Through mediation and a potential lawsuit, Community Development District 6 supervisors hope to revive the idea of a separate Project Wide Advisory Committee established for The Villages south of State Road 44.
CDD 6 Chairman John Calandro said combining areas north and south of the state road under a single committee costs the district an additional $234,000 a year due to higher maintenance expenses in Southern Oaks.
Assistant District Manager Brittany Wilson said the extra annual expense for CDDs 5-11 is $1.3 million if they are in the same district as the newer southern neighborhoods. Districts 1-4 are not included in the Project Wide Advisory Committee.
An agreement to establish two separate committees was thwarted last fall by the CDD 7 board, which opposed the idea. Approval of all affected districts was required for it to move forward.
Comprised of a board supervisor from CDDs 5-11, PWAC provides recommendations to the Sumter Landing CDD on maintenance of project-wide improvements. It also sets amenity fees, reviews bids and contracts and monitors capital expenditures.
Calandro said higher expenses in southern districts 12-14 are due to amenities such as walking trails and stone walls instead of stucco walls.
He asked attorney Mark Brionez if an attorney general’s opinion could clarify whether one district could mediate with another or sue them.
“If mediation is the next step, I want to get into mediation with them as soon as possible,” Calandro said. “We’re taking a hit against our budget.”
Brionez, who works with both districts, said a problem is that both could be perceived as doing what they think is best for their citizens.
CDD 7 supervisors rejected the agreement and conferred with an independent attorney.
They hired attorney Michael Eckert last fall to review the PWAC agreement. In a letter examining the plan, he wrote that it would take power away from residents and benefit commercial districts, specifically the Sumter Landing CDD.
Eckert also criticized the agreement for not including an independent inspection of infrastructure and a two-year warranty on any infrastructure purchased from the Developer.
