Some of the seawalls at MiraBay in Apollo Beach need to be replaced because the vinyl is twisting so badly that pieces are falling out, and the caps that hold the top rails together are turning until they break. Engineers say that other seawalls in that community only need the riprap (rocks shown here) to shore them up as they are not in danger at this time. The CDD board thinks that all the seawalls need rebuilt, which would tax the residents with high CDD fees. This should be a subject of much discussion at the meeting in the Mirabay Clubhouse on Friday, June 24, at 6 p.m. Penny Fletcher photos.
June 9, 2016 — You don’t have to be a clairvoyant to know that if you don’t have a seawall, you don’t want to pay for one.
However, there are many MiraBay residents, like Steve Lockom, who do not have seawalls but say they would be glad to help pay for the seawalls on MiraBay properties that are damaged to keep their community safe and pristine. They know fixing what’s broken will help everyone’s property values in the long run.
But they want it done the right way, and they don’t believe their CDD (Community Development District) board is doing it properly. Worse yet, they can’t seem to get any answers as to why.
Seawalls that were built as part of the original community began to break down several years ago, and the builders, contractors and subcontractors who constructed it were sued. Approximately $8.3 million was received from that suit but the seawalls were not fixed.
Instead, CDD board members chose to have studies done to find better ways to fix them than the riprap (a certain type of rock) engineers said should be shored up against the vinyl that was breaking.
The five-member board did not follow the engineers’ advice.
Only Joe McNeil, Harbor Bay CDD Supervisor, has been bucking the other board members to try and get it done the way engineers say is the best.
Between 2013 and 2015 the board has been doing studies to find different ways to fix the breakage, even though the problem had been going on since 2006. In fact, the vinyl had twisted and, in some places, been pushed down so far that the “caps” that join the pieces of vinyl on top were twisted almost completely around.
In September 2015, a pool on Skimmer Drive began to fall into the bay, which caused the CDD to call an “emergency meeting” to take action.
But what action? It was still undecided.
There are three areas of MiraBay seawalls; those currently damaged; those that could become damaged in the future; and land that does not require seawalls due to other types of shoreline, like decorative rock (which must be bought by the homeowner). Then, of course, there are many homes that are landlocked — not on the water on any side.
Newland Communities, the original developer, has since acquired Terrabrook LLC, and still owns a large parcel of undeveloped land.
This gives Newland a stake in the “fix” just like the homeowners. Besides Newland and homeowners, the third group to be affected are the businesses in MiraBay Village, the plaza which houses Winn-Dixie Supermarket, the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce and many small businesses.
The CDD board has a plan that will raise the CDD fees by a large percentage, raising the CDD fees for new homes built by Newland from $5,000 up to $6,000 more; existing home CDD fees raised considerably, from $390 to $1,544; and amounts between $4,600 to $17,500 added to mortgages.
Lockom, who was a financial controller for UPS and worked with surveys and figures before moving to MiraBay, conducted a survey at the request of many involved.
The choices were: Option A, a new seawall for all; or Option B, a new seawall where required and riprap where effective.
Based on the registered voters, the results were 108 to 4 in favor of Option B: new where required and riprap around the rest of the seawalls.
People who have their main residence up North (or elsewhere than MiraBay) were not eligible to vote, and neither were renters. Some who just moved in and were not registered did not get to vote, but were asked; that count was 23 to 1, bringing the total for “new seawalls only where needed and riprap in all other places” to 131 to 5.
“It is very clear the board is not listening to the people,” Lockom said in an interview June 2.
Thomas Peterson whole-heartedly agrees.
“The chairman of the board [Bob Collins] promised his fellow Mariner Club members a new wall, which looks as though it will cost $16 million,” Peterson said in a telephone interview June 3. “Up to $22 million in bonds would be authorized to cover it, if we can sell them, which is questionable. The settlement we got of $8.3 million (the developer and the CDD members’ figures differ between $8.7 and $8.3 million) doesn’t account for $6 mil spent on legal fees.”
“The litigating attorney and two engineering firms told our board that the $8.3 million should be used immediately for riprap reinforcement of all walls,” Peterson continued. “The delay has caused significantly more deterioration. Newland has stepped in to see that the undeveloped lots they own receive a viable fix like the one planned for Section 1 (that is where seawalls are already breaking and need immediate repair). It’s a mess that could result in legal actions from several different aspects, including failure to disclose by the sellers during this delay.”
Meanwhile, McNeil continues to vote against both replacing all the seawalls and also the method in which residents will be charged if the seawalls are replaced.
After The Observer News printed the first story on this subject May 26, “Failing Seawalls at MiraBay cause division among residents,” which is online at www.observernews.net, many residents wrote to voice their dissatisfaction.
“There was a public meeting where 37 people spoke,” said resident M. Ring. “Only one resident said that the board should continue on its current course of action and approve the resolution as written. This would mean that $19.6 million in bonds would have to be sold.”
One resident has resigned his position on an advisory committee over what letters to this reporter have described as “bullying” by board officials, although many asked that their names not be used.
A resignation letter from retired Maj. Gen. Michael Jones from its Environmental Advisory Committee to the CDD Board, dated Aug. 7, 2015, puts some of the residents’ complaints in perspective. In the three-page resignation letter, mismanagement of the organization is mentioned several times.
Jones wrote: “Although the EAC was supposed to be an advisory committee, its management has since created documents that give the EAC ‘decision-making’ powers.”
It also does not meet proper quorum practices, the letter said.
“In my many years of making decisions on complex problems in government and business, I am appalled at the analytical process supervised by the District Management regarding the seawall project,” Jones typed.
All five CDD Board members were emailed and asked to tell their side of this story, as were Jere Earlywine, CDD attorney, and Matt Huber, CDD manager. They were specifically told, “Your side of this story is being solicited so it will not look one-sided. I would like to hear why you have chosen to continue to stick to a position which the residents you are supposed to represent do not approve.”
Only McNeil answered and explained that he is trying to follow the instructions the first engineers gave.
“To say that the Board is not listening to the people,” he wrote in an email, “is to paint us all with the same brush. I do not agree with the rest of the board, and continue to vote against its proposals.”
No other answers were received although this story was held an extra day from deadline.
The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. in the MiraBay Clubhouse on Friday, June 24.
Perhaps the residents will get some of their answers then.
