Welcome
Welcome to the official website for the Water’s Edge Community Development District (the “District”). This website is funded on behalf of the District to serve two major purposes. The first is to comply with Chapter 189.069 of the Florida Statutes, which requires each special District to maintain an official website. The second is an effort to help educate the general public about the services provided by the District, and to highlight the other agencies involved in the day-to-day operations of the community. These agencies include but are not limited to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Manatee County and the Water's Edge Homeowner Association.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE:
On Thursday, February 27th at 6:00 p.m.at the Fire Station No. 2 on North Rye Road, the CDD Board of Supervisors will have a discussion on how to replenish the capital reserves because of the impact of Hurricane Milton. The hurricane caused approximately $60K in operating expenses that were not in the budget. To pay these expenses, the District had to dip into the capital reserves that are set aside for repairs and refurbishment of our streets, storm sewers, sidewalks and facilities like the pool and amenity center. If those funds are not replenished, we may not have the ability to repair or replace these assets when the time comes to do so.
One option that is being considered is to do a special assessment that would be levied on the 2025/2026 tax bill. For example, a one time $100 special assessment for each property would raise approximately $30K in revenue.
In addition, last year during the visioning session, the neighborhood identified several new amenities they would like to see built to improve our quality of life. These included a dog park, basketball court, pickleball court, as well as a walking trail on the 12 acres the District owns on the River. GMS, our management company, has developed cost estimates for most of these projects and will have them at the meeting.
It is never easy to consider a new tax or assessment. The Board desires to get feedback from the residents before any final decision is made on how to proceed. We have several months before the budget has to be approved in July/August of this year, so be assured a final decision will not be made at Thursday’s meeting.
If you have thoughts or ideas you would like to share, please join us for the discussion at the meeting on Thursday. You can participate in person or via Zoom. If neither of these options is good for you, you can send an email to the District with your thoughts (WECDD.org/contact.cfm). Since social media sites like Facebook are not easy to capture and/or retain public comments I suggest you either make your comments in person or by email.
Thank you,
Greg Kisela
Chair
Water’s Edge Community Development District
CDD Zoom Meeting Information:
Zoom Link: us06web.zoom.us/j/95649629788
Meeting ID: 956 496 2978
Passcode: 516708Gms
Zoom Phone #: (646) 876- 9923
*Residents must use the raise the hand feature on Zoom in order to speak during Audience Comments.
Latest Actions:
At the February 27, 2025 meeting, the Water’s Edge CDD took the following actions:
The CDD Board meeting on Thursday, February 27th, was a long and productive dialogue on how to address funding the hurricane expenses, as well as any future capital improvements that the neighborhood would like to see constructed over the next several years. The sentiment was that we needed to at least do a special assessment to recover the approximately $60K in unbudgeted hurricane expenses we suffered as a result of the three storms last year. The Board will be asking, via survey, for the community’s input on whether we do the assessment all at once or spread it out over a couple of years. In addition, GMS provided a list of capital projects with estimated costs that were discussed in last year’s Visioning Session. The Board agreed to conduct a survey of all property owners on their preferences for any of these projects and how they would like to pay for them. This list will be finalized at the March 27th Board meeting, and the survey conducted in early April so the results can be presented at the April 24th Board meeting for possible inclusion in next year’s budget (FY25/26). The Board sincerely wants the pulse of the community on moving forward with any of these improvements. We will never have full agreement from 309 different stakeholders but if there are facilities or improvements that the majority of residents support and are willing to fund, then the Board is committed to moving forward. In closing, please stay involved over the next several months as we work through these issues. Especially in today’s times, it is extremely difficult to develop a consensus on just about any issue. I believe spirited discussion, debate, and differences of opinion make better decisions. It all starts with people coming to the table.
Thank you,
Greg Kisela
Chair
Water’s Edge Community Development District Disclosure
Please be advised that the Water’s Edge Community Development District (the “District”), a local unit of special purpose government created under Florida law, has constructed and is responsible for the maintenance of certain improvements, infrastructure and facilities within the District. The District financed this construction through the sale of tax-exempt bonds, a form of public financing. As a result, and in accordance with applicable federal and state law, all District owned improvements, infrastructure and facilities are and shall remain open and accessible to the general public. Should you have any questions on this matter, non-resident user fees applicable to District recreational facilities, or any other general District issue, please feel free to contact the District Manager.
