South Florida Water Management District public meetings in 2023
12 substantive meetings from 2023, with official agendas or minutes and plain-English summaries.
December 2023 Governing Board Meeting
The Governing Board approved several high-value infrastructure contracts, including the North New River Canal Conveyance Improvement Project and L-28 Culvert Structures. The Board also adopted the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan and concurred with emergency water shortage restrictions in northeast Cape Coral.
- Approved $86,213,656 contract with Ryan Incorporated Southern for North New River Canal Conveyance Improvement Project (Unanimous)
- Approved $46,717,331 contract with Phillips and Jordan, Incorporated for L-28 Culvert Structures S-229A, S-229B and S-229C (Unanimous)
- Approved $46,294,000 contract with Central Florida Equipment Rentals, Inc for Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Cutler Flow Way Phase 2 (Unanimous)
- Adopted the updated 5-Year Strategic Plan 2024-2029 (Unanimous)
- Concurred with emergency water shortage order for modified phase III restrictions in northeast Cape Coral (Unanimous)
- Approved $22,924,603.66 change order for EAA A2 STA with Phillips & Jordan, Inc. (Unanimous)
- Approved $8,794,931 contract with Interlaken, Inc. for Stilling Well Platform Improvements (Unanimous)
- Authorized $2,999,741 contract with Timken Gears & Services, Inc. for Pump Station S-9 gearbox refurbishment (Unanimous)
October 2023 Big Cypress Basin Board Meeting
The Board adopted the minutes from the August 25, 2023 meeting and approved the 2024 meeting schedule. The remainder of the meeting consisted of project updates and reports regarding ecosystem restoration and hydrologic modeling.
- Approved minutes for the August 25, 2023 meeting (5-0)
- Approved 2024 Big Cypress Basin Board meeting schedule
September 2023 Governing Board Hearing - Tentative Millage & Budget
The Governing Board unanimously adopted a tentative budget of $1,147,013,334 for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. The Board also approved tentative millage rates for the District-wide, Big Cypress Basin, Okeechobee Basin, and Everglades Construction Project areas. Additionally, the Board certified agricultural privilege tax rolls for the Everglades and C-139 areas.
- Adopted tentative FY 2023-2024 budget of $1,147,013,334 (Unanimous)
- Adopted tentative District-wide millage rate of 0.0948 mill (Unanimous)
- Adopted tentative Big Cypress Basin millage rate of 0.0978 mill (Unanimous)
- Adopted tentative Okeechobee Basin millage rate of 0.1026 mill (Unanimous)
- Adopted tentative Everglades Construction Project millage rate of 0.0327 mill (Unanimous)
- Approved Everglades Agricultural Privilege Tax Roll with $10,552,987.68 budgeted revenue (Unanimous)
- Approved C-139 Agricultural Privilege Tax Roll with $217,522.95 budgeted revenue (Unanimous)
August 2023 Big Cypress Basin Board Meeting
The Board unanimously approved the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget and the associated millage rate. The Board also approved the minutes from the April 28, 2023 meeting and administered oaths of office to three new members.
- Approved Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Basin budget of $15,124,815 (Unanimous)
- Approved millage rate of 0.0978 mill for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 (Unanimous)
- Approved April 28, 2023 meeting minutes (Unanimous)
- Administered Oath of Office to new members Ms. McLeod, Mr. Romano, and Ms. Smith
- Directed 16th Street NE Bridge Variance proposal to be moved forward to the SFWMD Board
August 2023 Governing Board Meeting
The Governing Board unanimously adopted a consent agenda including land acquisitions, office and parking leases, and various maintenance contracts. The Board also reconfirmed Andrew Bartlett as Executive Director.
- Approved $25,000 land acquisition for Shingle Creek Project in Orange County
- Approved 5-year cattle grazing lease with All Seasons Welding, Inc. (406.42 acres)
- Approved 5-year parking lease with South Florida Stadium, LLC (14.24 acres)
- Approved Orlando Service Center office lease not to exceed $2,072,176.44
- Approved $250,000 contract increase for Kirwin Norris, P.A. regarding C-43 Reservoir
- Reconfirmed Andrew Bartlett as Executive Director and approved employment agreement
- Approved $5,896,640 contract for lock tender services with Advanced Lock Tender Division, LLC
- Approved $1,107,561.84 grading service contract with Huurr Homes, LLC
July 2023 Governing Board
The Governing Board unanimously adopted a consent agenda including land acquisitions in Miami-Dade and Collier counties, several infrastructure contracts, and a budget amendment. The Board also approved a contract amendment for Burmese python removal research.
- Approved acquisition of 5.0 acres in Pennsuco Wetlands Project for $40,000 plus $10,133.85 in costs (Unanimous)
- Approved conveyance of 6,275.97 acres in Green Heart of the Everglades Project to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (Unanimous)
- Approved 3-year contingency contract with Loren Jock Trucking, Inc. for pump assemblies not-to-exceed $2,144,500 (Unanimous)
- Approved 194-day agreement with Hypower, LLC for L-28 Power Conduit infrastructure for $1,965,099 (Unanimous)
- Approved 415-day contract with Expert Construction Managers, Inc. for STA-1E Cell 2 emergency generator for $2,177,000 (Unanimous)
- Approved $58 million budget amendment for Restoration Strategies Regional Water Quality Plan (Unanimous)
- Authorized submission of Fiscal Year 2023-2024 proposed millage rates (Unanimous)
- Approved $77,551 contract amendment with University of Florida for Burmese python research (Unanimous)
June 2023 Governing Board Meeting
The Governing Board unanimously approved several service contracts for water quality monitoring and datalogger maintenance. The Board also authorized grant agreements for four flood resiliency projects and concurred with the filing of a lawsuit regarding the C-43 Reservoir Project.
- Approved 3-year water quality monitoring contracts not-to-exceed $8.89M (Unanimous)
- Approved 5-year datalogger maintenance contract with DNK Environmental Inc. not-to-exceed $900,000 (Unanimous)
- Concurred with filing lawsuit against C-43 Water Management Builders JV, The Lane Construction Corporation, and Webuild S.p.A. Inc. (Unanimous)
- Approved three grant agreements with DEP and one interagency agreement with Palm Beach County for four Resilient Florida projects (Unanimous)
- Approved May 11, 2023 meeting minutes (Unanimous)
- Postponed S-6 Pump Station Bridge Project contract
- Postponed STA-1E Cell 2 Resiliency and Refurbishment Project contract
April 2023 Big Cypress Basin Board Meeting
The Board unanimously adopted the minutes from the February 24, 2023 meeting. The remainder of the session consisted of staff reports and presentations regarding water quality, capital planning, and hydrologic modeling with no further formal actions taken.
- Approved February 24, 2023 meeting minutes (Unanimous)
April 2023 Audit & Finance Committee
The Audit & Finance Committee unanimously adopted the District's investment summary as of December 31, 2022. The committee also unanimously approved three reports from the Inspector General regarding fleet maintenance, GASB-87 implementation, and construction change orders.
- Approved Summary of Investments as of December 31, 2022 (Unanimous)
- Approved Audit of Fleet Maintenance and Operations (Unanimous)
- Approved Audit of GASB-87 Implementation (Unanimous)
- Approved Construction Change Order Monitoring Report (Unanimous)
March 2023 Governing Board Meeting
The Governing Board unanimously approved the 2023 Critical Wetlands List and updated the delegated authority for legal proceedings. The Board also approved a license agreement with the City of Orlando for water monitoring and released specific canal and road reservations.
- Adopted 2023 Critical Wetlands List (Unanimous)
- Approved changes to delegated authority for legal proceedings (Unanimous)
- Approved license agreement with City of Orlando for well site access (Unanimous)
- Approved release of District canal and road reservations (Unanimous)
- Approved February 9, 2023 meeting minutes (Unanimous)
February 2023 Big Cypress Basin Board Meeting
The Big Cypress Basin Board approved funding for two regional partnership projects. The Board also supported adding an electric vehicle to the FY2023-2024 budget for testing purposes and adopted the minutes from the October 27, 2022 meeting.
- Approved funding for City of Naples’ Naples Bay Oyster Reef Project and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Ecosystem Restoration (Unanimous)
- Approved minutes for the October 27, 2022 meeting (Unanimous)
- Supported staff recommendation to add an EV to the FY2023-2024 Basin budget
February 2023 Governing Board
The Governing Board unanimously adopted a consent agenda including several land easements, project change orders, and maintenance contracts. The board also received reports on ecological conditions and the implementation of Executive Order 23-06 for Everglades restoration.
- Approved $3.89M contract with Ryan Incorporated Southern for STA-2 Refurbishments Cell 3 Canal Plugs (Unanimous)
- Approved $2.18M change order with Ryan Incorporated Southern for STA-2 Refurbishments Project (Unanimous)
- Approved $1.39M purchase of four portable pumps from Holland Pump Company (Unanimous)
- Approved $400,000 settlement in workers compensation case Edward Gonzalez v. SFWMD (Unanimous)
- Approved $321,374.50 contract with Florida Gulf Coast University and $260,902.65 contract with NOVA Southeastern University for Lake Okeechobee bloom treatment (Unanimous)
- Approved 3-year mowing contracts with CM Harris, Inc. (up to $1.76M), Chavez’s Lawn Services, Inc. (up to $4.25M), and Treasure Coast Lawns, Inc. (up to $2.33M) (Unanimous)
- Approved 10-year parking lease extensions to TC Waterside Realty, LLC and Villas of Pinecrest Condominium Association, Inc. (Unanimous)
- Approved various land exchange and easement agreements in Martin, St. Lucie, and Lee Counties (Unanimous)