Draft Meeting Minutes for April 26, 2021
Heritage Palms
Community Development District
The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Heritage Palms Community Development District was held on Monday, April 26, 2021 at 8 a.m. at the Heritage Palms Golf and Country Club at 10420 Washingtonia Palm Way, Fort Myers, Florida and via web conference.
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Mike Whitten – Chair
Stan Switzer – Vice Chair
Al O’Brien – Assistant Secretary
Dennis Lubozynski – Assistant Secretary
Bob Breisch – Assistant Secretary
Also attending (or by web conference) were:
Cal Teague – District Manager, Premier District Management (PDM)
Chris Pepin – Field Manager
Christopher Dudak – Assistant to the District Manager
Nancy Dudak – PDM
Mike O’Donnell – Master Board
The following is a summary of the discussion and actions taken at the Heritage Palms Community Development District (CDD) Meeting Board of Supervisors meeting.
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and the District Manager called the roll. All Board members were present, with Supervisor Lubozynski participating by video conference, per Board approval. Chris Pepin, the Field Manager, Christopher Dudak and Nancy Dudak from PDM participated by video conference.
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Supervisor Breisch, with all in favor, the Board voted to allow Supervisor Lubozynski to attend the meeting via video conference.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Agenda
The Board reviewed the Agenda.
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Chair Whitten, with all in favor, the Agenda was approved with the addition of 10E: Update on FY2020 Audit.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments on Agenda Items
There being none, the next Order of Business followed.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of Meeting Minutes
A. Draft Meeting Minutes for March 22, 2021
The Board reviewed the Minutes from the March 22, 2021 meeting.
On MOTION by Supervisor Breisch, seconded by Vice Chair Switzer, with all in favor, the Meeting Minutes for March 22, 2021 were approved as submitted.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Attorney
There being none, the next Order of Business followed.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Engineer
Since the Engineer was absent, the District Manager briefed the Board on the following:
A. Canals Dredging
The District Manager stated that the Field Manager and Engineer met with the contractor who was going to give an estimate on the dredging of the canals. When they walked the area, there was one area on Seminole Palm Way they felt might require dredging. The Engineer was going to get with the contractor to have them provide a quote, which the Field Manager stated he has not seen yet.
B. 7377 Heritage Palms Estate Blockage Concerns
The Field Manager did not identify a blockage with a visual inspection, but the Engineer was going to investigate it further.
C. Filling-in Lake 6 Feasibility
There was no update from the Engineer, but the HOA Board still wants to pursue this. It was stated that the City requires two estimates for filling in the land, and they only have one before they can get a permit.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Old Business
There being none, the next Order of Business followed.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS New Business
A. Rip Rap Around Catch Basin at Lodge Proposal
An estimate of $425 was reviewed for the rip rap.
On MOTION by Supervisor Breisch, seconded by Supervisor O’Brien, with all in favor, the Board approved a proposal for $425 for rip rap around the catch basin at the Lodge.
B. Resident Request to Have Large Dead Pine Tree Cut Down in the Preserve at 7406 Heritage Palms Estates Drive
The Field Manager is awaiting a proposal to remove the dead pine tree in the Preserve behind 7406 Heritage Palms Estates Drive and an oak tree that is encroaching on the property.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Field Manager
A. Field Report for April
The Board discussed the Field Manager’s monthly report.
- The Field Manager commented on the rating sheet where he highlighted anything considered as a #1 rating, he identified them in yellow on the field report. A positive comment was made about this manner of identifying issues.
- The hybrid canna is doing well throughout the community, and a comment was made about how good they look.
- Algae is not bad this month. Lakes 13, 14, 17 and 31 were rated as medium density and will get treated.
- Trash has increased and there are several hot spots, especially from the Eagle Preserve construction. The District Manager stated that the Engineer contacted the community developer about the trash. The District Manager will send a letter stating that they will be charged if they do not clean it up. The Chair does not feel that a special trash pick-up is necessary around the rest of the community and wants to revisit the issue next month.
- The Field Manager reported that he saw a broken air head on one of the aerators and said that Solitude will be contacted.
- Lake 21 has a missing valve box cover, and some valves are rusted. He has requested an estimate to replace rusted valves.
- He did not spot midge flies along the shorelines. He saw some around the condo buildings. He feels another treatment might be necessary, but stated the situation has improved.
- Concerning lake bank erosion, the Field Manager provided an updated erosion map for the community. Lake 14 remains the highest priority. The Chair said he went to see Lake 14, and in the middle of the shoreline, there was a box partially exposed. The Field Manager explained that it could be an old Waterator box, pre-aerators.
- A dredgesox on Lake 8 was leaking sand, so Lake & Wetland patched up a hole. They are waiting for sod to cover it. The work is under warranty.
- “No tailgating” striping has been added near the gates.
- Some of the sidewalks have been lifting at the joints, and he had them ground down.
- A crosswalk near the playground was requested across from the parking lot.
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Supervisor Breisch, with all in favor, the Board agreed to strike the crosswalk request from further discussion.
- Last month, the Field Manager installed a few more “no trespassing signs” along the perimeter fence.
- Annual vegetation cutbacks have been completed along the fences.
- There is still debris on the hog fence and the Field Manager continues to monitor.
- On the stormwater drainage system, a potential sink hole was reported, and he had it filled in. An irrigation head appears to have been repaired near there, so that may have caused the hole.
- The Chair asked about a drain, but it does not belong to the CDD. He also asked about “stop ahead” signs, which is not a function of the CDD either.
- The drainage swale in Wetland B has piles of branches stacked up near Casa del Lago. The Field Manager will have them removed so that no blockage is created. There was a discussion about extending the fence in this location, about 1,300 linear feet, but some felt the cost was prohibitive. The Field Manager will get an estimate on a fence.
B. Follow-Up Items
i. Sidewalk Grinding
Due to rain delays, this is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
ii. Annual Cleanup C-7 & C-15
This will be completed by the end of the month.
iii. Fire Station #7 Fence Repair Update
No action has been taken along the fence line. The vegetation was still present and it will be monitored.
iv. Midge Fly Treatments Update
Three treatments were applied to the lakes, as discussed in the Field Report. Midge fly activity remained low near the shorelines, but the activity increased near the condos along Lake 8. The HOA Boards were asked to coordinate spraying efforts with the Master HOA and the CDD efforts.
v. Eagle Reserve Construction Garbage in Lake 30
As stated in the Field Report, the District Manager said that the Engineer contacted the community developer about the trash. The District Manager will send a letter stating that they will be charged if they do not clean up the garbage.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS District Manager
A. Financial Statements for March
The District Manager reviewed the March financials with the Board.
On MOTION by Supervisor Breisch, seconded by Supervisor O’Brien, with all in favor, the Board approved the March 2021 financials as presented.
B. Fiscal Year 2022 Budget
i. Budget/Meeting Summer Schedule Change Discussion
The Board questioned the 3% increase in management fees. The District Manager stated that it is a regular annual increase and if the Board had a concern, it could be adjusted. No motions were made to change it. The Board will consider how much money they want to put into Reserves at the next meeting.
The Board wants to meet as scheduled on May 24 to set the Public Hearing and to combine the July and August meetings with the Budget Public Hearing on the revised date of August 9.
C. Maintenance Guidelines Summary Sheet Handouts
The revised Maintenance Guidelines Summary sheets were distributed for inclusion in the Handbooks.
i. Parking Areas/Butterfly Palm Drive Responsibility
The HOAs did not want to deed their parking lots over to the CDD, per the Minutes included in the packet.
D. District Registered Voter Count
A letter from the County was distributed to inform the Board that there are 1,329 registered voters in Heritage Palms.
E. Audit Scope Letter
The District Manager explained the letter summarizing the scope of the audit that is underway that was distributed by email.
F. Go-to-Meetings
Electronic meetings afford the public an opportunity to view the meetings, and the District Manager asked the Board if they want to continue them. The information for how to attend is provided on the website. The Board agreed to continue using this method of conducting the meetings.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS HOA Report
There being none, the next Order of Business followed.
TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor Reports, Requests & Comments
There being none, the next Order of Business followed.
THIRTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments
There being none, the next Order of Business followed.
FOURTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Adjournment
There being no further Order of Business and,
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Supervisor Breisch, with all in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 9:56 a.m.
Next Meeting: May 24, 2021 at 8 a.m.