MINUTES OF MEETING

NORTH SPRINGS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

 

            The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the North Springs Improvement District was held on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. at the District Office, 10300 NW 11^th Manor, Coral Springs, Florida. 

 

            Present and constituting a quorum were:

 

            Steve Mendelson                                        President

            David L. Gray                                            Secretary

 

            Also present were:

 

            Ed Goscicki                                                Interim Manager - Severn Trent Services

            Pamela Rower                                            Severn Trent Services

            Brenda Schurz                                            Severn Trent Services

            Terri Lusk                                                  Severn Trent Services

            Cassandra Cox                                           Severn Trent Services

            Dennis Lyles                                               Attorney

            Jane Early                                                   Engineer

            Sean Skehan                                              CH2M-Hill

            John McKune                                             Capital Improvement Coordinator

            Nick Schooley                                            Field Superintendent

            Doug Hyche                                               CSID Staff

            Mark Capwell                                            Resident

            Vincent Moretti                                          Resident

            Salvatore J. Mendolia                                 Consultant

 

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS                         Roll Call

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

 

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS                    Organizational Matters

            A.        Appointment of Supervisor to Fill Unexpired Term of Office (6/2008)

            Mr. Goscicki stated with Mr. Mendolia’s resignation from the Board at the last meeting, we have a vacant seat for the Board to fill.  We will keep this item on the agenda until a new supervisor is appointed.  The Board received resumes from Mr. Mark Capwell, Mr. Edwin Stacker and Mr. Vincent Moretti.  It is the Board’s responsibility to appoint someone from the community who meets the requirements of the statute.  This is an “at large” position meaning as long as they live in the District, they are eligible.  Two candidates are here tonight.  The Board may want to ask Mr. Moretti to address the Board since Mr. Capwell spoke to the Board at the last meeting. 

            Mr. Mendelson stated the Board wishes to hear from Mr. Moretti.

            Mr. Moretti stated good afternoon.  I am the President of Pro-Bowl Plumbing, a local company in Coral Springs.  I provided a copy of my resume to the Board to apply for the open seat on the Board. 

            Mr. Goscicki stated it is the pleasure of the President as to how you want to proceed with this matter.  You can either take these resumes under advisement and make a decision at the next meeting or solicit additional input from the community.  It is at the convenience and necessity of the Board. 

            Mr. Mendelson stated I suggest tabling this matter and making a decision at the next meeting.

            Mr. Gray stated I agree to voting on this matter at the next meeting.  I reviewed the resumes and feel fairly confident with my decision but I want to review them further.

            Mr. Goscicki stated the individual Board members can certainly contact any candidate to ask questions or learn more about them.  You just cannot discuss the candidates amongst yourselves. 

            Mr. Gray stated I also want to wait because we have not seen the third candidate.  He was not present at the last meeting.

            Mr. Goscicki stated he submitted his resume between the two meetings.  I thought he might be here today but it looks like he is not present.

            Mr. Gray stated since the other two candidates are here, we will consider their resumes.  If Mr. Stacker wishes to attend the next meeting, we will discuss his resume.

            Mr. Goscicki stated we will advise him the Board will be taking action at the next meeting.

            C.        Oath of Office for Newly Appointed Supervisor

            There not being any, the next item followed.

 

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS                       Approval of the Minutes of the September 13, 2007 Meeting

            Mr. Goscicki stated each Board member received a copy of the minutes of the September 13, 2007 meeting and requested any corrections, additions or deletions.

            There not being any,

 

 

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                    Consideration of Change Orders

A.                 Change Order No. 1 & Final – Florida Sewer & Water, Inc. for Heron Bay North Plat I, Phase II (Cypress Point, Phase II) for a Net Decrease of $220,667.20

            Ms. Early stated Change Order No. 1 is the final one for Cypress Point, Phase II.  This is a balancing change order to bring the quantities to final.  There was a decrease in the amounts.

 

 

B.                 Change Order No. 1 – Arazoza Brothers Corp. for Heron Bay Wetlands Mitigation and Maintenance for a Net Increase of $9,966.93

            Ms. Early stated after the Heron Bay mitigation construction was completed and the areas were planted, the contractor determined the actual field condition needed more plants.  In our meeting with Miller, Legg, they contemplated additional plants, with the cost to be split between WCI and the District.  We had some additional lake acreage removed, which did not belong to the District but we will maintain, so this portion was deducted from their contract.  I added an additional plotted mitigation area in the new section behind Publix.  The reason WCI is paying a portion is they are only splitting the installation with the District.  The maintenance is all going to be paid for by NSID.

            Mr. Gray stated it looks like this was already budgeted for.

            Ms. Early stated the budget included the Heron Bay mitigation. 

 

 

            Mr. Goscicki stated on a related matter, we will be bringing a contract to the next meeting for the continued inspection and maintenance of the mitigation areas, which is our long term responsibility.  It is currently being undertaken by a joint agreement between WCI and the District.  However, there was restoration work to be done and it is getting to the point where it is being finally accepted.  The contract will be an amendment to the existing contract to provide for the ongoing maintenance and inspection for next year.  We are not talking about a large amount of money to do this work.

            Ms. Early asked for Miller-Legg?

            Mr. Goscicki responded yes. 

            Ms. Early stated we are talking about maybe $12,000.

            Mr. Goscicki stated I was thinking between $10,000 and $20,000.  This will keep the contract in place to make sure we have the required maintenance so we do not get into other issues.

 

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                         Consideration of Permit Requests

A.        Higgins Engineering, Inc. for a Right-of-Way Permit for Use of County Line Road R/W West of Nob Hill Road for Temporary Access to Bishop Pit

            Ms. Early stated an issue came up at the northern end of Nob Hill Road; west of County Line Road in regards to trucks using the dirt road to haul dirt to Bishop Pit.  I received complaints from homeowners, the City of Parkland and the Sheriff’s Department.  As a result, we met with David Barren Land Development who was using Bishop Pit and informed him he needed a permit to use the right-of-way temporarily as a haul road.  He also had to submit liability insurance and name the District as an additional insurer, which he did.  We met with the sheriff on-site and signage and other traffic calming devices will be installed because trucks were speeding.  The contractor submitted the insurance certificate and installed temporary asphalt.

            Mr. Weissman asked what time frame does the temporary permit allow?

            Ms. Early responded I am waiting to see what the schedule is for the construction of County Line Road.

            Mr. Gray asked is there a time frame for the County Line Road construction?

            Ms. Early responded construction is supposed to be completed under the 50^th C.O. but the City of Parkland extended it to the 150^th C.O.  Mr. Barren understands this project can be shut down at any time.

            Mr. Mendelson asked is he going to maintain whatever he is doing on-site?

            Ms. Early responded he is going to maintain it and keep the signage there.  If there is a problem such as trucks speeding, he has to handle it. 

            Mr. Gray asked did the homeowners complain about the speeding?

            Ms. Early responded the trucks were causing a great deal of dust.

            Mr. Gray asked is he doing something to keep the dust from spreading?

            Mr. Frederick responded he already installed temporary asphalt.  I was out there yesterday and could not see any dust.

            Mr. Mendelson stated as long as he maintains it, I am satisfied because we do not know when the road is going to be completed.

            Mr. Gray stated so he responded to complaints and will maintain it.

            Ms. Early stated correct.

            Mr. Goscicki stated part of the reason for going through this permit process is to put them on notice this is not public property; it is NSID property and they do not have right of access.  This is an undeveloped piece of property.  The concern was the user was treating themselves as if they had proprietary rights.  We wanted them to understand they needed to have an agreement with the District through a permit and they had responsibilities as a result of their operations to indemnify against the insurer, maintain the property and put it back in its original condition.  We are doing this with another contractor who wants access off of University Drive for the same reason.  There is a section of University Drive, which has not yet been dedicated to the City of Parkland.  We are working with Mr. Lyles in regards to an agreement permitting them to go onto this property with the condition they have to maintain the road, put it back to its original condition and indemnify the District if something goes wrong.

 

 

B.        CRJ & Associates for a Surface Water Management Permit for Parkland Fire Station located at Trails End and Pine Island Road

            Ms. Early stated this is one of our typical surface water management permit requests for the new fire station on the southwest corner of Pine Island Road and Trails End, which will be operated by the City of Parkland.  They started construction.  We met with their engineer and provided some stipulations.  We will continue working with their engineer.

            Mr. Schooley stated we have a number of permit requests where we obtain a $2,500 trash bond in areas where there are no canals.  I do not care whether or not they hook up to the drainage line or if the water is plugged up but I do not think it is our responsibility to oversee it until the water hits our canal.  I would only release it when they request it back.  I do not know why we are getting them unless it is standard practice to get one from every applicant.  The purpose of the trash bond is to prevent the applicant from disturbing the waterway and from leaving debris on the property.  Before releasing the check, I do an inspection to insure the property is left in an acceptable condition.  In these areas, I suggest releasing the check.

            Ms. Early stated I just assume taking the trash bond because then they will leave their equipment in the way.

            Mr. Goscicki stated the onus is on them to request release of the bond.  They put up a bond when they complete and meet the obligations of what the bond was posted for.  We are not thwarting this process for them.

            Mr. Frederick stated if they do not get drainage, I do not think it is our responsibility to fix what is underground.

 

 

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                        Staff Reports

A.        Manager’s Report

            Mr. Goscicki stated the Board requested we recognize the efforts Mr. Mendolia put forth with his seven years on the Board by presenting him with a plaque.  The Board wanted you to have a memento to take with you.  The plaque says the following:

“We present to Sal Mendolia, President in recognition of and appreciation for the dedicated service on behalf of the North Springs Improvement District Board of Supervisors, July 2001 through September 2007”

 

            Mr. Mendolia stated I am overwhelmed.  Thank you!  I will never forget this.

i.              Consideration of Consultant Agreement with Sal Mendolia

            Mr. Goscicki stated at the last meeting, the Board discussed entering into a Consultant Agreement with Mr. Mendolia in order to benefit from his experience and history with the Board.  We prepared this agreement and provided it to the Board.  It is a straightforward Consultant type of agreement, reflecting Mr. Mendolia as a Consultant of the Board and providing for a basic fee and reimbursement of direct expenses with a not to exceed amount.

 

 

ii.            Discussion of Parkland Isles Landscape Maintenance

            Mr. Goscicki stated I wanted to bring the Board up to speed on some of the direction in regards to the Parkland Isles landscape maintenance.  The Board will recall, NSID owns the landscape buffer surrounding the entire Parkland Isles community and has a contract with Valley Crest Landscape to perform the landscape maintenance.  We currently have an informal arrangement with the HOA of Parkland Isles to provide some oversight on this contract rather than us providing for an on-site inspector to manage the work.  This had been a practice for the last two to three years.  We recognize this is not a good relationship to have but they are not directing any work or are authorized to spend any money.  They are only providing the oversight and coming back to us.  The Board made it clear to us they do not want to be in the landscape maintenance business.  I met with some representatives of the community and I am trying to get on their agenda for November to propose this District enter into an agreement with the HOA where the HOA will assume the responsibilities for the management of this berm.  This agreement will be similar to the one we have with the Heron Bay Commons HOA where they take on the contractual relationship with this Board to maintain and operate this facility.  We will have Parkland Isles enter into a similar type of agreement with us to maintain the berm. 

            The units have sold well through NSID and the ownership stayed with NSID.  The assessments will flow the same way as Heron Bay; only we will be paying Heron Bay an annual fee to manage it.  I brought this up to them and I wanted to make sure the Board was comfortable with it.  They may or may not be comfortable with it.  This will come before them at their November Board meeting.  We are working with the same scenarios for Parkland Village, which plans on having a landscape berm and are currently working with the developer to prepare an agreement with the master HOA in a similar fashion.  We are trying to get all of these structured the same way to keep us out of the day-to-day maintenance of landscaping as part of our business.

            In a related issue, Holmberg Road and parts of University Drive are coming into contention with the City of Parkland in regards to the responsibility of maintenance of the median strips.  We worked diligently with WCI and surrounding communities and have been able to transfer 90% of the medians to the adjacent HOAs to have them take over those responsibilities.  We are still in the process of trying to formalize those agreements but are moving forward in this direction.  One section of Holmberg Road behind the middle school and high school is within the City of Parkland but they will not maintain the medians.  We have no one else stepping forward to put pressure on WCI because it is part of Parkland Isles.  If we said to them, “we want you to do this for nothing”, I do not think they will be too receptive.  Therefore, I asked Valley Crest Landscape Maintenance Company to give us a proposal to add this section into the current landscape maintenance contract for Parkland Isles.  If we cannot work out any other solution, at least it is part of the contract.  For the remainder of Holmberg Road, we are working out a deal with the City of Coral Springs who agreed to maintain the medians since they own the road; as opposed to the City of Parkland, who does not choose to take on this responsibility.

            Mr. Gary asked was there a legal issue?

            Mr. Goscicki responded there was some dispute over one section of this road as to whether or not we own the road or the City of Parkland does.  We are still looking into this.

            Mr. Lyles stated as part of the normal development process, when WCI was ready to turn the medians over, they recorded a Quit Claim Deed in favor of NSID.  However, the Board never took any action as they never came before this Board.  Our current position is the conveyance is not complete until the Board takes formal action to accept the medians.  Management is trying to work out a peaceful resolution but you may want to take action to accept the landscape medians and therefore the landscape responsibilities.  However, as your attorney, I am going to take the position, the medians still belong to WCI and a corrective deed needs to be filed. 

            Mr. Gray asked who is currently maintaining it?

            Mr. Goscicki responded WCI is providing the maintenance responsibilities.  They are mowing the grass and keeping it from getting a Notice of Violation.

            Mr. Gray stated if we do not own it, we are not bringing money into it.

            Mr. Goscicki stated not at this point.

            Mr. Lyles stated you gave us direction in the past and predecessor Boards dictated we were not created to be in this business and are not going to get into this business.  In response to the question of why we should maintain the medians, as a responsible government agency, you may not want to neglect them.  In the meantime, you may wish to do some rudimentary things, but only as a transitional step to get this issue resolved.  We are close to this happening.

            Mr. Mendelson stated I agree.  I just do not want to get into a permanent situation.  It is a liability every single month to do what should be done by someone else.

            Mr. Goscicki stated we asked Valley Crest to break their proposal down into two segments; the one we know is going to the City of Coral Springs and the remaining segment.  It is probably going to take us three to six months to get through their governmental bureaucracy to get it accepted.  Since we have agreement going forward, we will take care of it for a few months.

            Mr. Mendelson stated makes sense.

            Mr. Gray stated they have a quit claim.

            Ms. Early stated they think they do not have one.  The issue is whether Nob Hill Road, was dedicated to the District in order for bond funds to be used to build the road.  I provided the conveyance package for the section in the City of Coral Springs but I do not have any information on the Parkland section.

            Mr. Lyles stated it appears they unilaterally recorded a Quit Claim Deed in favor of NSID, which this Board did not accept and therefore is not a complete conveyance of interest in this median.

            Ms. Early stated they have been maintaining it for years and stopped four months ago.  This is how the issue came about.

            Mr. Gray stated if they stopped, I assume the city approached WCI.

            Ms. Early stated they looked it up on the Broward County website.

            Mr. Lyles stated the Property Appraiser’s records show there is a deed recorded in our favor.  They do not look behind the recording of a deed.  If we do not work this out with WCI in a voluntary way, we will straighten this out.

            Mr. Goscicki stated one significant item we have been working with the engineers on is the Consumptive Use Permit for the Water Treatment Plant.  The Consumptive Use Permit is coming up for renewal in January of this upcoming year.  The engineers are moving forward with the renewal of this permit and fully expect to get into some significant confrontation with SFWMD over this issue.  The basic issue is we have a Water Treatment Plant built for the capacity of 6,000,000 gallons per day.  The current Consumptive Use Permit has a capacity of 4.5 million gallons per day.  We have current usage on an annual average basis of 3.5 million gallons per day and ultimate build-out of 7 million gallons per day.  Obviously we are going to ask for as much capacity as we can.  The Water Management Districts has already said “We are not giving you any more capacity in the Consumptive Use Permit than you already have and can show use for in 2006”, which is going to ration us back to our current usage.  These have been significant issues in Sunrise and Broward County.  I asked the engineers to come back next month to discuss this matter in further detail.  This will be a long and costly process in terms of what will be required in order to go through the permitting.  We see this as a cooperative process with some element of CSID and the City of Coral Springs.  There may or may not be some joint resolutions.  It is a complex issue.  At some point, it looks like we are going to have to spend some money on Water Treatment Plant improvements.

            Mr. Mendelson stated all communities in this area will benefit from it.

            Mr. Goscicki stated the challenge we are facing is there is a limited resource in the Biscayne Aquifer.  The Water Management District said in 2006 “If you are not using the water, I am not giving you any more.  If you need more, even though you had a permit, you did not use it and I am not giving it to you.  If you need more water, go someplace else”.  The “someplace else” is the Floridian Aquifer, which is deeper brackish water.  For us, this is a double blow because you literally have a Water Treatment Plant meeting your needs and will continue meeting your needs for the next five to ten years if you can get the Consumptive Use Permit renewed.  We may be forced into building a new Water Treatment Plant for the capacity of the Floridian Aquifer and spending millions of dollars to do so.  This is a big dollar item not only for you but for most of the cities in Broward County and south Palm Beach County.  The municipalities came out on the losing end of the Everglades in terms of public consumption.  The Everglades Restoration Plan put us at bottom of the pecking order.

            Mr. Gray asked can any organizations help us out?

            Mr. Hyche responded there is the Southeast Florida Utility Council but they have no power.

            Mr. Goscicki stated I created this entity 14 years ago to deal with such an issue.  When I was with Broward County as an Environmental Services Director, we established the Southeast Florida Utility Council.  NSID does not have a great deal of clout, nor does Coral Springs or Broward County Utilities.  Jointly we represent 4 million people but individually you represent 50,000.  We put this organization together to lobby such issues.  When you looked at issues compared to fire protection, ad valorem tax issues and other governmental issues; the cost of water was not an issue.  This issue from 10 to 15 years ago has escalated in terms of significance.  Now it is a matter of cost and supply.  I have not seen where there is joint cooperation taking place.  The Water Management District still manages to get one entity competing against the other. 

            I also wanted to discuss moving forward with an agreement between NSID and CSID regarding stormwater Pump Station 1.  We are looking at modifying the permit to allow us to pump water south towards CSID.  The Water Management District has said “We do not have a problem with it but you need an agreement with CSID recognizing this and there will be conditions depending on what they are doing.  Ms. Early is taking the lead in drafting this agreement, which we will bring before the CSID Board on Monday.

            In regards to the Pine Tree WCD, there is a small section of Pine Tree WCD property just south of the Sawgrass Expressway bordering NSID by NW 57^th Street.  It is an old area, low lying with one to two acre lots, which do not drain well.  I am also the Pine Tree WCD Manager, which is why I can speak about this issue.  They are having problems with drainage on those properties when it rains.  The problem is the water never gets to the Pine Tree canal and the properties flood.  We have a canal and berm running along the back end of those properties.  Mr. Schooley has pulled out a number of discharge lines, which discharged into our canal.  The Pine Tree WCD Board asked me as the District Manager for NSID to tell the NSID Board if the community ever worked out a plan to install some infrastructure for drainage and developed a pump station on-site, whether this District is willing to enter into some agreement with them to accept their storm water.  I am presenting this to you.  My opinion is that group of homeowners will never get together and spend any of their own money to develop the infrastructure.  But if they did, the Pine Tree Board wanted to know if the Board will consider amending the boundaries of the District or enter into an Interlocal Agreement to accept stormwater from another area.  They do not want a firm commitment from you.

            Mr. Lyles stated Mr. Goscicki is in the middle of a conflict situation.  I am not the Attorney for Pine Tree but I represented Drainage Districts and Special Districts who have been in similar situations where they were asked to accept some flowage into their stormwater system.  It is not uncommon for a Board to authorize this.  What will happen is some calculation on an engineering basis will be made as to what increment of cost we had incurred in the past allowing us to accept this extra drainage.  It could be as simple as the issuance of a permit, which you could authorize at an engineering based fee to make this District whole for accepting this flowage and any potential problems arising from it.  This is fairly common.  We are all part of regional stormwater management systems and it is within your purview to favorably look upon it but you want to be able to tell your own residents and taxpayers, to the extent any cost is to be borne, it is reimbursed by the people draining into our District. 

            Mr. Gray stated I do not think the homeowners will ever get together to fund it.  However, any cost incurred in getting this done, they will certainly have to pay.  Who will give us the numbers for how this will impact us on a financial basis?

            Ms. Early responded the maintenance costs will come from Mr. Schooley. 

            Mr. Schooley stated many of these areas are horse farms and the water is going to be horrendous in terms of the water quality.  To be honest with you, I do not want this water in my canal.  We already have enough problems.

            Mr. Gray stated there was an article in the newspaper last week about the horse farms.

            Mr. Schooley stated those horses have been there for years and we do not know the condition of the ground water.  I have been to horse farms where the manure is fairly high. 

            Mr. Gray asked is there a high phosphorus level?

            Ms. Early responded yes.  This is what we are trying to reduce.

            Mr. Schooley stated this is something we need to talk about before drafting an agreement.  Maybe the phosphorus level will come up and cause problems.

            Mr. Mendelson stated it has to. 

            Mr. Lyles stated you may have to talk about having some type of pre-treatment done before the water gets discharged.  I am working with a District in Palm Beach County where there are dedicated manure pre-treatment and treatment plants. 

            Mr. Mendelson asked how much does it dissipate?

            Mr. Lyles responded if it is pre-treated, it will get to the levels our engineers will consider acceptable for surface water dumped into the system.  There are calculations, which can be made but they have a cost increment associated with them.  I am suggesting to you when these things are looked upon, it will be appropriate to tell the people asking you for a helping hand, they will have to pay all of the costs we incur.

            Mr. Gray stated I certainly want to see what those costs are.

            Mr. Mendelson stated you have to calculate the cost to pre-treat the water.

            Mr. Lyles stated this is not my area of expertise but we are not talking about something getting treated like it is treated here.  It is treated so the water can be put into the groundwater and not ever be part of a potable water system.

            Mr. Goscicki stated if we move forward towards having some agreement, they will build any infrastructure they need to within their District.  It will be theirs to build, own and maintain.

            Mr. Mendelson asked will they have to treat the water in both pumps?

            Mr. Goscicki responded yes.  They will treat it and then you will have a point of connection where they pump the water in and we monitor it.

            Mr. Lyles stated but it will meet your standards.

            Mr. Gray stated any water has to meet certain standards under the federal guidelines.

            Mr. Goscicki stated on stormwater management, you get into best management practices rather than the defined water quality level you have to meet.  Is this still the current regulation?

            Ms. Early responded yes.  They are trying to push it to where they have a certain limit before discharging.

            Mr. Gray stated these are the best practices for controlling the flow and keeping the silt out but there is no regulation.

            Ms. Early stated correct.

            Mr. Schooley stated I am not sure whether this is possible.  I think the area you are referring to is free flowing water down a gutter, over to a canal by the Sawgrass Expressway.  We are not talking about a canal.

            Mr. Goscicki stated this is the way the water was supposed to flow.

            Mr. Schooley stated this has nothing to do with Pine Tree.  I believe the area is owned by the City of Parkland but they will not accept it. 

            Mr. Goscicki stated correct.  These are city roads.  Pine Tree WCD was not responsible for the on-site drainage down those streets or the on-site drainage on those properties.  The Pine Tree Board already told this community “Fixing the drainage on your property is your responsibility.  We will be happy to act as a facilitator to try to bring the community together but you will incur the cost of redoing your swales, re-draining it and putting in a pump station.  The residents need to create an association and do what you need to in order to make it work but this is our only connection.”  In this discussion, the residents said “rather than us doing something here and pumping the water into Pine Tree, it will be easier putting it over the berm and right into NSID.” 

            Mr. Gray stated as long as the water is treated and all costs will be paid for by Pine Tree, we will consider it.  However, I want to see what they plan on doing.

            Mr. Goscicki stated I think they need to go through many steps before this comes back before the Board. 

            Mr. Gray stated I do not think the homeowners will come together.

            Mr. Schooley stated there is no way the water goes into a pond to be treated and purified.  The water is going to come from their horse lots straight into our waterway.

            Mr. Lyles stated it is not going to be allowed.

            Mr. Schooley asked where is the water going?

            Mr. Goscicki responded they will have to find some available property to build a pump station on to get the water into our canal and do some stormwater retention and treatment if necessary.  There are many things they have to do.

            Mr. Schooley stated I do not think there is any available property. 

            Mr. Goscicki stated a homeowner will have to dedicate property to the District.

            Mr. Mendelson asked what are the chances of a homeowner doing this?

            Mr. Goscicki responded slim to none. 

            Mr. Schooley stated right when you leave our District and into Pine Tree, the weeds grow 50 to 75’ in the air.  I contacted the University of Florida and they told me this is an exotic weed called “Air Potato”. 

            Mr. Goscicki stated it is in the City of Parkland’s right-of-way.  Pine Tree is an old District and has a number of challenges.  Unfortunately they have few fiscal resources at their disposal in order to deal with these problems.

            Since the Board may be appointing a new Board member at the next meeting, I suggest scheduling a workshop shortly after the next meeting as an orientation.  I learned an amazing amount of what goes on in this District in my five to six months here.  The purpose of this workshop is to bring everyone up to speed at the same time on the activity taking place in terms of new development, current programs and what we are and are not responsible for, etc.

            Mr. Mendelson asked is there any way we can change the date of the Board meetings from Thursday to Wednesday?

            Mr. Goscicki responded it is at the Board’s pleasure.

            Mr. Gray stated I assume you have to revise the notice of the meeting dates.

            Mr. Lyles stated correct.  Starting next month?

            Mr. Mendelson responded yes.

            Mr. Lyles asked any Wednesday?  Mr. Goscicki and I are involved in many different districts who typically set their schedule a year ahead of time.  The second Thursday at 4:30 P.M. is your normal meeting date.  Another district may meet the second Wednesday.  I want to make sure I am not creating a situation where I cannot come to your meetings.  I suggest meeting the third Wednesday, except for November when I will be out of town.  Your scheduled meeting for November is on the 8^th.  What about the first Wednesday, which will move you to November 7^th next month?

            Mr. Mendelson responded this works.

            Mr. Goscicki stated works for me.  Pine Tree meets on the first Thursday. 

            Mr. Lyles stated we are always done here before the Pine Tree meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.

            Mr. Goscicki stated Pine Tree only meets quarterly now.

            Mr. Lyles asked is the first Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. good for everyone?

            Mr. Mendelson responded yes.

            Mr. Gray responded works for me.

            Mr. Goscicki responded I am free.  Does 4:30 p.m. work for the Board?

            Mr. Mendelson responded yes.

            Mr. Gray asked do we need to vote on this?

            Mr. Lyles responded the Board approved the current schedule by motion so it makes sense to do this by motion as well.

 

 

            B.        Attorney’s Report

            Mr. Lyles stated Ms. Early finalized negotiations with the contractor on the tennis court expansion project, which the Board requested termination of.  Ms. Early did a great job in getting the contractor to agree to call it a day and execute a mutual release in our favor waiving any rights, any additional costs, any damages or fees for the amount already paid.  The contractor took some of the materials we paid for and used them on another project, which we received reimbursement or credit for.  The final resolution of this matter is through an Agreement and Mutual Release in the total amount of $213,000.  The contractor already executed the same and I have the original documents.  I believe this is what the Board directed us to do.  A motion to authorize execution of the Agreement and Mutual Release between NSID and National Home Building and Remodeling Corporation is in order at this time.

 

 

C.        Engineer’s Report – Pump Station Evaluation Report

            There not being any, the next item followed.

 

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                  Approval of Requisitions and Invoices

            Mr. Goscicki stated you will notice there are no requisitions or invoices in your agenda package.  As the Board will recall, we shifted the accounting from CSID to in-house.  As expected, some transitional items have taken place.  Ms. Terri Lusk is the Accountant for this District.  Bills are getting paid but we have not been able to prepare together the reports for this month.  We will provide them to you next month along with the financial statements.  For the first time in over a year, we will be providing you with the financial statements in addition to the check register.  We are making good progress in getting the financial statements straightened out.

            Related to this issue, as we took over the accounting, we noted numerous checking accounts for NSID.  Almost each separate fund and bond issue had a separate account.  For the Water and Sewer Fund, we have two different checking accounts.  Within the General Fund, we have four checking accounts. 

            Ms. Rower stated plus reserves.

            Mr. Goscicki stated you need to keep separate accounting but there is no need to have separate checking accounts.  We are planning to do some consolidation and save a few dollars in bank transaction fees.  We will be bringing this back to you next month.

 

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                     Supervisor’s Requests and Audience Comments

            Mr. Craven stated I represent the developer for Parkland Village.  We are almost completed with our lake excavation.  To manage our stormwater during construction, we left plugs in both ends of the lake system so we did not connect to any NSID facilities.  However, we are now getting to the point where we are ready to connect.  I noticed driving down Coral Ridge Drive; they installed fences around some of the mitigation in Heron Bay.  Are there Grass Carp in those lakes and do we need to take some action before opening up those canals such as installing screens or gates on the culverts?  We have mitigation banks within Parkland Village and if we do not protect them, they are going to be eaten.

            Mr. Schooley responded for years, we put Grass Carp in our lakes.  However, we do not do this anymore as we do not need them.  There are Grass Carp in every canal and they could be in Parkland Village.  I do not know what mitigation plants the carp like.  I can find out. 

            Mr. Craven stated I can work this out with Ms. Early.

            Mr. Goscicki asked is it the engineer’s preference to put fencing around the mitigation area to keep the carp out?

            Ms. Early responded yes.

            Mr. Craven asked is this your preference rather than putting in a screen or a gate?

            Ms. Early responded yes.  We do not like having a screen on a culvert.

            Mr. Schooley stated we do not allow screens because anything can go through them such as bags.  None of our pumps have screens on them.  If any our pumps come with screens on them, I have them removed because it creates a bad situation in a storm event.

 

NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS                       Adjournment

            There being no further business,

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                     

David Gray                                                                   Steve Mendelson

Secretary                                                                      President