Community Development District Overview

The Cascades at Groveland Community Development District (“District”) is an independent local unit of, special-purpose government, created pursuant to and existing under the provisions of Chapter 190, Florida Statutes, and established by Ordinance 2005-10-47, adopted of the City Council of the City of Groveland, Florida which became effective on October 3rd, 2005.

The District, per Ordinance 2018-12-46, currently encompasses approximately seven hundred twenty-two (722.58) acres of land within Lake County, Florida. As a local unit of special-purpose government, the District provides an alternative means for planning, financing, constructing, operating and maintaining various public improvements and community facilities within its jurisdiction.

A District provides the “solution” to Florida’s need to provide valuable community infrastructure generated by growth, ultimately without overburdening other governments and their taxpaying residents. Community Development Districts represent a major advancement in Florida’s effort to manage its growth effectively and efficiently. This allows a community to establish higher construction standards, meanwhile providing a long-term solution to the operation and maintenance of the community’s facilities.

Cascades at Groveland Community Development District (CDD)

The CDD is a quasi-government organization established pursuant to Chapter 190 of the Florida statutes. Every Trilogy lot owner is subject to assessments from the Cascades at Groveland CDD and the Cascades of Groveland HOA. The CDD and the HOA boundaries are the same.

The CDD issued $5.6M of 30 year 5.3% bonds in 2006 to install the Storm Water Retention and Drainage System in Trilogy. After paying $600,000 of bond issuance costs, the $5M net proceeds were used to:
1.   Dig out and wall in 8 water retention ponds;
2.   Install concrete drain and pond inlet basins; and
3.   Install underground pipes to deliver storm water runoff from homes, streets and Club parking lots to the 8 retention ponds.

$2,822,000 remains to be paid on the bonds at 5/1/2021. After the refinancing on 5/1/2021 the bond interest is an annual 2.0% rate. Seventy four owners have paid off their share of the debt. Principal and interest payments (i.e. Debt Service or “DS”) of $496.37, by the 1,071 remaining debtor lots, and $87.75 of Operating and Maintenance (O&M) expenses due from all Trilogy lot owners are collected on each lot owner’s annual property tax statement in the Non-Ad Valorem Tax section.

There are 1,071 lot owners, including Shea’s unsold lots, who have not paid off their current $2,635 share of the $2,822,000 unpaid bonds at May 1, 2021. Paying off your share of the CDD debt eliminates the DS portion of the annual CDD assessment. Every lot owner is responsible for the O&M portion of the annual assessment. The payoff amount changes every September 1 and April 1 due to the timing of the November annual property tax assessment and the May 1 annual bond principal payment date.

The bonds will be paid off on May 1, 2027 at which time the CDD supervisors intend to apply to the City of Groveland to dissolve the CDD and eliminate the $50,000 of annual admin expenses required as a quasi-government entity. Upon dissolution the approximately $50 of current O&M annual costs per lot will be collected by AAM as part of your monthly dues.

The CDD meets in the Sport’s Pavilion at 2PM on the third Wednesday of the months of January, April, July and October unless an urgent issue requires consideration by the Supervisors between the scheduled dates. The maximum O&M assessment is decided at the April meeting and the final budget/ assessment is decided at the July meeting.

The CDD is controlled by 5 supervisors serving 4 year terms. Hubert D. Jackson, Jr., James R. Pekarek, and Peter Rupal will be up for election in 2024 and William Houppermans and Alan Martin will be up in 2026. Candidates for open supervisor seats must file an application with the Lake County Supervisor of Elections in a 2 week window in early June of the election year to get on the fall ballot.

If you have any questions call or email Jim Pekarek, the current CDD Chairman, at 352-989-4736 or jimpekmark@aol.com. To go to the CDD website click here.

Community Development District Organization

The Cascades at Groveland Community Development District (the “District”) is organized similar to other local governments in Florida, in that the legislative body is composed of a five-member board known as the Board of Supervisors. The Board establishes the policy of the District in accordance with Florida law. The Board, by law, must hire a District Manager and District Counsel. Staff members operate utilizing the same formalities as a County Administrator and County Attorney. The Board, through review of advertised Requests for Qualifications, ranks and selects a District Engineer to perform the engineering needs of the District. The District staff administers the operations of the District and implements the Board’s policies and contracts.

District Map

District Administration

The District Manager’s responsibilities include:

Preparation and submittal of a proposed operations and maintenance budgets for Board review and action
Preparation of contract specifications for District operations inclusive of District administration and storm water management
File all required forms and documents with state and local agencies
Attend all Board of Supervisor meetings – implement the policies of the Board
Additional duties as directed by the Board