Chairman Matt Lewis called the meeting to order and opened the floor to audience comments. Barry Anderson of The Shires wanted to recognize the professionalism and courtesy of the inspectors taking inventory of the condition of the sidewalks in his neighborhood. This led to a question from resident Marlon Santos, also of The Shires, regarding the status of the project. Engineer Robert Dvorak explained that at this point, the team is identifying locations in preparation for a request for proposal (RFP) for sidewalk repair. He added that the fieldwork was almost complete, but the actual work would be months away, following advertising and proposal reviews.
Mr. Santos, a new Westchase resident, also claimed that the sidewalks on Countryway Boulevard looked dirty. Field Manager David Sylvanowicz reassured him that they have a rolling contract with AG Outshines, who works throughout the community as needed and he encouraged Mr. Santos to email the office with the details of which sidewalks needed cleaning.
Following up on concerns of the rising water level of pond 125, Dvorak said he had been making plans to raise the bank. He will have completed plans for the board to review at the next workshop.
Flooding was also a cause for concern at the intersection of Countryway and Glencliff Circle where sitting water had not been receding. After looking at the original plans, Dvorak identified that at some point the original pipes had been replaced with a corrugated pipe with 10% less capacity, and it had now been crushed by a vehicle, possibly by TECO tree service. He explained that it was a huge safety issue with the potential for cars hydroplaning. He proposed bidding out the project to install the required pipes. In the meantime, with the potential for more storms, Dvorak strongly suggested opening up the sidewalk there to help alleviate concerns. Sylvanowicz confirmed this was something his team could handle. (Editor’s note: CDD staff did open the sidewalk later in the week.) Supervisors were keen to identify if TECO was responsible for changing and ultimately crushing the pipe and they passed a motion 5-0 to carry out a survey for potential works at the cost of $2,500.
Attorney Erin McCormick informed the board that they were close to closing out the contract with the previous landscaping company. Outstanding invoices, less the money to be recouped from the demand package, came to just over $64,000.
Lewis asked McCormick if the hurricane had delayed the cell tower project. She had not heard anything but reminded the board that the lease agreement ended on October 31 so she would check.
During his report, District Manager Andrew Mendenhall asked the board if they wanted to renew their affiliation with the Florida Association of Special Districts (FASD). He reminded the board that the association is primarily an organization that discusses and supports issues pertaining to special districts and he was an advocate to get more CDDs involved. The motion to renew was passed 5-0.
Before his own report, Sylvanowicz invited Pete Lucadano from RedTree to update the board on the company’s first month working in Westchase. Supervisor Chris Barrett was keen for Pete’s assessment on how long it would take to bring Westchase “back to standard.” Lucadano identified that the district was in worse condition than they had thought, with some areas not being touched in months. Hurricane recovery had been a matter of teamwork. Sylvanowicz had done a lot of the big cutting and RedTree was able to switch to the aesthetic cleanup. They are now able to solve turf loss by laying down new fertilizer and as the cooler months approach, they will be able to tackle weed control. The final piece of the puzzle will be improvements to the irrigation system, which will be a costly and lengthy endeavor. Lewis asked that the RedTree irrigation team prepare a presentation with different options, including the possibility of using existing infrastructure. Lucadano assured the board that they would see improvements in the community within three to four weeks. He ended his report by thanking Sylvanowicz for his help and commitment to the district and for giving the team access to his time during their first 30 days.
With the project at West Park Village almost finished, thoughts moved on to how to decorate the new space for the holidays. Office Manager Sonny Whyte sought the board’s approval to not only light the Medjool Palms, but also the new Crepe Myrtles and the bell tower. This would fall within her annual budget for holiday lights; they would, however, require a couple more outlets. In addition, she wanted to rent a 10-foot, lighted frame to encourage families to take their holiday photos in the West Park Village Plaza. The board approved the new outlets and lights and asked Sonny to look into the costs and safety implications of the frame.
