Minutes of Meeting
Armstrong Community Development District

The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Armstrong Community Development District was held Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. at the Plantation Oaks Amenity Center, 845 Oakleaf Plantation Parkway, Orange Park, Florida.

Present and constituting a quorum were:

Kendrick Taylor	Supervisor
Christine Bowen	Supervisor
Jorge Vergara Molero	Supervisor
Cameron Brown	Supervisor Also present were:
Marilee Giles	District Manager
Katie Buchanan	District Counsel by telephone
Ryan Wilson	GMS
Jay Soriano	GMS, Operations
Chief Suber	ViewPoint Security
Marco Norman	S3 Security Several Residents

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS	Roll Call
Ms. Giles called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. and called the roll.

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS	Public Comments
Ms. Williams asked what are you going to do about the cost share on the signage for the amenity center? There are missing street signs. I know we are updating the key fobs; I would like to know where we are in deactivating the key fobs and register everyone who lives here. There are problems with the lawncare service; they do not cut certain areas on Amberly and Royal Pine. There is algae on the ponds that needs to be addressed. Change the pool rules because kids are unaccompanied in the pool. It says 12 and below cannot manage themselves.
Mr. Vergara Molero stated GMS has officially taken over the operations side, the faces you see have changed. We started a conversation regarding the amenity center rules and you will see

some changes today. I appreciate residents bringing up issues so we can address it with the vendor. Street signs falls under the county.
Mr. Soriano stated you have a lot of decorative poles and the county won’t come out and put them on the decorative poles; they will bring them and drop them off to us and we would have to install them. A lot of neighborhoods are getting rid of the decorative poles and just using the county’s galvanized poles. Residents can contact the county directly and get a quicker response than we would.
Mr. Taylor stated issues like this should be sent to Marilee or Jay so they can get it fixed, you don’t have to wait for a meeting to report issues.
Ms. Carter stated there are three or four trees missing due to accidents that have not been replaced. There is a chunk of fence missing on Royal Pines; my husband reported these things and nothing was done. The sidewalk between Royal Pines and Amberly puddles.
Mr. Vergara Molero stated it was initially Greenpointe/HOA and that is when everything went cold. I got a copy of that and we started discussing changing the trees, but we were approaching the end of the budget. I will discuss that with Jay, Marilee and Ryan and they can follow-up on that. When there are accidents and CDD property is damaged, do we make any claims to the insurance?
Mr. Soriano stated it is not our insurance; it would be the car insurance and the driver that will pay us back. If it is a hit and run, we may not know who did the damage.
Ms. Reid stated the traffic going down Royal Pines Road is too fast. I would like us to explore a slower speed limit. I see kids dodging traffic trying to go to the amenity center; maybe you can get signage for that area. I’m frustrated with all the parking on the streets and sometimes I can’t get into my driveway. We need to stop the overnight parking on the streets.
Mr. Soriano stated these are county roads; talk to your county commissioner. There is a program through the county that will help with on street parking and that is usually done through the HOA.
Ms. Giles stated it is very effective when a resident emails their county commissioner.
Mr. Henley stated Alexandra Compere is the county commissioner for Oakleaf. Can someone address the ponds? There seems to be a water break on Amberly and water sits on that sidewalk all the time and it needs to be addressed. They stopped the paving on Amberly and it needs to be completed. Who is responsible for the hedges along Royal Pines? Are the pocket

parks along Amberly going to remain green space or will it be further developed into a dog park or something? People don’t clean up after their dogs by the mailboxes. We need additional parking for guests.
Chief Suber stated I am the owner of Viewpoint Security. My comments relate to your shade session when you are considering your security services. We have been a security provider here since 2012 and during this time our officers were befriended by a particular resident. Around April this particular resident approached one of our officers showed our contract and asked the officer how much they were making versus how much we were paid. He encouraged the officer to start his own company and how easy it was to start his own company and recommended that he pick up his own LLC. The officer refused the conversation and left and I’m nervous because this is unnerving to my family and our company. When this particular resident saw the officer again he asked him, did you get that LLC because we are going to take that contract. This was in April, prior to major issues, which caused the board to vote to get us out of there. Immediately after that conversation the officers wife who was one of the primary officers resigned after three years, because she was under the impression that she was losing her job. That immediately caused a deficiency of our service because we had to scramble and place someone on property as soon as possible.	This particular person couldn’t handle it and that is when our services began to deteriorate. Before you have your shade session, I wanted to give the board this information and ask you to reconsider. Will you reconsider, work with our company for us to remedy to any issues?
Ms. Giles stated the RFP is out, other companies have submitted proposals and that is on the agenda for today. I don’t want the supervisors to answer until district counsel clarifies if that is even a consideration.
Ms. Buchanan stated this is an informal procurement and I think the board does have flexibility. From a practical standpoint it may be a mark on our record.
Mr. Petry stated I agree with a lot of what’s going on here today as far as the dogs leaving their mess around the mailboxes. The only reason they are there is because all the shrubbery has deteriorated to the point where we are losing it and no one is taking care of it. I pick up my mail and a lot of times I can’t park in the spot because there is a pile of dirt that has been there over a week and now it is spread into two spots and there is only three available. Someone is parking on one of the spots and going running or in the center. I would like to designate that area for the mailboxes to a five-minute limit. People have their dogs off leash running and defecating in other

people’s yards. Nothing is going to happen on Royal Pines because it is a county road, until a deaf or blind child moves in on that road or a golf cart with kids hanging off it gets into an accident.
A resident stated some streets are being repaved and I see tracks leading to Royal Pines and people complain about tracks being on their driveway. Is there a remedy for that such as calling a company to clean the streets? It is tar.
Mr. Soriano stated that is one of the last things your developer has to do. Generally, they do something about that once everything is done, but it looks like they are only halfway through.
Mr. Taylor stated we can reach out to Liam or Greenpointe to see if they will restore it. A resident stated adding doggie stations would help. There is only one by the condos.
Ms. Burke stated is there a cleaning schedule for the exercise room? I don’t know that it has been cleaned in some time. The landscapers blow the trash into the ponds. I guess you are going to address the concerns we have with the facility with people jumping the fence.
Mr. Soriano stated you have someone onsite all the time now and that cleaning will be

done.

Ms. Adams asked do we have security patrols in the neighborhood? Mr. Taylor stated it is only the amenity area.
Ms. Adams asked is it possible to have a security patrol in our community? Mr. Vergara Molero stated that would be through the HOA.
A resident stated I sent an email to Marilee and Jay and others about the condition of the

pond and nothing has been done. It is unacceptable.
A resident stated someone has been turning off the lights at night at the gym, etc. They have been off since June.
Mr. Soriano stated at the amenity center on the front side Royal Pines there are amenity lights and streetlights. The streetlights are out, but the amenity lights are separate. They are on another circuit and we have a report on that later in the meeting.
Mr. Lopez stated there is a section of Mandalay with a broken sidewalk next to a sewer cover/manhole. In lieu of a security guard if we could hire a second attendant that would be great. What is the county fining us on with regard to pool chairs. The grass and foliage area behind the amenity center is torn up and aged caused by golf carts and bikes. The grass area next to the amenity center has holes, maybe overseed it. There are amenity rules and because for the last four years they were ignored, people aren’t used to them. We want to have a smooth transition for the

new management company. Maybe you can change some of the rules such as food and beverages in the pool area. Communication from the management company is needed. There is a dirt pile at the amenity center from when they did the paving. I was the person who gave the security guard that information from a public website that has a public information and that gentleman was slacking prior to me giving that information.
Ms. Giles stated if you see something that needs attention, please email that information to Jay or Ryan.

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS	Consideration of Resolution 2023-07 Election
of Officers
This item tabled.

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Approval of the Minutes of the June 8, 2023
Meeting

On MOTION by Mr. Taylor seconded by Mr. Vergara Molero with all in favor the minutes of the June 8, 2023 meeting were approved as presented.

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Public Hearing to Adopt Revised Suspension
and Termination of Access Rule, Resolution 2023-10
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Public Hearing to Adopt Towing and Parking
Policy and Rules, Resolution 2023-11
Ms. Buchanan stated I will start with the towing and parking policy first. The resolution puts into place the policy that restricts overnight parking in the district’s amenity center parking lot and the common area adjacent to it. It makes it a tow away zone but there are exceptions to the rule. Essentially, if someone requests an exception, we can give them an overnight parking permit. If someone has an out of town guest that is going to stay a weekend they can reach out to the district manager or the amenity manager and they will facilitate the issuance of a permit so that someone could utilize the amenity center parking lot. The goal is to ensure that someone is not using it for boat parking, commercial parking, broke down car parking, the kind of parking that isn’t productive and takes up space. The district will enter into an agreement with a towing company, this is not going to be a roving tow service; it will be an on-call service. We would only have that situation if someone from the district reached out to the tow company and asked them to

come. Exhibit A and B have the tow away zones that include the parking lot and the adjacent field. I don’t think you have a problem with parking in the field but because it is so close, I wanted to clarify that it is not a parking facility.
The suspension and termination rules essentially identify the reasons for which a resident or a guest can be asked to either leave the facility immediately, suspended for a short term, suspension for a longer term with board review or have their privileges terminated. The policy in the agenda package does include various violations, essentially not complying with the district’s rules, allowing other people to use their access card, failing to pay the district money it is owed, treating staff disrespectfully, damaging or destroying district property, or conduct that is likely to endanger the health, safety or welfare of anyone using the facility or committing a crime. The district manager and amenity manager can remove residents or visitors from the location immediately. They can also issue a short-term suspension that won’t be longer than the next board meeting and at that time the board can decide whether that short term suspension is sufficient or whether the board wants to extend it. Any time a decision like that comes before the board the resident will have notification of the violation and the public hearing date and they will have an opportunity to submit information and commentary and evidence to the board so that both sides of the story is heard then the board makes the decision.
If a person is suspended or terminated and they continue to access the district’s property at that point the policy does authorize district staff to reach out to law enforcement for a trespass citation.

On MOTION by Mr. Taylor seconded by Mr. Vergara Molero with all in favor the public hearing to adopt revised suspension and termination of access rules and the public hearing to adopt towing and parking policy and rules was opened.

Ms. Williams asked will there be signage put up to alert residents about the towing? Mr. Vergara Molero responded yes.
A resident stated she said that the district manager would call the tow company. Could a resident call the tow company?
Ms. Giles responded no, they can call a staff member whether it is Jay, Ryan or me. There are phone numbers and email addresses listed on the website.

Ms. Buchanan stated this is really designed to avoid the habitual offenders.

On MOTION by Mr. Taylor seconded by Mr. Vergara Molero with all in favor the public hearings were closed.

There being no further discussion the board took the following actions.

On MOTION by Mr. Vergara Molero seconded by Ms. Bowen with all in favor Resolution 2023-10 was approved.

On MOTION by Mr. Vergara Molero seconded by Ms. Bowen with all in favor Resolution 2023-11 was approved.

Mr. Vergara Molero stated make sure they get posted to the website and send out an eblast.

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Ratification of Audit Engagement Letter for
Fiscal Year 2023

On MOTION by Mr. Vergara Molero seconded by Ms. Bowen with all in favor the engagement letter with Berger Toombs to perform the fiscal Year 2023 audit was ratified.

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Public Hearing to Adopt the Budget for Fiscal
Year 2024
Ms. Giles stated I think it is appropriate to combine items A and B. We will consider both the annual appropriations, adopt the budget and impose the special assessments and certify an assessment roll. You have seen the budget on the agenda for about four months, the budget has three funds, the general fund which is the operating funds for the district, the debt service funds for the principal and interest payments for the 2017 and 2019 bonds and the capital reserve fund. The proposal today is an increase for the homeowners of $292 or $24 per month. One of the supervisors asked me for a sheet that showed the changes and I included the increases and decrease to give you the whole picture and that is in front of you.

On MOTION by Ms. Bowen seconded by Mr. Taylor with all in favor the public hearings were opened.

Ms. Carter asked why so much and is this going to happen every year?
Ms. Giles stated I did research the last five years. In 2020 the assessments were just over
$700 and it was subsidized with developer contributions. In 2021 it was $850 with developer contributions. The big hit was in 2022 it went up to $1,100 with no more developer contributions. Up until that point the developer was making contributions to help with the assessments. Last year there was no increase in the budget. You will see the columns in the budget that show what the line item was in 2023, where we are actually on that particular line item and the proposed budget for 2024. There are some big driving factors for this budget that caused that increase. The biggest one is the insurance rate in Florida has almost tripled everywhere and switching onsite managers, the assistant facility manager that the residents requested. The capital reserve study is new to this district and is an independent contractor that comes out and reviews all the assets of the district and projects the lifespan of those assets and prepares a schedule to set aside money to repair or replace them.
Ms. Carter asked next year it could be the same or it could be more.
Mr. Taylor stated we are hoping to keep it flat. We can’t guarantee any increase or decrease. The two biggest items that caused this budget to go up are the new amenity management company, which was previously paid by the HOA and is now being paid by the CDD and the capital reserves; we had no capital reserves in the past. Of the $150,000 increase those two items are about $129,000.
Ms. Williams asked is there any money in this budget for a sign outside the community center or somewhere that notifies residents of meetings and events.
Mr. Vergara Molera stated I think we received from Evergreen a couple proposals for that, it went from $2,000 to $5,000 and at the time we didn’t have the money. We need to go through the situation we have.
Ms. Williams stated this has been a discussion and been tabled for quite some time. I want to know exactly how you are going to address this.
Mr. Vergara Molero stated we have heard the concerns from the community and now we have a CDD communications channel through email.

Ms. Bowen stated I think she is looking for a specific line item. It could come out of the operating reserve if there is anything left over. I thought there was a separate line we could move it from.
Ms. Williams stated I have found a suitable sign and it is $1,500.
Ms. Giles stated we can bring proposals back to the board. In between tabling it a few months ago when we got the quote from Evergreen, Christine and I were working with some local communities and these much larger communities were all getting rid of those signs because they sit in inconvenient places. Christine and I reached out to two local communities that were disposing of their signs and they were not worth repurposing. If you like we can have Jay and Ryan bring back proposals again and get the one that Ms. Williams has. When Jay brings back the proposals something to think about is the right place to put the sign.
Mr. Larson asked is there a cap on the annual increase because this is a 26% increase? Ms. Buchanan stated the answer is no, there is no cap.
Ms. Larson asked can we go over what is included in the special assessments?
Ms. Giles stated that resolution allows the county to place those assessments on the tax
roll.
Ms. Buchanan stated that is what it does. Also, the board considers its budget every year
and every year it levies O&M assessments to support its annual budget. This resolution says levy the annual O&M and it also authorizes the district to place it on the tax roll. The assessment amount has no cap on an annual increase, the district can’t increase the assessments without providing prior notice to the residents. Just like what you got in the mail so you will always know to come and provide your opinion before the board takes action.
Mr. Larson stated it doesn’t really matter what we say if the board wants to increase it they will increase it. That’s why I asked if there was a cap.
A resident asked does this money take care of the pools?
Mr. Soriano stated it is everything the CDD owns and operates, all aspects of that. A resident asked any refunds received from vendors, is that on there as well?
Ms. Bowen stated the developer refunded for the landscaping issues and sod. Mr. Vergara Molero stated that was put back into the operating account.
A resident stated the security refund as well.
Ms. Giles stated they adjusted an invoice to cover that.

A resident stated we were under warranty at the time we had the pool situation, which is why it took longer.
A resident stated this development took so long to build is why we are going through this type of stuff, because when they first opened it up they didn’t have enough money. The builders had the money and once they finished this, which took three years then they pulled their money out so we have no reserves. It is possible your fees are going to go up in the CDD and HOA, that is just the way it is in every state so that is not an issue. Maybe when we get the surplus money and get these things fixed maybe this community will stabilize. Coming here griping about money is not the way to do it. If you buy a new car you have to pay more than you did for the old car. It is just the way it is. You choose to live here or you don’t. This place is going to settle down and it is going to get better with this type of information. She is right, that board needs to be up there, you get more people involved and people who know coming up there. The one in Two Creeks is fine so it does work. The sign needs to be up so people know we have meeting and they can have their input so no one will come here angry about stuff because they don’t know. I have been here three years and information is just not known about these CDD meetings and HOA meetings. We started from scratch with Armstrong and we have to be patient and see if it works for us. The board members live here too so they are in the same boat as we are.
Ms. Giles stated you are right we all serve at the pleasure of the board and four of the board members are residents, there is one member that is still with the developer and he committed to stay until the November timeframe.
Ms. Cooney stated I lived in a community before where we put little plastic signs out a couple weeks prior to meetings. You could put them at various intersections so the residents did see it then staff could pick them up and store them for next time.
A resident asked can you explain what the community development district is? Is it Greyhawk, Eagle Landing, the golf course?
Ms. Giles stated your fees are only for your community.

On MOTION by Ms. Bowen seconded by Mr. Taylor with all in favor the public hearing was closed.

Ms. Giles asked based on the comments and input received is there any guidance from the board to the staff as it pertains to the FY24 budget or at this time does the board want to discuss any of the line items?
Mr. Vergara Molero stated I know you and Jay were working on trying to find money on the pool attendant situation.
Ms. Giles stated we found it, under amenity center facility attendant portion. Mr. Soriano stated right now we don’t have that attendant.
Ms. Bowen stated we won’t see the operating reserve number adjusted until October when the fiscal year ends.
Ms. Giles stated correct. On page one of the budget she is projecting $8,000 in carry forward surplus.
Mr. Vergara Molero asked where are we with the security?
Mr. Taylor stated I think we used the Viewpoint proposal as our basis for the upcoming
budget.
Ms. Bowen stated we talked about not having as much on the access cards.  Was that
adjusted?
Ms. Giles stated in 2023 we only have $2,500 set aside but you can see the actuals through June, we have already spent $4,600. Is this a line you want to discuss lowering?
Mr. Taylor stated I think we should keep it for the time being and we can reevaluate it during the next budget.
Ms. Giles stated keep in mind any line item you don’t use, the money stays with the district. Ms. Bowen stated if we go through the 100 we already have and we have to tap into this amount that would be reimbursed through the homeowner purchasing it if they are getting
additional ones. We are not handing out any more cards, that was done through the developer.
Mr. Soriano stated you are changing hands and your policy is to get their new ones free.
You only replace when people give them back.
Ms. Bowen stated it is a cushion and if we don’t use it, it can go towards something else.
In the future it can be significantly reduced.
Mr. Vergara Molero stated in 2023 so far we are about $1,000 over on gym equipment
repair.
Ms. Giles stated I think Alex explained that was the water rower situation.

Mr. Soriano stated you are already over this year on the refuse and that is the dumpster for the amenity center. We can bring that down by getting a smaller dumpster but we will have to discuss the size. As far as I can tell it stays the same in the off season whereas other districts have fewer pickups in the off season. Most districts your size we have 2 yard dumpsters and they work great. I don’t recommend that now because people will throw stuff over the gates and we will pay extra to have that picked up and taken out. Until we get that under control I wouldn’t go that route.
Ms. Giles stated that will be a community eblast and let residents know that they are not to throw their trash over the fence, that is for the amenity center only.

Consideration of Resolution 2023-12 Relating to the Annual Appropriations and Adopting the Budget for Fiscal Year 2024

On MOTION by Ms. Bowen seconded by Mr. Taylor with all in favor Resolution 2023-12 was approved.

Consideration of Resolution 2023-13 Imposing Special Assessments and Certifying an Assessment Roll for Fiscal Year 2024

On MOTION by Ms. Bowen seconded by Mr. Vergara Molero with all in favor Resolution 2023-13 was approved.

NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Acceptance of Draft Audit Report for Fiscal
Year 2022
Ms. Giles stated under the paragraph that says opinions, it states in our opinion the accompanying financial statements present fairly in all material respects the respective financial position of the governmental activities in each major fund of Armstrong CDD as of September 30, 2022. They did not identify any deficiencies in internal control considered to be a material weakness. In the management letter there were no prior year or current year findings or recommendations. It is a clean audit.

On MOTION by Mr. Taylor seconded by Ms. Bowen with all in favor the fiscal year 2022 audit was accepted.

TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Staff Reports

District Counsel
There being none, the next item followed.

District Engineer
Ms. Giles stated during public comments I took notes and we will get with the district engineer on those.

District Manager – Discussion of Fiscal Year 2024 Meeting Schedule
Ms. Giles stated a couple months ago you had asked to have at least two night meetings, to approve the budget and to adopt the budget. Staying with our current cycle that would be your May 9th and July 11th meetings.

On MOTION by Mr. Vergara Molero seconded by Ms. Bowen with all in favor the fiscal year 2024 meeting schedule reflecting meetings on the second Thursday of the month was approved.

Facility Manager
Report
Mr. Soriano stated the report I distributed is a short version of what you normally have. We have only been here two weeks so some of the data we would normally collect every month to report to you we were unable to get. Ryan is learning the access system and he is getting everyone to come in to get the information he needed to connect those key fobs.
We did get the original database from Evergreen; the problem is there are about 700 names on it and some of these people no longer live in the neighborhood. Ryan is going through that and you will actually see on the reports every month assigning new ones or deleting old ones. There are a lot of people enjoying the pool, but it is hard to tell if they are residents.
How long do you want to go through the process of requesting owners to come to the amenity to verify their key fob before we go to the next step of being more strict?
It was the consensus of the board to give residents 30-days from the date he sends the email to confirm their key card access before the fobs are turned off. Once the email database is completed it is public information.
Mr. Vergara Molero stated the key fob systems seems to be outdated. Is that accurate?

Mr. Soriano responded yes. There are different systems available and it is just time, money and work. We are looking to see what we can do to improve it. It is sort of like the security system and we are looking at all those things and we will bring back the things that we think don’t work well that you can consider in the next budget.
Mr. Soriano reviewed the open items being: furniture in the pool, which is a health code violation and damaging to the marcite, no food or alcohol in the pool, guests and gate usage and ages, condition of ponds, vendor check-in, culvert cleanout, co-ownership of one pond, one house situated on South Village pond, timer issues on fans in fitness center, timer for amenity center lights needs to be replaced, residents to report streetlight outages.

Monthly Quality Inspection Report

ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Supervisor’s	Requests	and	Audience
Comments
Additional Supervisor comments: update on WI-FI log-in, hook into Clay County for security cameras, follow-up with Alex or John on incident last month, irrigation timers, location of valves, areas of responsibilities for each board member.
Addition audience comments: Security questions, tie in security cameras with Clay County, number of proposals for security services, new law on golf cart operation, will builders flush out backyard drains, last lift of asphalt delayed by rain, HOA approval on events should have insurance, access to security cameras, phone in office inoperable, security personnel should not be in the office or in their cars, flow of stormwater system.

TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Financial Reports

Financial Statements as of June 30, 2023
A copy of the financials was included in the agenda package.

Check Register

On MOTION by Mr. Taylor seconded by Ms. Bowen with all in favor the check register was approved.

THIRTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Shade Session: Consideration of Proposals for
Security Services
The board went into a shade session to discuss proposals to provide security services after which they reopened the meeting to the public then took the following action:

On MOTION by Mr. Taylor seconded by Ms. Bowen with all in favor staff was directed to send a 30-day termination notice to Viewpoint Security.

On MOTION by Mr. Taylor seconded by Ms. Bowen staff was authorized to enter into an agreement with S3 Security for security services and Supervisor Taylor was authorized to work with staff on the details of the services.

FOURTEENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Next Scheduled Meeting – August 10, 2023 at
3:30 p.m. at the Plantation Oaks Amenity Center
Ms. Giles stated the next meeting will be held August 10, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. in the same location.

On MOTION by Ms. Bowen seconded by Mr. Vergara Molero with all in favor the meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

Secretary/Assistant Secretary	Assistant Secretary