Heritage Palms
Community Development District

The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Heritage Palms Community Development District was held on Monday, October 26, 2020 at 8 a.m. by web conference with the requirements for a quorum being physically present waived under the Governor’s Executive Order 20-69.

Attending via web conference due to Executive Order 20-69 waiving the quorum requirement were:
Stan Switzer – Chair
Paul Schafer – Vice Chair
Al O’Brien – Assistant Secretary
Mike Whitten – Assistant Secretary
Fred DeCotis – Assistant Secretary

Also attending via web conference were:
Cal Teague – District Manager, Premier District Management (PDM)
Sam Marshall – Engineer
Chris Pepin – Field Manager
Christopher Dudak – Assistant to the District Manager
Nancy Dudak – PDM
Bob Breisch – Resident

The following is a summary of the discussion and actions taken at the Heritage Palms Community Development District (CDD) Meeting Board of Supervisors meeting. It was conducted using Go to Meetings as a result of Executive Order 20-69 which waived the quorum requirements during the COVID-19 virus and allowed for meetings to be conducted in this manner.

The meeting was called to order and the District Manager called the roll. All Board members were present. Also attending were Sam Marshall, Engineer, Chris Pepin, Field Manager, Christopher Dudak, Assistant to the District Manager, and Nancy Dudak, Premier District Management (PDM).

The Agenda was reviewed with an addition of 8C, Filling Vacancy After November Election.

There being none, the next Order of Business followed.

The District Manager reported that the November meeting will be at the clubhouse, unless the Governor extends the Executive Order.

The Engineer commented on the annual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) report.

The Engineer reviewed the testing data with the Board. The soil testing identified high levels of calcium, sulfur, copper and iron in several of the lakes. He wants to collect additional information about the affects of these elements. Lake 12 appeared to be very shallow at one end and he thinks they should keep an eye on that since vegetation could create large amounts of dead plant material which creates silt and reduces the retention capacity of the lakes.

The District Manager said the report indicates that there appears to be a lot of silt. He said he is concerned about the heavy metals that are represented in the report. The Engineer said that fertilizer and irrigation could be responsible for this. Supervisor Schafer was asked to check with Pondwatch for their input on water and soil testing data. The Board agreed that this was good base information to track the health of the lakes and should be on the next Agenda for further discussion.

The Field Manager is waiting for the pressure washing of the sidewalks that will begin next week before the ADA mats are installed.

The Chair reported that he met with Ken Lehman from the Master Board to discuss the sidewalk extension to the Lodge, but there has been no feedback since his initial meeting. This will be on the next Agenda.

Supervisors O’Brien and DeCotis updated the Board on the road damage caused by roofing contractors and their trash in the lake. The Board discussed the issue and it was agreed that there is not an avenue to get reimbursed, so the Field Manager will take care of the trash cleanup.  The District Manager asked if they could identify who is responsible for the road damage by looking at who had roof work done, but comments were made that garbage trucks could also be responsible for the road damage. The Board agreed that this will come off the Agenda unless there is new information.

The District Manager reported that the City has been sent a letter regarding the 30 – 50′ of damage the contractor has done to the hog fence. The letter suggested that either they clean it up, or the CDD will clean it up and send them a bill. The letter explained that the issue was that the fence was there to keep the hogs out of the residential areas. There has not been a response from the City.

The District Manager commented that a notice will be posted on the website and a copy sent to the Club for distribution to the community about filling the Board vacancy after the November election. Letters of interest will be due by November 16^th. This is the last meeting for Supervisors Schafer and DeCotis. The other three must attend the next meeting in order to have a quorum. The Chair complimented a write-up by Christopher Dudak about the role of the CDD. Supervisor Whitten also stated that he had written an article for “Between the Palms” in August mentioning the opening on the Board of Supervisors.

The Field Manager reviewed his monthly report with the Board.

• The lakes were observed to be in good shape.
• There has been a minimum of weeds on and in the lakes throughout the community.
• Several lakes were identified to be hotspots for algae and the Field Manager reported them to Lake & Wetland Management.
• The aerator cabinets are showing some rust. The Field Manager will check that it is safe for the electrical equipment.
• The Field Manager reported that the fountain behind the Club went down due to an electrical surge at the control panel which may have been caused by lightening. He contacted Florida Fountains who replaced a breaker, but he was informed that the lights are still not operating, so he made another call to them for service.
• Coconuts are falling into two of the lakes. The Chair asked the District Manager if he can find out who the association presidents are in those two locations and send them a note of concern for the continued cleanup of the coconuts that has been going on for four-five years and ask the residents if they can throw them in the garbage cans.
• Concerning the Lake 4 erosion repairs, the homeowner may have removed some dead sod there. Sod may need to be replaced.
• The welding of the fence arms at L6 appears to have been successful.
• The catch basin near the Lodge fills up with pine straw and it was cleaned out during the last drive-around.

There being none, the next Order of Business followed.

The District Manager reported that all FEMA funds were received and this topic will be removed from the Agenda.

The District Manager explained that FEMA requested an amendment to the PDM contract that requires that any contracts awarded that exceed $100,000 must include a certificate of compliance with the Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment. The Board discussed authorizing the Attorney to amend their contract to include this language and the Chair to sign it.

The Board discussed the Financial Statements for September.

The Board discussed Resolution 2020-08 amending the FY2020 Budget.

There being none, the next Order of Business followed.

• Fred DeCotis stated that it was a pleasure working with the CDD Board who are doing a great job.
• Mike Whitten thanked Supervisors DeCotis and Schafer for their service on the Board.
• Supervisor Schafer reminded the Board that they need water samples for the South Florida Water Management District. Also that Pondwatch provides reports the SFWMD uses for the NPDES permit. Someone needs to collect these samples and give them to Pondwatch and he offered to come back to show somebody how to take the water samples.
• The Chair thanked Supervisor DeCotis and Schafer for their continued service on the Board.

There being none the next Order of Business followed.

There being no further Order of Business, and

Next Meeting: November 23, 2020 at 8 a.m.