Member of West Villages Board of Supervisors contends agreement violates Legislature’s ‘enabling act’ that created the District
Although a member of the West Villages Improvement District Board of Supervisors this month maintained that the action was not allowed under the legislation that established the District, the Sarasota County commissioners unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with the District that is expected to speed up construction of a widened South River Road.
As its website explains, the District “was created to ensure a timely, cohesive, cost-effective, high-quality design and implementation of public infrastructure within Wellen Park. The [District] spans 12,444 acres within the City of North Port and unincorporated Sarasota County.”
The website adds, “The district includes residential neighborhoods, commercial hubs, the Atlanta Braves’ spring training home and the soon-to-be completed Downtown Wellen.”
During the July 9 commission meeting, John Meisel of Venice, assistant secretary of the West Villages Improvement District (WVID) Board of Supervisors, said that the Florida Legislature’s “enabling act” that created the District “prohibits spending money outside of District boundaries.”
However, he pointed out, the proposed interlocal agreement on the board’s July 9 Consent Agenda of routine business matters involved the design, permitting and construction of the South River Road improvements from U.S. 41 to Winchester Boulevard and then the improvements on Winchester from South River Road to the Charlotte County line. “Those are not within the boundaries of the District,” Meisel stressed.
The interlocal agreement notes that the improvements to South River Road will include the widening of the route from two to four lanes, the addition of a median, construction of 12-foot-wide trails/sidewalks, landscaping, roadway lighting, and stormwater drainage.
In a July 3 email he sent the commissioners, Meisel wrote, “There is no question that a portion of River Road dissects the boundaries of the District, but this portion of road is owned and maintained by Sarasota County, but within the boundaries of the District. There is also no question none of the expansion of Winchester Road is within the boundaries of the District.”
He added in the email, “There is no justification or rationale why the District or residents should have responsibility to fund the expansion of River Road and Winchester Road any more so than any other Sarasota County resident. This is why taxpayers in the District pay Sarasota County property taxes at the same rate as all other residents.”
As Spencer Anderson, director of the Sarasota County Public Works Department, explained during the commission meeting in Venice, the District will pay an estimated $7,134,876 for the work specified in the interlocal agreement.
When the Board of Supervisors voted on the agreement with the county, Meisel noted, “I was the only elected representative [who] voted against it.” (His email explained that he is the only member of the Board of Supervisors who is elected by registered voters.)
Meisel emphasized that the beneficiaries of the agreement will be “Everybody.” If the developer wants the work done, he added, “Let him do it. That’s what impact fees are for. … Putting the burden on residents,” when the funds could be used for something needed within the District, “is irresponsible,” he pointed out.
The developer is Mattamy Homes, as noted on one of that company’s websites.
Meisel requested that the commissioners delay a vote on the interlocal agreement for 30 days, so the Office of the County Attorney could look into the enabling legislation for the District, and then bring back the matter for further commission discussion.
However, responding to a question from Commissioner Neil Rainford, County Attorney Joshua Moye said, “Our office looked into it. … We couldn’t see any legal issues with it.”
Moye also noted that the commissioners should “keep in mind that the West Villages have their own competent attorneys,” who concurred that the interlocal agreement was legal, based on the enabling legislation for the District.
Who pays for what
Rainford had requested that the item be pulled from the Consent Agenda of routine business matters for board discussion that morning.
When Rainford asked Anderson for more information about the agreement, Anderson explained that the entire segment of South River Road — approximately 7.1 miles — borders the West Villages Improvement District.
In 2008, through an agreement with the Improvement District, Anderson said, the county acquired most of the right of way it needs for the project. The estimated expense of improving and widening the full segment is about $80 million, he added.
Then Anderson pointed out that the District would have been required to construct intersections connecting to South River Road; those would have been expected to cost more than $12 million. Two of those intersections would have been at Manasota Beach and Playmore roads, he noted.
The interlocal document, Anderson continued, “is a very cooperative venture between the county and the special district.” The District will not have to construct intersections that would have had to be demolished and then recreated as the widened South River Road was constructed, he emphasized.
In response to another question that Commissioner Rainford posed, Anderson said that those intersection improvements will be incorporated into the county’s South River Road construction project.
The solicitation that the county will advertise for the work will separate out the District improvements, Anderson further explained. If those improvements prove to be more expensive than the design and permitting work, he continued, the District will pay the county the difference. Likewise, Anderson said, if the improvements end up being less than the design/permitting total, the county will reimburse the difference to the District.
The interlocal agreement puts the solicitation plan this way: “The solicitation will require bidders to separately itemize the construction cost of the District Improvements and the County Improvements. In addition, the County shall apportion the costs received for mobilization [of the contractor’s equipment and crew], insurance, general conditions, contingency and other associated common expenses based upon the proportionate bid value of the County Improvements and the District Improvements.”
The District improvements will be included in the first phase of work on the improved South River Road, Anderson told the commissioners, as staff’s expectation is that the project will have to be conducted in phases because of the overall expense.
Not so far into the future
Anderson did note that one other concern that had been raised was that the construction of the widened South River Road “is way off in the future.”
That is not true, he continued. Staff expects the design to be complete within a couple of years, if not earlier, he said.
The County Commission has allocated $40 million to the South River Road project through the Resilient SRQ program, Anderson pointed out, referring to the federal grant that the county has received to help with the recovery from Hurricane Ian. The storm wrought considerable damage in South County in September 2022, as documented in a county report created. South River Road is a major hurricane evacuation route not only in South County but also for residents in Charlotte County, commissioners have pointed out.
The federal government also has appropriated $2.5 million to the South River Road work, Anderson said. Therefore, he indicated, the first phase should be able to start much sooner than originally anticipated.
Moreover, he said, FDOT leaders are “in conversation [with county staff] about funding this project,” and other money for the initiative would be expected in the form of mobility fees and gas tax revenue that the county receives.
“This is a real project,” Anderson emphasized.
Rainford did ask for clarification again that the West Villages Improvement District would have to pay the $7 million-plus for the intersection work, if the interlocal agreement were not approved.
“Absolutely,” Anderson assured him.
Then Commissioner Mark Smith pointed out that he had read a section of the District website. When he asked Anderson for clarification that the project would be within the District, Anderson responded, “It is within or immediately adjacent to it, yes.”
Referencing the website again, Smith noted that the information it provides includes details about the District’s paying for public infrastructure for Wellen Park, which previously was known as the West Villages. Roads are infrastructure, Smith added.
Anderson reiterated County Attorney Moye’s statement that the attorneys involved had agreed that the interlocal agreement would be valid.
Commissioner Ron Cutsinger, who represents District 5, in the southernmost portion of the county, ended up making the motion to approve the interlocal agreement.
“I’m very favorable toward a public-private partnership where we work together to accomplish goals that benefit the entire community,” he said. “That is what this is to me.”
Cutsinger also noted that the agreement will expedite the completion of approvements on South River Road.
Commissioner Smith seconded the motion.