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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final September 10, 2025 vote: Aye: 5 - Chairman Flescher, Vice Chairman Loar, Commissioner Adams, Commissioner Earman, and Commissioner Moss The Chairman opened the public hearing. Allison Giordano, President of Water's Edge Homeowner's Association, addressed the Board regarding an upcoming assessment of $454 per homeowner per year for 15 years. The development consists of 86 homes in total. She was in procession of a letter from their attorney that presented strong arguments, supported by Case Law and State Statutes, explaining why the homeowners should not bear the full assessment. She continued, the issue involved a road crossing over a culvert, which affected not only the homeowners in Water's Edge but also those living along First Street Southwest. Therefore, the assessment should not be assigned solely to the residents of Water's Edge. Ms. Giordano reported that the total assessment of $537,000 included an $80,000 contingency discussed during the August 12th meeting, of which very little had been used. She informed the Board that an email indicated at least $60,000 represented a cost savings. Consequently, the numbers they received should be adjusted downwards by these amounts. Ms. Giordano referenced an email that was taken out of context, highlighting that Water's Edge acknowledged their awareness of the County's plans to construct the culvert and understood there would be some form of assessment on their properties. However, they never agreed to be solely assessed, nor to the amount of the assessment. Additionally, she mentioned an email from Dylan Reingold, dated December 16, 2022, at 4:15 p.m. In that email, he stated that there was funding available to replace the culverts at both entranceways to Water's Edge, as well as those that crossed First Street Southwest. However, he emphasized that an agreement needed to be established first. At that time, the County Attorney indicated that there was money allocated in the budget. She pointed out that on the same day, former Public Works Director Rich Szpyrka stated that the County was not responsible for addressing issues outside of the pipe replacement under the driveways. This suggested to the residents that the pipes under the driveways, which were public roads maintained by the County (as they were turned over in 2006), were indeed the County's responsibility. The culverts at these two entrances were also the County's responsibility, yet the residents were being assessed for them. She explained that once the project was completed, the County would assume responsibility for the maintenance of those culverts going forward. If the County planned to take over this responsibility in the future, the residents questioned why they were not doing so at that time. Indian River County, Florida Page 19