CDDs change landscape contractor

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Two Lakewood Ranch Community Development Districts will be doing business with a new landscape contractor starting Oct. 1.

At separate board meetings Aug. 18, supervisors from CDDs 4 and 5 voted to contract for landscaping services with Down to Earth, a full landscape-service company headquartered in Mount Dora.

Down to Earth was the top-ranked landscaper for both CDDs 4 and 5 after members of Lakewood Ranch Town Hall’s operations department reviewed contract proposals based on services provided and pricing, Director of Operations Ryan Heise said.

“You always have some concern when you change contractors, but our staff feels (Down to Earth) will be able to work well (here),” CDD 4 Supervisor Joe Sidiski said. “This one and (our current contractor) Garden Leaders came through with virtually the same ability to do the job.”

For CDD 4, Garden Leaders came in at less than two points below Down to Earth’s score and at a slightly higher price of $469,525 annually. The new contract with Down to Earth will cost CDD 4 about $448,000 per year.

For CDD 5, Garden Leaders came in two points below Down to Earth but offered a better price — about $28,245 less than Down to Earth’s $509,760 proposal.

“Staff’s recommendation was the new vendor would, perhaps, do a better job,” CDD 5 Supervisor Dave Emison said. “We do think they’ll be worth the additional cost.”

In CDD 5, only supervisor Alan Silverglat opposed hiring Down to Earth for services, citing Garden Leaders has provided quality service and offered a lower cost.

“I am in strong opposition to this contract,” Silverglat said. “There was zero recognition given to the fact this (proposal is) substantially higher than another vendor.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

EVA Rey adds transparency
Residents visiting last week’s CDD meetings may have noticed a few changes to aid in the transparency of the districts’ operations.

Agendas and supplemental information were set out on a table at the meeting for residents to review.

“It’s just a baby step,” new Executive Director Eva Rey said of the changes. “I felt the people who come to meetings would be interested in that backup information, as well. It provides a frame of reference for the item (being discussed).”

A microphone and podium at which residents could share their comments before the CDD boards also made their first appearances at the meetings.

Rey said she also is working on creating a new website for Lakewood Ranch’s CDDs to give them more of an identity and to provide more access to information for residents. The plan being considered would cost about $7,000 annually.

Ranch residents currently pay about $70,000 annually for Digital Village, Rey said.

In other business

CDD 2
• Engineer Mike Kennedy reported Manatee County plans to repair portions of University Parkway by the end of November.

• Director of Operations Ryan Heise reported landscape contractor Garden Leaders will spend the next few weeks making repairs to turf on The Masters Avenue, Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, Legacy Boulevard and other areas.

• Supervisors directed the Country Club/Edgewater Village Association to determine how to best address the issue of security in Edgewater, where two homes were entered at gunpoint in recent weeks. Supervisors had planned to remove from their proposed budget about $15,600, which had been reserved primarily for landscaping in Edgewater, but will leave the dollars in place until they vote on the issue at their Aug. 25 budget hearing.
Edgewater residents asked the money be kept in the budget to serve as “seed money” for security improvements.

CDD 4
• Engineer Mike Kennedy reported his company had identified potential snags in the Braden River, and district staff would be requesting that Manatee County clear problem areas.

CDD 5
• Supervisors adopted a $1.85 million budget, up 7.4% or about $122,800 from last year. Supervisors said the increase stems from an effort to increase reserves, which have been drained by litigation surrounding the community’s storm drains ($68,100), as well as monies for continued expenses and litigation for the storm drain issue ($25,000) and other projects ($34,000). The figures average out to a $128 increase annually per household.

IDA
• Supervisors approved the use of Lakewood Ranch Town Hall’s parking lot for the Lakewood Ranch Creative Arts Club’s art show Nov. 19.

• A motion to pay for the installation of a charging station for electric cars at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall — about $2,000 — failed 2-2. A U.S. Department of Energy grant would have paid the cost of the charging station equipment, valued at about $8,000.