CDD Chair Matt Lewis opened the floor to audience comments. Woodbridge resident John Bucceri, who also serves on the neighborhood’s HOA board, asked the board to launch a formal campaign to eradicate Brazilian pepper trees throughout the community. He handed the board members a presentation he had compiled and explained that Brazilian pepper is an Invasive plant that has taken over, particularly in Woodbridge. He added that it puts plants and animals at risk and affects the community’s overall aesthetic. He noted that Waterchase had embarked on a two-year removal plan and suggested the board look to them for ideas.
Lewis asked District Manager Mark Vega what they had done in other communities. Vega said it comes down to the funds that the board wants to put towards the effort. He added that Brazilian pepper is a significant problem, and most communities include it in their aquatics budget. He said it is the largest project that Waterchase undertakes every year.
Lewis replied that one of the things the board tasks itself with is long-term planning, and, potentially, they could look at the aquatics budget. He encouraged Bucceri to email his presentation to the board for review.
Sylvanowicz said they had taken on Baybridge Park, which required four visits from a tree service plus CDD staff going in to treat the stumps. He added that for years, it was viewed as a buffer for privacy, but it is now considered invasive. “We discuss with residents whether they want to see it all taken out (which removes privacy) or cut back,” he said.
Sylvanowicz said Keswick Forest, The Greens and Baybridge have been tackled, but it’s growing faster than they can remove it. Lewis asked about the current plan of attack and Sylvanowicz said they have a tree service come out once a week, based on calls from residents.
Jeanette Sosa of Westchase Chiropractic asked about the CDD fees her business is paying on their 2,500-square-foot office on Countryway, stating that they are paying twice as much as other offices in the area. Vega explained that the assessment methodology for each building is not the same. He said he has someone who is working on breaking down the methodology for their specific building. Dr. Michael Sosa later joined the meeting and inquired again about the discrepancy. The board pressed Vega to get a breakdown of the assessment methodology to the Sosas for review by the end of the week.
Barry Anderson pointed out that the agenda noted a change order for sidewalk work in The Shires, but that it is for Sturbridge. He added that there had been some potential misinformation spreading on social media about project costs. The post stated that, to date, the board had spent $192,906 with sidewalk vendor ACLM. Anderson noted that, if you add the cost of the change order listed on the agenda ($51,584), that is a substantial increase. He added that he understood that the total project cost is 197,559, or a 6% overrun, which he said seemed more realistic based on work done in The Shires.
District Engineer Robert Dvorak explained that his team found additional panels that needed to be repaired to be ADA-compliant. He said it is common to have new issues arise between the time the sidewalks are marked and the work is completed. “We had people on site the entire time,” he said. “If there was more work done, you apply the unit cost. You pay for what you get. You’re getting an invoice for exactly what was installed.”
District Counsel Erin McCormick said the original total was $185,407. The change order is showing $51,000, but really the increase was only about $10,000. She said she would go back to the vendor to review the change order that the board will be considering. Supervisor Greg Chesney asked McCormick if she was comfortable that the invoices had all been correct. McCormick replied that she thought there would be a change order, but she didn’t think it would be for $51,000.
Jani Stone said the social media posts Anderson had referred to were hers and she was referring to the $51,000 change order that is on the agenda. She then handed out information about payments to CMK Paving, a second sidewalk vendor. She said their original price was $41,000 and, with a change order, the board paid $82,000. Dvorak said that rate increase is entirely possible with the nature of these projects. Stone expressed concern that the board hadn’t approved the change order and brought up concerns with the overall cost of the project. McCormick reiterated that she would review the change order that was on the agenda. Lewis said that the board took the project on to make the community better. He added that it is not uncommon for there to be overruns in project costs, but that he also wanted to take a closer look at the current change order. “I agree there is some confusion, but I am very confident that we will get to the bottom of this,” he concluded.
Stonebridge resident Matt Rice asked for an update on Pond 125. Dvorak said he had completed a survey request for the southern access to inlets on Montague and the control structure on the Davidsen pond. He added that the field work was being done that day and he will probably have something to look at in the next 2-3 weeks. Rice requested copies of the reports. He also asked that if they intend to use the ingress/egress area at Stonebridge, his community be included in those discussions.
Lewis added that he had spoken with Kim Byer with the county, who had agreed to look at Dvorak’s plan to ensure they would not impact other areas outside Westchase.
Fords resident Bob Bader reiterated a previous request to review McCormick’s current rate of $440/hour, which he said is high compared to other neighborhoods he had reviewed. He asked the board to consider a potential rollback on those rates.
In his Field Manager Report, Sylvanowicz requested that the CDD cover the cost of the off-duty officers for the Santa parade. Lewis made a motion, which passed unanimously. Sylvanowicz said he was still working on getting proposals for paving and surveillance cameras.
In her report, McCormick said she had sent an email to the USDA to get a vulture agreement in place for the coming year. In a cell tower update, AT&T and T-Mobile both have their certificates of occupancy but are waiting on fiber installation.
She reminded the board that the CDD is currently not taking reservations for bounce houses at the parks based on feedback from their insurer. Chesney asked if they had received an official letter from the insurer and McCormick said they had. Chesney requested to see the letter.
Supervisor Chris Barrett asked to table a vote on McCormick’s engagement letter so the board could explore additional rates. He asked Vega to compile a list of legal fees from other communities he manages so they can discuss those at the workshop.
During their October Workshop, the board heard presentations from three Property Management Companies that responded to their RFP: KAI, Rosetti Properties and the incumbent, Inframark. Lewis asked to push further discussions to the workshop, so they had more time to review the options. Chesney said he wanted to address the matter at this meeting and made a motion to accept the proposal from KAI.
Sylvanowicz interjected that he had a great conversation with Vega and expressed his concerns. He said he also had a conversation with KAI but hadn’t had a chance to talk to Rosetti. He added that, because Barrett was not present for the presentation, he felt it warranted additional conversation. Lewis suggested continuing the meeting to the Nov. 18 workshop.
The board voted to ratify staff payroll increases, which were discussed at the October workshop. They also voted to approve the budget amendment, which offers a cushion to cover what-if scenarios from vendors, and the audit engagement letter.
Jani Stone asked for clarification on the change order and discrepancy with CMK Paving’s costs that were discussed earlier. Lewis clarified that McCormick would be looking into both, so no vote was taken.
In supervisor requests, Supervisor Reggie Gillis said he had met with the golf course owner the day after the October board meeting. The owner said he had been approached by other entities but is interested in selling to the community and potentially financing the purchase. Reggie added that the owner will do a term sheet to look at various options. Gillis stressed that these are just very early conversations and there would be many aspects to discuss with the HOA. Lewis made a motion to continue the meeting to Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. at the Library to discuss the management contract, the legal engagement letter and the registered agent letter.
November 18 Continued Meeting
At the outset of the continued meeting, Supervisor Greg Chesney recalled his previous motion to hire KAI as the new management company, stating he had rushed the matter. CDD Chair Matt Lewis then revived the matter by making his own motion to hire KAI. The motion passed unanimously. Lewis then thanked current Inframark District Manager Mark Vega and said the board appreciated all he had done. He also thanked representatives in attendance from Rosetti Properties, who had also bid on the contract. Legal Counsel Erin McCormick noted there was a 60-day provision in the current Inframark contract. Lewis directed McCormick to provide a written notice of termination to Inframark.
Turning to the renewal of McCormick’s engagement letter, Lewis noted that she had agreed to reduce her fees by 10%, bringing her rate down to $395 per hour. He added that this rate is within $5/hour of other principal attorneys that are serving districts in the area.
McCormick added that Supervisor Chris Barrett had reached out to her about the possibility of negotiating her rates based on comparables in the area and she had agreed. Barrett made a motion to approve the engagement letter with the reduced rate and it passed unanimously.
Regarding the matter of the district’s registered change agent, the board agreed to table until KAI is in place.
The final matter on the continued meeting agenda was the discussion of change orders for 2025 sidewalk projects. After further investigation, McCormick noted the following change orders:
- ACPLM submitted three additional invoices: $3,815 for Radcliffe, $7,499 for Sturbridge and $51,884 for the Shires, for a total project cost of $248,305.
- CMK Paving’s original invoice was $41,667. With a change order for $41,884, the total project cost was $83,551.
Barrett asked Dvorak if he felt there were any errors in the invoices. Dvorak said no. Dvorak reiterated that overruns are common in sidewalk projects, particularly with sidewalks where oak trees are present. For instance, in the Shires, 161 additional grinds and 2,296 additional square feet of panels were needed.
McCormick confirmed that they weren’t out of compliance; they were simply bringing the change orders forward now for approval.
Barrett suggested building language into future contracts to allow for contingencies.
With that, the continued meeting adjourned.