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Westchase CDDs Look At Management, Safety

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By JASON GEARY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2008

WESTCHASE - The two community development districts of Westchase will negotiate with their current management company after facing the prospect of saving about $80,000 a year by switching to a rival company.

At Tuesday night's meeting, the districts voted to hold a workshop at 3 p.m. Feb. 5 to discuss the contract of their management company, Severn Trent.

The districts have complained about the performance of Severn Trent, including not getting accurate monthly financial data. Last year, the districts sought out proposals from other companies along with Severn Trent.

Severn Trent presented a bid of about $165,000. The lowest proposal, for $85,000 came from District Management Services, a Tampa-based company that started about three years ago.

Some supervisors noted the possible savings by hiring DMS and that the company might be eager to please Westchase.

"It's a significant amount of money," said Anthony Sanchez, a supervisor with the Westchase Community Development District East.

Other supervisors expressed skepticism about the rival company's lower price and thought Severn Trent had more experience.

"I think we have a good company," said Ernie Sylvester, a supervisor with the CDD East. "I don't think we should change."

Bill Casale, a supervisor with the Westchase Community Development District, said Severn Trent has shown substantial improvement in its performance.

He said further discussions into possibly hiring a new company were becoming a distraction. The transition required in hiring a new company could also be difficult, he said.

The majority of supervisors from both districts agreed to negotiate with Severn Trent on the cost.

In other matters, the districts spoke about how to combat vandalism, citing a recent incident where a picnic table was set on fire at Baybridge Park.

The districts' employees have been monitoring the park, requesting that deputies patrol it and exploring the possibility of installing surveillance video cameras.

Susan Edgerley suggested to her fellow CDD East supervisors that they consider entering into a contract with the sheriff's office to hire deputies to perform extra patrol within the district's boundaries.

The majority of the CDD East agreed, but supervisors Greg Chesney and Lewis Patterson opposed the motion. Patterson said he was curious how they would be able to pay for the expense.

The Westchase CDD has set aside about $80,000 within its budget to pay deputies to perform such patrols within its boundaries.

Reporter Jason Geary can be reached at (813) 865-1505 or jgeary@tampatrib.com.

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