Florida Governmental Utility Authority - FGUA

Florida Governmental Utility AuthorityLehigh Acres Utility Advisory CommitteeWednesday, July 19, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.Veterans Park55 South Homestead Rd, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936Board Members Present:Ralph Hemingway, Lehigh AcresRichard Thompson, RHT Engineering, Lehigh AcresRobert Anderson, Lehigh Acres WatchdogDiane Turrill, Century 21 Town & Country, Lehigh AcresDavid Lindsay, East County Water Control District, Lehigh AcresStaff Present:Yvette Hartsfield, Community Service ManagerBarbara Kerby, Community Service Representative, Lehigh AcresBill Focht, Community Service Representative, Golden GateCommunity Present:David AdamsRichard GeorgianDamon ShelorMel ToadvineI. Call to Order and Roll CallYvette Hartsfield called the meeting to order at 7 PM. She asked the committeemembers to state their name and where they were from for the record.II. Election of OfficersMrs. Hartsfield called for nominations for Chair.Mr. Thompson nominated Mr. HemingwayMrs. Turrill seconded the nomination.Mr. Hemingway was elected unanimously.Mrs. Hartfield called for nominations for Vice Chair.Mr. Hemingway nominated Mr. ThompsonMrs. Turrill seconded the nomination.Mr. Thompson was elected unanimously.Mrs. Hartsfield turned over the meeting to Mr. Hemingway.III. Review of By-LawsMr. Hemingway asked if the board members had any questions or comments on the bylaws.Mr. Anderson had objections on the by-laws:- They do not follow Roberts Rules of Order1

- A board member can be out three times then removed from the committee- He objected to the vague purpose of the committee- He stated the committee had no power to make decisions- He asked what the committee would actually doMr. Anderson asked for another meeting to go over the by-lawsHe said the committee hadn’t followed the agenda since public comments wereomitted and staff should not make comments unless asked.Mrs. Hartsfield said the FGUA Board had approved the current by-laws. They wantedthe UAC to address local issues, and then send any concerns or solutions to the FGUAboard for review.Mr. Hemingway said he agreed the by-laws are very general.Florida Water had the same type by-laws. The Florida Water officials followed therecommendations their committee brought to them and thought the FGUA board woulddo the same. Mr. Hemingway said that committee members could notify the chair ofany absence and retain their seat. He thought the committee had more importantthings to than fight over the by-laws.Mr. Anderson asked what would happen if a committee member could not reach thechair?Mr. Hemingway said the member could notify the secretary and she would notify thechair.Mr. Lindsay said the staff of FGUA did not work for the committee and could havecomments pertinent to the committee.Mr. Anderson said he had notified Mr. Charles Sweat of FGUA that he disapproved ofthe by-laws as written. Mr. Sweat said the committee could convene and makerevisions.Mr. Anderson made a motion for the committee members to read the by-laws andsuggest revisions to be discussed at the next meeting.Mrs. Turrill asked if the FGUA board would consider their recommendations.Mrs. Hartsfield said that a committee or board can work outside of Roberts Rules ofOrder; the board standards may supersede Roberts Rules.Mr. Anderson said the by-laws do not state that they supersede Roberts Rules.Mrs. Hartsfield said the by-laws follow the set FGUA standards.Mr. Anderson said the agenda did not follow the FGUA agenda.Mrs. Hartsfield said the agenda followed the standard of what the FGUA boardrecommended.Mr. Anderson said they were not the same standards.2

Mrs. Hartsfield said the FGUA board could set different standards for committees.Mr. Anderson restated his motion to take the discussion to another meeting and returnto tonight’s business.Mr. Thompson said that tonight we could follow Ralph’s Rules instead.Mr. Hemingway asked if any by-law revisions must go to the FGUA general Council?Mr. Anderson said the committee should send the recommended changes to the nextpossible FGUA meeting.Due to the quarterly meeting schedule, the motion to file changes could be given to thecommittee secretary.The committee should only recommend changes and stop fighting. The secretary willpublish an electronic version of the by-laws to the board.Mr. Hemingway asked when the next FGUA board meeting would be held.Mrs. Hartsfield said the next meeting is in Golden Gate in August but did not have theexact date but the secretary would inform the committee of the date.Ms. Kerby said the July 20 FGUA board meeting in Ft. Myers was cancelled.Mr. David Adams from the public requested a comment. Mr. Hemingway agreed.Mr. Adams asked if the committee operated under the sunshine laws? If so, could acontinued meeting not be published?Mr. Lindsay said a continued meeting did not have to be published and remain withinthe sunshine law.Mr. Adams asked if public comments could be added after staff comments on theagenda.Mr. Lindsay asked where the committee was on the agenda.Mr. Thompson told him item V, review of by-laws..He reminded committee members that they could address an item via e-mail if allcommittee members and the secretary are copied and as long as they do not respondto each other.Mr. Lindsay asked if the chair would respond to public comments to each agenda itemor only when public comment was scheduled.Mrs. Hartsfield said the public comment agenda item was skipped over by mistake.Mr. Anderson asked if his motion was still on the floor.3

Mrs. Hartsfield said that his motion had passed.Mr. Hemingway said that public comments would be available after staff comments.IV. Approval Meeting Schedule for the YearMr. Hemingway called for approval on item VI, the meeting schedule for the UAC.Mr. Anderson made a motion to accept, with a change to April 2008 instead of 2007 inthe appropriate place and to hold another meeting before the August 2006 FGUAboard meeting so it could be on the FGUA board agenda.Mrs. Hartsfield said the agenda items for an FGUA board meeting must be done by thefirst week of the month of the meeting.Mr. Anderson said the October 2006 FGUA board meeting will be in Lehigh. A meetingto discuss the by-laws could be held in August or early September.Mrs. Turrill seconded the motion.Mr. Lindsey asked if meetings could start before 7 PM and as early as 5:30 PM.Ms. Kerby said the facility was not available before 6 PM.Mr. Anderson is not available until after 6:15 PM. Mr. Hemingway said before 6 PM wastoo early for the public to attend meetings.Mr. Thompson said 6:30 PM was a good time.Mr. Anderson revised his motion to start the UAC meetings at 6:30 PM, approve theschedule with the correction of year, and schedule a meeting to discuss the by-laws inAugust or September.Mrs. Turrill seconded the motion.The motion passed unanimously with no discussion.V. UAC Board Members CommentsMr. Hemingway called for item VII Board Comments.Mr. Thompson asked for a staff presentation on utility plans, a set of plans for waterand wastewater systems, the budget and maintenance schedule. He said thecommittee needs education on the system to give good advice about the system.Mr. Anderson made a motion for staff to educate the committee, includingpresentations by the engineers.Mr. Thompson seconded the motion.Mr. Lindsay asked for a copy of the 5-year plan and a tour of the plants as well.Mr. Hemingway said the committee could plan a workshop.4

Discussion about the workshop ensued.Ms. Kerby said that due to Homeland Security rules, taking the public through theplants entailed making reservations and logging information about those in the tour.Mrs. Hartsfield said giving out plant plans was also a Homeland Security issue andwould need looking into.Mr. Hemingway said the plans are available at the office for review.Mrs. Turrill said an overview would be fine instead of the plans.Mrs. Hartsfield said the budget has the information and the secretary would give themembers a copy of the budget.Mr. Anderson said he had a copy of the budget already and had some concerns. Adiscussion of his concerns about the interconnect with Ft. Myers, the Capital Program,financing, expanding lines for fire hydrants, the community project as part of the DEPconsent agreement, and expansion of the system followed.VI. Staff CommentsMr. Hemingway called for item VIII, staff comments.Ms. Kerby said the FGUA board meeting on July 20 was cancelled. The new date andlocation would be advertised as soon as it was available.Mrs. Hartsfield asked that the committee provide email addresses so PDF files ofrequested information may be sent to the members.VII. Public CommentsMr. Hemingway called for public comments.Mr. David Adams asked if the budget and 5-year plan would be on the FGUA website.Mr. Anderson thanked all the committee members for stepping forward to serve on thecommittee.Mr. Richard Georgian introduced himself as the new chair of the water issues sub committee ofthe Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corporation.Mr. Mel Toadvine of the Lehigh Acres Citizen said he hoped that more of the public would attendfuture committee meetings.The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 PM.5