Leaders OK lights

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Taking the advice of a sub-committee of the Country Club Edgewater Village Association Safety Committee, supervisors on Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 2 on Jan. 19 approved the installation of about 20 bollard lights in the Edgewater community.

The lights will be installed near the community’s gazebo and park entry areas, among others, at a cost not to exceed $15,500.

CEVA’s Safety Committee developed the recommendation following two armed home invasions in Edgewater in July.

“It really did need to be done,” said Supervisor Dick Moran, who serves as the liaison to the Country Club/Edgewater Village Association’s Safety Committee. “It’s a good move, both for safety and security.”

“(The home invasions) changed the whole dynamic of people living here,” he said. “You can walk into virtually any neighborhood we have here. It caused a great deal of concern.”

A CEVA sub-committee explored several options for safety improvements, including the installation of security cameras at the gatehouse, and others. However, increased lighting was an improvement on which all residents seemed to agree, he said.

Town Hall Director of Operations Ryan Heise said the improvements will be paid for with budgeted funds and will not require a special assessment to Edgewater residents.

“This is high-voltage lighting,” Heise said. “We will need a permit (for it). Money is already available (for the project) without special assessments to Edgewater.”

Heise said the item is of high priority and he expects work to be completed within one to two months, depending on permitting and other factors.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

In other business:

CDD 1
• Supervisors authorized staff to remove an inoperable gas lamp located in the common area of Summerfield Park, at the corner of Huckleberry Lane and Water Willow Avenue.
• The Summerfield Park Pavilion will be closed from Jan. 23 through Feb. 1 as the maintenance team completes a landscaping renovation. Bathrooms and other facilities will remain open.
• Supervisors directed staff to proceed with leveling an area behind Summerfield Glen to curb unlawful activities there.
• A Capital Improvement Plan meeting has been schedule for 9:30-11 a.m. Feb. 2, at Town Hall.

CDD 2
• In CDD 2, a Capital Improvement Plan meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 31.

CDD 4
• Supervisors authorized staff to draft a letter to Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch discussing the upkeep of the Braden River mitigation bank behind Greenbrook Preserve. SMR had previously cut the area but is no longer doing so.
• A Capital Improvement Plan meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 30, at Town Hall.

CDD 5
• Supervisors authorized staff to send a letter to Manatee County regarding noise and air pollution along Lorraine Road.
• CDD 5’s next Capital Improvement Plan workshop is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Jan. 31, at Town Hall.

Inter-District Authority
• Supervisors welcomed Richard Williams as the new resident representative to the IDA for CDD 6. Williams, a resident of Lakewood Ranch since 1998, has been a city attorney for more than 30 years.
• The IDA’s next Capital Improvement Plan workshop is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Jan. 30.