A new supervisor is being sought in Community Development District 4 as pipe problems have created serious financial pain.

Supervisor Cary Sternberg has resigned after moving out of the Village of Briar Meadow and into a “downsized” residence in the Belmont Villas in the Village of Belvedere, which is located in Community Development District 5. Sternberg had served on the CDD 4 board since 2019, and before that, he was CDD 4’s representative on the Architectural Review Committee.

CDD 4 is now seeking candidates to fill the vacancy created by Sternberg’s resignation. The term runs through November 2028.

Whoever steps forward will be sharing in some serious financial headaches in the days ahead.

Collapsing pipes in the Cameron Villas in the Village of Calumet Grove have residents on edge.

A crew was worknig to put down pipe at Victoria Lane and Parlange Terrace in the Camerno Villasand
A crew was working this past week to put down pipe at Victoria Lane and Parlange Terrace in the Cameron Villas.

The ongoing crisis forced the CDD 4 board to take drastic action this past week. The board voted to spend $517,220 on emergency pipe repairs and impose a potential 25 percent maintenance assessment increase.

This is not the first time residents have had to foot the bill for major ground collapses. In 2018, CDD 4 raised the maintenance assessment by 20 percent to cover the fallout from the McLawren Terrace sinkholes.

This severely corroded pipe was uncovered in 2018 during the sinkhole crisis in the Village of Calumet Grove.

Here’s how to apply for the CDD 4 vacancy

Any interested applicants must be a qualified elector, which is defined by Florida Statute 190 as “any person at least 18 years of age who is a citizen of the United States, a legal resident of Florida and of the district, and who registers to vote with the Supervisor of Elections in the county in which the district land is located.”

To obtain additional information or request an application, you may contact District Clerk Jennifer Farlow at (352) 751-3939 or obtain a copy of the application by clicking here.

Applications must be submitted to the District Clerk no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8, at the Brownwood District Office at 3571 Kiessel Road.

Applicants will be interviewed during a board meeting to be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, July 17, at the Savannah Center.