Dave Candia and Lorelei Bowden replace two Lake St. Charles supervisors who resigned after community frustrations boiled over.
By LETITIA STEIN
Published September 3, 2004
RIVERVIEW - It's a new day in Lake St. Charles.
Two newly elected supervisors have joined the board of the community development district, creating a majority among those interested in greater public involvement. The newly appointed representatives pledged better financial management and communication.
But it took a nasty brawl last week to bring about changes.
Frustrations between homeowners and the former leaders of the CDD came to head over a proposed refinancing of subdivision bonds. A public hearing on Aug. 26 morphed into a heated referendum on who should run the nearly 800-home community.
When it ended, supervisors Todd Gesling and Brian Boughen resigned. Supervisor Rhonda Ort stepped down as chair. And the debate over whether to refinance the community's bond was indefinitely tabled.
Two newly elected supervisors, Dave Candia and Lorelei Bowden, joined John Bakas on the board. The trio ran unopposed to replace supervisors who did not seek re-election in November. Each was appointed early to fill vacancies on a board whose members include Ort and supervisor John Marshall.
Lake St. Charles is run by a community development district, a mini-government where five paid supervisors oversee local taxes.
A year ago, several residents began raising concerns about how Rizzetta and Co., the community's management company, was handling the community's budget and the company's refusal to supply public records requested by residents.
The concerns resulted in the new leadership. More changes are on the way.
Within three months, Candia aims to create committees of residents willing to use their professional expertise to review community problems and make recommendations to the board.
"I want to get more government by inclusion, rather than exclusion - and that's been the perception here at Lake St. Charles," said Candia, elected to serve as the board's chair.
Bowden wants to revamp the monthly community newsletter to include reports on CDD expenditures and a schedule of when services will be performed.
Bakas supports having homeowners participate on committees. He also wants the CDD board to provide more scrutiny to how district managers spend community dollars.
The new leaders also must guide the community beyond its anger over the bond refinancing proposal. The supervisors had proposed refinancing the 1996 bonds take advantage of today's lower interest rates and save homeowners money. But the community would have to extend payments a decade to see any financial benefits, given the fees and other costs involved.
A rowdy crowd of nearly 200 homeowners clamored for more thorough financial details. When they learned that the financial terms had changed, frustrations exploded into nearly four hours of public comment. Many called for the firing of Rizzetta and Co.
County Commissioner Pat Frank, a candidate for Clerk of Circuit Court, offered to have a county attorney review the bond documents. "The County Commission created this CDD. We have a responsibility to see that homeowners are protected."
