Meeting Minutes for December 17, 2024
Habitat
Community Development District
The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Habitat Community Development District was held in the Bella Terra Clubhouse at 20070 Bella Terra Boulevard in Estero, Florida and also via web conference on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 at 4 p.m.
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Norman Reno – Vice Chair
Linda Lea Gibson – Assistant Secretary
Jenny Licht – Assistant Secretary
James Meek – Assistant Secretary
Attending remotely:
Larry Roth – Chair
Also present:
Cal Teague – District Manager, Premier District Management (PDM)
Mandie Rainwater – Assistant District Manager, PDM
Melissa Gindling – Assistant District Manager, PDM
Chris Pepin – Field Manager, Community Field Services
David Schmitt – Engineer, Hole Montes
Bob Vaa – HOA
Douglas Whalen – HOA
Residents
Attending remotely:
Greg Urbancic – Attorney, Coleman, Yovanovich & Koester, P.A.
Residents
The following is a summary of the actions taken at the Habitat Community Development District Board of Supervisors Meeting.
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Call to Order and Roll Call
Vice Chair Reno called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m., and the roll was called. Four Board members were present, and Chair Roth attended remotely. Also in attendance were Cal Teague, the District Manager, Assistant District Managers Mandie Rainwater and Melissa Gindling, Chris Pepin, the Field Manager, David Schmitt, the Engineer, and Eight Residents, including Bob Vaa, and Douglas Whalen from the HOA. Attending remotely were Greg Urbancic, the Attorney and Three Residents.
On MOTION by Supervisor Gibson, seconded by Supervisor Licht, with all in favor, the Board approved Chair Roth’s attendance remotely.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Pledge of Allegiance
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Agenda
Add 6Eiia: Draft Initial Residential FAQ E-Blast
Add 7G: 20498 TDL Aerator Proposal for Replacement
On MOTION by Supervisor Gibson, seconded by Chair Roth, with all in favor, the Agenda was approved, as amended.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments on Agenda Items
Douglas Whalen stated that he was selected as the Master HOA liaison for the road project. He will be assisting in information distribution to residents along with CDD notification efforts.
Diane Meeks inquired about the status of the FPL work orders for street lamps that are not functioning. Field Manager Pepin stated that FPL has been notified, but the work has been delayed due to disaster recovery. They should hopefully begin work on his requests in the near future.
Lou Tancredi commented that he just learned about the road project during the HOA meeting. He believes that communication could be improved between both Boards, and he hopes communication is forthcoming about the road project. He also suggested sending an e-mail blast before every meeting to the residents, since many of them may not know about the CDD.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consent Agenda
A. Items to Be Pulled for Discussion
There were no items pulled.
B. Motion to Approve Consent Items
On MOTION by Chair Roth, seconded by Supervisor Meek, with all in favor, the Board approved all Consent Items, as presented.
C. Consideration of Items Pulled for Discussion
D. Consent Items
i. Draft Meeting Minutes for November 19, 2024
ii. Financial Report for November 2024
iii. Project Tracking Logs
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Staff Reports
A. Irrigation Contractor
District Manager Teague reported that no issues have been reported to staff.
Vice Chair Reno stated that sometimes the amount of irrigation water running in front of the clock tower is flooding the street. The contractor will be informed.
B. District Manager
i. FEMA Reimbursement Update
District Manager Teague reported that he was notified just before the meeting about the denial of one of the three claims. He would like to prepare an appeal based on the public benefit of the stormwater system. He stated that staff will send the appeal.
ii. Drainage Concern at 21019 Torre Del Lago St.
District Manager Teague stated that no updates will be provided until the project is complete.
iii. Debris located at 21001 Bella Terra Blvd
Previously the Board had sent a letter to the homeowner asking them to correct the issue. The resident denied that the debris was from her home. The Board authorized Field Manager Pepin to remove the debris, and staff sent the bill to the resident for repayment. She responded and stated that the owner resided out of the country. After conferring with Attorney Urbancic, it was determined that the person who returned the letter was designated as the lifetime estate owner of the home and was indeed responsible. A letter was re-addressed and re-sent to the home.
iv. Applications for CDD Property Use Updates
District Manager Teague Stated that they had received two applications. The first was an application to take photos in front of the fountain. The second application was for the Golf Cart Parade occurring on Saturday December 21st. Due to time constraints, both were approved by Chair Roth.
C. Field Manager
i. Field Report
Chris Pepin presented his field report.
He stated that the lakes are in good condition, but trash is beginning to appear, so he will schedule a time for trash cleanup.
He reported that some issues with aerators have been addressed. Staff was notified of a noisy aerator, and quotes to repair that aerator and a few others were presented later in the meeting.
He stated that Muhly Grass installation should be completed in December. The vegetation along the preserves will be cut back and mowed in the near future.
He reported that the Lake 3 blowout will be repaired by Gonzalo with outside fill material.
Chris reported that the Holly trees have been installed, but will be re-planted elsewhere when the oaks have been received. Supervisor Licht stated that she is confused about why the Holly trees were not accepted, since they were on the native list provided by the Village. She also stated that acquiring the oaks at the the desired size is delaying the quote.
There are also some dead cocoplums that will be removed.
Lykins installed the emergency gate sign today.
The list of streetlights which need to be addressed has been forwarded to FPL. There is no additional expense for the lights that are on all the time, since we pay a flat rate for them, but we pay for the lights that are not on, as well.
Someone has painted a catch basin blue, and he is not sure if it will come off with irrigation or rain. They could also pressure wash it.
There are some pump station issues that the vendor is addressing, including adding a bib hose. Vice Chair Reno asked if a non-potable water sign should be installed. Chris stated that a new screen is being installed around the station due to its deteriorating appearance.
ii. Project Updates
Field Manager Pepin reported that there are no updates other than those discussed in the meeting.
D. Attorney
i. Levine Litigation Update
This has been finalized and will no longer be on the Agenda.
ii. Mary Ann Lauria Update
There is no update.
iii. Kenneth Jay Riha Update
There is no update.
Attorney Urbancic reminded the Board that their ethics training is due by the end of the year and that the links to this training have been shared. He asked the Board to please reach out to staff if you need them again.
E. Engineer
i. Emergency Exit Update
Field Manager Pepin discussed this earlier in the field report. Engineer Schmitt stated that no new information will be available until the Oak tree quote is received.
ii. Road Project Update
a. Draft Initial Resident FAQ E-Blast
Assistant District Manager Rainwater read an email sent from the vendor that contained a rough timeline for minor repair work to be completed in December. She stated that the milling and repaving will start on January 7th, and the rejuvenation will start the same day on the other side of the community. Assistant District Manager Rainwater presented specifics of the process, including timing and costs, and they were discussed. Supervisor Meek emphasized the need for quality control, and Engineer Schmitt stated that this is in place.
Assistant District Manager Rainwater will work with the HOA representative and provide him with updates that are formatted for social media distribution, as well as, e-blasts. To address community communication, the District has also created a web page on the CDD website to enter up to date information. Engineer Schmitt provided edits to the FAQ section that will be added before distribution.
On MOTION by Supervisor Meek, seconded by Supervisor Gibson, with all in favor, the Board approved Bowman Engineering to provide oversight of the road project, not to exceed $21,000.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Discussion/Action Items
A. HOA/CDD Maintenance Contract Negotiations Update
i. Executed Extension With HOA
The last extension is set to expire at the end of the year. Bob Vaa stated that he was very happy to see additional communications between the HOA and the CDD. He is hopeful that the Facilities and Maintenance Agreement is close to adoption.
ii. Current Draft of Contract
Attorney Urbancic explained that the current draft is the 12th revision of the agreement, and there are two main issues, which are the public nature of the roads and the post orders. The HOA team sent an email to the CDD attorney indicating that these issues were non-negotiable. Attorney Urbancic advised the Board that, if the public nature of roads is not in the post orders, and in the language in the facilities and maintenance agreement itself, the District will be vulnerable. He also explained that the HOA acts as an extension of the CDD when entering into agreements for maintenance of CDD property and is therefore subject to public records retention law, because the CDD is a public entity. Attorney Urbancic advised against acceptance of this agreement without the inclusion of the two statements, and if this occurs there will be no agreement. He explained the tax and bond implications for public access vs. private access.
Chair Roth had issue with the overnight parking language in the facilities and maintenance agreement. Supervisor Meek also believed that the agreement should be for five years instead of three.
On MOTION by Supervisor Meek, seconded by Chair Roth, with all in favor, the Board authorized the Chair to sign the HOA and CDD maintenance agreement, contingent on the agreement of staff, the Attorney, and the HOA, concerning the post orders language and the public records language.
iii. Guardhouse Door Handle Update
The vendor has refused to honor the warranty because of abuse of the handle. The exterior handle is now failing, because the interior door handle has been missing for too long. The total for two door handles and installation is approximately $350.
On MOTION by Supervisor Meek, seconded by Supervisor Licht, with 4 in favor, and Chair Roth opposed, the Board approved the Field Manager to fix the guardhouse door handle.
iv. Post Order Revisions
The post order revisions in the Agenda packet were for a post order document that was shared with staff and later revised by the HOA and adopted at an HOA Master meeting. After receiving the newly adopted orders and comparing the two, the public access language adopted in February 2024 was missing. Those were the same revisions for the previous version. The HOA requests that the Board pass a motion to request revisions to the post orders. Per motion in 7aii, staff will send revision requests to the Property Manager.
B. Lakes to be Transferred from HOA to CDD Follow-up
This is tabled until there is a maintenance agreement.
C. Water Softener Proposals for Clock Tower Pools
This is tabled until the cleaning project is complete. It will be removed from the Agenda until then.
D. Clock Tower Tile Replacement Proposal
A quote has been submitted for refurbishing the clock tower at the cost of $150,975.80. Last month the Board was presented with two additional quotes, one for either $113,000 or $120,000, depending on the level of repair and another for $6,700 for painting only. Vice Chair Reno asked that staff prepare a side-by-side comparison for the three proposals. Staff will present this in the February 2025 meeting.
E. Cul-de-sac Ride Around Report
The previously submitted report was discussed at the November meeting but tabled due to Supervisor Licht’s absence. Supervisor Licht was pleased with the vendors responses to correcting issues. She will address the missing Sylvester or foxtail on Bosco.
F. Resident Request to Reduce Littorals Behind 21655 Bella Terra
Vice Chair Reno stated that Google Maps and historical photo data show that the littoral plantings are the same width as they were in an existing photo available when the resident moved in. Supervisor Meek reminded the Board that they invested a lot into the installation of Geo tube and spike rush during lake restoration. The spike rush will only grow to a certain depth and will provide filtration and shore stabilization benefits and should not be cut back. Staff was asked to draft a letter to include feedback the community has received on the good quality of the lakes, water, and shorelines at Bella Terra. Staff was also asked to locate a previous e-blast on littorals to re-send to the community.
On MOTION by Supervisor Licht, seconded by Chair Roth, with all in favor, the Board denied the request to reduce littorals.
G. 20498 TDL Aerator Proposal for Replacement
Field Manager Pepin presented a quote to repair aerator equipment for a total of $5,778.
On MOTION by Supervisor Meek, seconded by Supervisor Licht, with all in favor, the Board approved the repair of aerators, not to exceed $5,778.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS H.O.A. Report
There was no report from the HOA.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor Requests
Supervisor Licht commented that she will be conducting a guard house inspection in January. The Board was informed that the HOA will not respond to any reports about issues with the guardhouse until the facilities and maintenance agreement is complete.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments
Bob Vaa let Supervisor Licht know that when he asked about guardhouse cleanup, KJ stated they would not agree to it until there is a maintenance agreement.
Mr. Tancredi wanted to reemphasis the need for an eblast about CDD meetings. He also commented about the drying times for the road rejuvenation project.
Mr. Werner informed the Board that, when the condos refinished their parking lot, they provided a color coded map and it worked pretty well.