Draft Meeting Minutes for January 15, 2025
Laguna Lakes
Community Development District
The regular meeting of The Board of Supervisors of the Laguna Lakes Community Development District was held at the Laguna Lakes Clubhouse, 15250 Lakes of Laguna Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida and also via web conference on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Mike Cutler – Chair
Bruce Given – Assistant Secretary
David Williams – Assistant Secretary
Attending remotely:
Jonathan Busa – Assistant Secretary
Also present were:
Cal Teague – District Manager, Premier District Management (PDM)
Melissa Gindling – Assistant District Manager, PDM
Attending remotely:
David Schmitt – Engineer, Bowman Engineering and Consulting
The following is a summary of the discussion and actions taken at the Laguna Lakes Community Development District (CDD) Board of Supervisors regular meeting.
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order and Cal Teague, the District Manager, called the roll. Three Board members were present, and Supervisor Busa attended remotely. Also attending was Melissa Gindling, Assistant District Manager. Attending remotely was David Schmitt, the Engineer.
On MOTION by Chair Cutler, seconded by Supervisor Given, with all in favor, the Board approved Supervisor Busa’s attendance remotely.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Agenda
On MOTION by Supervisor Given, seconded by Supervisor Williams, with all in favor, the Agenda was approved, as presented.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Announcement of Ballots from December Meeting
After the Board appointed Supervisor Williams at the last meeting, Attorney Cohen requested that staff announce the names of the persons who voted and their votes. Supervisor Cutler voted for Peter Rauen, and Supervisors Busa, Martel and Given voted for David Williams. This was announced at the meeting, and the ballots have been placed in the Record of Proceedings.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments on Agenda Items
There were no Audience comments on Agenda items.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Consent Agenda
A. Items to be Pulled for Discussion
No Items were pulled.
B. Motion to Approve Consent Items
On MOTION by Supervisor Busa, seconded by Supervisor Williams, with all in favor, the Board approved all of the Consent Items.
C. Consideration of Items Pulled for Discussion
D. Consent Items
i. Draft Regular Meeting Minutes for December 18, 2024
ii. Financial Statements for December 2024
Chair Cutler commented on several financial items:
- The water bills seem to be lower than budgeted.
- The electric bills are also lower than budgeted, since the surcharge is lower at the present time.
- The irrigation line items are higher than budgeted due to the many repairs and improvements that have been completed recently.
- The District has already spent nearly all of the R&M fountain budget.
District Manager Teague commented that the District is starting to receive the assessments, and the District is accruing 4.36% interest.
iii. January Field Report
iv. Irrigation Work Orders Log
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Engineer
A. Water Use Permit Adjustments
Engineer Schmitt reported that his office continues to work on the permit, and there is nothing new to report at this time.
B. Everglades West Coast BMAP: Required Nitrogen Reductions for Laguna Lakes CDD
Engineer Schmitt reported that his office has been conducting research and plans to schedule another meeting with BMAP staff. He stated that the District has already completed some projects that should qualify, and he presented a number of other items that could be added to meet these goals. There was discussion on potential projects, and the Board requested that Engineer Schmitt submit a list with cost estimates, when they become available.
C. Overview of Berm Requirements for Residents Follow-up
At the last meeting, the Board approved Engineer Schmitt’s estimate of $6,700 to complete survey work for this document. He reported that the survey was completed a few weeks ago, and he expects to present the handout for review at the next meeting.
D. Pool Construction at 8779 Spring Mountain Way
A second letter was sent to the resident on December 4th with a copy of Engineer Schmitt’s report. As Field Manager Pepin stated in his Field Report, construction continues. Engineer Schmitt stated that he plans to inspect the construction area again tomorrow.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Old Business
A. Irrigation
Several updates from irrigation and staff were included in the packet and Additional Materials. Assistant District Manager Gindling reported on the current status of the system, and the following was discussed:
i. Irrigation Monitoring and Schedule Update
Clock 5 is now functioning and readings indicate that 2 zones are still down. It may need replacement in the near future.
Irrigation staff seem to recommend the consolidation of Clock 7 into the new Clock 1, but further research is needed.
Staff will follow up with the contractors regarding Clocks 5 and 7.
Irrigation staff performs a flow test on one clock per week, which allows them to identify failures.
ii. Replacement of Controller 1 Update
Controller 1 was replaced with a new Tucor NLP controller on January 5th. An update from Insight Irrigation is included in the Additional Materials. No Limit is willing to store the old parts from Clock 1, and staff asked them to provide an inventory of the parts.
iii. Wet Check Response Update
Staff and Chair Cutler have been drafting the letters regarding wet checks, and have developed a map to include with the letters. They will compose a handbook for performing wet checks, which will be given to each landscaper. Once the handbook is complete, the letters will be sent.
If the request for wet checks fails, Chair Cutler wondered if hiring one landscaper for the entire community would be more effective.
Staff and Chair Cutler are also working with the Clubhouse attendant to develop a handbook for responding to irrigation issues.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS New Business
There was no New Business.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Field Manager
District Manager Teague reported on several project updates from Field Manager Pepin:
A. Project Updates
i. Width of Littorals in Lakes
Field Manager Pepin reported that the littoral width is pretty good throughout the community, however, there are a few spots that can still be reduced. There is a lot of dead spike rush along the shorelines, so rather than adding to the unsightliness, Field Manager Pepin recommended that the spraying be delayed in these additional areas until most of the dead spike rush breaks down. The Board agreed with this course of action.
ii. Palm Tree Pruning and Pine Straw Application
The remaining palm trees are scheduled to be pruned on Monday, January 20th. Pine straw installation was completed in early December.
iii. Fountain Repairs
The replacement of the control cabinet for Lake 2 will be completed when the technicians are onsite later this month completing quarterly maintenance. Lake 8 has been tripping out often, and Fountain Kings will be replacing the circuit breaker and will be installing a surge protector on the unit.
The Board wondered if fountain 8 needs to be on a separate meter from the pump. They also wondered why the fountains continue to stop functioning, and staff suggested reviewing Field Manager Pepin’s fountain log. The Board also wondered if and where any grounding rods were located.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS District Manager
A. FEMA Reimbursement Update
District Manager Teague reported that all 4 projects in the appeal have been denied. This item will be removed from the Agenda.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Attorney
There was no report from Attorney Cohen.
TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor Requests/Comments
There were no Supervisor requests or comments.
THIRTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments
There were no Audience comments.