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Estero council reviews assessments plan for Sunny Grove and Cypress Bend; HOA flags $3,500 increase
Summary
Council workshopers heard staff update on converting two package-treatment plants to municipal sewer and the non‑ad valorem assessment process; a Sunny Grove HOA representative warned the assessment is $3,500 higher than the prior estimate, and staff outlined notice and certification deadlines.
The Village Council of Estero received a staff update on April 15 about proposed non‑ad valorem assessments to pay for converting two package wastewater treatment plants — Sunny Grove and Cypress Bend — to municipal sewer service.
At a workshop presentation, project lead David Willems said construction is progressing and that utility connections are ready for Sunny Grove. Willems told the council that the per‑residence assessment in the current estimate is $3,500 higher than what the HOA expected from the December approval, and that the HOA has already collected most residents’ payments. “The assessment cost in this is $3,500 more than it was in the previous approval in December,” Willems said, and staff committed to working with the HOA to reduce administrative impacts.
Village attorney Rob Eshenfelder reviewed the statutorily prescribed assessment process and the next steps for the council. He said staff will send both newspaper and individual mailed notices, allow an early‑payment window (staff said Sunny Grove’s early‑payment deadline is Aug. 15 and Cypress Bend’s is Aug. 1), and that the mayor must certify the final unpaid roll to the tax collector by Sept. 15 so assessments can be placed on property tax bills. “The statute prescribes what that notice will have to say,” Eshenfelder said, describing the required notification and certification sequence.
Willems said Cypress Bend’s force mains are already installed and that its package plant has been taken offline; staff are monitoring pond levels and will remove sediment before filling and final restoration. He explained that because Sunny Grove is a single property owner and Cypress Bend includes many individual lot owners, the administrative approaches differ: Sunny Grove expects one owner check while Cypress Bend will receive individual assessment notices.
The council did not adopt a final resolution at the workshop; staff said a formal resolution and the initiation of the assessment roll will be brought back for action at an upcoming meeting once notices and other statutory steps are in place.
The council’s next procedural step will be formal consideration and possible adoption of the assessment resolution; staff estimated the statutory mail and newspaper notices and early‑payment periods will occupy the summer months ahead of the tax‑roll certification deadline.
Ending: The village will return to the council with formal assessment documents and public‑notice materials; the mayor’s certification to the tax collector is scheduled under the statutory process for mid‑September if the council proceeds.
