Meeting Summary - Landscaping

A meeting was held 2/23/09 to review the proposals submitted to spruce up Catalina Oaks with new landscaping. After an initial review and much conversation the board agreed that the statement of work(SOW) should be modified. The SOW was revised due to a few complications outlined during the meeting, which are noted below.

Revised SOW - The intent is to start with Section 1(the corner at 10th and 6th with Catalina Oaks sign) and Section 2 (the entrance to the development with the other Catalina Oaks sign) as shown in the above photos. Both areas have existing sprinklers.

Areas on hold include the following:
A. The wall area( north and south) along 6th Avenue is a challenge as there is no plumbing present for sprinklers. This section also includes a rather large cove that belongs to the county.
B. The section along the wall( east west wall) next to the entrance does not have sprinklers either.
C. The burns as you enter the development belong to the homeowners. Permission from the homeowners will be requested to modify and revamp these areas. It may require some legal correspondence.

Next meeting is scheduled for March 9 at 10:00 at 470 10th Place to review the revised quotes for sections 1 and 2. The board is requesting photos of the plants recommended from each bidder along with the revised quote.

CATALINA OAKS PRD - FOR SALE

Data presented is from the website listed which identifies homes for sale in our community.[ http://www.livinginvero.com/CATALINA-OAKS-PRD.php ]

CATALINA OAKS PRD Home For Sale | 563 10TH PL Vero Beach, FLORIDA 32960 | Vero Beach REAL ESTATE LISTING #75960
3Bed / 2 Bath $249,900

CATALINA OAKS PRD Home For Sale | 522 10TH PL VERO BEACH, FLORIDA 32960 | VERO BEACH REAL ESTATE LISTING #78152
2Bed / 2 Bath $134,900

CATALINA OAKS PRD Home For Sale | 542 10TH PL Vero Beach, FLORIDA 32960 | Vero Beach
REAL ESTATE LISTING #76679
2Bed / 2 Bath $134,500

Everything Outdoors Landscaping Quote

The following was provided by Spencer Ponteos, of Everything Outdoors The overall cost is $5476 and includes a 2 year warranty. He bid on the corner(10th and 6th) and the community entrance.

He did not bid on the wall and the berms. He memtioned the berms are doing well and with a little weeding and some mulch they would be fine. There is no irrigation along the walls on 6th so he recommended we trim the plants, do a general clean up and then add some mulch, as required.

If you want to learn more about them go to http://www.outdoorvero.com/events.htm

Landscaping at the Oaks

Also known as Catalina Oaks Beautification Project - The statement of work for this project is shown below. We have received 3 out of 5 requested bids for the landscaping project. I anticipate receipt of the last 2 some time next week. Once we have them all we will convene a meeting and select a candidate.

The criteria that will be considered include cost, design and future maintenance. The intent is to minimize costs but maximize quality. We have discussed the possibility of Eddie( he is our current groundskeeper) and I tearing out the existing growth and preparing the soil for planting, to help keep the overall cost down.

Maximum effort - The entrance to the community and at the corner of 10th and 6th. This means we remove everything and start from scratch.

Minimum effort - The area along the wall on 6th and the berms on the west and east side at the entrance will be cleaned up and the existing plants will be trimmed.

Utilities Action Plan Jan 2009

Thank you Helen Todd for sharing this information.

Utilities in Vero Beach - Update

January 8, 2009, City Council Special Call Meeting on the Utility Authority/Representation Report by UAC

The final report from the UAC was not made available to the public until AFTER the City Council Special Call Meeting which was held for purposes of discussing the report! In addition, whereas the prior draft versions of the Report showed a column reflecting public comments as well as additional comments being included in the Pros and Cons, the final Report omitted the Public Comment column and most of the public comments. Could this be by design? For a copy of the minutes of this meeting, go to the City website, www.covb.org ,click on meetings schedule, click on City Council Meeting on Feb. 3 and then on Agenda. From there, go to item 2.D.2 and click on item for the minutes of this meeting.

February 3, 2009 City Council Meeting –
Also go to item 7.A of the City Council’s February 3rd Agenda (above) relating to the Rate and Cost of Service Study contract approved at the Meeting.
Tuesday, February 10, at 10 am in the City Hall.The Rate and Cost of Service Study contract will probably be discussed at the UAC Meeting on Tuesday. The UAC Agenda is not available at this time.

City Attorney
In late December 2008 I requested access to review the City’s file on the May 2008 selection of OUC as the City’s electric supplier starting January 1, 2010. I was advised in early January 2009 the file(s) could not be made available under Fl Statute 288.075. I then called the City Attorney who orally confirmed the denial for access, even of the list of names of the bidders and the evaluation factors and scores of the bidders because of requested confidentiality by the bidders. The statute does not seem to prohibit the availability of the names of the bidders and evaluation factors and scores, etc.
I later made a request in writing to the City Attorney and he orally advised later that the OUC contract is not final, my letter requesting file access had been sent to the City’s “Boston Attorney” to answer my questions, and it could be up to two years before the file is accessible to the public.
A Transmission & Distribution Study and a Cost Estimate have to be done to get the power from Orlando to Vero over FPL lines for 2010. What if the T & D cost from FPL to OUC/Vero is higher than if FPL bid and won the original contract and charged less to get the power here? Why isn’t the overall cost for both aspects considered in the final cost of the project and in arriving at the ultimate bid winner and ultimate cost to customers? Why can’t the City answer Florida legal questions? Why is the May 2008 OUC contract now not final after so many statements to the contrary by the City Council? What is the City trying to hide?

City Manager Plan of Action for a Utility Authority and my Comments
In January, lobbyists for the City held meetings in Tallahassee with the State Delegation from Indian River County and provided the attached City Manager’s Action Plan. I obtained a copy of the Action Plan and then sent the attached comments to a member of the State Delegation and also to the City Manager and Chair of the City’s UAC. I received the following response from the City Manager:
Russ Lemmon, Press Journal
Yesterday, I spent about 2 ½ hours with Russ Lemmon of the Press Journal discussing the utility issues. During the last hour, two delightful and concerned ladies joined the utility discussion. They had previously contacted Russ expressing their outrage at the City utility issues and he had arranged to meet them separately but he asked me to stay and talk to them also to which we all agreed. We need many supporters like them to get our views across. The support can take a variety of forms, such as:
o Getting petitions signed – we still need them!!!!! Send them in!
o Speaking at County, City, and Shores Government meetings
o Talking up the utility issues
o Forwarding the utility e-mails to others
o Writing editorial opinions to the Press Journal and 32963
o Contacting your County Board, Town Council, and State Legislators.
o ETC!
BE PROACTIVE!
Be Optimistic!
Where one avenue appears to close up, we can open up another and make a sow’s ear into a silk purse!
February 5th - County Vision and 5 year goal meetings
Some interesting items may come up in the planning sessions. Stay tuned.
More later
Steve Faherty