At the request of District Counsel Erin McCormick, an update on Pond 120 (homeowner encroachment) was moved to the top of agenda. Special Counsel, Marsh Rainey joined by phone and reminded the board that a letter had gone out to the homeowners involved in the encroachment and all had signed but marked “no” next to the hold harmless clause that would protect the District should the homeowner-installed retaining walls be damaged when the sump is dredged. Rainey reiterated that the immediate concern is the dredging and recommended issuing a second letter by Aug. 25 so the CDD can get in and do the necessary work without fear of legal repercussions. Rainey added that the district still hasn’t heard back from SWFTMD as to what measures must be taken to re-establish the sump to meet their requirements.
District Engineer Robert Dvorak said the dredging is scheduled for Sept. 17. Supervisor Chris Barrett asked if SWFTMD’s response would affect Rainey’s approach. Rainey said no, SWFTMD won’t have any issue with the dredging, and added that they are probably going to want additional work done to restore the sump.
Supervisor Jim Wimsatt, who attended by phone, said Rainey’s plan sounds like a good plan of action. The board unanimously approved sending a certified letter to all parties involved.
District Manager Heather Dilley then opened the floor for audience comments pertaining to the regular meeting agenda. Shires VM Barry Anderson spoke up regarding the potential transfer of the cell tower lease assignment from Vertex to Vertical Bridge. He said the budget shows Vertex is paying the same amount every year, which would mean they are not adhering to the escalation clause in the contract. He added that if the district is moving forward with Vertical Bridge, they should ensure they understand the true cost of the lease agreement. McCormick said would work with Kai to see what has been paid to date.
Lewis asked Dilley for an update on the miscoded line items that were charged to the Greens by mistake. Dilley confirmed that $172,942 for sidewalk work and $26,950 for fence painting was reversed and went back into the R&M Greens General Fund. She thanked the Greens residents who brought those errors to their attention. Dilley said those reversals were the only changes to the proposed 2026-27 budget. The board unanimously approved the consent agenda and then opened the FY 2026-27 Budget Public Hearing, which began with audience comments pertaining to the budget.
A Greens resident said he was concerned about the recent errors and asked that management go through the budget with a fine-tooth comb in the future. He also pointed to the initial assessment letter that was sent out with an error and said it is imperative that residents receive accurate information.
A Harbor Links resident said that the percent change for the general fund assessment is 6.08%, which is double the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Harbor Links assessment percent change is 6 times the CPI. He asked why the district can’t get that down to standard.
Barrett responded that the Harbor Links-specific fund is driven by whatever costs are coming out of that community — gates, tree trimming, light poles, etc — and the district is assessing in a manner that covers the run rate. The resident implored the board to find ways to reduce the Harbor Links special fund.
Regarding the general fund, Barrett pointed to increases in the landscaping and pond contracts as key drivers . He added that the 2024 flooding led to spending on deferred maintenance and the CDD also took on the community’s sidewalk repairs because the county wasn’t funding them. He concluded by stating that the community is now 35 years old, the landscaping is aging out and his goal is to keep cost contained but not at the expense of the appearance of the community.
Greens VM Steve Splaine then addressed the board regarding items in the latest letter (three in total) submitted on behalf of The Greens Working Group, a group of residents looking into budget concerns. He read through a few examples of items coded to The Greens fund that the group felt potentially should have been charged elsewhere.
Splaine also pointed out that in the current budget there is still no provision for salary increases for guard house staff and even if the reversed invoices mentioned earlier are put into the road reserves, the concern is that will get gobbled up quickly.
He added that the ask of the group is that board provide better guidance to staff on what gets charged to The Greens versus the general fund. They also suggested using an assessment methodology similar to that used for the commercial properties.
Barrett said they have been working on a document that captures how the district has billed items historically so they can discuss how to move forward and that discussion will continue at the August workshop. (Note: these conversations are ongoing. The board, management and CDD staff have been working with The Greens Working group and WOW will provide an update following the Aug. 18 workshop.)
The budget public hearing closed and in a series of votes, the board unanimously approved the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and adoption of the O&M assessment.
In her update, McCormick confirmed that Vertical Bridge approved all of the changes to the cell tower lease agreement and that she will work with Kai to make sure all payments from Vertex are accounted for (including escalation payments) before the lease transfers. Supervisor Chris High asked for a report of those payments at next meeting. The board then voted to authorize Lewis to sign the final agreement.
The discussion turned to the agreement with All Water for aquatic maintenance. McCormick said they had been on a month-by-month contract since February and that there was an escalation clause in the agreement, but they had kept their rates the same for the past two years. All Water is now requesting an increase to $10,841 per month ($130,095 per year).
Barrett said he feared that holding the rate firm could have contributed to the current state of the pond (referring to Pond 43 in The Bridges), adding that he would rather see an inflation adjustment to maintain proper level of service.
Reid Conner from All Water joined by phone and said the issue was not a matter of not charging enough to do the job right. He said there were environmental factors but admitted his guys could have done a better job. He added that crews had been on site for the past several days removing dead plant material from the pond at no charge to the district. He said that, moving forward, the proposed rate increase is accurate to cover the rising cost of labor, chemicals, etc.
Lewis agreed that there had been environmental factors this year and said he hated to see a disruption in service after 10 years. He made a motion to approve the new contract. McCormick said there is a 30-day termination provision in the one-year contract.
Following a discussion, the board voted 3-1 to renew the contract (Wimsatt dropped off the call and Barrett dissented). Barrett said he wanted to see improvements in six months or he would make a motion to put the pond contract out to bid.
High asked Dvorak if he could look at potential improvements that could help mitigate the affected ponds.
In his report, Dvorak said all of the field work and data collection for the next sidewalk phase had been done and he was working on the actual RFP document so they can discuss at the July workshop.
Field Manager David Sylvanowicz presented proposals for paver projects, including extensive repairs to a path in West Park Village that had numerous trip hazards and extension of a path in Baybridge. The board approved $6,316 for the work in Baybridge and an amount not to exceed $20,000 in WPV (which included root pruning to prevent further damage).
The board also approved $15,750 for landscaping and $6,835.90 for irrigation to support that landscaping in order to revitalize a section of Baybridge Park conservation that was bare due to removal of Brazilian Pepper and a damaged oak. Sylvanowicz also reported that Red Tree would be replacing the recently installed sod in the Greens that wasn’t thriving at their own expense.
In her report, Dilley offered a brief overview of the standard operating procedure for invoicing, as requested by The Greens Working Group. She said Kai uses Strongroom as their accounts payable/invoicing software. Invoices are time stamped when they come in. Kai’s Accounts Payable department assigns invoices to the correct community and then they code it (if they know the code) and then goes to the CDD office manager to validate vendor info, contract and coding. The office manager approves it and it goes to Dilley to again check the coding and tax exempt status and then it goes to the accountant who is the only one who pays the bills . Every hand off is logged with a time stamp. Dilley said they will now go through the ledger once per month (Kai and CDD staff) and also implement a phone call to the vendor prior to making an ACH payment. Lewis said that was a good start and the conversation might continue as part of the budget conversations at the workshop.
Bridges resident Pat Ryan wrapped up audience comments by speaking on behalf of a growing coalition of Bridges residents who are concerned about Pond 43. He referenced a letter and photos he had submitted prior to the meeting. The letter noted concerns with excessive algae, stagnant water and muck that neighbors feel are impacting property values, neighborhood aesthetic and local wildlife. In the letter, Ryan, on behalf of the group, asked that the board move away from reactive chemical sprays and initiate a formal, 12-month capital improvement project to restore Pond 43. He also asked the board to do a better job of communicating what is being done to mitigate the situation.