Greens VM Steve Splaine kicked off audience comments during the Oct. 7 CDD meeting by asking the board, on behalf of Greens residents, to replace the cameras that monitor the bridge connecting WPV to the Village Green with a new system that provides a livestream to the Greens guardhouse. Splaine said that a recent incident on the bridge brought to light that the current camera setup, which records footage, isn’t serving its purpose, and a livestream would allow guardhouse staff to alert the sheriff’s office in a timely manner. He added that Greens residents would be willing to spend a little more for an upgraded system.
Field Manager David Sylvanowicz said there had been issues getting an internet connection at that location, but he was reinitiating conversations with Spectrum. Supervisor Greg Chesney reminded the audience of the high cost of live feed, at roughly $100 per month for each camera location. Greens resident Karen Pasawicz interjected that this is a matter of safety and is something the board should be spending money on.
Fords resident Bob Bader noted that the attorney engagement letter was on the agenda and asked about the current rates. District Counsel Erin McCormick stated that the engagement letter simply needed to be reinstated by the current CDD chair. She added that the line item on the budget was set by the district as an estimate because they don’t know at the beginning of the year what legal costs might come up. Bader said he had evaluated legal fees for other CDDs, and Westchase’s fees seem to be much higher. Supervisor Reggie Gillis interjected that the neighborhoods Bader was referring to are much smaller than Westchase. Bader said some of the communities had similar budgets, but our legal fees are still higher – he said it might be something to look at as a way to save money to put towards other items.
Sturbridge resident Judy Smith raised concerns about water pooling behind the berm that was constructed along Pond 125 and asked for an update on the drainage. Lewis reminded Smith about the two residents on Bayoboro Drive who refused an easement, which is where the drainage pipes would have been connected. He said Pond 125 would be covered in the Engineer’s report.
Sylvanowicz began his field manager report with an update on the “no parking” signage in West Park Village. He said placement of the 57 signs is finalized, and he had a proposal for decorative posts that are in keeping with the signage throughout WPV, as requested by the residents, for a total of $55,535. McCormick encouraged Sylvanowicz to get a statement from the county that the decorative posts meet their standards. Chairman Matt Lewis moved to approve the proposal with the caveat that CDD staff obtain the appropriate agreement stating the posts meet county requirements. The motion passed 4-0. Supervisor Chris Barrett was absent.
Sylvanowicz turned to surveillance cameras in the parks. He said they are outdated, and he had two proposals to upgrade the equipment. Lewis asked about tying in the two cameras at the WPV bridge. Sylvanowicz said he did not have solid numbers on that piece of the proposal. Lewis said they could vote on the current proposal and discuss tying the bridge in later. The board voted 4-0 to approve the proposal from Federated for $32,000.
Sylvanowicz informed the board that A&B Aquatics cleaned out the overgrowth on the banks of the canal along Countryway, where the county recently cleared out a large drainage pipe. He said his goal is to maintain a “no grow” zone to keep the drains clear and A&B Aquatics agreed to maintain the area for an additional $100 on their monthly contract. The board approved the additional fee, 4-0.
Sylvanowicz then addressed ongoing issues with irrigation breaks at the corner of Linebaugh and Gretna Green (Fords side). Lewis said that the concerns at that corner are part of a bigger issue with the community’s aging irrigation and he said they would need to revisit conversations with Red Tree. The board also retroactively approved the replacement of irrigation clock 11 for $6,500.
District Engineer Robert Dvorak began his report with Pond 125. Regarding drainage options for water pooling at the berm, he said he had looked at the pond to the north, next to Davidsen, but discovered it is owned by the school district. He said he was also exploring an easement between Stonebridge and Sturbridge, which would allow him to connect to the drainage system on Montague. Chesney pointed out that there are already drainage concerns on Montague, and the pond to the north would be preferable.
Regarding the long-term plan for Pond 125, Dvorak said he used the county’s watershed models to look at options. He reiterated that the CDD is limited to managing the drainage that is under its jurisdiction and suggested sharing drainage concerns with the county so they can look at the bigger picture. He said he submitted a report for suggested drainage improvements in Westchase to SWFMD and the basic components of what he wants to do are simple. He added that he ran a model for a 100-year storm event with those changes and found it would lower the pond by four inches, which could have a significant impact. Dvorak said the changes would need to be permitted through SWFMD and they would require an impact study to ensure the changes would not affect areas outside of Westchase. He said he could also finalize the report and the board could take it to the county to see if there is anything they can modify on their end. Dvorak added that what he is proposing is not a large expense; it’s just getting it through the permitting process. Lewis said that he would work with Dvorak to engage the county on the long-term plan and on a potential connection to the pond at Davidsen.
Turning to Pond 120, a private pond on a CDD easement where homeowner property is encroaching, Dvorak said he had completed a survey, and the immediate need was to get the sump dredged. He had three estimates and A&B Aquatics came in well below the other two, at a cost of roughly $40,000. McCormick said she had been waiting for the survey before reaching out to the homeowners. The board agreed the homeowners needed to be contacted before any work began.
In her report, McCormick presented a request from a resident in Harbor Links to extend their driveway slightly into the sod during their paver project. Gillis interjected that it is similar to a recent driveway project that was approved. McCormick said the board could make a policy that allows residents to expand driveways so they aren’t dealing with individual requests, but the board agreed they prefer to take requests on a case-by-case basis. The board approved the request 4-0.
McCormick said the board needed to vote to reauthorize her engagement letter, which led to a larger conversation about ensuring vendor contracts are up to date. Chesney said that through recent record requests from residents, it had come to his attention that some agreements are outdated. The board agreed to table the engagement letter to draft a new agreement with McCormick’s current hourly rate. Bader encouraged the board to scrutinize the rate increases for legal fees, adding that the current rate is high compared to other districts he had looked at. He said it might be an area where the board could cut costs.
McCormick informed the board that the CDD’s insurance company had raised liability concerns with the use of bounce houses at the parks and is asking for new procedures. In the meantime, approval of bounce houses and waterslides has been suspended.
At the close of the meeting, Chesney said the CDD should update their mission statement. The board agreed on his suggestion: Enhancing community infrastructure to support a safe, vibrant environment where families thrive.