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River Ridge board orders plan after Pinehurst residents demand urgent fixes for repeated flooding
Summary
Pinehurst residents told the River Ridge CDD board on June 25 they have suffered repeated, safety-threatening flooding after a June storm and demanded priority repairs. The district engineer cited blocked inlets, ordered MRI to clean pipes, and the board unanimously approved a $173,367.78 cleaning contract and a loan amendment to fund projects.
Pinehurst residents pressed the River Ridge Community Development District Board of Supervisors on June 25 for an immediate, well-funded response to repeated flooding after a tropical storm June 12–14, saying streets were impassable and flooding persisted in Pinehurst long after nearby neighborhoods dried.
Resident Mike Dugan read a prepared statement urging the district to make Pinehurst flooding its No. 1 or co-No. 1 priority “regardless of cost,” and warned that residents would “be forced to explore legal options” and pay for emergency sandbagging if the board does not commit to rapid action. Another Pinehurst resident, Ed Nowak, said the redesigned drainage system shifted problems to Pinehurst and demanded “a final, proper redesign” and high-priority resources during hurricane season.
District Engineer Charlie Krebs, who inspected the area after the storm, told the board that crews found debris and partial blockages in inlets and pipes and said MRI inspected and flushed debris. Krebs said he was on site after staff shared video and that, on arrival, “all the roads were dry except for an area where the water was blocked because that water and the receding swale were a good 2' or 3' below what the water level was on the roadway.” He recommended additional cleaning and said some Pinehurst drains may be more than 25% blocked; Krebs said he will have MRI clean the inlets.
Chair Bob Schultz asked Krebs to “prepare a written plan detailing how the situation will be resolved and an estimated timeline” and provide that plan to the Board, PSGRC General Manager Eric Long and the Pinehurst NVR. The request was recorded as direction from the board.
To fund drainage work, the board adopted Resolution 2024-05 to amend the Series 2024 note loan agreement with Synovus Bank to revise the project scope and, on a separate unanimous motion, approved an MRI Construction, Inc. estimate for dry retention flow-way ditch cleaning adjacent to River Course holes Nos. 6–8 in the amount of $173,367.78. The adoption of the resolution and the contract approval were made on motions that passed "with all in favor."
The board also discussed, but did not act on, an estimate from McCullers Construction Services & Consulting, LLC to install a new well ($277,550), citing state water-management restrictions and long-term water-use considerations. District staff said the item would be reconsidered at a later date.
The meeting record shows staff will include a Lake & Dry Retention Audit Report on the July agenda and that the board expects follow-up updates. The next River Ridge CDD meeting is scheduled for July 23, 2024, at 1:00 p.m.
