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Highlands Today

Spring Lake board seeks charter changes

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By GARY PINNELL

Highlands Today

Published: November 29, 2009

SPRING LAKE - An attempt to change the governmental charter is causing a controversy at this subdivision southeast of Sebring.

On Thursday, members of the Spring Lake Improvement District board plan to meet with the Highlands County delegation to the Florida Legislature.

The SLID board will ask Rep. Denise Grimsley, Rep. Baxter Troutman and Sen. J.D. Alexander to get a bill through the House and the Senate to update the improvement district's ordinances, for permission to take over defunct homeowner associations, and to allow for a sheriff's substation, a fire station and a school.

That's according to board chairman Leon Van. Two Spring Lake residents are ascribing harsher motives to the board.

"Their latest action is an extremely serious attempt at significantly expanding their powers through a complete re-write and re-codification of the existing SLID charter," said Kent Calabrese, a former chairman of the board.

Billie Jewett calls it a power grab: "They are asking for broad new powers that, through assessment powers, would drive many senior homeowners into foreclosure."

Not true, Van said. "All we're doing is trying to update shortcomings in our codifications."

The SLID charter was written three decades ago. Other improvement districts - many of which started as drainage districts like SLID - have updated their charters, Van said.

One change would define when the winners of popularly elected seats take office. The three supervisors elected by landowners are seated immediately, Van said. The charter doesn't specify when supervisors who are elected by the populace should take sworn in.

Many of the rest of the suggestions the board has for the legislative bill arose from a visioning survey more than a year ago, Van said. Of the 501 respondents, a majority wanted to make room for a police, fire and EMS station.

Other respondents wanted to be ready if the county school board ever wanted in the subdivision. In the past, the school board has discussed putting its next facility along U.S. 98.

"It just gives us the ability, in the future," Van said. One day, Spring Lake will be big enough for a school, he said. "There are 1,535 water meters, and there are enough plotted lots for thousands of more homes."

Does Van want Spring Lake to have its own police force?

"Oh, God no," Van said.
Spring Lake has several homeowner's associations, Van said.

"If they go defunct, we want to be able to enforce the covenants until they get another one started," Van said. "Without a homeowner's association, you could have someone putting in trailers and building teepees."

In March, the SLID board discussed buying the golf course; in April, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said SLID lacked the power to buy a golf course. The charter change isn't an attempt to get around that advisory opinion, Van said.

"The intent to purchase the golf course is a dead issue," Van said. However, SLID might still be interested in 20 acres of surplus golf course land for water control.

"Mr. (Mike) Tellschow came to the board and offered some vacant land," Van said. "It's a possibility."

Under the proposed charter, board members could also raise their own salaries to $250 a month. The 1973 charter gave the board $100 a month. Van said he spends more than that doing his supervisor job, and he doesn't bill any expenses to the board, like traveling to seminars in his own car.

Calabrese said the board members need no more powers, and that they are trying to hijack the community.

"I don't know what he means," Van said. "I just want to make Spring Lake the best place to have a home in Highlands County. I have no ulterior motives, I have no personal issues, and I have nothing to gain."

If the legislative delegation sponsors the requested bill and it passes both houses, to become law it must be signed by the governor.

Highlands Today reporter Gary Pinnell can be reached at 863-386-5828 or gpinnell@highlandstoday.com

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