River Ridge CDD appoints Keith Merrill to vacant seat and elects officers

The River Ridge Community Development District on Oct. 22 unanimously appointed longtime Pelican Sound resident Keith Merrill to fill the vacant Seat 1, a term that expires in November 2026. The appointment was made on a motion by Chair Bob Schultz and seconded by Assistant Secretary Robert Twombly; the Board voted "with all in favor."

Mrs. Adams, a notary public, administered the Oath of Office to Merrill immediately after the appointment. District counsel Tony Pires and staff reviewed required filings and training materials for new supervisors, including Form 1 for financial disclosures, the Sunshine Amendment and the Code of Ethics and Form 8B for memoranda of voting conflict. Mrs. Adams noted the procedural requirement and the $10 fee associated with executing the Oath.

The Board then adopted Resolution 2025-01 to elect and remove officers. As nominated by Assistant Secretary Kurt Blumenthal, the Board appointed Bob Schultz as Chair and Terry Mountford as Vice Chair; Kurt Blumenthal and Robert Twombly were named Assistant Secretaries and Keith Merrill was added as an Assistant Secretary. The Resolution removes James Gilman from his prior Assistant Secretary appointment and left prior appointments for corporate positions (Chesley "Chuck" Adams as Secretary; Craig Wrathell as Assistant Secretary and Treasurer; Jeff Pinder as Assistant Treasurer) unchanged. The motion to adopt was made by Mr. Blumenthal, seconded by Mr. Mountford and carried unanimously.

Why it matters: filling the vacant seat restores the Board’s full roster and the newly elected slate of officers establishes who will carry fiduciary and administrative responsibilities going into the budget and permitting work scheduled over the coming year. Staff said required ethics and disclosure training materials will be provided to the newly appointed supervisor.