An Amenity Authority Committee member accused a district-wide committee of operating in secrecy when it immediately and without discussion was poised to vote on a project order for a study of multi-modal paths by Kimley-Horn & Associates.
Representatives of Community Developments Districts 1-4, the AAC and the Project Wide Advisory Committee met Monday morning in a followup session to their meeting May 5 at Eisenhower Recreation Center.
Immediately after the Pledge of Allegiance, PWAC member Steve Printz made a motion for the approval of “Individual Project Order No. 17.”
CDD 4 supervisor and AAC member Don Deakin objected to the fact that Individual Project Order No. 17 was not made available to the public prior to the meeting.
The order had been emailed to committee members ahead of the meeting, District Manager Janet Tutt indicated.
“I have no idea what this report says,” Deakin said.
He accused the committee of not doing the public’s business in the sunshine.
“We are really operating in the shadows of the sunshine. I have no clue what is going on,” Deakin said.
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District counsel Valerie Fuchs said nothing inappropriate had taken place.
“There is no law that says the public has a right to review all of your documents before a meeting,” she told committee members.
She also reminded committee members and the audience that no final decision was being made Monday morning. Further she pointed out that CDDs 1 through 10 and the AAC all had representation at the meeting.
CDD 2 Supervisor Bryan Lifsey urged the committee to seek an opinion from a second source
He said he is concerned that Kimley-Horn has come out firmly against centerline striping and that the engineering firm has been unrelenting in that stance.
“What would a prudent person do in a situation as controversial as this? Get a second opinion,” Lifsey said. “We need a fresh, impartial look at these issues.”
At the end of the public comment period, PWAC Chairman Peter Moeller called for a motion on the project order, which Printz made a second time.
The motion passed unanimously.
The ultimate recommendations will go back to each district for approval, Tutt indicated.
After Monday’s meeting, Villages-News.com was able to obtain copies of Individual Project Order Number 17. You can view copies at the links below: