Meeting Minutes for March 24, 2025
Colonial Country Club
Community Development District
The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Colonial Country Club Community Development District was held on March 24, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. in the Activity Room of Colonial Country Club Community Center at 9171 Independence Way in Fort Myers, Florida, and also via web conference.
Present and constituting a quorum were:
Giovanna Scuderi – Vice Chair
Tim Worthington – Assistant Secretary
Joe Zajac – Assistant Secretary
Howard Klein – Assistant Secretary
Attending remotely was:
Sally Hefti – Chair
Also present were:
Cal Teague – District Manager, Premier District Management (PDM)
Julie Gurewitz – Resident
Attending remotely was:
Christopher Dudak – Client Services Manager, PDM
The following is a summary of the actions taken at the Colonial Country Club Community Development District (CDD) Board of Supervisors meeting.
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Call to Order and Roll Call
The Colonial Country Club Community Development District Meeting was called to order at 2:02 p.m., and District Manager Cal Teague called the roll. Four Board members were present, and Chair Hefti attended remotely. Also in attendance was Resident Julie Gurewitz. Christopher Dudak, the Client Services Manager, attended remotely.
On MOTION by Supervisor Zajac, seconded by Supervisor Worthington, with all in favor, the Board approved Chair Hefti’s attendance remotely.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the Agenda
On MOTION by Supervisor Worthington, seconded by Supervisor Klein, with all in favor, the Board approved the Agenda, as presented.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments on Agenda Items
There were no Audience comments on Agenda items.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Engineering Services RFQ Update
A. Consideration of Engineering Qualifications
The qualifications packet contains a summary sheet and a rating sheet to use at the April meeting. Four firms responded to the request for engineering services. They are AIM, Barraco, Bowman, and JR Evans. The Board discussed the proposals generally, and how to decide between them. District Manager Teague noted that all firms are qualified, and he advised the Board to invite the proposed engineering contact for each firm to present and answer questions at the next meeting, and then determine the best fit. He noted that PDM has past and current experience with Barraco and Bowman (FKA Hole Montes). Barraco designed Colonial Country Club and was the District’s engineer of record until August 2010.
After dicussion, the Board decided to ask firms AIM and JR Evans to attend the meeting next month for interviews, and it would like Field Manager Pepin to attend the meeting also, since he will interface with the Engineers a great deal. The Board and staff will check references from River Hall and Arborwood CDDs, who have used their services.
On MOTION by Supervisor Worthington, seconded by Vice Chair Scuderi, with all in favor, the Board approved inviting the engineering firms AIM and JR Evans to the next meeting and asking them to deliver a presentation and answer questions about their services.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of Meeting Minutes
A. Draft Regular Meeting Minutes for February 24, 2025
On MOTION by Supervisor Worthington, seconded by Supervisor Zajac, with all in favor, the Board approved the February 24, 2025 Draft Regular Meeting Minutes, as presented.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Old Business
A. Stormwater System Cleaning Results and Recommendations
i. FLGIS ROV Results
Field Manager Pepin reported that the results indicate that only one pipe needs cleaning, which is the pipe between manholes 151-150. The others contained some debris but not to the extreme that MRI reported they were. Field Manager Pepin believes that it is not necessay to clean these pipes at the present time.
ii. Tabled MRI Proposal for Vactor Truck Cleaning
The MRI proposal was rejected on the advice of the Field Manager Pepin at the last meeting. As the FL GIS results did not confirm all of MRI’s findings, he obtained a quote from Sewer Viewer to clean pipe between 151-150 that is 50% clogged. The cost would be $9,215. He believed this was too expensive, and he will source other proposals. The Board decided to ask for quotes to clean all that were noted in FL GIS’s proposal, which are the pipes between manholes 3-4, 5-6, 151-150, and 185-184.
On MOTION by Supervisor Zajac, seconded by Supervisor Klein, with all in favor, the Board approved obtaining proposals for cleaning the pipe from manholes 3-4, 5-6, 151-150, and 185-184.
The Board asked staff to investigate screens or collection devices that can be installed on stormwater drains to prevent debris from washing into pipes.
B. Update on the Feasibility of June 4 Ride Around
Supervisor Zajac stated that he talked to Patrick Tohill, who stated that there would be no problem for a ride around in June if the golf carts stay on the cart paths. He would like to be contacted one week before the ride around date of June 4th. There will be no golf carts available at that time, and the Board determined that they can utilize personal carts.
The Board remarked that the Lake 11 berm restoration, which has been on hold, can begin in the near future, because the golf course work is also starting soon. The shoreline restoration is scheduled to start towards the second week of April.
SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS New Business
There was no New Business.
EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS District Manager
A. Financial Report for February 2025
District Manager Teague noted that the District is 92% collected and is in great financial condition. The District banking account is receiving 4% interest. Supervisor Klein noted that R&M Stormwater System is over budget for the year at $41,812. The Board accepted the Financial Report as presented.
On MOTION by Supervisor Worthington, seconded by Supervisor Klein, with all in favor, the Board accepted the February 2025 Financial Report, as presented.
B. FEMA Final Appeal Update
District Manager Teague stated that Florida Department of Emergency Management has sent a recommendation letter to FEMA, which does not indicate they support the appeal, as this is only an administrative step. Also included in the packet was an email staff sent to Senator Rick Scott, Representative Byron Donalds, and Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass. It was sent on behalf of the Habitat CDD, but it pertains to all of PDM’s CDDs. The packet also contains the latter’s response, which confirms our interpretation that FEMA has become more restrictive in its requirements for CDDs to obtain Public Assistance funds as opposed to their response after Hurricane Irma. We still expect the denials to stand. It may be 2-6 months before FEMA submits its final determination.
C. FY 2026 Budget Discussion
A preliminary budget will be distributed next month indicating updated actuals and projections for the rest of Fiscal Year 2025, as well as proposed Fiscal Year 2026 items. The Board has no plan for an increase in assessments for the next budget year.
D. Notice to ARC: Proper Way to Dewater a Residential Pool
Staff drafted guidelines on how to manage draining a pool in the community with plans to advise the ARC. District Manager Teague stated that Steve Martin at Atwell reviewed the guidelines and believes them to be comprehensive. These were based on recommendations from the City of Fort Myers. Freshwater pools should be dechlorinated by letting the chlorine naturally dissipate over a week, and then pH balanced, so they can then have their water pumped onto grassy areas for natural soil filtration. Unfortunately, saltwater pool water cannot be pumped into sanitary sewers or over the ground. Our advice is for pool contractors to pump saltwater into tanks for removal offsite. The Board requests staff to continue to investigate options to recommend to residents with saltwater pools before advising ARC.
NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Field Manager
A. Current Field Inspection Report
- The Board noted that the lakes are in the best shape they have been in a long while.
- District Manager Teague reviewed the follow-up items:
B. Follow-up Items
i. Littoral Replanting Update
Field Manager Pepin reported that this will be completed right before the rainy season.
ii. Boardwalk Repairs Schedule
Field Manager Pepin reported that Artistic Structures is scheduled to begin during the last week of March. The Board would like the community notified that the Boardwalk will be closed during renovations. Field Manager Pepin was asked to speak to the Club.
iii. Lake 11 Shoreline Restoration Update
Field Manager Pepin noted that this project is scheduled to begin in the middle of April. This was discussed briefly above under item 6B.
iv. Lake 22 Sod Repairs Update
Field Manager Pepin reported that the dead sod will be removed and replaced. He highly recommends that Pristine Lakes manually water the sod for about two weeks, so it becomes rooted. Vice Chair Scuderi suggested starting on the golf course side.
v. Butterfly Garden Improvements
Field Manager Pepin expects a proposal in the near future for a major overhaul of both butterfly gardens.
vi. Fenceline Clearing
Field Manager Pepin stated that this project has been completed.
vii. Fencing Repairs
Field Manager Pepin stated that these are scheduled to be completed by the end of the month.
viii. Spot Cleaning Boardwalk Handrails and Benches
Field Manager Pepin reported that the boardwalk will be cleaned before Artistic Structures stains it. Community Field Services will clean the benches right after the boardwalk repairs have been completed.
C. Project Tracking Logs
There was some discussion on the format of this report, but no action was taken.
TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Attorney
There was no report from Attorney Urbancic.
ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Engineer
A. Senate Bill 7040: Changes to Stormwater Inspection and Reporting Requirements
Included in the packet is the text of the bill for the Board’s information, as well as a comment from Atwell’s Steve Martin, stating that it will not likely affect reporting needs, because it mainly pertains to newly constructed and permitted stormwater facilities.
TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Supervisor Requests/Comments
Chair Hefti commented that she was invited by the Master to the April 17 “Coffee and Conversation” as a representative of the CDD and to deliver a presentation about the CDDs’ purpose and activity. There was discussion on the attendance of other Board members, as well, but it was decided that it is best to avoid the potential appearance of Sunshine Law violations.
THIRTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience Comments
Resident Julie Gurewitz asked organizational questions about the CDD and PDM.