The Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District Board of Supervisors approved several agreements with the Town of Loxahatchee Groves on Monday related to road improvements and maintenance, as well as maintenance maps regarding district roads and canals.
The first item was a quit claim deed for B Road easements from approximately 1,000 feet south of Collecting Canal Road to Okeechobee Blvd., which will lead to the paving of the road in conjunction with the development of the Palm Beach State College campus and two commercial developments underway at the intersection of B Road and Southern Blvd.
Supervisor John Ryan made a motion to approve the resolution, saying that it would then be up to the town to maintain the road after the quit claim is conveyed.
“I think that it is the responsibility that I would like to call out that it is including the right to construction, maintain and repair,” Ryan said. “We’re giving all the rights to the roads, and it is subject to their traffic control to operate and maintain the roads.”
LGWCD Attorney Mary Viator said that the agreement contains the same language as previous quit claim deeds to transfer ownership of the easements for paved roads to the town.
“The town already approved them, and it is now appropriate to approve execution, and then we will go ahead and record the quit claim deed, and the transfer will be complete,” Viator said.
Ryan’s motion carried 4-0, with LGWCD Chair Dave DeMarois absent.
The board also approved an agreement with the town for temporary grading and repair of town roads.
LGWCD Administrator Stephen Yohe said that the town approved the agreement on Oct. 6 and recommended going through the list of roads.
“We need to make sure that we fully understand and want to be clear with staff as to the scope of the work,” he said.
Yohe said that the district had been continuing to grade the roads, except for one rainy week, although the agreement was not complete.
Supervisor Don Widing made a motion to approve the agreement, and added that he wanted to be sure that the district administrator and the town manager were working cooperatively.
Ryan stressed that the agreements are both temporary and that the town will issue requests for proposals to take over portions of work that don’t fit the district’s scope, and anticipated that the LGWCD would submit proposals for portions of the work that do fit the scope.
LGWCD Vice Chair Frank Schiola said that the temporary agreement would give the town time to get a contractor in place for work that doesn’t fit the district’s scope of work.
Yohe said that neither of the district graders are operational now, with one having a blown transmission and the other a bad engine due to water contamination in the fuel.
“Both are actually too big for the [town] roads,” he said, explaining that they cannot turn around on the town roads, which requires them to back up.
He said new graders run about $200,000, and that the transmission replacement estimate is about $50,000.
Yohe said the LGWCD makes about $30,000 a year from the town for maintenance, but it also costs a lot.
Widing’s motion carried 4-0.
The board also approved a 90-day, temporary agreement for watering, hedging and sign replacement on town roads.
Yohe explained that the town had also approved the agreement on Oct. 6, but that it was different from the road maintenance agreement in that it was based on availability of equipment and manpower.
Ryan made a motion to approve the temporary watering, hedging and sign replacement, and added that he anticipated that the town would also advertise for bids on work not done by the district.
Ryan also pointed out that the LGWCD is one of the few districts in the state that waters roads, and Yohe added that the roads are dry the day after they have been watered.
The motion carried 4-0.
The board also approved maintenance maps for the balance of district roads and canals for certification.
The roads include portions of South A Road, North B Road, South D Road, E Road, West G Road, East G Road, 25th Street North, South North Road and Collecting Canal Road, as well as canal maintenance along portions of A Road, B Road, C Road, D Road, E Road, F Road, Folsom Road, West G Road, East G Road, 25th Street North, and north and south North Road.
Supervisor Laura Danowski asked what the certification means, and Viator explained that the certification is the result of recent surveys, which had never been done before, that indicate exactly where the rights of way are.
Widing made a motion to approve the maps, which carried 4-0.
In other business, the board approved an increase of 3.5 percent to Yohe’s salary as district administrator.
