The August 8 CDD meeting began with two public hearings. There were no comments or questions coming from the audience at the first public hearing regarding the Fiscal Year 2023/2024 budget, so supervisors voted to approve the budget, 5-0. The second public hearing for the imposition of assessments to fund the District’s proposed budget was also unchallenged and was approved unanimously by the supervisors.
District Manager Andrew Mendenhall did explain that he had received a handful of queries regarding the budget ahead of the meeting, but he was satisfied they had been answered with a positive outcome.
A Village Greens resident opened audience comments by querying why bushes that bordered her property were no longer getting regularly trimmed. Field Manager Doug Mays explained that it was hard to keep up with all the landscaping during the growing season but assured the resident that he had seen the crew working in her area. He went on to say that this bush had a certain type of flower that some residents like and it was sometimes a challenge to please everybody. Chairman Matt Lewis finished the discussion by telling the resident that she had, “come to the right place” with her concerns but asked her for some patience with the new landscaping company arriving later in the year.
During his report, Engineer Robert Dvorak asked District Counsel Erin McCormick for an update on the schedule for the cell tower construction as he wanted to ensure he made a site visit in the first few days of the project. McCormick informed the board that Vertex was waiting on TECO to review the weight of the vehicles and equipment that would be traveling on the site but she had been assured that Vertex was on track to complete construction by October 31. She will inform the board and Dvorak as soon as she knows the exact date of commencement.
In her own report, McCormick asked the board to consider the proposal from VHB to prepare proposal packages and oversee the RFP process for the West Park Village Upgrade Project. The package would include the entire project, but contractors would have the choice to bid for all of the work or individual components of the project (e.g., site clearing, fountain, landscaping or electrical work). If selected, VHB would oversee the analysis of the bids, make recommendations to the board and attend pre-construction meetings. Pricing for this administrative role would not exceed $10,000 and they would work on an hourly basis. McCormick had reviewed the proposal and was satisfied that VHB was working consistently within the Board’s expectations. With supervisors keen for the project to start during the dry season, they agreed to approve VHB’s selection process subject to Lewis reviewing the documents.
Following on from a couple of administrative procedures, Mendenhall finished his report by informing the board that another district he covered had recently hired a new field manager. He offered to share the job description that was used in that hiring process with the board and Doug Mays for their review ahead of advertising for Mays’ replacement. Mays will be retiring in the coming year.
During the resident forum, Abbotsford resident Ralph Caputo asked the board to approve the removal of a tree from his easement. The roots had severely lifted the sidewalk causing a neighbor to fall, and the pipes are also tangled with his water pipes. Following some discussion, the board approved the removal of the tree. In regard to other tree permit requests, Supervisor Chris Barrett requested that an arborist review a tree in Millport before a permit be approved. He was hopeful that the tree could be saved by pruning but if the arborist felt its removal was necessary to remove the tree to protect the health of nearby trees, then the board should allow it. A third permit was approved for a tree removal on Snowden with a vote of 3-2.
The meeting ended with talk of new Christmas lights, refurbishing wreaths and a potential tweak to the Santa Parade route due to the WPV Plaza renovations.
Editor’s Note: Click here for a breakdown of the CDD budget discussions and assessments.
