Residents peeved about ponds

Heritage Harbour South Community Development District supervisors hope a $5,000 investment into aquatic plants in lakes will boost community aesthetics, but residents aren’t so certain the effort is enough.

A resident-led petition lobbying for improved pond aesthetics has garnered more than 200 signatures.

“Many of us are really concerned about this,” said Stoneybrook resident Joanne Pytlik, a petition organizer who took photos of ponds throughout the community and placed them on poster boards for supervisors to see. “(The ponds) are deteriorating.”

At the board’s May 3 meeting, she asked supervisors for three changes: an increase in spending for pond maintenance; a multiyear plan for improving ponds; and discussion on the ponds placed on the board’s June 7 agenda.

Josh McGarry, district manager for the CDD’s pond contractor Aquatic Systems, said improvements could be made without adding money to the budget, so supervisors voted to spend up to $5,000 of unused money to install more than 4,000 aquatic plants along the shores of problematic ponds.

He said the plantings will improve water quality and overall lake aesthetics long term.

“The board has done a lot of good work,” CDD Chairwoman Michelle Patterson said. “Personally, I think petitions are very outdated and they create a defensive position. We’re going to address it. There’s a movement to do something.”

Although Aquatic Systems can add chemical treatments to address the current state of the ponds, it must be careful about how many chemicals go into the water. Once the rainy season begins, the ponds should begin to clear up on their own, as well, McGary said.

“There’s no such thing as eradication for algae,” he said. “There’s no such thing as eradication for weed growth.”

Supervisors did not discuss developing a long-term plant installation program.

Pytlik said she was “underwhelmed” with the board’s response.

“I’d like them to do a study of what needs to be done,” she said. “I think there needs to be a multi-year plan.”

Resident Larry Eichert, an aquatic plant expert, was grateful for the plantings, but also wants a longer term commitment. The CDD had a five-year planting program in place in 2011, but it was scrapped about two years later, after the board cut funding for it.

“You’re getting farther and farther behind. It’s not enough,” he said.

In other business, the district adopted a $411,000 operating and maintenance budget. The district is not proposing any changes in services compared with Fiscal Year 2015-2016 and no residents will see assessment increases. Final budget approval is set for 4 p.m. Aug. 2, at the Stoneybrook Clubhouse, 8000 Stone Harbour Loop, Bradenton.

A representative of the Heritage Harbour Master Association reported $5,000 in damages from vandalism to the playground and new lighting system at the soccer fields.

Heritage Harbour South Community Development District supervisors hope a $5,000 investment into aquatic plants in lakes will boost community aesthetics, but residents aren’t so certain the effort is enough.

A resident-led petition lobbying for improved pond aesthetics has garnered more than 200 signatures.

“Many of us are really concerned about this,” said Stoneybrook resident Joanne Pytlik, a petition organizer who took photos of ponds throughout the community and placed them on poster boards for supervisors to see. “(The ponds) are deteriorating.”

At the board’s May 3 meeting, she asked supervisors for three changes, an increase in spending for pond maintenance; a multi-year plan for improving ponds; and discussion on the ponds placed on the board’s June 7 agenda. 

Josh McGarry, district manager for the CDD’s pond contractor Aquatic Systems, said improvements could be made without adding money to the budget, so supervisors voted to spend up to $5,000 of unused money to install more than 4,000 aquatic plants in the littoral shelves of problematic lakes.

He said the plantings will improve water quality and overall lake aesthetics longterm.

“The board has done a lot of good work," CDD Chairwoman Michelle Patterson said. "Personally, I think petitions are very outdated and they create a defensive position. We’re going to address it. There’s a movement to do something.”

Although Aquatic Systems can add chemical treatments to address the current state of the ponds, it must be careful about how many chemicals go into the water. Once the rainy season begins, the ponds should begin to clear up on their own, as well, McGary said.

“There’s no such thing as eradication for algae,” he said. “There’s no such thing as eradication for weed growth.”

Supervisors did not discuss developing a longterm plant installation program.

Pytlik said she was “underwhelmed” with the board’s response. 

“I’d like them to do a study of what needs to be done,” she said. “I think there needs to be a multi-year plan.”

Resident Larry Eichert, an aquatic plant expert, was grateful for the plantings, but also wants a longer term commitment. The CDD had a five-year planting program in place in 2011, but it was scrapped about two years later, after the board cut funding for it.

“You’re getting further and further behind. It’s not enough,” he said.

In other business, the district adopted a $411,000 operating and maintenance budget. The district is not proposing any changes in services compared with Fiscal Year 2015/2016 and no residents will see assessment increases. Final budget approval is set for a public hearing at 4 p.m. Aug. 2, at the Stoneybrook Clubhouse, 8000 Stone Harbour Loop, Bradenton.

A representative of the Heritage Harbour Master Association reported $5,000 in damages from vandalism to the playground and new lighting system at the soccer fields.