The regular meeting of the Port of the Islands Community Improvement District Board of Supervisors was held on Friday, October 20, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. at the Orchid Cove Clubhouse, 25005 Peacock Lane, Naples, Florida. 

SUPERVISORS PRESENT

Steve McNamee, Chairman

Dan Truckey, Vice Chairman

Russell Kish, Supervisor

Kevin Baird, Supervisor 

Anna-Lise Hansen, Supervisor

ALSO PRESENT

Neil Dorrill, Manager, Dorrill Management Group

Kevin Carter, Manager, Dorrill Management Group

Tony Pires, District Counsel  

Mitch Gilbert, Florida Utility Solutions

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

The pledge of allegiance was recited in unison.

ROLL CALL/APPROVAL OF AGENDA

All five supervisors were present in person. David Schmitt the current District Engineer was not present. The meeting was convened at 9:30 a.m. The agenda was approved as amended with the addition of item 2b. Diesel Spill at POI Marina on a MOTION by Mr. Truckey and second by Ms. Hansen. The meeting was also properly noticed.  The notice and affidavit are on file with the district office at 5672 Strand Court, Naples, FL 34110.

A. Presentation of Audio/Video/Zoom Pilot

Frank Lee presented technology as a beta project to test an audio/video system to enable remote attendance and archiving of CID meetings. He will report their findings to the Board after review. 

B. Diesel Spill at POI Marina 

Dockmaster Mike Hoekstra shared information per Chairman McNamee’s request. There was a diesel spill. Mr. Hoekstra was notified about it via text message by an unknown source who was walking their dog. He received the message at 11:13pm Tuesday evening but was sick and therefore did not see the text message until the next morning. Reggie used the boom material they had on hand along with absorbent pads on Wednesday morning to remove the diesel fuel off the top of the water primarily by A Dock. There was a high concentration of diesel around C-2. As a precaution they put boom material around that boat as it was unknown where the spill was coming from. Reggie got on the boats that he could trying to locate where the spill was coming from with no success. Dockmaster Mike Hoekstra went on every boat on A and C dock between Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, once he was recovered from his virus. On Tuesday he checked out some boats he knew were having issues and the older boats in the marina. He believes the spill originated from a boat on the F dock that also had a spill 6 months ago, but he has no way to prove that it was this boat. On that initial Wednesday afternoon Mr. Hoekstra spoke to the Coast Guard clean up team. Someone reported to the Coast Guard that it was 3 gallons that spilled but Mr. Hoekstra does not know who reported that amount and says it was more than that (the exact amount spilled is unknown). Michael Odom from the County came by Wednesday afternoon and assisted Reggie with the implementation of the boom material to clean up the spill. Mr. Hoekstra shared that moving forward he is going to begin doing weekly checks of older boats or ones that he believes to be problematic and will be checking their bilges to make sure they don’t have a sneaky leak. He also receives pictures of all the boats that enter the marina and, with approval, would like to begin checking the year model of them and only permitting boats that were built after a given year (example the year 2000 or above). Since Mr. Hoekstra was the only one who received the message about the spill and was sick and could not respond, the Board requested some kind of communication system where other members of Mr. Hoekstra’s staff could be notified so something like this would not happen again. Currently, if you call the marina number and no one picks it up in the office it goes through to a cell phone that only Mr. Hoekstra has. The national reporting center also has an 800 number which is posted on the Marina office door that starts the reporting process (“triggers the system”). The Coast Guard regulations are that they will not come out for 25 gallons or less. 

PUBLIC COMMENT

A. Presentation by Collier Mosquito Control District Dep. Executive Director

Deputy executive director of the Collier Mosquito Control District (CMCD), Dr. Keira Lucas gave a brief presentation. She shared that there are 401 square miles of boundary of district. Where they treat depends on season, for example in the late summer/early fall they typically treat inland areas. The CMCD has an interlocal agreement with Ave Maria. They perform mosquito control because of diseases that they transmit. Their mission and vision is to protect public health and comfort. They target mosquitos at the adult and the aquatic stage. There are over 50 species of mosquitos in Collier County because of the varying ecosystems. Ms. Lucas noted that the Salt Marsh mosquitos that are found in Port of the Islands are not known to transmit diseases, but they do come out in high numbers. The CMCD has seen dengue virus in Collier County. There was a malaria outbreak in Sarasota County on the boarder of Manatee County which was the first time in 20 years malaria was seen in the state of Florida. Sarasota County currently has West Nile virus. The CMCD has a board of five elected commissioners. If the CID is brought into the mosquito control district residents would see the Mosquito Control Board election on their ballots. If the CID enters an interlocal agreement instead of being brought into the CMCD’s boundaries, that election would not appear on resident’s ballots. There is a benefit to being in the district and selecting those Board members as they are who sets the budget, defines the CMCD’s goals, and ensures transparency and accountability in what the district does.  

In their integrated mosquito management services, the CMCD uses a variety of tools to combat mosquitos not just spraying for them. Everything they do is based off of surveillance. They would have field technicians come to the area, stand there for two minutes, and count the number of mosquitos that land on them. They would also put out traps and identify the species of mosquito and determine the problem species and any diseases that might be carried by them. They also test the mosquitos in the area to ensure the products that they use work against those particular mosquitos. They have mosquito fish and larvicide that they can implement. They have large rigs and drones that can implement and apply the treatment. If/when the CMCD comes to POICID they would do extensive surveillance and mapping to understand what kind of mosquitos are present and their source. There is the option on their website to report mosquito sightings and to request a field technician to come out, inspect the sighting, and reduce the source.  When the CMCD uses adulticide they only apply less than half an ounce of just the product versus what was previously done with over a gallon of product and diesel fuel. 

The CMCD is starting to see more of a threat when it comes to mosquito borne disease. The need is to not only provide mosquito control services to the districted areas but to ensure that public health is being protected. Living further east or in Port of the Islands brings residents closer to where the mosquitos are coming from. Since Port of the Islands is surrounded by public lands where they would not be operating, the CMCD would do their best to make agreements as necessary with the land managers of those public areas in order to best treat Port of the Islands. 

If the CMCD’s proposed legislative bill is approved the CMCD charter will be revised and include new boundaries. Those new boundaries would take effect October 2024. They should know by March is the bill is going to go into effect in October. They would like to wait until then to see if it would be best to go into an interlocal agreement with the CID or include them in their new boundaries. If the bill would not go into effect it would be best to enter into an interlocal agreement. 

Chairman McNamee asked about the price of Ave Maria’s monthly average bill. Dr. Lucas did not have this answer but did share that they have in years past spent $500,000-$600,000 in mosquito control. Chairman McNamee asked about getting mosquito fish for the small ponds around Port of the Islands. Dr. Lucas shared that if the ponds already have fish in them that those fish will repel or eat the mosquitos but if the ponds do not have fish that mosquito fish are a great option. She said that the CID is more than welcome to get some mosquito fish now via their website. They are native to SWFL and you only need about 10 of them. An audience member asked if there were changes in landscaping that could be made to help lessen the number of adult mosquitos. Dr. Lucas recommended flushing bromeliads out every week or add mosquito bits to them (which can be purchased at Walmart or home stores). Those disease vectors, aedes aegypti, breed in bromeliads. Bromeliads have been the cause of several disease outbreaks especially in Miami. Using laundry detergent as mosquito treatment/prevention is not a recommended practice because of the environmental impact. A board member asked about the difference between the interlocal agreement and being added to the district. Mr. Dorrill asked what their millage rate is. Dr. Lucas said last year it was .663 so about $16 for every $100,000 of assessed value. She thinks it may has decreased this year. The CMCD is a special taxing district (ad valorem tax) when within its boundaries but would be contractually paid for instead if an interlocal agreement is entered into. Mosquito control via helicopter was asked about, if that is actually a viable option for the CID. Dr. Lucas explained that since the CID is private land it is absolutely applicable. Ms. Deborah Jansen asked about the impact of the control efforts on other insects and pollinators. Dr. Lucas said that since adulticides are insecticides they do have the potential to impact other insects, pollinators included. They treat at a very low application rate, so it is very specific to small insects like mosquitos. They also typically apply in the very early morning or at night when the pollinators are not out. Dr. Lucas shared that many experiments have been done showing that the application done for mosquito control does not have much of an impact on bees. Mr. Dorrill asked if POI would be treated at the same time as Goodland and Key Marco because of their proximity. Dr. Lucas said it is possible and easier on their aircrafts to do treatments like that. Ms. Carol Williams added that Esplanade and the golf course community down the street also receive CMCD services. Dr. Lucas said that POI treatment would most likely be helicopter treatment due to the size of the area which is different than what Esplanade receives. 

Dr. Lucas said that if needed, especially as we head into spring, it would be possible to enter into a short interlocal agreement before the legislation would be implemented (if passed) come October. Chairman McNamee requested approximate costs to consider and discuss implementation and entering into an interlocal agreement at the November meeting. 

B. Diane Fisher, Newport Drive Condo  

Ms. Diane Fisher asked about the people that rent kayaks and if they are leasing building where you enter as living quarters. Chairman McNamee spoke with them and was told that they indeed are trying to make living quarters. The rental company indicated that they are working with the County to get the proper permitting to be able to add bedrooms and zone/code it to be a livable facility. Ms. Fisher questioned if people living in what is meant to be an office type building is appropriate. Unfortunately, the CID has no jurisdiction of what goes in there and can only make sure that the codes are being followed. Chairman McNamee said he will follow up on this and see if a permit has been pulled and an inspection has gone through that would legally allow and zone this unit to be lived in. 

C. Steve Gunther, Peacock Lane

Mr. Steve Gunther followed up about the agenda packets being accessible to the residents on the website before the meeting convenes. Mr. Dorrill was directed to post the meeting packets including all the backup material, check registrar, and itemized invoices from engineering firm, attorney, and utility company on the website prior to the meetings for community access and Board transparency. Mr. Dorrill is not sure if the community will incur an additional cost by the website host in doing so. 

Mr. Gunther compiled an email list for the community. The email list would become public record once received by Mr. Dorrill because of his capacity as custodian of public records. Chairman McNamee suggested allowing people to opt in with the understanding that it would be public record. Mr. Dorrill mentioned having a disclaimer explaining that participating in the CID’s email database would constitute a public record. Mr. Dorrill will check with MuniBilling to inquire if they would be able to send out a physical or electronic notice regarding this, to include the disclaimer, on the Board’s behalf. He will follow back up with Mr. Gunther around Wednesday October 25^th after their bi-weekly phone call with MuniBilling. 

Mr. Gunther inquired about the turning over of the U.S. 41 median maintenance. Mr. Baird and Mr. Dorrill have a meeting the week of November 6th requested with Commissioner LoCastro to discuss the issues of residential streets, the U.S. 41 Median maintenance cost, and possibly exploring an interlocal agreement with the County to handle the utility billing long term. Mr. Dorrill or Mr. Baird will follow up with the Board at the November meeting to discuss the outcome of this meeting. 

D. Deborah Jensen, Sunrise Cay 

Ms. Jansen asked if there was an expected way that residents would be notified about the meeting with planning commission regarding Parcel 13. Mr. Dorrill explained the County has a separate process that requires the petitioner send out a public notice for a neighborhood informational meeting if you live within 10,000 feet of the subject location. Chairman McNamee requested this information be posted on the website once received. Attorney Pires noted they have to post large signs, execute a mailing, and publish a newspaper notice. Attorney Pires had an email from Mr. Case’s attorney stating that the County wants a sign posted on Orchid Cove property, but the meeting date and information was not given in said email. Chairman McNamee checked with Mr. Pires to confirm that he is billing Mr. Case, not the District, for the work he is doing regarding Parcel 13. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2023

Two sets of minutes were presented, both of which have been coordinated prior to this meeting with Ms. Hansen. The minutes were the August 31st and September 15th meeting minutes. The following changes were requested by Attorney Pires for the August 31^st set of minutes. 

Page 2 line 13 should be changed from “non abnormal” to “non ad valorem.” 

Page 5 line 15 Scott’s last name should be spelled Prepham.

Page 6 line 2 the E is missing before RU. 

Page 9 line 19 “Mr. Pires advised,” should be added. 

Page 10 line 2 it should be corrected to read “non ad valorem.” 

The number on page 10 line 5 is incorrect (the correct number was not given at this time). 

Page 13 line 16 it should be corrected to BCC.

Page 16 line 3 should say FDEP. 

Page 17 line 14 and 19 Sam’s last name should be spelled Leishear. 

On a MOTION by Mr. Truckey and a second by Mr. Kish the August 31st minutes were unanimously accepted as amended. 

The following corrections were given by Attorney Pires for the September 15^th set of minutes.

Page 2 line 24 displease should be changed to displeasure.

Page 3 line 29 bounding should be changed to boundary. 

Page 6 line 10 does not indicate who made the second for that particular motion. Mr. Kish’s name should be added as the second. 

On a MOTION by Mr. McNamee and a second by Mr. Truckey the September 15th minutes were approved as amended.

MANAGER’S REPORT

A. Agonoli, Barber, & Brundage, Inc. Contract Approval, District Engineering

This is the recommended contract for Agnoli, Barber, and Brundage as a result of the unanimous shortlisting of them as the preferred firm. Mr. Dorrill reported that the current agreement with Hole Montes has a 30-day termination prevision. The current engineer has two “open tasks”. One is the permit renewal as discussed with Mr. Gilbert and the second is the preliminary evaluation of a water storage tank. Mr. Dorrill said that there is a provision within their agreement about design documents and records that the District is entitled to. There is a process for all of that to be itemized. If the Board is to move forward with Agnoli, Barber, and Brundage Mr. Dorrill recommends soliciting them (AB&B) to compile a list of requested records that they feel are necessary to retrieve from Hole Montes. Mr. Pires recommends that if the Board approves entering into an agreement with Agnoli, Barber, and Brundage that a more standard form of agreement be entered into because the current proposed is missing a lot of provision. There are standard revisions needed regarding public records, E-Verify, prompt payment, and ownership of records. For example, this says that they own the documents opposed to the current engineering contract that says that the District owns them. Mr. Pires would like to take the current agreement they have and use that for this new agreement with Agnoli, Barber, and Brundage. Mr. Pires said the focus of the suggested edits would be adding the scope and the rates to the standard engineer’s agreement. A board member asked about the 1.5% interest included in the proposed contract and if this would be an issue. Mr. Pires responded mentioning the prompt payment act and that being included in the suggested revisions. Mr. Dorrill said the proposed rates are comparable to the standard engineering firms in the area like Hole Montes, and Johnson Engineering. It was ensured that multiple engineers will not be attending the District’s meeting, reviewing the proposed agenda, and billing unnecessary hours. 

Mr. McNamee asked about why the current engineer was responding to a retaining wall blow out after he had gotten Soto to assist with it. Mr. Dorrill had sent the engineer there in order to respond to a request by the County engineer regarding code enforcement. The engineer was already at a meeting on Marco Island and offered at a nominal cost to go look at it. Mr. Dorrill found it appropriate in order to give an assessment in response to the County Engineer’s request. 

Hole Montes shall continue overseeing the permit renewal process, but the new engineer will oversee the installation of all the equipment at the water treatment facility. The District is entitled to all the records, physical and electronic, that Hole Montes has per their contract and will have them turned over by the company. Mr. Dorrill and Mr. Pires have longstanding professional relationships with the firm and do not foresee issues in retrieving the appropriate records. 

On a MOTION by Mr. McNamee and a second by Mr. Truckey, Mr. Dorrill was approved to send a termination notice as soon as possible to Hole Montes including the scope of work still to be performed along with the authorization to do so and the time frame it is expected to be completed in. 

On a MOTION by Mr. Truckey and a second by Mr. Kish the Chairman was authorized to sign the agreement with ABB subject to Mr. Pires’ revisions to the agreement. 

B. Update on Proposals for Demolition Services, Cays Drive Entry 

Three proposals have been solicited for the demolition of entry masonry walls adjacent to Cays Drive. Mr. Baird shared that the average cost of the proposals ranges from $18,000 to $28,000. Mr. Baird asked that if they choose to remove the walls will this mean no walls being there at all moving forward. The current walls are on individual property not CID property. Mr. Baird commented that he would like to see the easement extended, purchasing the land from the individual owners, in order to keep the wall and maintain it at a lower cost than demolishing it. The Board went into discussion on what could be offered to the owners. Mr. Kish asked if an appropriate price would be maintenance plus what one of the proposals costs (example, $9,000 to each owner instead of the $18,000 demolition). Mr. Pires shared that another approach would be a lease with annual compensation. An audience member asked about potential damage to the trees surrounding the walls if they are demolished. Mr. McNamee said that the root systems would not have penetrated the concrete so they should withstand if the wall is demolished. Frank, the president of Stella Maris, asked the Board to consider the possibility, instead of leasing, of buying one or two of the corners and owning the signs. The signs are on a utility easement which does not allow for anything to be built above the ground. Even though it is only encroaching a few feet Mr. McNamee said it is still inappropriate because any amount on the utility easement is too much. Mr. Pires asked Mr. Dorrill to include a copy of the survey in the November agenda packet. Making a decision was tabled in order to have a conversation with Mr. Sanchez and also see what agreements would be possible. On a MOTION by Mr. Truckey and a second by Mr. Baird there were three affirmative votes to table the discussion until the November meeting. Mr. Baird will talk to the two property owners involved. 

C. Update on Drainage Maintenance (this item was addressed earlier in the meeting after the Marina Spill per Ms. Hansen’s request but has been kept here for readability sake)

Ms. Hansen asked Mr. Gilbert about moving the water flush at the end of Venus. Every time it goes off it is filling in their soil and is in the middle of the lot. Mr. Gilbert said he will move it wherever they want. Ms. Hansen shared that she has a project with Soto to clean up all the swales that the CID is responsible for and she doesn’t want to clean up that swale and then have the flush go off. Ms. Hansen is going to be present during all of those cleanings so there is not a start date yet as she has to coordinate her availability with theirs. The total price for this including the grate stakes is $7,560,19. Mr. Dorrill noted that there are adequate maintenance funds for that work. Mr. McNamee asked how they are going to handle vegetation in the swales with the homeowners. Ms. Hansen said if it’s in the swale and effects the drainage it should be removed but otherwise it can stay. Mr. Dorrill said there is an allowance for landscape restoration for sod. Mr. McNamee said determining if the landscaping is interfering with the water flow it will have to be addressed on an individual site basis. This disclosure will be included in the notice of work when it goes out to the residents. Mr. Carter and Attorney Pires will work on this notice. 

D. Munibilling Update 

Munibilling is getting ready to do next bill cycle. They have yet to designate who the new ACH vendor will be. They have promised to get this information back to Mr. Dorrill this month. In the interim he has ongoing discussions with Collier County utilities and Fifth Third Bank. The discuss with Fifth Third is with an ACH vendor called World Pay. World Pay is currently evaluating whether the integration of their ACH transaction system would be consistent with Munibilling’s software. Mr. Dorrill reiterated that are currently three on-going discussions regarding ACH, one with Munibilling and their current vendor Heartland, the second through Fifth Third Bank and their vendor World Pay, and the third with Collier County and their new ACH vendor who just started last month called iCloud. The next utility bill is meant to go out early November and will not have ACH available at that time. 

Mr. McNamee shared that he had discussed the possibility of putting meters on the individual boat slips that have water with one of the Marina board members. The board member brought that up to him. They are a condo association. There has been discussion about paying for general utility services (not to be confused with individual water usage) on the utility bill rather than including them in the non-ad valorem tax bill. This would entail charging a small maintenance fee/availability charge and the way it is now the slip owners only have a very limited number of meters. Adding individual meters to each slip would also allow the amount of water used by each slip to be determined. It would be another method to be able to determine who and how much water is being dispersed out of those units. The way it is right now it’s just one meter so they cannot determine usage. Having the individual water meters would also help with the ERC distribution. 

E. Gravity Sewer Infiltration Repairs 

An engineer has been hired who is in contact with Collier County Engineer Jack Mckenna. Documents are being drawn up and this will all be taken care of. 

F. Utility Billing Adjustment; 199 Cays Drive

This $4,356 bill has been paid in full. This water was used by a new resident who ran it for irrigation (also discussed in Utility Operations section). Chairman McNamee brought up that while he did use this water a leak was also found that went through his meter. He asked if they should be giving him a break since it went through the meter but not the sewer. The owner initially told Mr. Dorrill that is was his fault, but he has just subsequentially found a crack and he can prove that he effectuated the repair. If so, there is the mechanism within the current rule that gives the Manager the authority to take giving him relief under consideration. He does not know if there is a cost limit to that process. Mr. McNamee, in fairness to the man, would like to consider giving him that relief. If the resident has a bill from a plumber showing the nature of the repair, if Mr. Dorrill needs to bring that in-front of the Board to make a decision on giving him credit he will. The Board was in unanimous agreement with this process. Mr. Pires confirmed that there is not a dollar limit in the rules. 

FINANCIALS 

Financials as of the end of August. There is a combined 4.3 million in cash. The operating account has 3 million of that, and two separate utilities and investment accounts have $623,000 and $693,000 respectively. There were only $53,000 in outstanding payables. There were $16,193 in interest earnings in one month against an original annual forecast of $2,000. The year to date interest earnings is $151,000 and the final forecast for the fiscal year is somewhere around $170,000 in interest earnings that all flow through to the bottom line. Chairman McNamee questioned that while that is great, is it the best the District can get? Mr. Dorrill explained he does not have a prior relationship with the District’s bank, Valley Bank, and suggested evaluating other options including First Integrity Bank which has Collier County’s comprehensive banking service agreement. The Board discussed moving some of the 3 million dollars which is in an operating checking account into a money market account in order to gain more interest earnings. Mr. Dorrill explained that the current agreement with Valley Bank was through the end of the fiscal year and that was how the account was set up, but their options should be “shopped around” a bit once the current fiscal year and contract concludes. Mr. Dorrill and Mr. Pires discussed evaluating the Clerk’s contract with First Integrity Bank to look into the statues and criteria in order to move some of the District’s operating money into a money market account in order to accumulate more interest. Mr. Dorrill explained that as long as the bank has separate collateral that is shown on their federally reviewed balance sheet it is a Florida Qualified Public Depository. There is more liquidity in a money market account, so the District’s money won’t be tied up while still being able to make more in interest than holding it in a checking account. Mr. Dorrill also suggested exploring some sweep accounts. Mr. Dorrill said the preference would be for the District to “tag onto” the current annual contract that is led by Collier County. In advance of the November meeting, Mr. Dorrill said he can get what those rates would be for both a sweep account as well as some comparable money market account. On a MOTION by Mr. Truckey and a second by Mr. Kish, $2.5 million total was approved to be transferred from the current operating account into a fluid money market account with Valley Bank while looking at other banking options. Mr. Dorrill will report back about the other suggested banking options at the November meeting. 

Mr. Dorrill has bound insurance coverage. His office has been pursuing this since August. He has already compared this against the District’s premiums from the prior year. The property and liability coverage increased $17,000, total $42,000. On the property and liability side it is almost an 100% increase. He believes some of this is in recognition of the claim filed following Hurricane Ian. As part of the analysis, it was determined that in pursing the Ian claim, all of the well-field assets were not on the schedule so they have denied that portion of the claim. His team has taken the steps to add the well heads, pumps, motors, etc. to make sure they are on the schedule. Mr. Truckey noted that in order to get anything from a FEMA grant you have to exhaust your insurance. On $4 million worth of stuff they are looking at $3500 from insurance. 

The current auditing agreement expired at the end of September. Mr. Dorrill has already run a request for proposals for auditing firms with a deadline at the end of October. The process for that is very similar to have the Board evaluated engineering firms. The Board will have to sit and evaluate the proposals received. There are two firms on the east coast that specialize in special district audits in addition to a local Naples firm, but their fees are much higher. The proposals for auditing services for next year’s audit will be presented at the November meeting. 

With addition of the insurance matter and the RFP for audit proposals, the financials through the month of August were accepted on a MOTION by Chairman McNamee with a second by Mr. Kish.

UTILITY OPERATIONS

A. Update on WTP Permit Renewal and Equipment Upgrades 

Mr. Gilbert reported that all of the water quality requirements were met for the water and wastewater treatment plants. At the wastewater treatment plant, they treated 2.14 million gallons. At the water plant they made 2.76 million gallons. They distributed 7.36 million gallons of reuse. They used 900 gallons of chlorine. They had a failure on Cays Drive for their lift station inspections for the sim card. This has been corrected. No odor complaints. 

They had an inspection with FDEP as part of their permit renewal. Part of that inspection is some of the equipment that was abandoned when the NBR was installed. FDEP asked since they won’t be using the NBR to bring that equipment back to life. Estimates to do that was supplied by Mr. Gilbert. 

Mr. McNamee asked about excessive water bills that were reported. Mr. Gilbert confirmed that the amount of water billed did go through the meter. Mr. Dorrill reported that they checked it twice to verify that the amount billed was accurate. He said the resident on Cays Drive (at the address mentioned on the agenda) is a new resident who indicated that he did in fact run that amount of water through for irrigation purposes. He has paid his bill in full.

Mr. Dorrill asked Mr. Gilbert to expand upon the NBR as it has some capital contribution implications. The NBR is at least $235,000. Around 2008 there was an upgrade on the wastewater plant and an extensive upgrade on the water plant. When they upgraded the wastewater plant, they decided to go to an NBR system which is a very advanced system to treat wastewater. The one on site was incredibly advanced and only worked for several years with lots of issues. When Mr. Gilbert was hired it was not working and in conjunction with the Board then and the engineer, they decided to get the plant running how it was originally designed without trying to get that NBR system back online. They did this to the best of their ability and put the NBR on hold. It was eventually voted to do away with the NBR and not try to bring it back to life at all. This resulted in one end of the wastewater treatment plant being run as designed. The plant is two drains, two plants so if there is an overload on one there is the ability to run on the second. When they put the NBR in they abandoned quite a bit of equipment with the second plant and some equipment that works for both of those chains. That is the equipment that the DEP is asking them to bring back online. The necessary equipment needed as part of the permit renewal process has been itemized. There is a follow up teleconference scheduled with the DEP for November. There is a redundant system that is not being currently used and that is the system the DEP wants to be operational. 

The first item needed is an ANOX pump. This is a pump that recycles flow without air. It is part of the treatment process. The cost to replace the motor and repair the pump is $8,900. The second item is recycled pump and piping. This is a whole section of pumps and piping outside the plant that doubles the capacity of the plant. There needs to be a replacement, a repair, and a new control panel, piping, and valves. The cost of this is $63,570. Mr. Truckey said some of this, about $30,000, may be able to be covered by a grant. Mr. Gilbert said all of these prices are based off of their contract price. He said it is their labor with the contract price and the markup that they have in their contract. There are two floating aerators that float in the tanks. They are about $30,000 each new and can be purchased for around $8,000 refurbished. To install those and bring them back online is $31,721. The air header and diffusers in the plant are in poor shape. In order to replace and repair those they have to pump the tanks down one at a time, get in there physically clean them out, make the repairs, and replace the bad piping. This would cost $79,685. There is one more that is not a must but has been discussed over the years. With the conventional clarifiers you need secondary filtration, the plant uses an updraft sand filter for this. There is only one so if something were to go wrong there is no backup. Mr. Gilbert would like to put in a disc filter for $225,000. Mr. Truckey noted that the disc filter is in the LMS grant request so the District could possibly get reimbursed for that. The FDEP is requiring all these things apart from the disc filter. It is something that would be really great for the plant. The proposed disc filter is sized at two times the size of the plant so it has redundant capabilities and the sand filter would be the backup. The disc filter as the secondary filtration is just to filter out any small particles remaining so they can meet secondary drinking water standards for the irrigation. 

The sum total of all of the required equipment upgrades (not including the disc filter) is $183,880 as outlined in the detailed proposal dated October 6, 2023. Mr. Dorrill said that the pricing is reasonable and motioned for Board approval to place the order in order to share that progress in the teleconference with the FDEP in November. Mr. Dorrill said he would wait on the $225,000 for the disc filter in order to hear more on the grant. There has to be a permit modification to include the disc filter, so Mr. Gilbert suggested doing it now to save on engineering costs on the back end. They would approve it in the permit and then give the utility team about a year to install it because it has a longer lead time then the other items. Most of the other items could be obtained in months, the disc filter would take about 24-36 weeks. The disc filter is easy to maintain, self-cleans, and if it does need to be manually cleaned you just pressure wash it. The sand filter has to have a truck brought in to clean it out and then is re-bedded with palettes of sand. It costs $4,000-$8,000 to do that sand filter cleaning process. 

Lead samples were previously requested by the Board from the drinking water wells because of their proximity to the gun range. They pulled those samples, no lead. There is a monitoring well close to the gun range back by the curve right by the pond. That monitoring well has had high lead levels multiple times. They have put in a call regarding it to FDEP to get their guidance on it. There are no red flags as of yet but as soon as Mr. Gilbert knows anything he will report back to the Board. There have been no drastic changes in groundwater levels. 

A board member asked about taking addition water samples from other areas in the District. Mr. Gilbert said that water samples can be taken to the lab to test for whatever desired, but parameters need to be given as to what is being looked for (an example would be testing a water sample for E. coli). The Board wants to have water from the Marina tested on a more regular basis. It was suggested to include testing the Marina water with the quarterly samples done in the test wells. 

There two elements of the proposal are equipment either repair or replacing that which is existing for $183,880 and cost to construct new concrete pad and install disk filter is $225,210. Attorney Pires noted that the first one is maintenance and is under the $195,000 threshold and the second is construction under the $500,000 adjusted threshold. Both are under the threshold for competitor *inaudible*. Mr. Gilbert said that if the filter went out for bid he was going to ask the Board to submit another quote because it is at least $100,000 cheaper that what it would cost if they went out for bid since he has to abide to the rates in the existing contract with the District. On a MOTION by Mr. Truckey and a second by Mr. Kish the equipment updates were accepted. On a MOTION by Mr. Truckey and a second by Mr. Kish the quarterly test wells were expanded to also include water samples from the marina contingent on Mr. Gilbert’s lab agreeing to perform the testing. Mr. Truckey will provide a list of what to test for out of the marina.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT

A. Sunset Cay Easement Use Agreement 

This was addressed in the public comments section. 

B. Status of Stella Maris Ownership Maintenance

Attorney Pires has been attempting to contact Mr. DeBoest’s office to set up a conference call for Thursday the 26^th or Friday the 27^th. Mr. DeBoest is the attorney for Stella Maris. 

C. Update on Receipt of Records from Premier District Management and Cal Teague

On Tuesday October 17^th Mr. Pires’ office sent a final demand letter with a draft of the lawsuit to Mr. Morgan’s office. They were given until October 25^th at 5pm to deliver the records.

ENGINEER’S REPORT

OLD BUSINESS 

No old business was received at this time.

NEW BUSINESS

No new business was received at this time.

SUPERVISORS’ REQUESTS

Mr. Truckey reported on the field work they have been doing the last two weeks testing the water pipe that goes out to well heads, and water pipe leaks. They have been working on a grant request to help with this as it will be a very expensive item to replace. FEMA was out for two days doing inspections to OK all the work that was done after the hurricane. They seem happy with everything that they have done so far and that will be the first money they have coming back under the FEMA hurricane relief. They are looking at around $38,000 coming back. The rest of the FEMA mitigation will hopefully get clearer as they move forward. Collier County is working on rezoning parking at the Marina. 

Chairman McNamee asked about sidewalk pressure washing. Mr. Carter reported back that late November or early December was what he was told with hopes of moving it up but with no promises. Mr. Dorrill said he is willing to let him work on Saturday if that changes their availability since many communities do not allow that. There is a proposal for this work but no signed contract yet. 

Chairman McNamee thanked Mr. Carter for his efforts in working with Mr. Truckey on the grants. He commented he is going above and beyond on this work. Joyce has been working on getting the audio video system set up in the room and Chairman McNamee thanked her for her work for the community.

PUBLIC COMMENT

No public comment was received at this time. 

ADJOURNMENT 

The next meeting will be November 17, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. The December meeting will be held on December 15, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. On a MOTION by Mr. Truckey and a second by Mr. Kish, with all in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 1:11 p.m.