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UPRD e-update Newsletter

Vol No. 1 Issue 2

April 15, 2019

 

If you attended last Friday’s RD meeting, you heard an impassioned speech by Chairman Bob Wood explaining the current status of the lawsuit filed by resident Richard Garrett and what the RD has done to try to resolve it. These comments have been sent out to residents and I urge you to read them.  As always, for all of the detailed information, please visit the RD website.  (http://universityparkrd.com)

We are fortunate to have two very well-respected financial experts, Bruce Mantia and Dick Crouch, who combined have over 60 years of relevant business experience.  They made a cogent presentation/tutorial on how to view financial Information so that our residents can “Make an Informed Decision”.

They explained that a “Pro Forma” (or “as if”) document is the correct way to interpret financial documents in any such acquisition process. They showed that statements by Richard Garrett saying that the UPCC “2017 Income Statement Reported a Loss of ($108,599)” is inaccurate in the context of the RD. “The Cash Flow available before RD and Capital Expenses is $498,758”.  In addition, they corrected misinformation alleging a cumulated loss of ($4,348,946) with the correct number of total equity at $2,894,097.  This presentation can be viewed in its entirety on the RD web site.

There was also an outstanding letter sent to the residents of UPCC by Messrs. Neal and Varah explaining on a point by point basis the TRUTH about the Purchase and Sale of UPCC to the RD.  This is also available on the UPRD web site.

Last week we stated that Ameris Bank would be the lender for the short-term loan; however, a better deal was negotiated with Keswick Investments, LLC. for the $350,000 with no closing costs and interest not to exceed 4%.

There are two litigation matters pending:

  • The District is proceeding with its Bond Validation case which is a requirement for obtaining the financing related to the purchase of the Country Club. A hearing has been set before the 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Ed Nicholas for May 6, 2019.
  • The remaining case involves the complaint filed by Richard Garrett. The complaint alleges the Country Ordinance creating the District was “arbitrary, capricious, confiscatory, or violative of constitutional guarantees.”

The District does not believe there is any basis for this position. Despite its position that the complaint is without merit, the District has been in discussions with the Plaintiffs and has been attempting to settle this case, if a reasonable settlement can be accommodated. As part of this effort and in an attempt to minimize litigation expenses, the District has been willing to consider “out of the box” solutions, which would be unique to a District of this type.  It did propose a settlement offer to the Plaintiff attempting to address the core issues of the Plaintiff, but the settlement offer was rejected. No counter proposal was received. Discovery continues and no trial date for this case has been set.

The implications of this litigation are numerous, including:

  • The RD will not be able to issue bonds while there are legal proceedings questioning the creation of the RD.
  • The RD must pay the current and future legal costs associated with this legal action, and the fees could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are no funds in the budget to cover these costs.
  • Therefore, we may have the unfortunate obligation to assess our residents to cover these expenditures. The preliminary estimate is $1000 per home, and the RD is working on both the timing and collection method – either billed directly or billed using the Uniform Method (through County Property Assessor/Collector).  This estimate is roughly equivalent to the first assessment that would be levied by the county for the bond repayment.  If this assessment is not paid then legal penalties/ramifications take place, namely a lien could be placed on your home.

It is the District’s hope that either the Garrett litigation will be dismissed or the parties can reach an amicable resolution quickly to keep litigation costs to a minimum. Additionally, prolonged litigation would delay purchase of the Country Club and could result in the paying of a higher interest rate on the bonds to be issued.

We thank the 80%+ of you who continue to enthusiastically support the RD as it remains the BEST way forward. Keep the Faith.  “We shall overcome.”

Workshops are scheduled in the Card Room on:

April 23, 10 am; May 3, 1 pm; June 7, 1 pm

RD Meetings are scheduled in the Lakeside Room on:

May 10, 1PM; June 14, 1 pm; July 12, 1pm