MINUTES OF MEETING
NORTH SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT
The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the North Springs
Improvement District was held on
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Salvatore Mendolia
President
Steve Mendelson
Secretary
Also present were:
John Petty
Manager
Michael Pawelczyk
Attorney
Jane Early
Engineer
John McKune
CH2M Hill
Jean M. Rugg
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS
Roll Call
Mr. Mendolia called the meeting to order and called the
roll.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS
Approval of the Minutes of the April 12, 2006
Meeting
Mr. Petty stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the
There not being any,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor the minutes of the meeting of the
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of WA #161 – Heron Bay Commons Tennis Club Hurricane Repair
and Maintenance
Mr. Petty stated this is for engineering work associated with them
overseeing the job. This is the
second half. The first half was
prepping all of the documents and putting them out to bid.
Mr. Mendolia asked what is the timeframe to
complete operation on it?
Mr. Petty responded I believe the contract was short. Was it 30 days?
Mr. McKune responded approximately. They are going to sub-consult with the
original architect. They are going
to start working next week. It will
take 30 days.
Mr. Petty stated this is for the tennis court repair not the
structural.
Mr. McKune stated it will be 30
days.
Ms. Early stated this is for the clubhouse.
Mr. Petty stated I am sorry.
It is my mistake. I
misinterpreted the work authorization.
I asked for our engineer to do a structural evaluation because we had
roof damage and structural damage with fences as well as the holding areas where
people wait for tennis. They were
bent from the storm. I do not want
the contractor doing repairs when it is the structure, which has been
damaged. We have estimates from a
roofer, our insurance company and FEMA for the repairs, but no one has gone up
in the attic to see how much wood was damaged. We are getting a structural engineer as
a substitute to our engineer to go underneath all of the material, check the
structures and everything damaged, including all poles and support structures.
The pool is damaged. The
marcite is gone.
We have a couple of structural issues we noticed from original
construction. There are two holes
in the structure at the top of the entry feature. The management company has put pigeon
wire to stop the pigeons from resting there. Painting needs to be done. It is time to overhaul the entire
structure. We have our engineers
doing it. This work authorization
is to allow them to do it. We have
an estimate from their substitute in the $20,000 range. They will get paid according to an
hourly rate and then they have to pay their substitute.
Mr. Mendolia asked is WCI getting involved?
Mr. Petty responded WCI is getting involved in our questions and in
getting outside observations. When
it comes to funds, we have many options.
They included original funding provided for the original structure. We do not think this will negatively
impact the budget coming up to you.
I apologize for making you think it was for tennis court repairs.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor WA #161 for the Heron Bay Commons Tennis Club hurricane repair
and maintenance was approved.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Consideration of Change Orders
A.
Ms. Early stated these change orders are for work currently under
construction. The reason for the
change order is because the contractor was held up by WCI. These change orders are all WCI
costs. Even though the increases
include water and sewer, WCI has to bear the cost of the increases. These projects were bid over 90 days
ago. Because WCI was the hold up,
they have to pay to relieve these costs.
Mr. Petty stated they have the exposure. This is going to come from our fee base
system. WCI bears the risk of not
receiving payment.
Mr. Mendolia asked are they aware of
this?
Ms. Early responded yes.
Mr. Petty stated it is a complicated set up, but it works well. If WCI changes its development, gets
held up or adds more units and you get a cost increase, the only way they can
get compensation from us is if we get more connection fees or user fees, which
are part of their reimbursement.
They bear the burden.
Mr. Mendolia asked did they sign this?
Ms. Early responded yes, they signed it.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia
with all in favor Florida Sewer and Water Change Order No. 1 for Heron Bay
Commercial Residential Development Parcel for a net increase of $40,475.36 was
approved.
B.
Ms. Early stated
this is the same issue. The reason
there is one and two is we separated them to make it clear. They were bid together, but when we did
the change order we separated them.
They are WCI costs as well.
Mr. Mendolia asked does the same situation
apply?
Ms. Early responed yes.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia
with all in favor Florida Sewer and Water Change Order No. 1 for Banyan Isles
and Sable Point for a Net Increase of $234,466.10 was approved.
C.
Ms. Early stated this is the same issue.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendelson seconded by Mr. Mendolia
with all in favor Florida Sewer and Water Change Order No. 2 for Banyan Isles
and Sable Point for a net increase of $143, 385.71 was
approved
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Staff Reports
A.
Manager’s Report – Discussion of Upcoming Budget and
Schedule
Mr. Petty stated
we will start the budget process by bringing you a proposed budget. It is typically similar to what you
spent last year with whatever we discussed this year to start up with. It is for you to approve so I can send
it out to other government agencies and to residents who want to get
involved. We will start discussing
the projects and the costs. At the
first budget meeting, which will be at your next meeting, we will pick a date
for the public hearing to take place.
Ms. Rugg has a strict schedule.
We must have the public hearing 60 days after we approve the proposed
budget to have public input. After
we take public input we will adopt the budget. There are some formal issues we will go
through in adopting resolutions and assessment rates in the process. The first step is at our next meeting
where we will have a draft budget for your review.
Mr. Mendolia asked do you want to pick a date?
Mr. Petty responded because we have been bouncing our calendar around, it
is disoriented. We would like to
clarify when our next meeting is going to be so we can work out everything for
the budget hearing.
There was Board consensus to have the next meeting on
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor the next Board meeting was scheduled for
Mr. Petty stated we have submittal from our engineers. Their corporate parent is asking for a
rate increase on a per hour basis, which affects all of our construction
projects. It is not unusual during
these times with gasoline, construction and housing costs going up. I am going over the bills on the
construction projects and I am not happy, but the per
hour rate is not out of line. I am
working with Mr. McKune and will be working with Ms.
Early on this issue. It seems they
are exceeding acceptable norms for engineering fees, which are typically around
7.5%. I will be sitting down with
both of them to go over these issues.
The increased hourly rate requested is not out of the standard.
Mr. Mendolia asked did you say it is 7%?
Mr. Petty responded they typically get 7.5% for one part or the
other. It is 14% total for design
and then construction. They might
say it is supposed to be 7.5% each, but I think they are trying to get another
point. Mr. McKune and Ms. Early have always provided extra work. I recommend you do it along with the
budget at the next meeting.
When it comes to the Heron Bay Commons agreement and having the HOA
operate and maintain it, we are very close. Our intent in the new agreement is to
make the HOA responsible for satisfying the recreational demands of the
residents. We will hold them
accountable for everything.
Mr. Mendelson asked have they decided what they
will do as far as non-residents coming in to use their facilities? Is
it a closed issue? People can come
in.
Mr. Petty responded it is a closed issue. Staff made it clear that it is a public
facility.
Mr. Mendelson stated I want to make sure they
are aware of it so whatever the situation is, they have to handle it in the
context of what we voted on last time.
Mr. Petty stated you have the review rights. Should you find or hear of any
violations, it is a way for you to come back. Counsel has put in the current proposal
amendment for there to be a right to terminate with a 30 day
notice.
Mr. Pawelczyk stated as well as a division in
the agreement requiring the HOA to abide by our charter when dealing with the
purchase of any supplies and the $4,000 limit we have. They have to do it by law. We put it in there to make sure they
understand it as well as comply with any bond covenants, which govern the
District. The bond covenants dealt
with the tax exempt bonds issued.
In order to issue tax exempt bonds, it must be a public facility. It all revolved around the bond
covenants and they are required to not breach those. If they want a copy of them, we
indicated in the agreement they are available to them.
Mr. Petty stated when the agreement comes to you in its final form, which
will happen before
Mr. Mendolia asked what about
financially?
Mr. Petty responded we will get a one line item budget saying
management. They will get 1/12 of
the fee and they must fill the room with all life cycles, furniture, pictures,
food as well as paying the utility bills.
They must do it all. It will
take you out of the problem area.
None of the money comes back to us.
If there is any offsetting revenues from fees they charge, it offsets
their cost. We are responsible for
maintaining the structure and administrating the contract. When you get your budget you will see
three line items. Administrating
the contract is a line item I will put in there for counsel to review if there
is a problem. There will be another
line item saying reserve for structure, which is what we should do for owning an
$8 Million asset. When it comes to
Heron Bay Commons, we have monies in our construction account we can use to
build new tennis courts. It looks
like we have room for at least four tennis courts. With your permission, I will put it in
the proposed budget for consideration.
Mr. Mendolia stated do
it.
Mr. Mendelson stated it will make them
happy.
Mr. Mendolia stated it should make WCI
happy. If they want to sell houses,
the only way they will do it is with tennis courts. People love it.
Mr. Petty stated we know on existing land we can get in approximately
four courts. We also have land on
the other side. When you enter the
main structure it will be on the left.
There is a long parking lot and a canal. There is land there we might not need
for the flow way. We might be able
to fill it in and get enough room for a court. I have not talked to our engineer
yet.
Mr. Mendolia stated if you put those courts in,
you will have a great deal of happy people.
Mr. Petty stated we are close to getting a final agreement, which will
keep it simple for this Board. If
any resident comes hear to complain, they will need to get enough people for us
to fire them. Everything else must
go through the HOA.
We have an item, which was not in your agenda. It is an item we told you we were going
to put out to bid. It is the
hurricane debris removal and canal bank restoration. We talked about it at the last
meeting. Our engineers put it out
to bid. They have a bid tabulation
to go over with you. We opened
these bids on
Mr. McKune stated on
Mr. Mendolia stated something is
wrong.
Mr. McKune stated I believe something is wrong
on the high end and not the low end.
I think this person did not look at the job and put their bid in hoping
to get it. This is a good amount
from Arbor Tree & Land, Inc.
They are doing the work in CSID.
They are a well qualified company.
We reviewed the bids and we recommend the Board award the project to
Arbor Tree & Land, Inc. subject to the two concerns in this letter;
determination of NSID vegetation removal and/or permitting process and funding
being available.
Mr. Mendolia asked does this cover any area of
NSID?
Mr. McKune responded for hurricane damaged
areas.
Mr. Petty stated most of the trees, which were down in the berm area of Parkland Isles, have been removed by the
landscaper and paid for. We
submitted applications. Let me
speak to the type of removal because your sister districts, CSID and SWCD, had
huge problems with this tree removal program. We had Australian Pines, Banyans and
other trees, which grew next to the canal systems. We do not have this situation in NSID,
which is a water management facility and we do not have standing waters with
seedlings. We have some trees
damaged. Our concern is to remove
the debris and to more importantly put the shape back to the bank. I am glad to see the number is as low as
it is. Arbor Tree & Land, Inc.
is working on one of the contracts at CSID. Their equipment is outstanding and their
people are capable. The only issue
we have with him is on some of the side deals. We are trying to work with him and we
are hoping to take advantage of his generosity. He is not so generous. He does the removal work
expeditiously. We also recommend
you award to them subject to the definition of item one by the engineer. I would like more information on the
concern about the vegetation removal process.
Mr. McKune stated if there is a concern to be
covered, I do not believe it is a concern at NSID. It is no longer an
issue.
Mr. Petty stated Mr. McKune and I had several
discussions in our sister districts on how do we spend $2 Million to $3 Million
removing downed trees without having a policy on the trees left standing. Only half of the trees were knocked down
during the hurricane. NSID is a
different animal. We do not have
this issue here. This is nothing
more than a few trees planted for aesthetic value, which have fallen in our
area. We can clean them up without
trying to administer how everyone grows trees in their backyards. I do not advise the Board to consider it
at this time.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor the hurricane debris removal and canal restoration project for
NSID was awarded to Arbor Tree & Land, Inc.
B.
Attorney
There being no
report, the next item followed.
C.
Engineer
Mr. McKune stated we have two drainage pumps in NSID, which take
care of drainage for the entire District.
The original pump station is Pump Station No. 1 at the end of
We only have one pump piped up to discharge to the
I spoke with them since then and they will be through with their large
job at the end of this month. They
feel they can do the work. On page
two of your handout is a copy of the format of the bid tabulation, which was
submitted. Page three is a copy of
their original quotation to do the work.
If you add up the numbers it comes to $81, 331. If you look at the structure of the
quotation and compare it to the bid tabulation, you can see the structure is
identical. With hurricane season
around the corner, we would like to get this job done as quickly as
possible. If we need to, we can
re-bid the project. I ask you to
allow us to negotiate with FPI to do the work. The quotation is a reasonable and fair
price. They want to do the
job. It is the best route for the
District to take.
Mr. Mendolia asked do you see any problem with
this?
Mr. Pawelczyk responded no. I discussed this with Mr. McKune a couple of weeks ago when you did not receive
bids. There is a statutory
provision in your build and public improvement. It requires you to bid projects over a
certain amount. If you do not get
bids, you can negotiate. We can do
this because the bid was publicly advertised and no one
responded.
Mr. Mendolia asked are you going to negotiate
with them on $81,000?
Mr. McKune responded yes. I will try.
Mr. Mendolia asked did we ever talk about the
pump situation?
Mr. McKune responded I am sure we
have.
Ms. Early stated you gave us permission to bid it.
Mr. Mendolia stated I am talking before
that.
Mr. McKune stated it has been a progressively
worsening situation. There were
interim repairs made repeatedly.
You cannot repair it again.
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor general construction for Pump Station No. 1 at an amount not
to exceed $98,000 was awarded to FPI, Inc.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Approval of Requisitions and Invoices
There being no
questions or comments,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor the requisitions and invoices were
approved.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Supervisor’s Request and Audience Comments
There not being any, the next item followed.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
Adjournment
There being no
further business,
On MOTION by Mr. Mendolia seconded by Mr. Mendelson
with all in favor the meeting was adjourned at
Jean M. Rugg
Salvatore J. Mendolia
Assistant Secretary
President