Tara CDD crossing in sunshine

TARA PRESERVE — Members of the Tara Community Development District are putting new meaning to the phrase “walking on sunshine.”

On Jan. 20, district supervisors will trade their tables and chairs for tennis shoes and cars as they walk and drive the Tara Preserve community to comb over the district’s aging landscape.

But, there’s a catch.

To follow Florida’s Sunshine laws, which dictate government transparency and forbid elected officials to talk with one another about government business outside of a public meeting, supervisors will have not one public workshop that day, but 14.

Each workshop has been noticed separately so that members of the public can attend all or specific meetings, as they so choose. There’s even a lunch break.

“We will all assemble at the same time. We will call to order,” said Supervisor Beth Bond, who orchestrated the meeting. “We’ll give residents (time to speak). The board then will discuss encroachment, plantings, mowing and a list of things on each different site.”

Supervisors and the public will walk from site to site, although carpooling is slated for some locations. In those instances, each vehicle will contain at least one non-supervisor to ensure there are no off-the-record discussions, Bond said.

Bond will bring a wheelchair to accommodate any residents with disabilities.

“Everyone needs to be able to participate,” Bond said.

Tara CDD attorney John Vericker said the board could start at the meeting and then continue it to other specific locations, but he prefers individual meetings.

“This is a cleaner way of doing it,” he said. “If you weren’t there for the first one, you wouldn’t know where they were continuing to.”

Bond says the workshop is needed because it’s been 10 years since the CDD took over from the developer.

Landscaping, she said, is showing signs of age and will require improvements to keep up the community’s property values and aesthetic qualities.

“Secondly, we’ve never had a comprehensive community-wide plan,” Bond said. “There are certain areas of the community we have spent a lot of money on landscaping and others not so much. Is it equitable?”

Bond said pictures of the landscapes’ degradation don’t provide the same impact as actually looking at each site in person.

Standing at the southeast corner of Tara Boulevard and Tara Preserve Lane, she points north. The St. Augustine grass there is actually greener than the Bahia grass Tara CDD installed on its neighboring property along Tara Boulevard just a few years ago.

The district may also want to consider redesigning the flowerbeds nearby to better fit the “right plant, right place” concept, she said.

Jim Kaluk, the district’s field manager, said he receives calls daily about tree trimming and landscaping. Allowing residents to walk problem areas with supervisors will provide a unique opportunity for dialogue.

“It brings the residents into the picture to see what we have in the present and what the future will be,” he said. “We’re still working.”

Bond says that although supervisors must stick to a strict time schedule and do plenty of walking, the effort will be worth the effort.

“I think it’s going to be a hoot,” she said. “ I’ve walked and driven the route. It’s hard work, but this will give us the best product our board can put forth. You may never see a CDD board do this again.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

Schedule
• Stop 1: 9:00 –– 9:30 a.m., Preserve Community Center, 7340 Tara Preserve Lane;
• Stop 2: 9:40 to 9:45 a.m., 6167 to 6120 Aviary Court;
• Stop 3: 10 to 10:25 a.m., Northeast corner of Tara Boulevard and Tara Preserve Lane;
• Stop 4: 10:40 to 11 a.m., Corner of Tara Boulevard and Tailfeather, across from Cypress Strand;
• Stop 5: 11:10 to 11:20 a.m., Across the street from 7023 Gosling Terrace;
• Stop 6: 11:30 to 11:50 a.m.; CDD property behind 6203, 6206, 6207 and 6214 Skyward Court;
• Stop 7: 1:10 to 1:30 p.m., 6831 to 6806 Tailfeather Way, beside and behind homes on CDD property;
• Stop 8: 1:40 to 1:55 p.m., 6658 and 6670 Tailfeather Way;
• Stop 9: 2 to 2:10 p.m., 6419 and 6409 Wingspan Way;
• Stop 10: 2:25 to 2:45 p.m., Corner of Tailfeather Way and Cormorant Court;
• Stop 11: 2:55 to 3:10 p.m. Park area adjacent to 7618 Birds Eye Terrace;
• Stop 12: 3:15 to 3:35 p.m., 5935 to 5943 Wingspan Way.
3:40 to 4 p.m. — Final meeting at community center — Recap of afternoon sessions; listing of next steps (policy, planning and budget); other items for discussion.