Ranch CDDs approve new budgets

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Following two armed home invasions in the Edgewater community, supervisors of its governing board, Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 2, have decided against making specific provisions for increased security in their $2.3 million Fiscal Year 2012 budget.

The majority of residents who attended the district’s budget adoption hearing Aug. 25 opposed the idea of using $15,600, previously set aside for landscaping modifications, as “seed money” for potential security enhancements in Edgewater.

The three neighborhood chairmen in Edgewater had asked the board to remove the $15,600 altogether rather than using it for security enhancements, based on feedback from homeowners in their respective neighborhoods.

Although many Edgewater residents are still on edge because of the invasions, HOA representatives said most homeowners they’ve corresponded with have adopted a “wait and see” attitude regarding security.

“It’s the responsibility of the individual homeowner (to protect their home),” Edgewater Cove Chair Charlene Betourney said. “We will find the money (for improvements) if we need the money.”

Resident Mike Finney disagreed, noting Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube a few weeks ago talked with residents about having “layers” of security.

“I think it’s the community’s responsibility, as well as the residents’ responsibility,” he said, noting money should be set aside. “Security doesn’t start at your front door. (It starts) out as far out as you can (get it).”

“I don’t think it’s being forward thinking (to not budget anything for potential security improvements,” Finney said after the vote.

CDD supervisors on Aug. 18 asked the Country Club/Edgewater Village Association to work with residents and determine what, if any, security improvements should be made.

Supervisors can impose a special assessment for Edgewater residents if homeowners decide more money should be spent on improving security.

A representative of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office was slated to walk through Edgewater on Monday to offer suggestions for security improvements.

The $15,600 supervisors kept in the budget will go toward a pilot program for replacing Washingtonian palm trees within the district with alternative landscaping. Two locations — one in Edgewater and one in the Country Club — have been selected as test sites. Supervisors said they are concerned about the long-term appearance and maintenance issues associated with the trees, which grow upwards of 100 feet.

CDD 2’s adopted budget decreased by 8.5% from Fiscal Year 2011, resulting in a 1.8% decrease in assessments for residents — an average of $27 per household. Finance Director Steve Zielinski said the unused monies from the district’s 2011 budget for landscape maintenance — about $147,000 — significantly contributed to the decrease.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

IN OTHER BUSINESS

CDD 4
Community Development District 4 supervisors adopted Aug. 25 their $1.6 million budget, which is 4.6% lower than the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.

District supervisors said special projects for the coming fiscal year include several improvements to Greenbrook Adventure Park, including repairs to the hockey rink, re-striping of the parking lot and the installation of rocks around the pavilion to improve drainage.

“I think it’s safe to say we don’t have anything new planned,” CDD 4 Chairman Mike Griffin said. “I think we’ve upgraded our expectations on landscaping and maintenance (through contracts) and that is covered in the budget.”

CDD 1
Community Development District 1 supervisors adopted Aug. 25 a $1.57 million budget for Fiscal Year 2012.

The utilization of about $60,000 in surplus from the 2011 budget helped to keep a static assessment for residents.

“It just looks like we’re doing more for less,” Supervisor Jean Stewart said. “Residents should be happy (with that).”

CONTRACTOR CHALLENGES CDD PROCEDURES
LAKEWOOD RANCH — Landscaping contractor Garden Leaders is seeking a temporary emergency injunction against four of Lakewood Ranch’s governing boards and plans to contest their selection of another vendor for services.

Garden Leaders filed a lawsuit Aug. 23 in the 12th Judicial Circuit, alleging Lakewood Ranch Community Development Districts 1, 4 and 5 and the Inter-District Authority Board have violated the state’s open-meetings laws, and Garden Leaders, therefore, should be granted injunctive relief until the situation can be corrected.

The complaint questions the method an evaluation committee used to rank bidders for landscaping contracts in Districts 1, 4 and 5. Furthermore, it asserts the meetings at which the committee made recommendations should have been publicly noticed and open to the public.

Garden Leaders is seeking to prevent the boards from taking action based on recommendations of the evaluation committee, including the awarding of any contract, and to recoup reasonable attorney’s fees. It also is contesting the bid process used.

Town Hall staff members say three employees of Lakewood Ranch Town Hall’s operations department independently reviewed bids based on services provided and pricing to come up with an accumulated evaluation score.

Supervisors in Districts 4 and 5 voted Aug. 18, to hire Mount Dora-based Down To Earth as their new landscaping contractor. The company would have replaced Garden Leaders starting Oct. 1.

Down to Earth beat Garden Leaders by only two points in the evaluation scale used in both districts 4 and 5. They came out as the top vendor in District 1, whose supervisors on Aug. 25 were slated to rehire them. A vote was postponed until Aug. 30 — the last day bids could be approved under the original request for proposal — and to give their attorney time to review the situation.

A decision had not been made by press time Tuesday.

At last week’s meeting, CDD 1 attorney Jeff Russell said, based on an initial review, he believed the situation differed from other cases in which an evaluation committee had violated Sunshine requirements.

“On a preliminary analysis, I disagree on their terms,” he said. “I don’t think it violates Sunshine.”

Mike Barfield, paralegal for attorney Andrea Mogensen, who is representing Garden Leaders, disagreed and noted Garden Leaders filed suit against District 1 — a board set to renew with Garden Leaders.

“It’s not a stall tactic,” Barfield said. “They obviously aren’t limiting it to the contract they were awarded. They just want things done correctly. The Sunshine law is part of the Florida Constitution, and it promotes public interest of the highest order. It’s not a technicality. This is an important law.”

Town Hall operations staff had planned to acclimate Down to Earth with the property over the next month. But the lawsuit could prevent Down to Earth from assuming services at that time.

Barfield said Garden Leaders would ensure the districts continue to receive services. Town Hall’s Director of Operations Ryan Heise also said he did not expect the lawsuit to negatively impact landscaping services within the districts.

“It’s not a concern,” Heise said. “There are a number of options that are available to us. We will get the maintenance done one way or another. It’s my focus — not letting the appearance (of the community go down).”