IDA: Town Hall will be open Fridays

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Its decision won’t take affect for several months, but the Inter-District Authority Board has decided Lakewood Ranch Town Hall will be open five days a week.

At the board’s meeting May 20, supervisors voted to open Town Hall from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, with services on Friday limited to those offered by front desk staff. The new five-day schedule, which will take effect Oct. 1, will include the hiring of one part-time employee, who will work 10-hour shifts on Mondays and Fridays.

“We wanted to try to accommodate those residents who felt Town Hall ought to be open (five days a week), and preserve (the four-day workweek for employees),” IDA Chairman Tom Green said.

Town Hall has been operating on a 10-hour, four-day work schedule since August 2008. Supervisors reconsidered the schedule in recent months after complaints from residents. However, they also wanted to accommodate Town Hall employees, many of whom attended the IDA meeting last month in support of the four-day workweek.

“I think it was a good compromise,” Supervisor Glenda Robertson said of the IDA’s decision.

The board also approved the hiring of security personnel on an as-needed basis. Security only will be provided after-hours and on weekends if no Town Hall staff is present.

“Right now, we rely on the people from the clubs to secure the building,” Green said. “To me, we should have done this a while ago.”

A total of $52,000 annually has been incorporated into the tentative 2011 IDA budget to accommodate the changes. Community Manager Bob Fernandez said the budgeted amount is a “worst-case scenario” and is much higher than actual anticipated costs.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

IN OTHER CDD NEWS
ALL CDDs
• Director of Operations Ryan Heise said the districts’ third-party landscape consultant has begun randomizing inspections to help ensure the district’s landscaping contractors are providing quality work throughout the month rather than just before inspections.

CDD 2
• Contractors have begun repair work on the storm drain in Laurel Valley and are expected to finish in early June.

• Superior Asphalt has agreed to repave a one-quarter-mile section of Legacy Boulevard. Supervisors approved the spending of up to $38,000 to replace the road base in that section as well. Work is expected to start by early June.

• The district’s landscape contractor, Mainscapes, failed its May landscape inspection with an 83%. The district will retain 25% of the month’s invoice as a penalty. “A message has been sent,” Heise said.

CDD 4
• The district’s landscaping company, Garden Leaders, is replacing the turf at the intersection of Lorraine Road and Greenbrook Boulevard because the area was failing its landscaping inspection.

CDD 5
• The district’s attorney Andy Cohen updated supervisors regarding a lawsuit they filed against the contractors of several failed storm drains in CDD 5. Those contractors have filed defensive motions and are set to be heard in court June 10 and July 8.

IDA
• Supervisors authorized Town Hall staff to negotiate a contract with Jenark for property management and accounting software and to hire a project coordinator for the implementation of that software.

• Supervisors approved a tentative budget that includes $40,000 for the purchase of a new HVAC unit for Town Hall, the purchase and implementation of new accounting/property management services software and the hiring of additional staff at Town Hall, among other items. A final budget will not be adopted until August.

• Supervisors approved the reconfiguration of a portion of downstairs offices at Town Hall so property management staff can work in the same room. Most of the work can be done in-house to minimize expenses, Heise said.