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Board of County Commissioners Special Call Meeting Minutes - Final August 12, 2025 response to concerns and confusion from the community. The Chairman opened the floor for discussion. Allisen Giordano, HOA President of Waters Edge, appeared before the Board to discuss the residents' understanding of the situation. Ms. Giordano expressed her confusion with the process, and maintained the position that WEII was not responsible for the culvert replacement costs for several reasons. First, Ms. Giordano stated the HOA never signed an agreement to the costs and had not received any information on meetings regarding the assessment. Attorney Shuler clarified that a written agreement was not standard practice and explained the required notification process. The next item of contention was the corrugated pipes themselves that failed. Residents stated the original permit had called for a concrete pipe, and asserted the County had erroneously approved installation of an inferior corrugated pipe. Ms. Giordano relayed that the residents felt the County committed the permitting error, and therefore the County should pay the replacement costs. Staff explained that the original developer chose to use metal rather than concrete, which was allowable at the time. Additionally, the IRF owned the canal and was responsible for approving the permit; the County had no input in the original construction of the culverts. County Attorney Shuler then discussed the recently received letter from the HOA's new attorney that argued the cost should be spread among all homes along that stretch of 1 st Street SW, not just the WEII residents. Attorneys Shuler and Hicks explained that the culvert under 1st Street SW provided a public benefit because it was a public road, making it the County's responsibility. The crossover culverts offered a private benefit only to the subdivision's homeowners; the County could not assume responsibility since the culverts did not benefit the public Attorney Hicks then provided a timeline of communication exchanged between the County and Attorney Sweeney, including the October 9, 2023 email of Attorney Sweeney's approval on behalf of the HOA to accept the assessment and start work, and a January 31, 2024 email from the Attorney Sweeney asking why the project had not started given the HOA's approval. Ms. Giordano maintained the HOA had never agreed to the cost or assessment. She stated residents were present today to ask that the assessment be shared among all homeowners on 1st Street SW, or not assessed at all. The Board suggested there was a communication breakdown between the HOA and Attorney Sweeney, and the County had gone to great lengths to communicate the facts. They did sympathize with the residents for the cost factor, but noted the County's offer was intended to save them money by combining the projects and offering 15 years with no interest to repay. Indian River County, Florida Page 5