CDD 4 to launch town hall meetings

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Supervisors in one Lakewood Ranch Community Development District are hoping to improve communication with their residents by hosting bimonthly town hall-style meetings starting at the beginning of the year.

“Communication is an ongoing challenge in Greenbrook, and the cost of mailing is pretty cost prohibitive,” said supervisor Nancy Johnson, who suggested the concept. “This is an information giving and gathering idea.”

Dubbed “Meet Your CDD 4 Supervisors,” the meetings will be facilitated by Johnson, who has hosted similar events through her previous work in multi-national corporations, and will give residents an open forum for airing their concerns and for CDD supervisors to provide feedback or other information that may benefit residents.

Meetings will be held in the evening to accommodate working residents.

Supervisor Michael Spring agreed the forum should give supervisors and residents another way to keep informed and share information.

“There is no good single communication mechanism today,” he said. “We need a combination (of things in place to be successful).”

With board approval in hand, Johnson said she now will begin working to set up times and dates for future meetings. However, because supervisors must give a 60-day notice for public meetings, the events will not begin until after the start of the new year.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

IN OTHER BUSINESS
CDD 1
• Director of Operations Ryan Heise said the district’s landscape contractor, Garden Leaders, received a failing score in its most recent evaluation. Heise said issues are being addressed and he is confident the company will be able to successfully perform the work under contract.

• The board authorized the execution of an agreement with River Club’s Homeowner’s Association that will allow River Club to install a micro-irrigation system on a CDD 1 easement at the entrance to River Club on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and install and maintain landscaping there. CDD 1 would assume the costs for watering the parcel.

• Heise said the lake maintenance and conservation program that has been implemented in Summerfield will be expanding to Riverwalk by early November.

• Supervisor Alan Roth said he is planning a public meeting for residents to discuss the issue of prescription drug abuse in the community. No date has yet been set for the meeting.

CDD 2
• Heise said landscape improvements at the community’s gatehouse, as well as at the intersection of The Masters Avenue and Legacy Boulevard, are under way and should be completed by early November.

• Supervisors asked Heise to look into a policy to have special requests for projects from residents in writing (rather than just taking the information by phone) to ensure what is being requested is what is being addressed.

CDD 4
• Supervisor Anne Fischer said the district’s security provider, Allegiance Security, has agreed to provide additional security in the community at no cost to the district on Halloween.

• Supervisors thanked Azad Shah, the district’s irrigation consultant, for his work in uncovering billing and other issues associated with Lakewood Ranch’s irrigation system. Shah recently completed phase three of an irrigation study.

“Now we really understand what the issues are,” Supervisor Michael Spring said.

CDD 5
• A resident in Legends Walk has donated two benches to be placed on Arnold Palmer Green near its intersections with Palmers Creek Terrace and Balmoral Woods Boulevard.

• Supervisors and Town Hall staff thanked supervisors Glenda Robertson and Dave Brucker for their service to the community. Both board members are retiring.

IDA
• The Inter-District Authority Board meeting was rescheduled to 10 a.m., Oct. 28.