03-30-1983 - Workshop
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CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER
WORKSHOP OF MARCH 30,1983
MINUTES
Mayor Richard McKillop called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. in the Community Center.
ROLL CALL
Councilman David Ledbetter
Councilwoman Gigi Bennington
Councilman Neil Asting
Councilman Jack Spencer
Mayor Richard McKillop
Absent
Present
Present
Present
Present
City Clerk Nancy Blazi Excused
Police Chief Earl Baugh Absent
Deputy City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Present
The purpose of the workshop was for citizen input.
Councilwoman Bennington had suggested these citizen workshops for input from the residents
of our community. She stated these were on a trial basis for two months, and said everyone
that wants to speak gets a chance before anyone can get up a second time, and wanted to
limit the session to two hours.
Mrs. Cichewicz, 116 Wildwood, protested the drainage of the water of the land West of the
Wildwood Subdivision into a drainage ditch provided for their area. She said owners of
the property had ditches dug which made their problem more acute. She asked if it is
legal for the owner of one property to divert their water into the property of another,
causing water backup to all the area. She referred to a July 20, 1981, letter from Briley,
Wild. She said there was $12,000. held back for the paving project there. She suggested
putting a pipe in the ditch to alleviate the problem on drainage. Councilman Asting stated
the City Attorney is to report on the legality of this. Councilman Spencer said they are
awaiting a report from Mr.McClel1and from the County Public Works who had met here with
Councilman Mann and his understanding is that the culverts under the FEC railroad had to
be lowered.
Mr. Cichewicz, 116 Wildwood, said if they put the pipe under the ground and diverted the
water straight to the end of the canal & fill the ground over the pipe, it would solve
50% of the problems in the southwest corner of Wildwood.
Mr. Harry Ryan, 516 Wildwood Drive, said they bought their home because it was in the
City and he assumed everything would be taken care of by the City. He said there was
a petition with 94 signatures submitted regarding the poor conditions there. He referred
to a May, 1982 letter from the former City Manager regarding Wildwood. He said he felt
it wa s the ob 1 i ga t i on of the City to get th ts s t ra i ghtened out. He sa i d the Ma s sey
property is higher than Wildwood which makes the problem worse.
Mr. Mel Wargo, 2 Pines Edge Court, reviewed a prior appearance before Council on the
drainage problem when' he was told the driveways were built too high, eliminating swales.
He said he had 22" of water in front of his house and his house is one of the highest.
He spoke on the debris in the ditches which slows down or prevents water flowing like
it should. He said there was a recommendation from Briley, Wild to put a 42" pipe under
Park Avenue but he doubted if even that size would be sufficient. Councilwoman Bennington
noted that Wildwood is a City property but that Park Avenue is the responsibility of
the County.
Mr. James McCreary, 13 Wildwood Drive, said there's an engineering problem besides the
Massey property. He said there are three sewers near his home in the front but when
it rains, he can walk across his bone-dry ditch and go swimming in the sewer in front.
He said the ditch has never been cleaned by the City since the day Wildwood was opened.
He stated that Florida Shores has a cleaning schedule set by the Public Works Department
but that Wildwood was not even listed on the schedule. He said they were told that the
ditch would be sodded by the developer and builder but it was never done.
Mrs. Yates, 414 Wildwood Drive, said her ditch was dug wider than anyone else's and it
has been up to the top twice. She said she pays taxes on 115 ft. and doesn't think
she has even 90 ft. because every time it rains the water pulls more of the ground away.
She expressed her concern for the safety of her 8-year old daughter because of this
ditch.
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Mr. Cichewicz said he called Mosquito Control that day and was told that they were given
authority to dig by the sandbags. He said they were digging and the water was coming right
back into Wildwood. Mayor McKillop said the Public Works Dept. was to clear that out as
there was no way to tell where that drain was blocked until it was clear. Mr. Cichewicz
said it was dug about 20 ft. and he was concerned about the safety hazard there. He said
he believes that 50% of the Wildwood's water problem is the water coming from the Massey
property. Councilman Asting spoke on access to properties to put a large pipe in and
the possible damages to shrubs getting the equipment in. Mr. Cichewicz said he felt they
could go all the way to Park Avenue without getting any objections from homeowners.
Councilwoman Bennington expressed concern that putting the pipes in there would help the
people on one side of Wildwood but not those on the other side. Councilman Asting said
he felt cleaning the pipes under Park Avenue is an immediate concern and would help the
drainage, and they could go to the County to get this done.
Mr. Wargo said there was an easement signed by Mrs. Massey for all the property along
that side. Councilman Asting said he understood that the Massey water is not allowed to
go into that ditch.
Mr. Bob Rosa, 515 Wildwood, said everyone's aware of the water problems and the City has
to take care of this since they are part of the City. Mayor McKillop assured Mr. Rosa
that nobody's making light of the problems, and said he was asked by Mr. Cichewicz if
it's legal to run water from County property into a City ditch and the City Attorney is
checking into this.
Mr. Harry Ryan said they're asking for prompt cleaning of the ditches.and feels that will
show the people of Wildwood that the Council is interested in their problem. He doesn't
think they should have to come down every month to find out what1s being done for Wildwood.
Mr. Larry Mason, 1 Pines Edge Court, said
not get in and out of the main entrance.
Councilwoman Bennington said we can get a
and we're in the process of getting this.
there have been instances when vehicles could
He said the ditches had a lot of water hyacinths.
permit for a spray to kill the water hyacinths,
Mr. James McCreary spoke on the crumbling of the pavement on the streets in Wildwood.
He said he had been advised that this wasn't finished yet and there was just an asphalt
base down. He had been told that Phase I and Phase II would be completed by Frank Hall
and Ward Towers and neither has been done and then it was turned over to the City. He
feels action should be taken against the people responsible. .
Mrs. Cichewicz said she checked when she was in City Hall and the deposit by Ward Towers
is still with the City. She displayed pictures of the area after a heavy rain.
Mr. Cichewicz thanked everyone for appearing and thanked the Council for their responses,
and asked that the problem be solved as quickly as possible.
An unidentified speaker from the audience spoke on the process for obtaining building
permits, and said they're clearing property to build a home right over the drain from
Wildwood to the Canal.
Mr. Vancott, 313 Cherrywood Drive, spoke on the new house being constructed over the
drain pipes. There was a discussion as to the site plans showing this and if an ease-
ment was recorded.
Mrs. Cichewicz said if you look at the May 17, 1982, letter you'll see Mr. Cross's
statement in regard to Wildwood, and Council minutes of October 19,1981, through
September 28, 1982, have a lot of information.
A member of the audience said the original plans had been changed in order to have
water retention and they have that now.
Mr. Harry Ryan thanked Councilwoman Bennington for this workshop and felt more people
should take advantage of it.
Mrs. Cichewicz agreed with his statement.
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City Council Workshop Minutes
March 30, 1983
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Mr. Mel Wargo said when he first moved in there he started a campaign for street lights
and was told there was $28,000. in a fund for street lights. He said Florida Power puts
them in at no charge and asked what happened to the $28,000. Chief Baugh said they are
using those funds to pay for the new street lights until next year's budget. He clarified
that there is a monthly charge for each light.
Mayor McKillop stated that as soon as we get professional input from the engineers and
from our attorney, we will begin to set priorities and make decisions.
Mrs. McCreary asked if Council is thinking about pipe for all of Wildwood or just the
back section of it. Mayor McKillop said basically they1re talking about options and
the pipe is a possible solution.
Mr. Mel Wargo said he talked with Mr. Copeland and a man from Mosquito Control that day
and they're going to clean the ditch.
A resident of Royal Palm Drive asked what is gained when the Public Works Department
cleans out a ditch and throws it onto the edge of the roadway so that the first time it
rains, it washes back into the ditch. Councilman Asting said they do try to haul it away
but there's only one or two trucks to do it. The resident said they have a drag box and
they could easily drag it and level it back onto the road. It was clarified that he was
referring to swales and not the deep drainage ditches. The resident suggested that further
building be restricted in Wildwood until this problem of drainage is alleviated. Mayor
McKillop said there's a subdivision ordinance in effect now that is more restrictive and
it wasn't in effect when Wildwood came in.
Mr. Cichewicz said he suggested about six months ago what this man just said about the
restriction on building there but nobody did anything about it.
Councilwoman Bennington moved to adjourn and Councilman Asting seconded the motion.
Meeting was adjourned.
Minutes submitted by:
Lura Sue Koser
-3- City Council Workshop Minutes
March 30, 1983