            Mr. Dick responded Otis told Mr. Edge and he said he tried to call him on a certain day and Mr. Edge told him there was no voice mail.  Therefore, we cannot confirm whether or not they actually called us.  The bottom line is they replaced 10’ of pipe, which had to be done, and there would have been some expense associated with this repair whether it was done by them or us.

            Mr. Bissell asked why will it have to be redone?

            Mr. Dick responded when they removed the clay pipe, they put the PVC pipe in these rubber couplings with big stainless steel clamps in order to repair this.  The gravity line is a terminal manhole and is the shallowest manhole on the system, and it begins there and goes back to the lift station on Newport Drive.  The sales office is the only customer served by this section of line.  This line is on the other side of the road behind the trees.

            Mr. Benson stated it is old.

            Mr. Lambert asked were they running a lot of heavy equipment over there?

            Mr. Dick responded it is certainly not uncommon for this clay pipe to fracture over the years, but additional work needs to be done.  I am going to bring the video in and we will put together a comprehensive report as to how much needs to be done; whether it is going to be lined; has to be dug up and repaired; and the cost to dig it up if there is not a lot of restoration to be done.  My first issue is whether we want to negotiate this bill with the hotel, keeping in mind there was a collapsed section of pipe which they repaired instead of us.

            Mr. Lambert stated we should determine their cost and if the remaining cost is nominal, we can pay it, but if it is close to $3,000 or more, we should negotiate to pay half.  They also need to know they should contact us when these problems arise.

            Mr. Dick stated our first response would have been to bring our vacuum truck down and jet-rod the line.  I will put together a comparison of the cost if we handled the repair.

            Mr. Lambert stated we also need to bring this to their attention to ensure they do not do this on a regular basis.

            Ms. Dillon stated we also need to ensure there is no plan for these repairs in the future in order to avoid duplication.

            Mr. Ziko asked can you describe the location of this line?

            Mr. Dick responded it starts close to U.S. 41.

            Mr. Cox asked is this part of the line you are going to replace for us?

            Mr. Benson responded we are replacing the water line.  The exhibit in the Engineer’s Report does not show the gravity sewer in the last section, but if it is in the road, it is ours.  However, the exhibit showed the last piece of it because we were not certain of its location.  These structures were built a long time ago, and these buildings had a gravity sewer containing old clay pipes which went to the location of the old wastewater plant.

            Mr. Gatti asked what are we authorizing you to do?

            Mr. Dick responded first of all, I am going to negotiate and work through this bill; determine how much was spent to repair their actual service line; remove this from our cost; and determine the final amount for repairing the main.  Secondly, we are going to continue evaluating the entire main to ensure there are no other areas in danger of collapse and determine what needs to be done; whether it can be lined with point repairs or whether it has to be dug up and replaced.  We will come next month with some options to handle this.

            Mr. Gatti asked what main are you referring to?

            Mr. Dick responded I am referring to the gravity sewer main which all laterals tie into.

            Mr. Gatti asked how large of an area is the main serving?

            Mr. Dick responded it goes all the way back to the first lift station on Newport Drive.

            Mr. Gatti asked what is connected to it?

            Mr. Dick responded all of the units are connected to it since it is a collection system.

            Mr. Benson stated we do not provide any mains on their property.

            Mr. Dick stated we budgeted for replacement of two water transfer pumps in this years’ capital budget.  When the treated water comes out of the filters, it goes into a stilling well which is pumped into the ground storage tank.  I have a proposal for two five-horsepower, peerless pumps and motor assemblies; and we will provide all of the equipment, materials and labor to replace this.  The total projected cost is $9,887 based on a budget of $10,000.

            Mr. Lambert asked is there any action required by the Board?

            Mr. Goscicki responded you need to approve the work authorization.

 

On MOTION by Mr. Gatti seconded by Ms. Dillon with all in favor, Work Authorization No. ST 07-105 for Severn Trent Services to provide equipment, materials and labor to replace two five-horsepower, peerless pumps and motors at the water treatment plant in the amount of $9,887 was approved.

 

            Mr. Lambert asked what is the status of the project Mr. Migdal presented to us?

            Mr. Dick responded we are moving forward as quickly as possible, but not as quickly as I would like with regards to obtaining materials and ordering the BFDs and components.  Since part of this is tied to our alarm systems for the generators and DEP, it is imperative we proceed as quickly as possible.

            Mr. Lambert asked have we satisfied DEP requirements in proceeding with this?

            Mr. Dick responded we corresponded with them, but they were not satisfied with one of our responses in which the Board approved these for at least six months.  Therefore, we are going to do some interim work which will meet their satisfaction.  We will install temporary alarms, and proceed to get the final ones which involve the telemetry out to the wells.  For example, we lost power to both wells with the storms last night.  Obviously, our plant storage had no issues, but this involves going out to the well field to replace electrical components.  Those problems are supposed to be eliminated as a result of this project.  I am pushing Mr. Migdal as fast as possible for everyone’s benefit.

            Mr. Lambert stated one of the two automatic blow-offs which are on the end of the street where Ms. Dillon lives appeared to have been running for at least 24 hours.  I showed this to Mr. Edge and he went back there.  Is there any kind of maintenance which needs to be done there?

            Mr. Benson responded there is some recommended maintenance which comes with those, and the company which sells those units is in this area.

            Mr. Dick stated there is a timer set in there which we have set to go off.  It runs for 10 minutes each time we have it set to go off.

            Ms. Dillon stated it runs longer.

            Mr. Dick stated we will check this one and call the supplier to inquire about the recommended maintenance.

            Mr. Ziko asked is the berm near the water treatment plant covered by pipe and is there a drain on it?

            Mr. Benson asked are you referring to the berm in Orchid Cove?

            Mr. Ziko responded I am referring to the berm at the back of the property running parallel to our drainage pipe.

            Ms. Dillon stated I believe they are preparing to put a road in.

            Mr. Ziko stated you cannot see the drainage pipe in the line.  Are there any plans for the work which is going to be done here which we can see?

            Mr. Benson responded I am going to discuss this during my report.

            Mr. Ziko stated since Union Road belongs to us, I believe they should ask the Board’s permission if they are planning to move the road.

            Mr. Benson stated I will cover this during my report.  With regards to the berm, the pipe for the effluent is approximately five feet inside the easement for the wetlands disposal, but they should not do anything which will impede our use.

            Mr. Dick stated Mr. Edge was out there several times and he sent a report to me they were on this side of the pipe, which was not affecting anything.

            Mr. Benson stated with regards to the side of the pipe which does not have an easement for the CID to use for effluent disposal, I do not believe anything can be done about it, and it will not impact us since all of our water goes in the other direction.  They may potentially be doing this, but I have not discussed it with them.  However, I want to assure you our water is not coming back onto their property, but I really do not know what their intention is for the berm.  It should not impact us, but I will stop there after our meeting.

            Ms. Dillon asked is Mr. Edge still calling the county with regards to the median drainage?

            Mr. Dick responded he had several conversations with them, but I cannot tell you whether or not they are going to make any changes.

            Ms. Dillon stated perhaps you should tell them we will take care of it and bill them, as it should be in the plans.

            Mr. Edge was going to put another 25 mph speed limit sign on Cays Drive.

Mr. Dick stated I am not certain whether or not he took care of this.

Ms. Dillon stated we asked for this because after you enter onto Cays Drive, another sign is necessary beyond Stella Maris after the road curves out.

Did Mr. Edge get the results of the water sample test he did?

            Mr. Dick responded they have not come back yet.

            Mr. Ziko stated I want to know if the recipients of the lead and carbon testing are determined randomly since my home has no lead and carbon pipes.  Will it be better if they go around to the people who have these lead and carbon pipes in their homes?

            Mr. Dick responded some of your fittings and faucets contain copper and lead.  I am not certain how else we could do this without going around and asking residents about their plumbing.  We create the sampling point and get it approved by the DEP, after which we select approximately 30 different locations.  However, we are currently on reduced monitoring.  A community of this size needs 20 samples and they reduced us to 10 because we have not had any corrositivity problems and the copper samples have been passing as low.  However, this is a good point and I will discuss it with Mr. Edge.  Since your water is not corrosive, we do not expect any problems.

            Ms. Dillon stated a resident at last months’ meeting discussed an issue in which trees were causing a line of sight issue as well as the need for a Stop sign over here.  We told her we were not going to put a Stop sign on Newport.

            Mr. Dick stated I looked at this area and noticed a large clump of landscaping in the median, creating a blind spot when a driver is trying to make the turn.

            Mr. Ziko stated I believe the Stop sign should be for pedestrians crossing Newport Drive.  She wanted the people driving down the road to stop, which I do not believe is appropriate.

            Mr. Dick stated drivers need to use caution when making the left turn.

            Mr. Ziko stated the Stop sign should be in the area where you make the left turn before you cross enabling drivers and pedestrians to look down the road.

            Ms. Dillon stated since I believe this is our property, perhaps you can discuss this with Soto and request them to trim the medians along the street.

 

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                              Attorney’s Report

            Mr. Cox stated I trust the Orchid Cove agreement has gone out, but I have not received a response back, although I am certain they are still looking at it.

I have not received confirmation from Mr. Wanklyn as to whether or not he was going to propose the one-year extension which we discussed at the last meeting.  I just found out he is out of the country, but I spoke to his attorney and asked him if he can find out whether or not they are going to approve this, so I can release your money out of escrow.  I hope to hear from him within the next couple of days.

            Mr. Ziko asked are you aware the state changed the bonding requirements for the sewage treatment plant and facilities such as ours?

            Mr. Cox responded I am not aware of this.

            Mr. Ziko stated they are making it more stringent and I believe in approximately three to five years from now we are going to need to float another bond for our updated sewage treatment plant.  Perhaps you can check into this and follow up since I read in the newspaper it requires 100% approval of the people in the community.

            Mr. Cox asked are you referring to the bond?

            Mr. Ziko responded that is correct.  This change just came about last week in the state.

            Mr. Cox stated I will look into this, but I believe this is something different than what you are referring to.  It is not possible for them to make it a 100% requirement for a bond issue under these circumstances.

            Mr. Ziko stated since they made an issue of this in the newspaper, I am concerned.

            Mr. Cox stated I will try to find this newspaper article.

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Engineer’s Report

            Mr. Benson stated I have a number of issues I want to discuss with you today.  The engineer for the developer at the hotel has spoken to me within the last few weeks.  There are two informal items which I believe I need to mention.  First of all, they are likely to be required by Collier County to install some sidewalks which I believe you asked about in the past since we obviously spent money installing bike paths.  If they are required to install sidewalks in this end of the community, they will have to be placed within the CID’s right-of-way in the road.  I believe the Board will generally accept this as long as we present it for your approval.  This is still in the discussion phase and they are aware they must ask our permission.

            Mr. Bissell stated we have approximately five feet from the edge of the blacktop.  Will the sidewalk be within this area?

            Mr. Benson responded I believe the right-of-way you are referring to is not really wide, but it will probably be on the other side of the road with the pedestrian crossing in the wide right-of-way.  The sidewalk will run along the road, cross it and run on the other side of the road.  I believe the county is trying to provide a pedestrian path from the bridge on Route 41 past the marina, which I personally believe is a positive thing.  Therefore, I did not have any reason to tell them you would likely turn them down, but I did tell them you must approve use of your right-of-way.  It is also likely the county will require them to do some landscaping on the west side of the road in which they are going to put in some storage.  Therefore, they may request to work with the CID to install and maintain landscaping at their own expense.  They may request you allow them to put the landscaping in your right-of-way for beautification.

            Ms. Dillon stated I thought Mr. Shucart owned this property, unless I am thinking of the wrong property in which the storage area is currently located along with the front lot on Route 41.

            Mr. Benson stated they do not own the front lot which has been used by the state, nor have they made a proposal.  I told them if they propose to do anything to beautify the area at their cost, you would likely be willing to allow them to put plantings in the right-of-way since it is currently large and unattractive.  They do not own it and they cannot do anything about it, but they can plant some additional landscaping at their own cost to help buffer the area.

            Mr. Ziko stated perhaps they can give us a layout of what they are asking for.

            Mr. Benson stated I believe they will do this, but I just wanted to inform you since I have been suggesting they make it as nice as possible.

            Mr. Lambert stated if they can get us a plan of what they want to do as quickly as possible, I am certain we can work with them.

            Mr. Benson stated another area where I had communication this month is the old RV and gun club properties north of the North Hotel.  Their engineer and developer spoke to me this month and we also had a discussion on Wednesday afternoon in which they identified items they will likely propose to the CID.  As of Thursday morning, they were going to submit these items today.  I believe they will basically bring you a proposal as a starting point and they understand I do not approve these items without your approval.  I will give an engineering approval if it is required, but not unless you tell me it is acceptable.  Use of your right-of-ways is your decision.  However, the gentleman through his engineer told me he will not make his proposal of these potential items today.

            Ms. Dillon asked is he unprepared?

            Mr. Benson responded I believe one of the items in the proposal required an additional partner to sign off on the project.

            Ms. Dillon asked have you seen a site development plan?

            Mr. Benson responded I have seen one and it was going to be distributed today, but they are not prepared to discuss it

We had some discussion with regards to future development of the water and wastewater plant site at previous meetings.  We will have to apply for an SDP in order to modify our use, and I was looking at a number of issues as we started the process.  The first issue relates to how the site should conform to Collier County rules and regulations.  The first exhibit shows the property the CID owns at the water and wastewater plant and it shows Union Road where it goes through and stops at the end of the property.  The road is a 35’ right-of-way which you own.  You also own the property on both sides of the road for a total of 250’ x 650’.  The county has conservation zoning on the property to the north; and the line to the south is our t-zone for both your property as well as the property which the RV park and the gun club own.  Those two zoning districts have different setbacks.  The setback to the rear of the lot is 30’; the front of the lot is 30’; the side yard is 15’ for the R/T zoning district; and the conservation zoning district is 50’ on all sides.  We have an SDP which was approved in 1992.  I believe they may still have had the 30’ setback as a requirement but if I recall correctly, it showed the existing tank which was proposed at the time as well as a tank next to it with a 25’ setback which was approved in the SDP.  The aerial photographs are not perfectly straight down and things have shifted.  Although the bottom of the tank is approximately five feet with a 30’ setback, they probably are not going to do anything because our SDP showed this and no one has ever questioned it.  The other tank was shown to be built in the future.  I believe we can get the other tank built, but we must obtain an SDP for it.  The problem is the property at the water plant site for which we can put a building on is small.  I believe it is approximately 35’ wide and 250’ long.  The second exhibit shows the site for the new facilities in which you will try to get as much useful space out of the property you own for various public uses.  When we apply for the new SDP, we can possibly shift Union Road to the west property line in which there is a stormwater management area.  If we shift Union Road, the setbacks are from the edge of the right-of-way and we have over-doubled the amount of space where we can actually build structures.  Therefore, instead of having a 35’ by 250’ strip, we will have a 115’ by 250’ building area.  Setbacks can have driveways and anything else as long as it is not a building or stormwater management facility.  Therefore, relocating Union Road is one way for you to potentially gain more usable or billable property.  I sent the last exhibit to Mr. Dick and we discussed the future water plant building and storage issues.  When we build the new water plant, we are going to try to build it on land away from the current water plant in order to get it built, tested and running before switching over from the old water plant to the new water plant.  When we did the electrical upgrade project, we stubbed out the area where the electric can feed the new water plant building in this middle location between the wastewater plant and the existing tank.

With regards to your discussions on sites for fire stations, after the new water plant is built the property where the current one is located may be able to be used for a fire station.  I am not proposing anything, but I am trying to think ahead while we are doing this SDP because even if you were to acquire some property adjacent to the water and wastewater plant through the mechanisms making this possible, Mr. Cox and I believe you probably want to have it all as one parcel of land from an SDP standpoint and may potentially rezone it to public use.  I am not certain whether or not this is necessary, but the main benefit is you will not need setbacks and landscaping between parcels.  Therefore, if you had a fire station on CID property and considered it a multi-use public facility, I believe we must have setbacks and landscaping between all of the different uses.  Is this correct?

            Mr. Cox responded I have not looked at this in a long time, but I am going to have to check the cost comparisons.

            Mr. Benson stated it will probably cost much less and this may be one possible advantage of having it as one parcel.  However, I have not looked at the details of the savings either.

            Mr. Goscicki stated these setback requirements are only necessary on public roads.  You need to determine whether it is necessary to keep it as a public road or fence it off and have the property on both sides.  Do we need to allow any access down this road?

            Mr. Cox responded the state owns property down there which used to only have access through Union Road.  We will probably have to get the state to acquiesce this, which will not be a big deal because part of the developer approval for POI specifically states you are going to make every effort to prohibit other vehicle access through your property; which is one way of doing this.

            Mr. Goscicki stated it will become a road and you eliminate the setback requirement giving yourself more flexibility.

            Mr. Ziko asked have the homes back there been torn down?

            Mr. Dick responded they are gone.

            Mr. Benson stated the state owns the land.  You can get private people to get access to this land.

            Mr. Ziko stated we only need access to the well field.

            Mr. Benson stated you have access to the tower which is to the right of the exhibit as well as the gun club property.  There are currently multiple parcels including two or three within the RV park, but the gun club is considered a separate parcel.  The gun club people may be driving across the RV park property today, but if it is owned by two different parties in which the road going to the gun club is a private road exiting Union Road, this may be another issue with regards to access for them.

            Mr. Lambert stated I suggest we hold a workshop sometime in the future.  I am not certain how far away we want to do this, but I believe we need to discuss when we are going to get our water plant, sewer plant and irrigation.  We also need to determine whether or not an additional building for storage and an office is necessary, as well as a fire station.  Since we may be hearing something from the RV park people soon, I believe we need to set up this workshop.  All of you will have a better idea as to how far off you want to set this up in order to be prepared and determine how it may fit in with information from the RV and gun club people.  This workshop should be dedicated to discussing where we are going in the future.

            Mr. Benson stated our firm was going to start proceeding with the SDP for this property soon, but when I started working on some of the concepts of trying to utilize your property I decided we probably should not rush into the SDP.  Therefore, I stopped internal work on the SDP process.  I will distribute my schedule as an update in a few minutes and you will notice an item from last month in which we had a date for the SDP to be ready to go to the county.  However, this date is not firm because I am going to take more time to get your input, but this was prepared to keep you as part of the process and appreciate why I was not rushing.  The second reuse tank is important and is scheduled to be done this year.  Although I do not have a proposal for the SDP work yet, I have a proposal for the engineering of the tank, which we can discuss.  Once I start hearing from the engineer and the developer for the former RV park property, things may change.  However, they outlined a proposal which you can review and add additional requirements which may not be in the current proposal.  Moving the road frees up potentially what we can do on our property, but they may have a reason for owning the road in this location.

            Mr. Lambert stated I believe it is important they know we are looking into the future of what needs to be done in order to keep our facilities where they need to be.  It may be appropriate for them to attend the workshop and make a presentation.  However, I believe there should be a meeting dealing only with this issue in order to try to come to a consensus of where we are headed in the future; and there may be an actual need for space, additional tanks and equipment.

            Mr. Benson stated this footprint is labeled Water Treatment Plant which will be a fairly large membrane-type water plant with storage and offices.

            Mr. Ziko stated I noticed the water treatment plant is not within the required design limits on your first layout.  Are we running into another plot of land?

            Mr. Benson responded this structure was built a long time ago.  When we did the SDP which showed additions made to this property, the county never questioned us after it was already on the site.  If we wanted to build a new building in a location similar to this, they are strict with regards to enforcing those setbacks.  Therefore, I do not believe they are going to allow you to put a new building in this location.

            Ms. Dillon stated moving the road will give us the setback we need.

            Mr. Benson stated the setbacks in place today are the same setbacks which were in place in 1991 and 1992, when we did the last SDP.  I do not know what the zoning or setbacks were when the first building was built, which was before 1970.  However, they were not as thorough in those days.

            Mr. Lambert asked what do you believe the proper timeframe should be to schedule the workshop?

            Mr. Benson responded as of late Wednesday afternoon they were going to have a proposal ready for discussion purposes of a number of issues for today’s meeting.  However, they called late yesterday afternoon and told me not to discuss the proposal because it was not ready.  I understand it was literally hours or days away from being given to you.  Therefore, I believe they will be ready next month.

            Mr. Lambert stated I am not certain where the rest of the Board stands on doing this and whether we should do it as a second half of a meeting date or a separate date, but I personally believe we need to start getting some plans prepared for the future.

            Mr. Ziko stated I want to see this in conjunction with the entire plan they are proposing.

            Mr. Benson stated they showed me their plan earlier this week and when they give me this information with their proposal, I can prepare an exhibit prior to the next meeting reflecting how their proposal may impact this parcel.  This may create some modifications which may potentially be more beneficial to you.

            Mr. Ziko stated when the old RV park wanted to get out, they demolished everything.  They moved an awful lot of dirt and they dredged out the pond to get more fill to put on the land.  Is there some sort of a permit with the county which we could see in order to determine what they are doing is allowed?

            Mr. Benson responded they do not have an SDP pending.  Since you need to have permits for almost everything, I assume they must have a clearing or excavation permit, but I am not certain.

            Mr. Ziko asked should a permit or notice of what they are doing be posted on the land?

            Mr. Benson responded I am not certain since I really do not know much about Collier County Code Enforcement.

            Mr. Lambert stated I do not believe we have any authority in this regard unless it is impacting our sewer, water or infrastructure.

            Mr. Benson stated any citizen can call code enforcement and make a suggestion.  Although I do not know what they are doing, it does not impact us to my knowledge.  However, I will check on the berm near our pipe.  There have been statements made about some of our easements which we corrected, and they understand this.  I do not believe anyone was trying to do anything because they know where are easements are located and will stay away from them.  They acknowledged this to me after we made it clear and they checked with their title company and attorneys.

We have been going back and forth for many months on your behalf to try to get everything taken care of with Better Roads and I believe everything is complete.  We are working with them to get the final bill and it has been going pleasantly.  Although there were a couple of areas which were not satisfactory, I think they actually went a little further than they had to, and took care of everything in the end.  Mr. Powell was the Project Manager for Better Roads and he responded to one of the letters we sent on your behalf.  Although most of his statements were probably accurate, the tone of the letter was lost and perhaps he was not representing their firm very well.

Mr. Lambert asked did they take care of all of the punch list items?

            Mr. Benson responded yes.  When we receive the final invoice, it will go to Mr. Teague for processing and it will be less than we authorized because there were some items which did not get taken care of including a large change order which you authorized up to $25,000 to do the work which the hotel is going to reimburse you for.  We are going to ensure this gets on their invoice accurately.

I will go through my updated report which I have been distributing at the past couple of meetings.

Item #1 and #2

Preliminary meetings with Collier County indicated they were going to require an SDP on the existing canal pump station site and they were potentially going to be involved with permitting work amounting to more than $30,000.  However, we continued to inquire with regards to this issue until we spoke to the appropriate person, and received in writing they will not require an SDP or proposal to do the work.

            Mr. Lambert asked is a structure required to enclose it?

            Mr. Benson responded yes.  However, we wanted to do this and I will discuss it further at the end of my report.

            Item #3

            I will also come back to this item at the end of my report.

Item #4

Since this item is no longer necessary, I will delete it from my report.

Item #5 and Item #7

The completion date of September 28, 2007 is going to be delayed since we want to ensure all of the equipment is ordered, but this is not on a critical path.

Item #6

I will discuss this item at the end of the report.

Item #8

You authorized Severn Trent to install additional pump and tank controls last month for the fire and irrigation pump station located at the wastewater plant in order for it to pump water from your existing tank and from the proposed tank.  I believe this work should be underway shortly.

            Mr. Dick stated we had a preconstruction meeting and the work is underway.

            Item #9

            Mr. Benson stated I was going to have an initial meeting with the county on the SDP for the wastewater and water plant site prior to this meeting, but I made the decision not do this and instead decided to present some conceptual ideas to you.  We were hoping to have more information, but we are not rushing to meet a deadline on this.

Item #10 & #10a

We had a target date at the end of this month to get you a proposal to do the work for the design of the tank as well as the SDP for the site.  I broke this down to two phases since we are delaying the SDP.  I do not have an actual letter or work order, but I have the attachment which goes with the document.  I believe we have $400,000 in the budget for construction costs of which 15% is for the estimate for engineering assistance during design and construction of the tank.  Our staff put together a man-hour estimate to show you the different design issues which are involved as well as the assistance in construction of a tank of this nature.  I told them to keep it under 15% of the $400,000, but they came in at $580 over 15%.  I am not asking for action today, but I will bring you the actual work order which we refer to in the attachment next month which you can look at and we can discuss if this is acceptable.

Item #11, #12, #13, #14

I am going to leave the dates we indicated for the work on the SDP for the water and wastewater plant site until we can come up with a schedule for the entire project which will include the workshop meeting we discussed earlier.

            Item #15

            The electrical upgrades at the water and wastewater treatment plant are on schedule with their completion date of October 15, 2007.  However, Lee County Electric Co-op Power Supply comes through a transformer.  As Mr. Edge and I mentioned last month, there was a switchover during some construction activity by the electrical contractor on the site, and it became apparent there was a deficiency in the Lee County Co-op transformer.  I believe the transformer was being used through the emergency procedure in which power constantly goes through the wiring because the main way in which the switch is flipped had some kind of a wiring problem.  We called both Severn Trent and Hole Montes; and the electrical contractor involved met with the Lee County Electrical Co-op who said they were not aware of the problem, and the only person who probably knew the transformer had a problem no longer works for them.  However, the Co-op told us they will take care of it.

            Mr. Lambert asked were they going to put underground transformers in?

            Mr. Benson responded it is a ground-mounted transformer.

            Mr. Edge stated Lee County Electrical Co-op came here the other day and I did not know what was going on out there.  However, I am now aware there was a light out on the line which was corrected.  This line also commuted and ran off of the water and wastewater treatment plant.  The automatic transfer switch has always been on emergency power as long as I have been here because the light is out and the reason LCEC came out is because they recognized we were not using any power over there or at the meter.

            Mr. Benson stated this is because it is a back-feeder.

            Mr. Edge stated we are getting power from the sewer plant.

            Mr. Benson stated it is being billed on the wastewater plant meter.  This is going to get taken care of as part of these upgrades.

            Mr. Edge stated this entire issue is going to be eliminated as soon as Gulf States Electrical comes back next week.  They will coordinate with LCEC and terminate the line as they get everything else situated and organized.

            Ms. Dillon asked will this work cause a power outage?

            Mr. Edge responded I do not believe so since we have power coming from the wastewater plant.

            Mr. Benson stated since we were not involved in this, I do not know the specifics, but I heard after the water plant work was done it was electrically connected to the wastewater plant which is not normal and is part of the reason why we are doing this project.

            Item #16, #17

            The generator is still on hold.

Item #18

Severn Trent is going to purchase the equipment, which can be coordinated by Mr. Dick and I.  Those mixers are going to replace the old ones as soon as the switchover to the MBR is made at the wastewater plant.

            Item #19

            The contractor is currently working on this.  They will be substantially complete with the system operating on November 19th.  However, these dates are proposed.  I believe the reason for the delays is their unfamiliarity with the length of time for the Collier County process.  When are they going to pour the concrete?

            Mr. Edge responded they cannot pour concrete until Gulf States Electrical runs conduit for their wiring.

            Mr. Benson stated something happened with the electrical contractor who was working for them and they hired Gulf States to finish the job, but they are not requesting additional funds, since this is their problem.

            Mr. Edge stated they have not started anything on this particular section, but they are going to be back at the site next week working on the remaining upgrades for the water treatment plant.  I am not certain of their estimated timeframe for the MBR, but I can talk to them next week.

            Mr. Benson stated they updated us a couple of days ago and said they were going to pour concrete.  They built all of their equipment on a couple of skids which are going to be set on a pad; thereby minimizing time on site which they used when they shipped the equipment to Orlando to put these skids together.  According to their report, they are going to start underground piping and conduit at the end of August, which I do not believe to be the case.

            Mr. Edge asked are you referring to Gulf States?

            Mr. Benson responded I am referring to Encore and Parkson.  Gulf States will work for them.

            Mr. Edge stated they already built the form for the concrete.

            Mr. Benson stated I am not certain we can do anything to force them to make up the November 19th date.  We may be able to push them to be ahead of this, but it is not going to be in conjunction with the contract.  They are asking for a 56-day extension to get this substantially complete.  They asked for an extension to February 21st, but we told them they are going to have to do better.  We know they cannot make it all up, but they should be making up a part of it on the final and we are going to work with them on this.

            Mr. Lambert asked are they requesting any payments?

            Mr. Benson responded they have done a lot of work without asking for payment.  Upon final completion, I am going to tell them they must get this done and I am going to try to negotiate something before November 19th.

            We have done everything possible over the last number of years to protect the CID’s rights to withdraw water for your irrigation system and been successful.  I believe you currently have a 10-year permit for the canal pump station.  In order to do this, we had to develop an overall plan of how the reuse water was going to be used in conjunction with the water from the canal and the potable water wells in order to get our permit extension.  SFWMD staff gave a presentation to this Board approximately one year ago with regards to the project in which they were going to change the way the water flows to the north of us.  They have been inconsistent with what they are going to do when they make all of these flow changes.  I recall SFWMD people commenting that their modeling has given many different answers.  You will have less water during the wet season, but basically they are going to have to store it in a holding area to give us a higher water table during the dry season.  However, I do not believe they know the schedule for all of this proposed work.  I asked at one of the meetings if the SFWMD will have to basically force the CID to give them a replacement in the event this plan for the SFWMD goes through; the CID does not have water; and we have a water use permit.  There was a meeting with some people in West Palm Beach in which they discussed potential impacts.  They brought up the fact we have a required use permit which is a concern for the District because they may do something with the canal.  The CID can potentially see what we may get the SFWMD to do for us or jointly with us such as an alternative to canal water.  I mentioned to someone with regards to the CID that it may be worthwhile for me to talk to some people at the SFWMD before we bid the project at the canal pump station for filtration and disinfection of the water to make it a higher quality.  This is necessary in order to justify keeping our permit for withdrawal, but it may be a good idea for me to make the contact at this point because they have discussed giving grants in the past.  They did not like the idea of giving us a grant to pay for the filtration and disinfection system.  For example, it may be worth pursuing construction of two or three wells potentially near the water plant to where the tanks or new pumps are, and use this water instead of the canal water.

            Ms. Dillon stated I believe it is definitely worth pursuing.

            Mr. Benson stated I am not promising anything.

            Mr. Lambert stated we should probably get something on the record.

            Mr. Benson stated the time was not right in the past, and my position on your behalf has always been to do everything possible to protect those water rights and obtain the 10-year renewal.  Perhaps I should speak to Mr. Cox first.  Do you have any input on this subject?

            Mr. Cox responded we probably should have a conference before proceeding in order to ensure we are all in concurrence even though I agree with everything you are saying.

            Mr. Benson stated I am not proposing to threaten them, but we may have to in the event we suddenly did not have any water.  Since I believe they are aware this is a possibility, they can probably give us a grant.

            Ms. Dillon stated all of this work we are doing may have to be put on hold.

            Mr. Benson stated you may save money over the long term.

            Mr. Lambert stated they need to understand the ramifications up front.

            Mr. Benson stated when we talked to them they were not certain where they stood on this project or what it was going to do to us.  However, it appears there are some people who are starting to believe it may be a good idea.

            Mr. Ziko asked how far along are we with the work on the pump station?

            Mr. Benson responded the design is almost ready.