District Engineer Robert Dvorak kicked off the March 5 Westchase CDD meeting with his report. He reminding the Board that he completed a pavement assessment four years ago. Due to the increase in costs, those initial numbers have gone up and he suggested he attend the next workshop to go into more detail. Supervisor Chris Barrett agreed that the new numbers needed to go into the next budget and any significant changes should be communicated to those neighborhoods who will see an increase in their assessments.
At the extended board meeting on Feb. 20, the Board accepted the bid for $1,282,166.20 from MVH Construction, LLC to carry out the West Park Village Plaza renovation. At the March meeting, District Counsel Erin McCormick confirmed that she had received the final contract from MVH, which the Board ratified unanimously. A start date for construction should be finalized by the April meeting.
District Manager Andrew Mendenhall advised the Board that budget season was approaching and that next month they would start discussing specific items and anomalies that needed to be adjusted. This prompted Barrett to remind Dvorak that the Board would like a projection for the remaining neighborhoods requiring improvements to their sidewalks (not including those already earmarked by the County). Dvorak suggested that this should also be discussed at the workshop where he can fully understand what the communities require. Chairman Matt Lewis agreed that it was important to have a comprehensive approach to the budget.
Both David Sylvanowicz and Doug Mays were in attendance, and Mays led the Field Manager’s report. The first item was protecting the gazebo in the pocket park within the Village Greens. Residents were looking for solutions to stop a regular group of soccer players from kicking a ball and damaging the structure. Mays suggested he present some ideas for creative planting at the workshop. Barrett went further to say that this problem was not going to go away, and it couldn’t hurt to put some signs up deterring the use of sports equipment in the area (i.e. goal posts and cleats). Supervisor Reggie Gillis said this issue demonstrated the lack of green space in the community, an area the Board is keen to look at over the coming years.
Mays confirmed that he was waiting on pricing for a replacement for the canopy covering the play equipment in Glencliff park. He explained that it needed to be removed after 8 years of wear and tear and that power washing had created holes in it. Barrett suggested a darker color should be ordered to hide the dirt going forward.
Due to a last-minute change of venue, audience members didn’t arrive until halfway through the meeting, but Lewis welcomed the residents from Bradwell Place who were there to discuss the ongoing issue of dangerous driving on their alleyway. Resident Dennis Ponce reiterated that cars were not following speed limits or the one-way signs, causing significant danger to the families living there. Mays verified that residents with similar issues had found that speed bumps had been highly effective and urged the Board to consider approving them for Bradwell Place. Lewis assured them that they had the full support of the Board.
Following on from last month’s meeting, Radcliffe VM Eric Holt updated the Board on resident support for a speed zone sign in the pocket park. He had received virtually no opposition and reminded the Board that it would come at no cost to the CDD. He also wanted to know the Board’s thoughts on installing a video camera to review vehicles coming in and out of the neighborhood. Supervisor Jim Wimsatt said he would want to see over well 50% support from residents on any such proposal citing that it would come with lots of issues over privacy. McCormick agreed that video recordings came with very specific laws. Holt thanked the Board for their feedback.
At the end of the meeting, Mays said he was pleased to report that Sylvanowicz had settled into the Field Manager role very comfortably in his first three weeks, “catching on fast, meeting residents and quickly realizing what a great community we have.”
