Workshop Meeting Minutes for March 21, 2023

Habitat
Community Development District

A workshop 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, March 21, 2023 at 3 p.m.

Present (or attending via web conference) and constituting a quorum were:

Larry Roth – Chair
Norman Reno – Vice Chair
Linda Lea Gibson – Assistant Secretary
Jenny Licht – Assistant Secretary
Joseph Napolitano – Assistant Secretary

Also present (or attending via web conference):

Cal Teague – District Manager, Premier District Management (PDM)
Don Demski – HOA Master Board
Michaele Till-Cazares – HOA Master Board
Melissa Gindling – Project Specialist, PDM
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

The meeting was called to order and all Board members were present. Also in attendance were Cal Teague, the District Manager, Don Demski and Michaele Till-Cazares of the Master Board of the HOA, and some Residents.

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Pledge of Allegiance

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Agenda

This was approved by the Board.

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments on Agenda Items

There were no Audience comments.

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Bella Terra Community Association/Habitat CDD Maintenance Agreement Workshop

The maintenance agreement from 2015 between the HOA and the CDD was distributed. It was noted that it had been amended in 2018, and there had been previous discussion about amending it again. It was also mentioned that there are separate agreements for the cul-de-sac maintenance between the sub-associations.

Don Demski stated that this meeting concerns the HOA’s responsibilities for maintaining CDD property, which are outlined in the current agreement. He stated that the Master has more responsibility for maintenance than the CDD, and this is becoming difficult, because of projects that the Master has added. In addition, because of rising prices, the Master does not have the budget to cover all of the items, and they have had to use their reserves. He stated that they would like to discuss the extra expenses with the CDD and the needed budget increase. Michaele Till-Cazares gave an example of the increased prices, noting that the landscape pricing in 2015 was $233,000 and is now $515,000.

There was discussion on what the Master is maintaining and the delineation of responsibility between the Master and the CDD.

The Board asked for clarification regarding the amount of money that was being requested and what it would be spent on. There was also discussion on the division of responsibility between the CDD and the HOA, and it was noted that the homeowners would pay for it either way. Don suggested that the CDD could give the HOA a stipend from the CDD’s 2024 Budget, and District Manager Teague suggested the addition of a line item in the CDD Budget for landscape maintenance, with both entities contributing funds, and this could be used as a stipend for the Master Board.

It was suggested that there be another workshop in April for further discussion. The CDD requested a copy of the HOA’s current budget, what the current maintenance funds are spent on, and the amount of money they are requesting.

Vice Chair Reno was suggested as a liaison between the CDD, Estate and Chris Pepin to deal with some of the damaged sprinkler issues.