Departing CDD supervisor shares lessons

EAST COUNTY — Communicate more and move past the divisiveness.

That’s the recommendation that Lee Bettes, supervisor of the Heritage Harbour South Community Development District since 2009, has for residents and Heritage Harbour CDD members.

Bettes, currently the longest standing member on the active board who is departing post-election in November, has witnessed the Stoneybrook Homeowners Association and the CDD clash over everything from stormwater ponds and wetlands to who has control over the community’s landscaping. There’s also been growing resentment about the cap on how long meetings last.

Bettes — a Marine Corps veteran, lifelong businessman and former Oshkosh, Wis., commissioner —  has also worked to create less friction with the meetings’ two-hour time limit.

Since Bettes became supervisor, he has picked up on best practices for how to efficiently and successfully run the community’s monthly public meetings.

Listening to residents to determine what issues need to be addressed and other leadership tools have proven invaluable lessons for the supervisor, he said.

Over the last five years, Bettes, Heritage Harbour residents and Stoneybrook Homeowners Association members have noticed changes in the number of things being accomplished at meetings and other procedural issues.

Bettes, though, still believes the CDD should reconsider the two-hour time limit it adopted last year.
Constraining the meeting’s length, Bettes said, negatively affects the amount of attention and detail given to important issues, such as budget and other community interests.

“We (as a CDD) shouldn’t worry so much about what time it is and making sure the meeting wraps up at exactly 8 p.m.,” Bettes said. “We just need to make sure we’re getting things done.”

Chairwoman Joyce Sandy, though, disagrees. She believes the tighter timeframe pushes the board to appropriate time more wisely.

“The imposition of a two-hour time limit has made the meetings shorter and more efficient,” Sandy said.

As a middle ground to avoid endless meetings while still having sufficient time to vet topics, Bettes suggests hosting more detailed conversations, or workshops, on the important items near the beginning of meetings.

He implemented similar practices from 2010 to 2012, when he chaired the CDD. After the workshops and each supervisor voiced comments on the topic, the group voted.

Although the supervisors discuss topics prior to voting, the amount of conversation isn’t what it should and used to be, Bettes said.

To Mark Cook, a Stoneybrook resident who has attended meetings since he moved to the community in 2010, the answer to accomplishing more at meetings can be found just by asking.

“Over the last year, I think the supervisors were doing things that people in our community didn’t really want to do and they should have been listening to their constituents,” Cook said. “It’s about what the community wants, not what individuals want.”

Cook also recommends the CDD allow public comments at the end of CDD meetings rather than at the beginning, so the audience can ask questions on topics discussed that night.

The CDD has received various requests for the change, but the amendment hasn’t been made.
Slowly but surely, though, Bettes said issues are being resolved as he prepares his exit from the district (see sidebar, right).

BETTES’ LEGACY
Although he doesn’t pinpoint specific achievements during his time at the CDD to call his own, one accomplishment Lee Bettes is proud of is the role he played in the management of the stormwater maintenance system.

Prior to residents controlling the CDD, Bettes said the stormwater system was under serviced and the ponds needed attention.

Today, engineers regularly check on the “well-oiled machine” and Bettes feels the CDD has been prompt with getting maintenance completed.

Another kudos Bettes gives the board is the progress on its relationship with the HOA. The relationship has improved since the two groups clashed earlier this year over landscaping.

Over the last two months, the groups have worked together to craft an agreement on landscape maintenance and may potentially work together on other community issues in the future.

As the CDD prepares to welcome George Mosinki, who will replace Bettes, and possibly others, Bettes hopes the next board will continue to learn from past mistakes to create a stronger CDD and community.

His recommendations for Mosinki?

“Do your homework when researching materials, listen to residents and no micromanaging,” Bettes said.