Residents of Community Development Districts 5 through 10 may be looking at the possibility of bearing the cost of shoring up the land on which the Lake Sumter Bridge rests.
The District is still waiting on inspection and engineering reports, but members of the Project Wide Advisory Committee are bracing for a worst-case scenario.
“The bridge itself is structurally sound,” said PWAC Chairman Peter Moeller.
But the “island” which connects the two sections of the bridge has been eroding over time.
The bridge is owned by Sumter County. The land is owned by the District.
The District will be looking at a variety of remediation options.
“It is too early to tell exactly what we are looking at at this point,” Moeller said.
Reserve funds for PWAC?
In Monday morning’s meeting, prior to the discussion about the Lake Sumter bridge situation, PWAC members debated the possibility of setting up reserve funds within PWAC to deal with emergency catastrophic situations.
But all PWAC members weren’t convinced of the wisdom of that strategy.
“Why set up an additional reserve at this level, assuming each of the number districts maintains financial integrity?” asked Steve Printz who represents CDD 9 on PWAC.
He said that if each district is maintaing adequate reserves, PWAC could turn to the districts in an emergency.
District Manager Janet Tutt said the District carries insurance, but there are uninsurable events such as erosion or sinkholes.
“This discussion needs to go back to the number districts,” said CDD 8 Supervisor Duane Johnson, who serves as an alternate on PWAC.
PWAC was formed a little over a year ago and is made up of representatives of CDDs 5 through 10. Soon, CDD 11 will join PWAC.