$4.29 million roundabout cleared for construction planning as village and Grand Isles POA spar over easement

Village staff told the council the 120th Avenue South and Lake Worth Road roundabout project now has full design and procurement complete and is ready for construction, with a construction contract award of $4,290,000 and a request for an additional $200,000 for construction engineering inspection.

"The cost, is 4.29 or $4,290,000, for the actual construction costs," said the project manager, who also said the work is a nine‑month project to substantial completion with an expected start near the end of the school year. Staff said the inspector for construction engineering inspection services would be the design firm, Machers, and the low bidder is JW Cheatham, which has prior experience in the area.

Staff cautioned council members that a portion of the land needed for the roundabout — Tract E and parts of Tracts Q and S — is owned by the Grand Isles POA or developers, and that the POA recently changed legal counsel. "We had had a conversation with Grand Isles POA ... and we were proposing to do some improvements ... in exchange for that, we had asked for them to convey to us Tract E 1 ... plus tracts Q and S," an agency official said. That official added that after a law firm change, the POA’s new counsel referred the matter to a land‑use attorney and cooperation has become more limited.

The official said staff has drafted a complaint seeking declaratory judgment and quiet title but hopes not to file it. "I've drafted a draft complaint. I'll send out a copy. It's an action for, declaratory judgment and quiet title," the official said, adding that recent email communications showed a more cooperative tone and staff is pursuing an easement agreement where possible. The official named Wasserstein PA (Boca Raton) as the POA’s current firm and said land‑use attorney Ryan Abrams will attend the next meeting and have three minutes to comment.

Council members expressed reluctance to accept concessions reportedly requested by the POA’s counsel, such as a permanent promise not to widen 120th Avenue or a waiver of the village's sovereign immunity. Staff said such promises would be difficult and imprudent to accept. A council member asked whether eminent domain was an option; staff said the drafted action is not eminent domain and that physically filling the canal to gain land would be a major undertaking.

Staff recommended attempting a meeting with the POA president and property manager before pursuing litigation. The council did not vote on the roundabout authorization at the agenda‑review meeting; the project will appear on the council’s public agenda for formal action.