Sturbridge resident Michael Dansereau opened audience comments by asking the board for an update on the berm to be built behind the houses on Pond 125. Chairman Matt Lewis assured him this would be covered in the Engineer’s report.
Lynn Dansereau asked why the minutes from the CDD meetings were not available on the CDD website, adding that none had been published since 2022. She requested that the board be “transparent” and suggested that somebody should “be on point” to post the minutes promptly. District Manager Andrew Mendenhall explained that state statutes don’t require minutes to be published but residents are welcome to request a copy at any time, at no cost. Supervisor Chris Barrett went on to say that districts could potentially be sued for not having ADA-accessible websites, and the current infrastructure would not allow for the sizeable minutes to be compliant. Lynn pointed out that the WCA Board posts their minutes, but Barrett quickly pointed out that the WCA minutes are only a summary of what was actually said. He further explained that publishing minutes had a significant downside when bidding out for specific projects – vendors would be able to review the minutes and discussions with cost estimates, which could potentially drive those costs up. As a compromise, it was agreed that there would be clear details on the website explaining how to obtain the minutes by request.
Rich Holder of Sturbridge reported an ongoing problem with kids on motorbikes using the area between ponds 125 and 45 as a public thoroughfare. He requested that the board put up some kind of obstruction to discourage them. Field Manager David Sylvanowicz assured residents that he would look at the area and work on a solution.
Regarding the sidewalk project, Engineer Robert Dvorak confirmed that the RFP had gone out in December and a pre-bid meeting had been well attended. Final bids were due by January 24. The RFP package included the areas north of Linebaugh and east of Countryway and the bid sheet had been divided into individual neighborhoods. Dvorak explained this would give the board the flexibility to award sections at a staggered pace if necessary.
Turning to the berm behind pond 125, Dvorak said he was expecting two bids by the end of the week. Lewis asked Dvorak to update the board at the next workshop and to bring rough numbers and a timeline for his long-term approach.
Lynn Dansereau said she read that Rick Goldstein of the Government Affairs Committee was to meet with county representatives regarding drainage issues in Westchase. Office Manager Sonny Whyte confirmed that a call had gone into the county but they were still waiting for an invitation. She assured the residents that the meeting would focus on all drainage issues including pond 125.
At the start of his report, Mendenhall asked the board if they wished to renew the vulture mitigation agreement with the USDA. Barrett asked if the option of lethal elimination had been removed from the contract. Attorney Erin McCormick said that it had always been included in the contract but was absolutely a last resort. A motion was made to renew the contract with the stipulation that Stonebridge and Woodbridge continue to absorb the cost. The motion passed unanimously.
Sylvanowicz reported that all but two pond aerators had been damaged during Hurricane Milton. He reminded the board that the community’s healthiest ponds were those with aerator systems and he recommended replacing all that had been damaged. Lewis asked Sylvanowicz to look at the cost of raising the aerators and/or moving them to avoid future damage.
In other post-storm updates, Sylvanowicz noted that Red Tree had been integral in getting debris removed in a timely manner following Milton; however, he did want to go over the line items on the invoice with the board. Lewis had specific questions regarding daily mobilization fees and invited Pete Lucadano of Red Tree to clarify the charges. Lucadano explained they used a partner company that charged Red Tree a mobilization and transport fee to use their equipment. Red Tree was only passing along the mobilization fee. He added that fuel shortages forced them to take trucks out of state to get fuel even though they had stockpiled before the storm. Mendenhall confirmed that he did not see anything unusual on the invoice and the motion to approve the payment of $154,000 passed 5-0.
Continuing December’s discussion on irrigation repairs, Sylvanowicz said that Paul Woods of OLM had recommended that clock 3 be replaced after several attempts by Red Tree to fix it. This clock controls a significant area of Montague north of Linebaugh. Although this would be an additional cost, Sylvanowicz explained it would significantly improve the system. He added that he was hopeful that the new clock could eventually be used in other irrigation zones as they worked to replace the community’s irrigation in stages. The board unanimously approved the replacement of clock 3.
Lewis reflected that there were a lot of big-ticket items to focus on this year, all affecting community and property values. He pointed to irrigation, pond 125, the golf course and sidewalk repairs as points of focus for future workshops. Supervisor Greg Chesney agreed and suggested creating a formal mission statement to help guide the board on these important projects.
