Meeting Minutes for May 19, 2025
Heritage Palms Community Development District
The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Heritage Palms Community Development District was held on Monday, May 19, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. at the Heritage Palms Golf and Country Club at 10435 Washingtonia Palm Way, Fort Myers, Florida and via web conference.
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Mike Whitten – Chair
Stan Switzer – Vice Chair
Bob Breisch – Assistant Secretary
MaryAnn Ferry – Assistant Secretary
Also attending were:
Cal Teague – District Manager, Premier District Management (PDM)
Mandie Rainwater – Assistant District Manager, PDM
George Smothers – Resident
Attending remotely:
Christopher Dudak – Client Services Manager, PDM
Gary Rodgers – Master Association Liaison
The following is a summary of the discussion and actions taken at the Heritage Palms Community Development District (CDD) Board of Supervisors Meeting.
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order at 8:01 a.m., and District Manager Cal Teague called the roll. Four Board members were present and constituted a quorum. Also in attendance were Mandie Rainwater, Assistant District Manager, and Resident George Smothers. Attending remotely were Christopher Dudak, the Client Services Manager, and Gary Rodgers, Master Asssociation Liaison to the CDD.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Agenda
The Agenda was amended to add:
- 10C – Aerator and Fountain Report
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Supervisor Ferry, with all in favor, the Board approved the Agenda, as amended.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments on Agenda Items
There were no Audience comments on Agenda items.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consideration of Board Reorganization Resolution 2025-02
As MaryAnn Ferry was appointed to the Board at the April meeting, statutes required Board consideration of Board officer reorganization. The Board decided to keep all the current officers the same, except adding MaryAnn Ferry as an Assistant Secretary. The Resolution was approved to reflect this.
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Supervisor Breisch, with all in favor, the Board approved Resolution 2025-02, adding MaryAnn Ferry as Assistant Secretary, retaining Mike Whitten as Chair, Stan Switzer as Vice Chair, all other Supervisors as Assistant Secretaries, and all other officers remaining the same.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consent Agenda
A. Items to be Pulled from Consent Section for Discussion by the Board
No items were pulled.
B. Motion to Approve Consent Items
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Supervisor Ferry, with all in favor, the Board approved all of the Consent items.
C. Consent Items
i. Draft Regular Meeting Minutes for April 28, 2025
ii. Financial Report for April 2025
D. Consideration of Items Pulled for Discussion
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Attorney
A. Contract for Engineering Services
The contract was accepted with the changes indicated in the handouts, and the Board approved Chair Whitten to sign it. The Board would like Engineer Jamie Wilson to appear at the next meeting. Going forward, her presence will be requested based on the need for it each month.
On MOTION by Supervisor Breisch, seconded by Vice Chair Switzer, with all in favor, the Board accepted the contract with AIM Engineering u0026amp; Surveying, Inc., with the Chair authorized to sign.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Engineer
A. Paving Wine Palm and Seminole Bid Packet Update
The Board decided that it is time to start bidding for a contractor. Staff will advertise and present bids for consideration at the June meeting. The aim is to designate September 1st as the construction start date, noting it is expected that August 25th is the latest date for the completion of the Tiki/Oasis construction.
B. Recommendation 5-Year Community-wide Roadway Milling and Repaving Needs
PDM staff will work with AIM to generate this document.
C. Washingtonia Palm Way Roadway Core Sample Result
Core samples were taken by UES on May 15th, while the asphalt was open for D&G to complete repairs. The general opinion is that this was caused by normal settling, but the results of analysis have not been received by staff as of yet.
D. Garage Flooding at 10487 Washingtonia Verandas I
After discussion, the Board determined that this is not a CDD issue. It will be taken off the Agenda.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Old Business
There was no Old Business.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS New Business
A. Paver Repairs at the Guardhouse Estimate
Accurate Pavers inspected the guardhouse pavers and recommended re-leveling the entire area and re-installing the pavers. This would include replacing cracked and chipped pavers. The Board was not interested in the quote of $36,342.88, and would like the new Engineer to review the necessity of this work, and possibly obtain a proposal to repair only the depressed areas.
B. Hurricane Cleanup Preauthorizations
As in the past few years, Field Manager Pepin has obtained hurricane cleanup pre-authorization for several contractors, so that there is minimal delay in finding contractors in the aftermath of a named storm. Chair Whitten was authorized to sign both. Field Manager Pepin will manage which contractors are called in and any work that they do.
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Supervisor Breisch, with all in favor, the Board approved both pre-authorizations for cleanup after a named storm, with the Chair authoized to sign.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Field Manager
A. Current Field Management Report
District Manager Teague reviewed the Field Report and the following were discussed:
- Vice Chair Switzer had questions on the top caps on bulkheads on golf course property. Greg Kriesch will be asked for an update.
- Weeds in the lakes are being addressed.
- Fountain Kings’ report was a handout. The report flagged some future needs.
- The Board authorized Field Manager Pepin to clean up downed branches and a fallen dead tree on Lake L-12 and Lake 28, respectively.
- Trail Camera at Lake L-6 Outfall: Activity at the outfall structure was minimal this month. Chair Whitten believes Board efforts are paying off. He confronted some trespassers, and called the police, who came onsite and asked them to leave.
- Lake 2: The drainpipe extensions and bubblers at 8051, 8059, 8067 & 8075 Queen Palm Lane – the drainpipes should be extended so that the bubblers are closer to the shoreline. Field Manager Pepin will be asked to obtain quotes.
- In reference to raising the catch basin behind 10509 Curry Palm Lane, Engineer Wilson will be asked to investigate and coordinate with Field Manager Pepin.
- Field Manager Pepin reported that he has seen 11 Cane Toads in the community.
- Lake L-2 – Install new Cordgrass on the NE corner and Canna around WCS at the cost of $1,000. Chair Whitten will contact Field Manager Pepin.
On MOTION by Vice Chair Switzer, seconded by Supervisor Breisch, with all in favor, the Board approved the installation of Cordgrass and Canna on Lake L-2, not to exceed $1,000.
B. Follow Up Items
i. Washingtonia Palm Way Roadway Depression Repair
Field Manager Pepin reported that all repairs were completed on May 15th. Photos of the work are included in the handouts. The core samples were addressed earlier in the meeting.
ii. Additional Fence Repairs Including 11284 Wine Palm Fence Gap
Field Manager Pepin reported that the additional fence repairs have been completed, however, the additional fence gap repair was missed. The crew will be returning to complete this repair.
iii. Pressure Washing Contract Update
The contract has been signed and returned to Triple Crown. The contractor will work around the roadway construction this fall, and he will return after the roadways have been resurfaced to pressure clean those gutters.
C. Aerator and Fountain Report
This report is from Fountain Kings. On May 8th they returned to troubleshoot the fountain on Lake 8 and cleaned up the burned connection lug in the panel, and then started it. They completed the fountain maintenance and everything is operational.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS District Manager
A. FY 2026 Proposed Budget
District Manager Teague reported that the Fiscal Year 2026 Proposed Budget has $23,500 set aside for bulkhead and roadways, $8,400 in Miscellaneous Contingency, and has no assessments increase.
i. Resolution 2025-03 to Approve Proposed Budget and Set Public Hearing
The resolution accepting the proposed budget was approved, and the public hearing date was set for August 25, 2025.
On MOTION by Supervisor Breisch, seconded by Supervisor Ferry, with all in favor, the Board approved Resolution 2025-03, approving the Proposed Budget and setting the Public Hearing for August 25, 2025.
TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS H.O.A. Report
Gary Rodgers is the new HOA liaison to the CDD. He was online for part of the meeting. It was explained that he represents the Master Association as Liaison to the CDD Board and not Single Family Homes, of which he is also president.
THIRTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor Reports, Requests, and Comments
Chair Whitten stated that there are people in the HOA who believe the roads can be privatized. It was reiterated that no facility built with municipal bond money can be given to a non-governmental agency.
FOURTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments
George Smothers noted that, during the Oasis project, he believes a cart path will need to be moved, and he asked if approval from SFWMD will be needed. District Manager Teague noted that only the CDD needs to give permission, via an easement use agreement with the CDD, and there are no barriers to this action.