Minutes of the May 13, 2010 Meeting
Board of Trustees of the Beacon Meadows Special Dependent Tax District
Carrollwood
Cultural Center, 4537 Lowell Road, Tampa, Florida
Trustees Present: Carol Coon (President), Caroleen Tillery (Vice President), Barbara Appel (Treasurer), Penny Phillips (Secretary), Chris Eddy (Trustee)
Trustees Absent: Judy Pack (Trustee)
Public Present: Dan Jones, Joel Schoubert, Perry Mallory
The meeting was called to order by Carol at 7:10 p.m.
Secretary's Report – The minutes of the April 2010 meeting were read by Trustees in advance. Carol made a motion, seconded by Barbara, to approve the minutes, which were approved by a vote of 5-0.
Treasurer’s Report – Barbara reported cash in bank is $21,802, with $13,902 available to spend. She projected that, even with the large expenditure for the Gunn Hwy. wall repair, the Tax District should be fiscally sound. Also addressed was the fact that the water bill for one of the entrances was $41.00, while the water bill for the other entrance was only $11.91, and the higher bill seemed excessive. Carol agreed to contact Jay’s Property Maintenance about checking for a problem with the irritation system.
Old Business
Annual Budget Hearing – Carol reminded Trustees that the annual budget hearing will be held after the June Board meeting on June 10, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. The advertisement for the hearing needs to be published by May 26, 2010. Barbara will submit the advertisement to the St. Petersburg Times. The budget package is due to the County by June 14, 2010. It is critical that there be a quorum at the June meeting.
Gunn Hwy. Wall Damage – Perry Mallory from T-3 Construction attended the meeting to provide a report on the progress being made toward repairing the wall. Perry presented the drawings and subsurface investigation report prepared by BTL Engineering Services, Inc. In summary, he explained that problems with the soil, the wall’s rounded foundation, and a fluctuating water table had resulted in the wall leaning toward Gunn Hwy.
The soil problem was caused partially by modifications to the drainage ditch, resulting in lack of slope stability, and partially because the soil under the foundation consisted primarily of construction debris. He further explained that the foundation needed to be shored up to a depth of two feet for 80 feet of the wall. The next step in the process is for Perry to send the drawings and report to the County for review and approval. (He could not project a completion date.) Once the County has approved the plans, Perry will file for a permit from the County to repair the wall.
One of the public present asked about the total cost of repairs. Penny replied that the total was $14,396. Barbara reported that Perry would be receiving $2,100 at this time to pay for the subsurface investigation.
Trustees discussed when the County (i.e., County Commissioner Ken Hagen) should be approached about sharing the cost of the repair, in that the County approved the plans for constructing the wall and inspected the completed project, as well as was responsible for the ditch modification that caused some of the problems. It was agreed that this should occur after the wall is repaired. Carol was able to locate aerial photographs from Google that provided evidence of ditch work along the Gunn Hwy wall. Chris recommended that Carol ask Jay of Jay’s Property Maintenance if he recalled ditch work there. Penny referred to Board meeting minutes from October 2004 and November 2004 that addressed a past Tax District President’s request to the County that underground drainage be installed instead of a ditch. Although an e-mail inquiry from Penny to the County was forwarded to County Water Resources in April, no response to the inquiry has been received by Penny. She will resend it.
New Trustee – Dan Jones, who is a resident at 4703 Cypress Tree Dr, expressed an interest in becoming a Trustee. Carol made a motion, seconded by Penny, that Dan Jones be appointed to Seat #4, which was previously filled by Teresa Carroll. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0.
New Business
Election of Trustees – Trustees up for election are Barbara, Caroleen, and Chris. Meeting attendees signed petitions in order for the candidates to qualify for the election process.
There being no further business, Barbara made a motion, seconded by Carol, that the meeting be adjourned, which was approved by a vote of 6-0. Carol adjourned the meeting at 7:58 p.m.
Penny Phillips, Secretary Carol Coon, President