There were three primary items of focus at the last two West Villages Improvement District [WVID] meetings: the selection of a new or renewal of the firm used for district engineer duties, sod replacement and landscaping issues along the 41 corridor (as is often mentioned), and water supply and utilization. The last meeting held this past Tuesday also included the initial discussion of an additional development unit creation, the preliminary proposed budget for next fiscal year, and supervisor turnover of one of the seats on the board. Here are some brief summaries of each of those highlights.
- District Engineer – At the April meeting, three prospective firms made presentations as to why they should be selected as the district engineer. The firm filling those responsibilities in past, Kimley-Horn, was one of the presenters. The other two were Stantec and Dewberry. Stantec was ultimately selected for the position, and accepted the role as of the May meeting. Kimley-Horn is to remain as as a potential consulting and/or auditing firm.
- Sod replacement and landscaping issues along 41 – Missing lighting and two palms along the corridor were approved to be replaced at the last meeting. Some dysfunctional lighting has been fixed. The sod replacement discussions and proposals have been tabled once again, though, due to concerns of possible loss of investment due to the shortage of irrigation water supply.
- Irrigation water supply – This is a concern for most everyone involved, so let me explain in broad strokes what is going on here. Many in the district may notice that ponds are getting low. Rains have not been sufficient to fill them at this time. A particular source lake is used for irrigation purposes of the district grounds, common areas, and individual residences on the system.
There is an agreement with Englewood Water District in place that they are to provide 600,000 gallons of irrigation quality water per day (at like $0.37/1000 gallons) to the district. Well, Englewood has not been providing nearly that amount, and they say that they do not have it to provide. A while ago, after district representative intervention, the amount being received from Englewood was increased, but it still a considerable shortfall from the agreed upon amount. Unfortunately, there is no leverage or recourse to force Englewood to honor the terms of the agreement as they are written, and the other alternatives being investigated may take some time.
Now, there is a predicament with all of the various water needs because of the water shortfall that Englewood was supposed to supply. WVID is supplementing where they can with additional “potable” water (drinkable – much higher quality than irrigation quality water), but that comes at a cost of over $4.00/1000 gallons. Understandably, this is not a long term solution. With whom the balance of obligations lie and cost-sharing strategies between them are being sussed-out at this time, and some additional information and action was to be taken at the end of this past week. As it stood at the end of the meeting on Tuesday, conservation and supplementation with potable were the only immediate alternatives.
- New development unit brought up – It has previously been discussed that Mattamy Homes purchased land for development in the district. Well, we are likely to see this next Fall. Funding infrastructure is accomplished through the sale of bonds that are paid back by the residents of that area. Currently, the district has Unit 1 which is common to everyone within WVID (think along the 41 corridor), Unit 2 which is IslandWalk-Gran Paradiso-Town Centre, and Unit 3 which is solely Gran Paradiso. The new development infrastructure would be funded through the establishment of a new unit, most likely called Unit 4.
- Supervisor seat turnover – Ed Suchora will be stepping down from his position on the WVID Supervisory Board. There is a candidate that has submitted an intent to run.
- Proposed budget for next fiscal year – A general proposed budget was put forth and approved for publication. Notice will be given for public review and input on it. I will post a link when it is published. It was also specifically pointed out that the budget proposal at this time is the maximum amounts. From here forward, the amounts budgeted can only go down.
As proposed, the annual assessments would increase by $35-$40 over last year. Items affecting change include: a new district engineer, additional development planned, operations manager added, sod replacement to occur, and remaining balance from prior year is not carried forward at this time. This budget is the untrimmed proposal and the Board authorized to move forward with public notice for adoption of the proposal. Finalization of this budget is to occur at the August 25th meeting.
If you are considering purchasing a home in this district, please let me assist you. My services and extensive resources are of no cost to you, and in most instances, I am able to save home buyers some money. I do not work for any of the wonderful builders in the West Villages Improvement District, or any others for that matter. My services and information (including the resources provided on all of my websites) are wholly independent of these developers. No other independent professional is more knowledgeable about this community, and enlisting me to assist with your transaction serves also to fund these resources to keep them available for you and others on an ongoing basis.
Please, check out my website, and contact me for more information!
Look forward to hearing from you!
Ali
Aileen “Ali” Johnston, MHA
(currently working on an MBA in Real Estate)
Realtor®, Hoover Realty LLC
Mobile: 941-539-5771
West Villages Improvement District 