MINUTES OF MEETING
HERON ISLES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT

The regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the Heron Isles Community Development District was held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. at Blackrock Baptist Church, 96362 Blackrock Road, Yulee, Florida 32097.

Present and constituting a quorum were:

Greg Watson	Chairman
Nicole Reams by phone	Vice Chairperson
Chase Coleman	Supervisor
Wendy Emanuelson	Supervisor
Eugene Hays	Supervisor

Also present were:

Daniel Laughlin	District Manager
Lauren Gentry	District Counsel
Mike Yuro	District Engineer
Chip Dellinger	Field Operations Manager
Kelly Mullins	GMS
Terry Glynn by phone	GMS

The following is a summary of the discussion and actions taken at the May 20, 2025 meeting.

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS	Roll Call
Mr. Laughlin called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. and called the roll.

SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS	Public Comment
There being none, the next item followed.

THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS	Organizational Matters
Consideration of Appointing a New Supervisor to Seat 1
Mr. Laughlin stated they received two residents interested in filling Seat 1: Eugene Hays and William Appleton. He allowed the applicant to introduce themselves.

Mr. Hays moved to the community in August of last year and has worked at Duval County Schools for the past 20 years. He is currently the Director of the Charter School Department. He offered to answer any questions.
Mr. Appleton has been a homeowner for over 10 years in Heron Isles. He is a veteran, Eagle Scout, local business owner and currently serves as the Chairman for a youth organization.
Ms. Emanuelson asked both nominees why they want to be on the board. Mr. Appleton stated he believes he will be helpful on the board. Mr. Hays stated he has a vested interest in help building the community. He added this is where he and his wife plan to retire and would like to help the community be the best it can be.
At this time Mr. Hays and Mr. Appleton stepped out of the room to allow the board to discuss.
Mr. Watson stated he is leaning more toward Mr. Hays because he believes Mr. Hays sounds like he wants to help the community more. He added that if there is another vacancy, they should reach out to Mr. Appleton to have him apply again. The board agreed.

On MOTION by Mr. Watson seconded by Ms. Emanuelson, with all in favor, Appointing Eugene Hays to Seat 1 was approved.

Oath of Office for Newly Appointed Supervisors
Mr. Laughlin administered the oath of office to Mr. Hays. He informed Mr. Hays the board operates under the Sunshine Law which states they cannot discuss district business with other board members outside of a meeting. He noted they recommend creating a separate email for the district due to the Public Records Law. Ms. Gentry added to be aware of the Ethics Laws. She noted Mr. Hays will be required to fill out a Form 1 and to complete four hours of ethics training by the end of 2026.

Consideration of Resolution 2025-03, Designating Officers
Mr. Laughlin stated this adds Mr. Hays as a supervisor to the board and allows the board to make changes to the slate of officers. He added he wishes for Matt Biagetti from GMS to be added as an Assistant Secretary for signing purposes.
The board made no changes to the board and agreed to add Mr. Hays and Mr. Biagetti as Assistant Secretaries.

On MOTION by Mr. Watson seconded by Ms. Reams, with all in favor, Resolution 2025-03, Designating Officers, was approved.

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Approval of Consent Agenda
Approval of the Minutes of the February 18, 2025 Meeting
Financial Statements
Assessment Receipts Schedule
Check Register
Copies of the minutes and financial documents were enclosed in the agenda package for the Board’s review. Mr. Laughlin noted the check register totals $66,258.10.

On MOTION by Ms. Reams seconded by Ms. Emanuelson, with all in favor, the consent agenda was approved.

FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Consideration of Proposals
Entrance Landscape Enhancement
Option 1 $16,755.09
Option 2 $9,801.20
Mr. Dellinger presented the proposals for Entrance Landscape Enhancement. He stated The Greenery have been providing landscaping services at Amelia Concourse and have been doing a great job. He believes it to be a good idea to bring them in and help improve the landscaping. Option 1 is for $16,755.09. He noted most of the cost from Option 1 is from the shrubbery. He asked The Greenery to send a proposal for 1 gallon plants, which knocked the price down to $9,802.20 for Option 2.
Mr. Watson stated The Greenery is the company they had fired before. Mr. Laughlin noted they got bought out and have been doing a great job since. He warned the board of having two vendors and the warranties that come with it. If the shrubbery dies and it is passed the warranty, they will not be able to have the same company fix it.
Mr. Watson asked to send the same proposal to Brightview to see if they can conduct the work. The board decided to table this until they see a proposal from Brightview and a third bid.

Columns Landscape Enhancement

The board decided to table this item until they have three proposals to compare.

Pine Straw Install
Mr. Laughlin presented the proposal from BrightView for 475 bales pine straw for
$6,942.93.
Mr. Watson asked if this includes the area of Heron Isles Parkway that is in front of Black Rock. Mr. Dellinger stated he does not believe so. Mr. Watson asked if the fence by Heron Isles Parkway was their responsibility he noted the road is eroding. Mr. Dellinger stated they do not know who put the fence there, but the road is the county’s responsibility.
Mr. Watson stated he would rather have mulch than pine straw. The board decided to table this item until they have more details.

Playground Mulch
Mr. Laughlin presented the proposal from Brightview for Playground Mulch for $4,200. He noted playground mulch is different than regular mulch and they are required to have the mulch at a certain depth.
Ms. Gentry stated if they are unsure if the depth is enough for the ADA requirement, they can make a contingent motion. This will allow the board to approve this and if it does not need to be replaced, they will not go through with the proposal.

On MOTION by Ms. Emanuelson seconded by Mr. Hays, with all in favor, the Playground Mulch Proposal, was approved contingent on confirming ADA requirement.

Janitorial Services - GMS
Mr. Laughlin presented the proposal from GMS for Janitorial Services. He noted they were having issues with their previous company, and they can now sub-contract GMS for janitorial work. They were previously paying $7,400 and with this contract, it will bring them down to $6,900.
Ms. Emanuelson asked if they can get a trash can by the mailboxes.
Mr. Laughlin stated they will see what they can do. He is unsure of what is in the budget.

On MOTION by Mr. Watson seconded by Mr. Coleman, with all in favor, Janitorial Services from GMS, was approved.

SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Consideration of Resolution 2025-04, Approving
the Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2026 and Setting a Public Hearing Date
Mr. Laughlin presented the resolution and the proposed budget to the board. He stated the public hearing date for adoption would be on the regularly scheduled August meeting on August 19, 2025. He noted they must have an approved budget by July 15th to set a high-water mark on the budget. At the public hearing, the board can lower the budget, however it cannot be increased. He added there is no increased being proposed for this Fiscal Year. There is a carry- forward surplus of $13,000 that will be added into the Capital Reserve. Individual items have been increased, such as the Management Fees for GMS. Landscape Maintenance was also increased as per the contract. He offered to answer any questions.
Mr. Watson asked if there was a required minimal contingency for the Capital Reserve. Mr. Laughlin stated they did not. He noted the bond items are set for the live of the bonds and do not change unless the board were to re-finance them. He stated the Capital Reserve will be at
$268,330.
Mr. Watson asked how much longer they will be in debt. Mr. Laughlin stated they are under a 30-year bond, and it was issued in 2007.

On MOTION by Ms. Emanuelson seconded by Mr. Watson, with all in favor, Resolution 2025-04, approving the proposed budget with no assessment increase and setting the public hearing for August 19, 2025, was approved.

SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Consideration  of  Resolution  2025-05,  Re-
Designating Local Records Office and Headquarters
Mr. Laughlin presented the resolution to the board. He stated each district has to have a local records office in the county and they are proposing to use the Amelia Walk amenity center office for $500 a year, which is the same as they were paying before.
Ms. Emanuelson asked about having the records digitalized. Mr. Laughlin stated they did have digital copies; however, they must have physical copies for a number of years, and they still must designate a local records office.

On MOTION by Mr. Watson seconded by Ms. Emanuelson, with all in favor, Resolution 2025-05, Re-Designating Local Records Office and Headquarters, was approved.

EIGHTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Discussion of Easement for Cable/ Internet
Installation
Mr. Laughlin stated they had a representative from the HOA present. The HOA representative stated she was present to observe.
Ms. Gentry stated Comcast had approached the CDD with a service agreement and an easement to install cable services. After review, the service agreement should be with the HOA. However, the CDD holds the utility easements where the lines are to be installed and would be the entity to grant the easement. It has proven confusing to the internet providers to have two entities involved in the agreements. One option is for the CDD to grant the HOA an easement over the utility easements and then the HOA will allow third parties to install telecommunication cable and internet. This will be limited to only this infrastructure. It was noted that when the community was first built, there was an easement granted to Hotwire and the easement states that it is an “exclusive agreement.” Because of this, there is a small risk Hotwire will try to enforce their exclusive agreement rights.
Ms. Emanuelson stated she thought the agreement was voided because it did not get re- signed. Ms. Gentry stated that would be the argument they would have if Hotwire tried to say anything. There are public policy arguments against a unit of government being bound by a perpetual exclusive easement like the Hotwire easement.
Ms. Emanuelson asked if they worked out the details on the payment of the easement. Ms. Gentry stated the payment would go to the HOA; they are open to discussing the matters with the chair.
Mr. Hays asked if the easement with Hotwire is specifically for telecommunications. Ms. Gentry stated she will have to double check on the wording. Mr. Hays added if they were able to grant the HOA an easement for utility services, might help the issue.

On MOTION by Mr. Watson seconded by Ms. Emanuelson, with all in favor, granting an easement for telecommunication and internet services to the HOAwith Authority for Chair to Authorize, was approved.

NINTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Staff Reports
Landscape
Mr. Dellinger stated they conducted an inspection on the landscaping, and they determined the pond banks do not look great, but the other areas are looking good.
Ms. Emanuelson stated there is a light by the first entrance that is broken.

District Counsel
Ms. Gentry stated there were not many bills that passed in the most recent legislative session that affect CDDs, and the ones that did pass mainly affect the developers. She noted the bill that would have increased sovereign immunity limitations of liability for all the government entities did not pass but may come back next year. She added they will continue with their goals and objectives reporting as they did last year.

District Engineer
There being no comments, the next items followed.

District Manager- Report on the Number of Registered Voters (1,341)
Mr. Laughlin stated there were 1,341 voters in the district as of April 15, 2025. He added Ms. Mullins will be moving to Heron Isles full time as a Regional Manager and Mr. Dellinger will move to Amelia Walk to fill her position.
Field Operations Manager
Report
Mr. Dellinger gave an overview of the operations report, a copy of which was included in the agenda package. He stated they trimmed the wax myrtles that were overgrowing the sign and removed the large wax myrtles by the irrigation pump. He noted this revealed damage that had been there. They have been routinely leveling the playground mulch. He added there was damage to the interactive panels on the playground that have been repaired. GMS has been monitoring the security for any activity on the overnight hours and collecting trash around the parks and fields. The pressure washing and fixing the fence panels along the Blackrock entrance have been completed.

Pond Report
A copy of the pond report was provided on page 170 of the agenda package.

TENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Supervisor Requests and Public Comment
Mr. Yuro stated he called FPL for the lights, and they will put up the lights and maintain them for life. He added he would like to add a bus stop covering to keep the kids dry when it rains.
Tammy from the HOA stated Hotwire did not come back with the non-exclusive and she has not heard from them since.
A resident stated she would like to see speed bumps throughout the neighborhood.

ELEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Next Scheduled Meeting – August 19, 2025 at
5:00 p.m. at Blackrock Baptist Church, 96362 Blackrock Road, Yulee, Florida

TWELFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS	Adjournment

On MOTION by Mr. Watson seconded by Ms. Emanuelson with all in favor the meeting was adjourned.

Secretary/Assistant Secretary	Chairman/Vice Chairman