Cory Lakes CDD

Dear Supervisors,

Since the last CDD meeting I have received several calls from residents that were not happy about the Finance committee being retired. After thinking about all of the conversations I wanted to see if it might be beneficial for the CDD to create a Strategic Planning Committee and wanted to see what you guys think.

We have several committees that already exist but we do not have anything that links these committees together as far as finance or long term planning.

My thought was that if we created a Strategic Planning Committee then this group of individuals could:

a. Liaison between the committees- providing recommendations for a long term plan
b. Help to unify the visions of the various committees
c. Make recommendations to the Board based on an updated reserve study as well as committee recommendations

I am not sure if we had a committee similar to this in the past but it would be great to hear from you all if we had one, and if so, what the benefits and pitfalls of the committee were.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Sheila

I love the idea of reserve funds. Lets explore this.

The first question I would like to put to my fellow Supervisors is how we plan to fund it? Do we have surplus funds at end of each financial year to start putting away in reserve fund? I do not believe we do.

So the next obvious solution is to raise CDD fees to start funding this "reserve fund". In order to raise the CDD fees is to somehow convince the current residents to agree to pay into a proposed reserve fund to be used for and by future residents or for their future expenses.

Having passed such hurdle of convincing the residents can the District Manager assure the current Board that the reserve funds will only be spent on the originally designated and intended projects? In other words what would prevent future Board to spent the money on his/her pet projects?

We spent a lot of money on the prior strategic plan.
The plan was never implemented, because of the change of the board make up.
Why waste money for another plan?
Who wants a strategic plan? Is it 51% of the community or just a few resident?

If we begin to build up a reserve fund it must only exist for emergency purposes... unexpected damages, unexpected costly maintenance, unexpected economic crisis (resession), etc.. A community like ours should have an "emergency" reserve, untouchable for anything but an emergency. Even if we never used it, it could draw interest in a higher yield FDIC insured account. 4 accounts totaling $1,000,000 could easily earn over $20,000 just sitting there. Regardless of any interest consideration, it would speak well of Cory Lake Isles and can be used as a marketing point for home sales. We as a community must strive to stop living pay check to pay check, on a yearly basis. Too many have lost everything leveraging themselves this way. 

A reserve fund must not be used for any "originally designated and intended projects"... "Having passed such hurdle of convincing the residents can the District Manager assure the current Board that the reserve funds will only be spent on the originally designated and intended projects?"  


A reserve fund, if implemented, must be reserved for the unexpected, not for a designated or intended project, including but not limited to an $800,000+ gym. I agree 100%, let's not fund "anyone's" pet project with a reserve fund. 


With that said, I find it troubling that a couple of board members have again begun talking about a new gym building, despite 75% of homeowners voting against it. This, without even considering expanding the current gym which could easily accomplish the objective of increasing it's space 2 to 3 times it's current size. I ask that current board members be respectful with the wishes and consensus of the majority of the community that took the time to vote in 2018. It is their money you're reaching for. That is, unless a generous board member(s) would like to fund it and gift it to the community. Think about it, it could even bear your name for generations to come. 


I believe a "new and updated" strategic plan would be beneficial, as Sheila Haque has recommended. It was fairly inexpensive as I recall. I ask that current board members, at minimum, review and study the last plan. I have reviewed some very nice ideas in that plan that "we" as a community could expand on, benefit from, and subsequently present to the community through a process of voting. Perhaps some of these prior plans could be reviewed during a CDD meeting? I recommend any homeowner to review this study  albeit from several years ago (2011?). It includes a community pool which we has since been built. I believe Wendy may have it at the Beach Club.


A "strategic planning committee" as Sheila has proposed is a good idea. It's essential for long-term planning and bridges the gap between changing board members and assists current boards in making the best decisions for Cory Lake Isles.

It's hard to deny that had there been an active and informed strategic planning commitee in the past, we may still today had preserved our attractive and impressive view of the lake as we entered through the Cross Creek entrance approaching the stop sign. Which long-term homeowner doesn't miss the view we once enjoyed?

I was asked by Levent Kara to post the following for him since he is unable to access this site from the location and tablet he is currently using.

""I am out of town, cannot login to Sunshine from my tablet. I asked Carlos Guzman to post the following on my behalf. It is very unbecoming to see a coordinated agenda put in motion here while we are also denied access to social media. You guys may push the way you want, we will keep raising our voice despite your efforts. Truth is on our side.

It is pretty clear Sid and Harry are in a coordinated push for their agenda.

Harry asks if 51 percent of residents are backing Sheila's idea about a planning committe, which he is quite comfortable ignoring when it comes to a new gym. We just did the survey less than a year ago...

The remarks on Beach Club not being ADA are just distraction. He wants to take expansion off the table. If a current gym is operational, these are no obstacle to expansion.

About Sheila's idea, I think more than the reserves, etc., it is about a well informed platform that gathers information from various groups and presents possible options to the Board. A platform like this may help healthy growth rather than piecemeal projects here and there. I won't be surprised if a group like this finds our very Beach Club not sufficient to our community and suggests we build a new community center that integrates a new gym and also integrates physically and programatically much better with the pool. We have enough space to do that.

A group like this will help to get the broader community picture right, reversing the I want this here and now kind of miopic pet project mentality.

It will though need a resolved and determined leadership. Not the buddy politics we have seen so far.

You two guys need to come clean. Get KHP off table for a rushed new gym, let's sit down and understand what the community needs, come up with a plan, convince residents, and move forward as unified as we can. You both owe this much to the CLI community. Please no more tricks, no more rushing for buddies in arms."

I would also greatly appreciate if this discussion is carried over on Next Door. I am kicked off till April, and I think Carlos too..."

Few people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger and full of disappointment.As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they dump it on themselves, their family, friends, neighbors or their own community.

Saying "come clean", and asking you should not pursue an unlawful bid for a new gym from KHP is dumping garbage? Was not that you tried to pull out of this community's expense last year? It is on your own meeting minutes. Carlos, Elizabeth, and I had the first person experience of your own efforts...
...
Great psychology from a community leader.

Bets are out. I support a platform of residents looking forward to better this community.

Levent Kara
From: "Levent Kara" <lkara@usf.edu>
Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 4:03 PM
To: <adamsc@whhassociates.com>
Subject: Fw: Faculty needs advice
Page 1 of 2
12/14/2017

Mr. Adams,
Please see the following exchange. Does our CDD Board have different operating procedures / requirements that
does not include a parliamentary process? Because, the meeting minutes are very clear as to what was approved
in the motion about the survey.
I will greatly appreciate your timely reply.
Regards,

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Levent Kara, Ph.D., RA
Associate Professor
School of Architecture and Community Design
College of The Arts
University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler Ave., HMS301
Tampa, FL 33620
p: 813.974.6003
f: 813.974.2557
lkara@usf.edu
http://arch.usf.edu/content/templates/?a=5191&z=368

From: Solis, Gerard
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 3:30 PM
To: Kara, Levent
Subject: RE: Faculty needs advice
Dr. Levent,
I can’t advise you on a nonUSF
matter. Speaking prudentially only, governing boards are usually required to
have and to follow operating procedures, which often include a parliamentary process for taking actions (i.e.
making and voting on motions). Perhaps your CDD Board has different operating procedures/requirements or it
could be the minutes from the meeting are unclear as to what was approved in the motion. You may want to
review your CDD Board’s operating procedures and the minutes from the meeting.
Sincerely,
Gerard
Gerard D. Solis
General Counsel
University of South Florida
Office of the General Counsel
4202 E. Fowler Ave., CGS 351
Tampa, 33620
Tel: (813) 9741680
Fax: (813) 9745236
gsolis@usf.edu