Verandah View
Another Seabreeze Publication VOL. 9 NO. 1
www.seabreezecommunications.com
JANUARY 2024
Letter From The Board President Happy New Year! By Ian A. Shaffer, President, Verandah Community Association It is great seeing our seasonal residents return. We look forward to an active season here in Verandah. Our new Board of Directors was seated at our annual meeting in October. I am honored to be serving
the community as president. Our other Board members include Neal Rose as vice president, John Sample as treasurer, David Keely as secretary, and Mary Basile and Wally Watson as directors. The Board is currently one member short of our seven members. We are excited that several people have expressed an interest in that position, and the Board will look to fill that spot this month. The committees established after turnover are all still active and continue their hard work. Those committees include Design Review, Landscape, Property & Infrastructure, Communication, Traffic and Safety, Finance, and Special Projects. Special Projects will continue to work on the new cable contract and provide
oversight of the fiber-optic installation later this year. Each committee has a member of our Board as liaison to ensure the close connection between the Board and our community committees. If you have an interest in a committee, please contact General Manager Lynne Pietrzyk to learn more about the work they do. Board meetings will be held every other month on the fourth Tuesday at 2 p.m., beginning Jan. 23. We encourage members to participate to stay informed of what’s happening in the community and to share your concerns and what’s important to you. There is always an option to join via Zoom if you are unable to attend in person. I look forward to seeing you as we share all that Verandah has to offer.
Exactly What Are The Verandah CDDs? A Community Development District (CDD) is a governmental unit created to serve the long-term specific needs of our community. Created pursuant to Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes, CDDs’ main powers are to plan, finance, construct, operate and maintain community-wide infrastructure and services specifically for the benefit of our Verandah residents. Verandah CDDs are designed to provide infrastructure systems, services and facilities (roadway, utilities, storm water management, irrigation, and wetland mitigation), conservation and landscaping along with certain ongoing operations and maintenance to the Verandah Community. In Verandah there are two districts. The Verandah East CDD comprises approximately 652.6 contiguous acres, and is located in the eastern half of Verandah, bounded by State Road 80 to the north, Buckingham Road to the east, and the Orange River to the south. The Verandah West CDD comprises approximately 777.9 acres and is located south of State Road 80 and west of Buckingham Road. The dividing line between the two Districts is the walking trail behind Lakeview Isles, with a jog going east on Verandah Boulevard, then the walking trail behind Brantley Oaks.
How Does the CDD Benefit Me? Verandah’s land contains natural flow-ways and wetlands that are home to many species of Florida wildlife and birds. These natural areas along with an extensive system of interconnected lakes form the backbone of Verandah’s water management system. These important features are professionally managed by the Verandah’s CDDs to ensure their functionality and pleasing aesthetics in perpetuity for the benefit of those who live in Verandah. How do CDDs Work? Verandah’s CDDs are independent local governments whose business must be conducted by law “in the sunshine” to provide residents with higher levels of transparency and services than a county or municipality might normally provide. Each Verandah CDD has a five-member Board of Supervisors. The supervisors are elected to a four-year term in the public general election. The election is conducted by the Lee County Elections Office, the same as for county officials, Congress and others on the first Tuesday in November. It is listed as an Independent Special District, scroll down to Verandah. CDD Board meetings are held quarterly and are open to the public. The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 10, at 11390 Palm Beach Blvd., First Floor, Fort Myers, Florida. How is the CDD Funded? The infrastructure costs of the CDDs are financed through the issuance of low interest 20- or 30-year special assessment revenue bonds. The debt from these bonds makes up most of the annual assessment from the district. Assessments are collected as part of each homeowner’s Lee County’s property tax bill each year. Revenues are managed and services are contracted, paid for, and professionally managed by
2024 Assessments Assessments were due Jan. 1. If you do not use ACH, it is important to check your account to ensure your payment was delivered on or before Jan. 1, and your account is at a zero balance. If you are using bill pay through your bank, make sure you change the amount of your payment so that you do not have a balance on your account.
Need Help? If you have questions regarding your account or need help with setting up ACH you can stop by the VCA office on Jan. 18 and 25 between 2 and 4 p.m., and we will have staff and volunteers to assist you.
Verandah’s CDDs through a contract with a professional management firm, Wrathell, Hunt and Associates, LLC. CDD Contact: Cleo Crismond, operations manager, (239) 498-9020, https://www.verandahcdds.net/index.php
Verandah Art Gala The Verandah Club is hosting an Art Gala on Jan. 15, featuring the work of a group of artistic Verandah residents. “We are very excited about this event,” said Kaitlin Felch, Director of Events and Hospitality. “We are hoping we get a good turnout and can make this an annual event.” The Art Gala will include a variety of media: painting, sculpture, mixed-media, and photography. Many of the artists will have work for sale. Participating artists include Alice Borowsky, Rich Dobuski, Beverly Drucker, Anne Harrison, Joe Kobinsky, Sandi McCabe, Mary McCarthy, Charlotte Mertz, Anita O’Reilly, Jim Ringstrom and Diane Young. Many of the artists have donated artwork for a raffle. Proceeds from the raffle will go to support the Verandah Sew & Sews. Stop by, grab a drink and treat your eyes to the creations of your friends and neighbors. The Art Gala will be held on Jan. 15 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Riverhouse. A cash bar will be available.