Rift between Gran Paradiso and West Villages district in North Port widens over Ian cleanup

NORTH PORT – Tensions between representatives of Gran Paradiso and the West Villages Improvement District led to the treasurer of the Gran Paradiso Property Owners Association being removed from last month's meeting of the West Villages Board of Supervisors after she asked repeatedly for reimbursement of money spent on damage to West Villages property within the subdivision from Hurricane Ian last year.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 11, West Villages officials maintain that proper invoices for the work – including a notarized affidavit signed by Gran Paradiso association president Steve Glunt – had not been submitted.

The government-like board meets again Thursday, Oct. 12.

But underlying tension between homeowners and the mostly developer-appointed board that oversees infrastructure in the area led to the moment Board of Supervisors Chairman John Luczynski called for a 10-minute recess and subsequently had Gran Paradiso treasurer Pam Kantola escorted from the meeting in North Port City Hall Sept. 14.

Gran Paradiso and West Villages district feud in North Port

The special district government and property owners in the large south Sarasota County development are already in court, after the property owners questioned the validity of a costly 100-year irrigation deal struck in 2018 between the West Villages Improvement District and what was still a developer-controlled version of the property owners board just two months prior to residents achieving full control of the association.

Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll, in a verbal ruling, issued a temporary injunction Feb. 9 restraining the West Villages Improvement District from using the irrigation rates outlined in a 2018 agreement with Gran Paradiso residents.

The residents' complaint is amplified by the fact that the district is assessing property owners in “Unit 6” of the district – which was created for construction of the improvement district’s master irrigation system – a fee to cover its legal costs in the court case.

Unit 6 contains every current subdivision except for Island Walk, which has its own irrigation system.

In addition, residents have questioned the method used to replace developer-appointed members to the West Villages board of supervisors with those who would be elected by residents.

Currently Gran Paradiso resident John Meisel is the only elected member of the five-person board.

Antiquated methodology

The West Villages Improvement District was established in 2004 to build and administer utilities and other infrastructure in the 7,800-acre portion of the Thomas Ranch annexed by the city of North Port. The district is authorized to levy fees to pay for improvements, and was expanded in 2006 to include another 3,700 acres of the ranch in unincorporated Sarasota County which is now being developed as Winchester Ranch.

Such districts in Florida are initially controlled by the developer building the subdivision, but as homeowners buy in they eventually gain control.

The West Villages district manager, William Crosley, noted that it follows state law in the transition of the board from a “one-acre, one-vote landowner election to a general election of qualified electors.”

But he said the method is subjective.

Since the founding of the West Villages district, it has been superseded in Chapter 189 of state statutes, the Uniform Special District Accountability Act.

West Villages' consultant Dewberry had one interpretation of the threshold, Sarasota County – which was asked to weigh in – had a second one, and Spikowski Planning Associates, a consultant contacted by Meisel, had a third.

Sarasota County Public Works Director Spencer Anderson offered the county’s opinion early in that Sept. 14 meeting.

Ultimately the board voted 4-1, with Meisel in dissent, to ask state legislators to update the methodology to the current state statutes and clearly define the population level for each seat to become elected.

Meisel, contacted after the meeting, said he opposed the proposed change because it would ultimately allow all residents – including renters – to cast votes for the elected supervisor.

“People that are renting are not the ones burdened by the fiscal decisions made by the board of supervisors.” Meisel said. “It’s the owners that have to live with those financial decisions.”

A lack of communication

Anderson’s appearance – which occurred via Zoom – was moved to the start of the meeting, so it was shortly after that vote to ask the state Legislature to update that formula that public comment opened and Kantola addressed the board of supervisors. She again asked that Gran Paradiso be reimbursed for money spent to remove Hurricane Ian debris from Renaissance and Prestigo boulevards, as well as repair of the guardhouse, which is owned by the West Villages district.

“Your foot dragging in reimbursement of nearly a quarter million dollars contractually owed to us creates difficulties for our community and has now forced Gran Paradiso to turn WVID over to our collections attorney for nonpayment,” said Kantola, who later segued into criticism of the irrigation suit.

“Next, I must remind everyone that this board is now absurdly billing everyone for the frivolous lawsuit, residents, in excess of $1 million -- not $100,000 -- to defend a contract that Judge Carroll described as palpably obscene,” she said.

“Rather than simply spend money that you simply charge back to the community residents to defend this dubious contract that solely benefits your employer – Mattamy Homes,” Kantola continued, but never finished as Lucynski emphatically banged the gavel as she uttered, “I implore the four members of this board that are employees of Mattamy Homes…”

He responded, “your time is up.”

She contested that and various audience members supported her by cat calls.

Lucysnski then responded by saying “Let’s correct the facts Mrs. Kantola … she lies, I get to comment.”

He then declared a 10-minute recess and followed that with: “She’s out.”

Crosley wrote that Kantola was removed for violating the board's public comment policy, which says "speakers and attendees must refrain from disruptive behavior, making vulgar or threatening remarks, or launching personal attacks against the Board, staff or community members."

Awaiting payment

Kantola told the Herald-Tribune that Gran Paradiso has supplied the West Villages with the required paperwork but also admitted on Oct. 11 that the notarized statement from Glunt had not been submitted attached to the invoices, which resulted in another email back-and-forth between the special government and the property owners association.

She stressed that all bills submitted to the district were for cleanup of Renaissance and Prestigo boulevards, with “volunteers” gathering to handle cleanup on remaining grounds.

Crosley said via email that while the West Villages maintenance agreement does call for it to maintain district-owned property except in the case of a “force majeure,” typically a hurricane, “rather than wait for the District to perform debris clean-up, as outlined in the agreement, the Gran Paradiso POA hired its own contractor to perform the clean-up.”

The concept of supplying a notarized affidavit to the West Villages district to document payment was broached in June.

Crosley wrote that once it receives updated affidavits with attached invoices, it will promptly process payment.

The district is also in the process of putting together a request for proposals to repair the Gran Paraiso guardhouse.

“Additionally,” he wrote, “a portion of the work may be eligible for FEMA reimbursement, which would offset the cost of repairs and ultimately lower the cost to Gran Paradiso residents, which requires additional processes to be followed to ensure FEMA reimbursement,” he added.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Ian cleanup sparks Gran Paradiso-West Villages board fight in N. Port