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Home My WebLink About2000 12 11 Informational A Wicklow Greens Detention Pond COMMIS,SION AGENDA ITEM A CONSENT, INFORMATIONAL X PUBLIC HEARING REGULAR December 11, 2000 Meeting MG~ IDEPT ;flY' Authorization REQUEST: Public Works Department Forwarding to the City Commission information about the complaints regarding the Wicklow Greens detention ,pond. PURPOSE: The .purpose of this Board item is to .provide the City Commission with a copy of the response to the Wicklow Homeowners Association presidents' November 6,2000 letter rtlgarding the Wicklow GreensIWicklow stormwater pond. _CONSIDERATIONS: A letter was received from Ron Kandzer, President of the Wicklow Homeowners Association, with complaints about the common detention pond for the Wicklow Greens and Wicklow subdivisions. In addition, several Wicklow residents voiced similar concerns during public input at the November 13,2000 City Commission meeting. On November 21,2000, a meeting was held at the pond with Ron Kandzer, Barb Buffington and Tom Lenzini of Wicklow, Buck Adkins representing the developer, City Manager, Stormwater Manager, and Public Works Director. Corrections had been made and Mr. Adkins agreed to some additional work that has been completed. There were no unresolved issues at the conclusion of the meeting. Attached is letter to Mr. Kandzer, which responds specifically to the bulleted items in his November 6th letter. The City Engineer has previously addressed many of these same items with cOITeSPQDd.enc.e to t.be.pastpx.esidellt. .The ~ha))ges to .tb.efmal.eDgine.e.ring.pJ3:IlS_hav.e been repeatedly alluded to. The deletion of one of the retaining walls was requested by the developers' engineer the to improv.e the .aesthetics ,and lower ,construction the .costs. It .als.o improved the maintainability of the area, in my opinion, because it would have been difficult to .get mowing .equipment from .one tier to the other. The slopes from the .pond to the Information Agenda A December 11, 2000 Page 2 maintenance berm is shown as 4: 1, which meets code. The steeper slopes from the maintenance .berm to the prop.erty .lines vary from 2: 1 to .5: 1. These .slopesshould pose no problems ifthey are properly maintained. The City Engineer deemed this change minor. Minor .changes are typically approv.edat the stafflev.el.and .not resubmitted for City Commission approvaL The remaining .complaints focused on maintenance issues that have been .addressed. Our code currently does not provide a mechanism for enforcement of nuisance type .maintenance .problems. We .anticipate .bringing,a.proposed .ordinanc.e for. pond .maintenance to the City Commission for consideration within the next 90 days. The s.t. Johns River Water Management District has also .responded to complaints .by providing a letter to the developer detailing the corrective actions required to meet their permit .conditions. The developer is working with them toaddre$s their ,conc,ems. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Draft response to Ron Kandzer 2. November .6th .letter .from Mr. Kandzer COMMISSION ACTION: None required. A TT ACHMENT NO. wUdffi~u CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA 1126 EAST STATE ROAD 434 WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA 32708-2799 Telephone (407) 327-1800 Fax (407) 327-6695 December 4,2000 Ronald Kandzer, President Wicklow Homeowners Association 1025 Nancy Circle. Winter Springs, FL 32708 RE: WicklowlWicklow Greens Detention Pond Dear Mr. Kandzer: Thank you for taking time to meet with us on November 21 st regarding your concerns about the condition the shared detention pond. We are of the understanding that the detention pond issues between the Wicklow Greens developer and Wicklow HOA are resolved, however, I would like to respond in writing to the bulleted items of your November 6th letter; I. "The pond was not built to the approved specifications." Response - Modifications to the final engineering plans were approved by the City Engineer at the request of the developers engineer. It is common procedure for minor modifications to be requested during construction. In my opinion, the deletion of the second tier enhanced the maintainability of the area around the pond because it would have been very difficult to raise/lower mowing equipment the 18" to 24" drop created by the tiers. 2. '<Pond is too shallow in places." Response - The washed in soil has been removed. Pond depth will vary somewhat depending on rainfall. 3. "Poisonous snakes have found a perfect habitat." Response - Proper maintenance can minimize the presence of undesirable species. Obviously, with the ponds outfall directly connecting to Howell Creek, the presence of indigenous snakes will always be possible. Retention ponds tend to also attract small alligators which are not considered a nuisance until t;hey are six foot in length. 4. ''Home values will be affected." Response - Agreed. Proper maintenance can enhance property values. 5. "Developer has refused to correct the problems." Response - Mr. Adkins, as representative for the developer, has been responsive to concerns forwarded to him by the City. We are not aware of any outstanding deficiencies. We hope this addresses the issues raised in your letter. We are working to improve our enforcement capabilities on these matters. Currently, the City code does not address maintenance of retention/detention ponds and we are limited as to what corrective actions can be required particularly in private ponds such as this one. In recall correctly the old "Woodstream" pond, which was replaced by the Wicklow pond, was completely overgrown with no maintenance being performed. Our goal is to have the authority to require HOA's to perform the maintenance necessary for ponds to function as designed and be an asset, not a detriment, to a neighborhood. If you have any questions, please fee free to contact me. Sincerely, Kipton Lockcuff, P.E. Public Works/Utility Director Cc: City Manager I A TT ACHMENT NO. 2 )' ~JJ.JJ NOV 0 7 2000; November 6,2000 To: City Commissioners: Cindy Ginnell, Edward Martinez, Ro~ert Miller, David McLeod, Michael Blake Paul Partyka Ron McLemore Anthony Garganese ':WINTER SPRINGS City Manager Mayor: City Manager: City Attorney: From: Ron Kandzer, President of Wick low Homeowners Association Subject: Correction of Deficiencies to Common Detention Pond The purpose of this letter is to summarize issues that will be brought before the City of Winter Springs that relate to the common detention pond located in the Wicklow / Wicklow Greens subdivisions of Tuscawilla. I am writing this letter as both a concerned Wicklow homeowner and on behalf of the Wicklow HOA as its president. The detention pond, built within the past two years has some problems that must be corrected to protect our home values and the safety of the residents. Here is a quick summation of the issues: · The pond was not built to the approved specifications. The approved plans called for a two-tiered retention wall that would have provided for a more gradual slope. Somehow, the developer got around this requirement and built the single-tier we have today. Attempts to get to the bottom of how this happened have been mired in administrative details but we now have reached a point where a resolution must be found. · Pond is too shallow in places. Partially as a result of the item above, more soil has washed into the narrow ends of the pond and created a marshy condition. This in turn has fostered the overgrowth of algae that is unsightly and odorous. The algae-eating carp placed in the pond to correct this condition are not able to swim to the shallow edges to do their job. This situation must be rectified or it will be impossible to establish a stable ecosystem. · Poisonous snakes have found a perfect habitat. Unfortunately, this current environment is ideal for frogs and their natural predator in the food chain, snakes. Nests of poisonous water moccasins have been uncovered by the mowing crews. On one particular day, they stuTed up no less than 12 water moccasins. Several residents have had them in their yards and garages. Make no mistake, these are aggressive and deadly snakes that can cause fatal injuries, especially to children and pets. · Home values will be affected. Regardless of location to the pond, all home values will be negatively impacted if the pond is not put into an attractive and stable condition. Prospective home buyers will take the pond into consideration as they look for new housing in our neighborhood. · Developer refused to correct the problems. Regardless of what Buck Adkins, the current controlling developer, has said or promised, his actions do not indicate he has any intention to properly correct the deficiencies of our pond. We look forward to the opportunity to appear before you in the weeks ahead as we work towards a simple and straightforward resolution. Regards, ?/-:1:4 Ronald S. Kandzer President, Wicklow Homeowners Association 1025 Nancy Circle Winter Springs, FL 32708 407-977-4361 rsklrsk cc: Bill Grove, Candidate for Commission, District I Paul Leckinger, Candidate for Commission, District 3