St. Lucie West Services District
Workshop Meeting
April 1, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.

(Please note:	These minutes are not verbatim.	A CD recording of the Workshop Meeting is available on file.)
Board Members Present

John Doughney - Chairman - in-person Dominick Graci - Vice Chairman - in-person Gregg Ney - Secretary - in-person
Viorel Mocuta - Supervisor - in-person Diane Haseltine- Supervisor - in-person

Staff Present
Bill Hayden, District Manager, St. Lucie West Services District ("SLWSD") - in-person Josh Miller, Utilities Director/Assistant District Manager, SLWSD - in-person
Maddie Maldonado, Director of Office Administration, SLWSD - in-person Gerard Rouse, Assistant Public Works Director, SLWSD - in-person Thomas Bayer, Assistant Utilities Director, SLWSD - in-person
Searg Davidian, Stormwater Manager, SLWSD - in-person Lorrie Bush, Aquatic Maintenance Manager, SLWSD - in-person
Jason Pierman, Secretary/Treasurer, Special District Services, Inc. ("SOS") - in­ person
Laura Archer, Recording Secretary, SOS - in-person Stephanie Brown, SOS - in-person
Also present was Labor Attorney David Miklas of the Law Office of David Miklas, P.A.; Ms. Renais, a District resident; Deane Piekara, also a District resident; and Donna Rhoden of the City of Port St. Lucie.

Guests Present (Sign-In Sheet Attached)

Call to Order

The Workshop Meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call

It was noted that all 5 Supervisors were in attendance.

Approval of Minutes
March 4, 2024, Workshop

March 5, 2024, Regular Board Meeting

Secretary Ney noted that on Page 4 of the Workshop minutes there was a typo under OM 5, #2.) "The tee box on hol4 #14" should read "The tee box on hole #14... "
That was the only correction.

Public Hearing

Consider Resolution No. 2024-04 - Amending Chapter A-1, St. Lucie Services District General and Procedural Rules; Revising Certain Sections

Mr. Hayden presented Resolution No. 2024-04, entitled:
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-04

A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE ST. LUCIE WEST SERVICES DISTRICT AMENDING CHAPTER A-1, ST. LUCIE WEST SERVICES DISTRICT GENERAL AND PROCEDURAL RULES; REVISING CERTAIN SECTIONS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Mr. Hayden advised that the Sections to be revised were A-1.10, A-1.11, A-1.12 and A-1.13.
The Board had no questions, as the revisions were clearly highlighted in the abstract.

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

District Attorney
DA 1 - Status Report/Updates
Mr. Hayden noted that Ms. Holmes had provided her monthly report within the meeting materials and would go over same with the Board at tomorrow's meeting.

District Engineer
DE 1 - Status Report/Updates

Mr. Hayden noted that Mr. Zanganehl had provided his monthly report within the meeting materials and would go over the details at tomorrow's meeting.
Mr. Hayden then requested to take some agenda items out of order, holding off on OM 1 until the end. The Board agreed with this change.
District Manager

Actions Items

DM 2 -	Consider Resolution No. 2024-05 -	Authorizing Electronic Approvals and Check Signers
Mr. Pierman presented Resolution No. 2024-05, entitled:

RESOLUTION NO. 2024-05

A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE ST. LUCIE WEST SERVICES DISTRICT, AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DISTRICT CHECKING/OPERATING ACCOUNT, DESIGNATING DISTRICT OFFICIALS AND/OR AUTHORIZED STAFF TO REVIEW, APPROVE AND ISSUE PAYMENT OF EXPENDITURES, SELECTING THE SIGNATORIES THEREOF; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Mr. Pierman noted that SOS had been using Bill.com to make other districts' payments for several years. In addition to flexibility in the approval process, the system also offers a more secure payment option by limiting the number of District checks being created. Rather than being drafted from the District's bank account, checks are "written" from a Bill.com clearing account. Additionally, vendors have the option to be paid via SCH, which offers a faster and even more secure payment process.
The manner in which SLWs banking and accounting is set up limits the effectiveness of Bill.com. However, after meeting with staff, we have identified that roughly 40% of payments can be processed electronically with Bill.com. For now, these payments will only come from the Water & Sewer account, excluding rebate and refund payments. As we progress, we hope to determine a way to move more payments to an electronic payment system.
This resolution confirms check signers and authorizes the use of an electronic payment method.
The Board had several questions which Mr. Pierman addressed.

DM 3 - Other Items
Mr. Hayden advised that the golf course land swap was on hold, as the rezoning had not come through.
Mr. Miller indicated that the bond validation for the plant expansion should come before the Board at either the June or July meeting, at the earliest.

Mr. Hayden indicated that there has not been any word from the Reserve and they are late on their last payment.

Mr. Hayden indicated that ethics training for the Board Members would be scheduled for after an upcoming meeting.

Mr. Hayden indicated that the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget process would begin at the May meeting.

That concluded Mr. Hayden's updates.

DM 1 - Internal Interviews for District Manager Vacancy

It was noted that Gerard Rouse and Josh Miller were the two internal candidates for the position.

Messrs. Miller and Rouse were excused from the conference room.

Mr. Hayden then introduced Mr. Miklas who provided everyone with guidelines when considering hiring someone, which information was provided by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Mr. Miklas went over some important points such as the interview procedure and topics to stay away from. He also took questions from the Board Members. Chairman Doughney thanked Mr. Miklas for attending today's Workshop Meeting.

Mr. Rouse returned to the meeting room and gave an overview of his history with the District.

Each Board Member had the opportunity to ask Mr. Rouse any questions. The majority had a couple questions for Mr. Rouse.

At the conclusion of Mr. Rouse's interview, Chairman Doughney thanked Mr. Rouse for his time and called for a 10-minute break at approximately 10:08 a.m.

Chairman Doughney reconvened the Workshop Meeting at approximately 10:18 a.m. At this time, Mr. Miller joined those in the conference room.
Mr. Miller gave an overview of his history with the District.

Each Board Member had the opportunity to ask Mr. Miller any questions. The majority had a couple of questions for Mr. Miller.

At the conclusion of Mr. Miller's interview, Chairman Doughney thanked Mr. Miller for his time and asked that he leave the Conference Room at this time.

A lengthy discussion took place comparing the two candidates and their experience with the District and their day-to-day responsibilities.

Both candidates would bring a lot of experience and qualifications to the position.

The Board agreed they had a lot to think about before tomorrow's vote.

There was also discussion regarding organizing an "Open House"/Lunch with the District Manager in order to get more residents involved in District/community matters.

Consent Agenda

CA 1 - Monthly Report on Public Works Department CA 2 - Monthly Report on Utilities Operations
CA 3 - Monthly Report on Capital Improvement Projects CA 4 - Monthly Report on Billing and Customer Service CA 5 - Financial Statements for February, 2024
CA 6 - Consider Approval to Transfer Funds for the R&R Account Requisition

CA 7 - Surplus Items

There were no questions regarding Consent Agenda Items CA 1 through CA 7.

Supervisor Requests

There were no Supervisor Requests.

Adjournment

There being no further items to be addressed, the Workshop Meeting was adjourned at 11:06 a.m. There were no objections.

Secretary/Assistant Secretary