Winter Springs lighting district approves $42,000 North Fountain repair; staff seeks higher assessment cap

The Winter Springs Lighting & Beautification District board voted to authorize a $42,000 repair to the district’s North Fountain and heard staff outline a rate study that could raise the district’s legal assessment cap, a cap board members said has not changed since 2007.

The move comes as staff told the board that, under current contracts and service levels, the district’s fund balance will fall to roughly $14,000 by the end of the next fiscal year unless the assessment cap or annual rate is increased. The board also reviewed a list of capital and maintenance needs — from median landscape rehabilitation to monument repairs and irrigation monitoring — that staff say will require larger, multiyear funding.

Kevin McCann, mayor of the City of Winter Springs, opened public comment by urging the board to treat the work seriously and to “look at the numbers and let your own mind guide you.” A resident, Ted Doss of 701 Sybilwood Circle, told the board that outages tied to Duke Energy left portions of the lighting district unlit during recent holiday seasons and said some district features — including the district sign and some decorative lights — are not functioning as intended.

Holly Queen, the city’s finance director, reviewed year-to-date fiscal figures and told the board the fountains account had a year-to-date expense of $5,400 with an ending balance of about $14,000, while the grounds line had an original budget of $159,000, a year-to-date expense of about $113,000 and an encumbrance of roughly $42,000 leaving a small ending balance. Queen noted utilities and street-light accounts have larger remaining balances.

Kevin Maddox, the city’s urban beautification manager, told the board the North Fountain contractor that had been selected initially “walked off the job,” leaving staff to use a higher second bid. “They began work...and walked off the job,” Maddox said. He told the board the vendor recommended for the repair — New Wave — would replace pumps, filtration and electrical controls and that staff estimated the cost at $42,000. “Cost is 42,000,” Maddox said during the discussion.

Board members moved and seconded a motion to proceed with the New Wave repair; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with Chairperson Terry Bavona, Vice Chair Ellen Paul and Committee Member Dennis Jones recorded as voting yes. (See “Votes at a glance” below.) Staff noted the city commission has already approved a budget amendment to provide the additional funding for the repair.

The board spent substantial time on rising maintenance costs: staff presented a $53,000 line-item for fertilizer, fungicide and soil amendments needed to stabilize plantings in roughly 15 acres of heavily landscaped medians. Brian Dunnigan, director of administrative services and operations, told the board that application of those materials must be performed by licensed applicators and that commercial fertilizer and pesticide markets have seen major price increases. “Which requires a license through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,” Dunnigan said, describing why the cost is higher than a retail product comparison.

Staff also provided a capital “wish list” and cost estimates: rejuvenating existing medians averaged about $48,000 per median in vendor estimates, monument repairs and repainting of approximately 23 decorative poles were scoped, and longer-term capital items such as wall extensions along parts of Tuscarora/Tuscawilla Road were discussed as potential capital-assessment or financed projects. A resident who identified himself as the property owner adjacent to one requested wall extension told the board that homeowners had been promised wall work in a prior phase and asked for the board to add the extension to the capital planning list.

Board members and staff discussed timing for the rate study and next steps. Staff said they had retained MBS/NBS — the firm that manages the district’s ad valorem assessment roll — to model options, produce a forecast and run the formal homeowner notices and public hearing process required to increase the district’s legal cap. Staff estimated that an additional $100 per equivalent unit (EU) in annual assessment revenue would produce roughly $423,000 in gross revenue (staff noted the actual bill collection is reduced by the ad valorem early-payment discount). The board asked staff to return results of the model for review; staff said a public hearing to set a new cap would likely be scheduled during the district’s August meeting cycle.

Board members asked staff to prioritize medians and monuments in phases over multiple years and to include recurring fertilizer and fungicide needs in the rate-study model. Staff also agreed to follow up with Duke Energy about inconsistent pole and fixture painting and to request the utility re-evaluate outstanding decorative pole work and the single light pole missing its top near Northern Way and Wood Duck.

The meeting closed after staff agreed to schedule a special meeting or workshop once the MBS/NBS rate model and a proposed timeline are available so the board can review proposed cap scenarios and proposed project phasing.