CDD Meeting Notes, Jan. 2012: CDD Entertains Changes to Bid Thresholds and Park Fees
In an unusually short meeting of the Westchase Community Development District (CDD), supervisors took steps toward changing two policies that have been in place for years.
At their Jan. 3 meeting, supervisors passed motions authorizing CDD Attorney Erin Larrinaga to set public hearings for changes to the district’s rules of procedure and park reservation fees.
As part of the district’s recent October merger, supervisors requested Larrinaga update the CDD’s rules of procedure, which sets forth guidelines for conducting business. Among the major changes Larrinaga recommended were higher trigger thresholds for putting contracts to bid. Florida statute sets bid-triggering thresholds for contracts governing services, such as landscaping, and acquisition of materials, such as mulch. Districts, however, have the option of setting lower thresholds that would trigger a mandatory bid process. In the past, CDD supervisors have kept much lower bid-triggering thresholds in their rules of procedure than those mandated by state law. When the separate Westchase districts last reviewed the thresholds and considered raising them, supervisors were talked out of it by then CDD Supervisor Bill Kemerer, who argued that the stricter district rules would require the boards to continue to bid out most contracts, saving residents money.
As she has done in the past, Larrinaga, however, recommended that the district adopt the higher Florida statute requirements. She argued the higher limits simply provided greater flexibility. Supervisors, she observed, could still competitively bid out any contract but they would not be compelled to undertake a time-consuming bid process if an attractive bid fall below state thresholds.
Supervisors unanimously adopted a motion to publish public notice that the district will consider changes to their rules of procedure at a future meeting. The draft Larrinaga circulated for supervisors’ consideration contained the higher bid-triggering thresholds. Click here to view it.
Rounding out major action, supervisors voted unanimously to enable district staff to take credit card payments through SquareUp for park reservations and security gate clickers. As part of the motion, they instructed staff to purchase an iPad to make the transactions.
That discussion, however, also triggered reconsideration of the fees the district charges for park pavilion reservations. Currently that fee is $25 regardless of Westchase residency. In the past, supervisors considered having a two-tiered structure, charging non-residents a higher fee for park reservations than residents. Westchase commercial and residential property owners currently pay for all maintenance and improvements to Westchase parks.
Westchase parks are owned by the CDD. Ownership of the parks was transferred to the district by Hillsborough County soon after the community’s development. In return for receiving credits for park impact fees from the county, the developer agreed to keep the parks open to all Hillsborough County residents. The interlocal agreement governing Baybridge Parks states, “The District, as owner of the Park Parcel, shall ensure that the Park Parcel shall be available for use by all residents of Hillsborough County, Florida, and the District shall undertake no action which shall restrict or impede the lawful use of the Park Parcel by all the residents of Hillsborough County, Florida.”
The agreement defines the “Park Parcel” as “said land and the improvements thereon.”
Past efforts to adopt a two-tiered fee approach, however, met with pushback from past CDD Supervisor Anthony Sanchez. Sanchez went so far as to contact Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department to notify them of the matter. The county attorney, speaking to then CDD East Chair Greg Chesney, stated that the districts’ adoption of a higher, non-resident fee would be a violation of the agreement.
The interlocal agreement provides the county with the right to demand the return of the parks should the district violate its provisions. Click here to view the interlocal agreement.
While past supervisors felt it was unlikely the county would take back ownership and maintenance responsibility for the parks when it can’t afford to care for those they currently own, Larrinaga also counseled supervisors against the adoption of a two-tiered fee structure and the past proposal was scrapped.
Citing the county’s recent adoption of much higher fees for park reservations, current supervisors, however, expressed interest in moving forward with the two-tiered fee structure, charging residents $25 for a park reservation and $50 to non-residents.
Citing support for the move, CDD East Supervisor Ernie Sylvester said it would address a fairness issue that Westchase residents, who were fully paying for the parks, often could not get pavilion reservations because of bookings from non-residents. CDD Chair Mark Ragusa, an attorney by profession, also stated that he disagreed with the legal interpretation that higher non-resident fees would violate the agreement.
A motion to schedule a public hearing for the consideration of a change to park reservation fees passed 4-1, with only CDD Supervisor Greg Chesney voting in opposition.
In other news:
Supervisors took no action to open up a $500,000 line of credit with their new bank, Jefferson Bank, for a fee of $4,000. Instead, supervisors were content to rely on the bank’s informal commitment to approve such a line should it be needed.
While Paul Bennett of Enverasystems was expected to discuss options for remote security gate monitoring with supervisors, Bennett did not appear at the meeting.
Supervisors adjourned at 5:05, 65 minutes after starting.
By Chris Barrett, Publisher