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River Ridge CDD appoints Keith Merrill, elects officers and approves multiple projects and easements
Summary
At its Oct. 22 meeting, the River Ridge Community Development District appointed Keith Merrill to fill a vacant board seat, adopted Resolution 2025-01 electing officers, and approved several operational items including a gatehouse redesign subconsultant agreement, a master signage design proposal, storm cleanup street sweeping and a drainage easement from PSGRC to the CDD.
The River Ridge Community Development District on Oct. 22 appointed Keith Merrill to the board’s vacant Seat 1 and approved a slate of operational motions, the board said.
The board voted unanimously to nominate and appoint Keith Merrill to fill Seat 1 (term through November 2026) after Chair Bob Schultz and other supervisors discussed Merrill’s Pelican Sound HOA experience. Cleo Adams, the district manager and a notary, then administered the Oath of Office to Merrill.
The board adopted Resolution 2025-01 by unanimous vote. The resolution, as nominated by Assistant Secretary Kurt Blumenthal, elected Bob Schultz as Chair and Terry Mountford as Vice Chair and named Kurt Blumenthal, Robert Twombly and newly appointed Keith Merrill as Assistant Secretaries; it also removed James Gilman as an Assistant Secretary. Prior staffing appointments (including the district manager and corporate appointees) were left unchanged.
On capital projects and vendor actions, the board authorized Bowman Consulting Group to retain RG Architects, P.A. as a subconsultant under Bowman’s standard terms to redesign two gatehouses and related improvements. The board discussed design and permitting timelines (estimated 12 to 18 months) and a proposed up-front design cost to be tracked as a reimbursable expense and invoiced when financing is issued; the motion to authorize Bowman to retain RG passed unanimously.
The board also approved Bowman Consulting Group’s landscape architecture proposal for the Pelican Sound Master Signage Program, which will replace and, in some cases, relocate neighborhood monuments and signs. District staff said neighborhood monument replacements are budgeted under Pelican Sound replacement reserves.
The board ratified an emergency street-sweeping engagement with Precision Cleaning, Inc. for storm clean-up, approving a one-time payment of $1,475 and authorizing staff to add additional week-to-week cleanings for up to one month if necessary. Premier Lakes staff reported eight debris-removal passes had been completed.
District Counsel Tony Pires presented a template Grant of Easement for drainage from the PSGRC to the River Ridge CDD. The board approved the grant with the understanding that each subsequent easement brought forward will include the specific sketch and legal description required for formal recordation.
The board ratified Resolution 2024-05A accepting the audited financial report for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2023. The board also approved the amended minutes for the Aug. 27, 2024 public hearing and regular meeting and voted to reschedule the Nov. 12 meeting to Nov. 19, 2024.
Votes recorded in the minutes indicate the motions passed "with all in favor." The minutes show the four supervisors present at roll call (Bob Schultz, Terry Mountford, Kurt Blumenthal and Robert Twombly) participated in the unanimous votes on the motions noted above.
Next steps and administrative items: Mr. Merrill completed the Oath of Office and was given guidance on required ethics training, public records and Sunshine Law responsibilities. Staff will forward invoices and ledger detail to address flagged budget variances, and any future Grant of Easement items will include legal sketches and descriptions.
